GMC identified 164 slums in 2014 but now it claims that there are no notified slums in Guwahati; In 2015 Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), aimed at providing affordable housing for all by 2022. Under its In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) component, cities were expected to upgrade slums into well-planned residential areas by 2022; its 2025 and Guwahati has not implemented ISSR
In the heart of Guwahati, where modern infrastructure and rapid urbanisation paint a picture of progress, a starkly different reality lurks in the shadows—one that exposes the Guwahati Municipal Corporation's (GMC) continued neglect of the city's slums. These informal settlements, housing some of the most underprivileged sections of society, remain trapped in deplorable conditions, with little to no support from the authorities despite multiple government schemes meant for their uplift. At a time when 3,80,000 applicants will get free house in Assam under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna and 3,80,000 more applicants in April-May this year, the slums of Guwahati are left neglected.
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The In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) project under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) was introduced by the central government to provide adequate and improved housing facilities to urban slum dwellers across India. Under this scheme, slum land was to be redeveloped with private sector participation, ensuring the creation of hygienic, sustainable housing for residents. However, in Guwahati, the GMC failed to implement this initiative. Shockingly, the authorities maintain that no "notified" slum areas exist within the city, effectively denying thousands of impoverished residents access to better living conditions.
A source within the GMC, speaking anonymously to GPlus, confirmed, “ISSR project was not implemented in Guwahati for various reasons, and one of the reasons is that there are no notified slum areas in the city.” This claim contradicts the findings of previous surveys, indicating a deliberate attempt to ignore the plight of slum dwellers.
The neglect of slums in Guwahati is not a recent phenomenon. In 2005, the then-Congress-led central government launched the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) to improve housing and infrastructure for the urban poor under the Basic Services to the Urban Poor (BSUP) Programme. However, this initiative failed to yield results in Guwahati as well. “Nothing happened then too,” admitted a former GMC official who was involved in the project at the time.
Subsequently, the GMC engaged with the Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), launched in 2011, which aimed to eliminate slums and provide decent shelter to all urban poor. After Assam joined the scheme in 2012, the GMC received a budget of ₹76.34 lakh to survey and develop urban slums. That year, a comprehensive survey conducted in collaboration with NGOs identified 217 slum areas in Guwahati. The Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) was brought in to draft a "Slum-Free City Plan of Action," which later revised the number of slum settlements to 164, comprising 90,344 residents and 18,427 households.
ASCI then proceeded to prepare a Detailed Project Report (DPR), outlining strategies for rehabilitating slums in non-hazardous locations while relocating those in hazardous environments. However, with the change in the central government in 2014, the newly elected NDA government discontinued RAY and introduced the Housing for All by 2022 initiative under the Sardar Patel National Mission for Urban Housing. This policy shift stalled progress on slum development in Guwahati.
Media reports later revealed that the Standing Committee on Urban Development found RAY ineffective due to poor planning and slow implementation. The committee’s 2015 report stated that despite three years of preparatory work, the targeted 195 cities, including Guwahati, had made negligible progress. The GMC, having already drafted DPRs for slum redevelopment in Barsapara, Harijan Colony, Maniram Dewan slum area, and the police reserve slum, was unable to proceed further due to the sudden policy change.
The transition to the Housing for All scheme further complicated matters. The new guidelines required modifications to the existing DPRs, shifting from fully government-funded housing to a model where slum dwellers could access loans for homeownership. According to a GMC official, “As the previous scheme was stopped by the new government, the DPR was not submitted.” The official added that the changes in housing policy, coupled with GMC’s preoccupation with the Smart City proposal, resulted in slum redevelopment taking a backseat.
Despite the promises made under the NDA government’s housing scheme, the living conditions in Guwahati’s slums have remained unchanged. A slum dweller from Lokhra, a settlement officially recognised by the government and home to over 415 people, shared his ordeal: “I have been living here for ten years, paying ₹400 in rent to Alim Ahmed, who stays in Hatigaon. He comes every month to collect rent from many small huts he has built and claims ownership of them.” The resident, a rickshaw puller earning about ₹300 a day, described the inhumane living conditions, highlighting the inability of many to afford basic necessities.
This situation is not unique to Lokhra. Across Guwahati, thousands of slum dwellers live in substandard housing, often paying rent to private individuals who exploit their vulnerability. Meanwhile, the GMC continues to turn a blind eye, maintaining that there are no "notified" slums in the city, effectively absolving itself of any responsibility for their development.
“For many GMC officials, just collecting and disposing of garbage is the main concern,” remarked a GMC insider. “Slum development has never been a priority for any government, and it urgently needs attention.” The fact that 217 slums were later revised to 164, and now authorities claim none exist, raises serious questions about the GMC’s commitment to addressing the housing crisis faced by the urban poor.
In 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), aimed at providing affordable housing for all by 2022. Under its In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) component, cities were expected to upgrade slums into well-planned residential areas. Despite Guwahati’s participation in PMAY projects, ISSR remains unimplemented, with GMC officials repeatedly citing the lack of notified slums as an excuse.
This raises a critical question: If the GMC itself identified 164 slums in 2014, how can it now claim that no slums exist in Guwahati? Have these settlements simply vanished, or has the administration deliberately chosen to ignore their existence to evade accountability?
The reality remains that thousands of slum dwellers in Guwahati continue to live in miserable conditions, devoid of basic amenities and security. The negligence of the GMC, compounded by shifting governmental priorities and bureaucratic inertia, has ensured that these communities remain invisible to policymakers. Until the authorities acknowledge the existence of these slums and take concrete steps toward their development, the city’s poorest residents will continue to suffer, trapped in a cycle of poverty and neglect.