GUWAHATI: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has flagged the absence of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in Assam, which has led to continuous pollution of water bodies over the years.
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The findings, part of the audit report on urban local bodies (ULBs) for the period from 2021-22 to 2022-23, have highlighted several deficiencies in basic civic services, including water supply, sanitation, and solid waste management.
The report also noted that the Ministry of Urban Development introduced Service Level Benchmarks (SLBs) in 2009 to monitor urban service delivery in key sectors such as water supply, sewerage, solid waste management (SWM), and stormwater management. However, Assam’s ULBs failed to meet these benchmarks due to inadequate provisions for core basic services.
The CAG additionally highlighted that the government did not adequately address essential services such as water supply and sanitation. The absence of necessary systems for data collection and performance monitoring further weakened service delivery.
Furthermore, none of the ten test-checked ULBs in Assam met the SLB requirement of 100 per cent segregation of solid waste at source. Most ULBs performed at less than 50 per cent of the required benchmark.
