Water ATMs to smart bio-toilets and many other projects are just a waste of public money
Crores of rupees are sanctioned and utilised for various development projects in Guwahati and Assam. Many projects are completed for the benefit of the public, but in the process precious public money running into crores is also wasted on projects which are not beneficial to the public. These are Assam’s white elephants; in modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, scheme, business venture, facility, etc. considered expensive but without equivalent utility or value relative to its capital (acquisition) and/or operational (maintenance) costs.
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Let’s discuss some of the white elephants of Guwahati in detail.
Beelpar biomethanation plant
The 5 TPD (tonnes per day) bio-methanation-cum-electric plant to convert segregated organic municipal waste to 800 units of power and 450 kg of manure located at Beelpar near Chatribari is one. The plant was tested and experimented several times, started functioning, but at present it is non-functional. The plant was inaugurated twice, once on February 10, 2020, and once on August 13, 2020. Trials were conducted to convert municipal organic waste to biogas for a few months from August 13, 2020, until February 2021, even if electricity could not be produced using the biogas during those trials. It was shut down in February 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic for two years during which pilferers stole the plant parts and equipment, including the motor. Thereafter, again the plant resumed work in February 2022. Ironically, the plant again is not functioning since last many months and a source in Guwahati Municipal Corporation said that some parts are spoilt and it will start functioning after the parts are changed. The budget of the plant was approximately one crore and since its first inauguration till now it has remained a white elephant.
Multilevel car parking
Some multilevel car parkings were constructed at some locations in Guwahati but all of them are almost white elephants. The Multilevel Automated Car Parking Lot adjacent to MMC Hospital has been built in Panbazar at a project cost of Rs 11 crore under Non-lapsable Central Pool of Resources (NLCPR). It was inaugurated in 2021. The parking place has the capacity to accommodate 250 four-wheelers at a time. It is found that the car parking lot now lies in waste as there are hardly any vehicles parked in the spaces. A source in GMDA said that people are not interested in parking their cars in the parking lots. This is not even a matter of multilevel system. It seems GMDA had built a beautiful car parking lot in the Lakhtokia area that is also not being used by the public. Hardly seven to eight cars are parked in that lot, said the GMDA source. “People have the habit of parking their cars on the side of the road. The only way people will be obliged to park their cars in the parking spaces is if the government increases the penalty for parking cars on the roadside,” said the source.
In 2017, the city got its first Automated Car Parking Facility on Zoo Road, next to Shraddhanjali Kanan, that was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. A total of Rs 14.33 crore was spent on the project undertaken by the GMDA (Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority). It seems the money has been spent in vain as it fails to attract people. The facility has 302 slots for cars, but only around 15 to 20 cars come to the parking area on a daily basis. On an average 13 cars were parked on a monthly basis. The general public ignore the huge parking facility and prefer to park their vehicles on the side of Zoo Road. The parking facility has a total of 6 levels of over ground puzzle parking, 5 among them have been shut down because of less vehicles. Only the ground level is used for the public. So, both the multilevel automated car parking are white elephants.
Water ATMs
Many water ATMs in the city installed by the Guwahati Smart City Limited (GSCL) in 2018 still remain dysfunctional. Residents around the city have been complaining about the incompetency of the authorities regarding the maintenance of the project. The GSCL had launched a total of 20 water ATMs in Guwahati at various locations under the Smart City project in 2018. There were two water ATMs in Chandmari, one in Silpukhuri, three in Paltan Bazar, four in Fancy Bazar, two in Panbazar, one in Nehru Park, one in Kachari Ghat, one in Mahavir Park, one in Gandhi Mandap, one in old DC office, one in Regional Science Centre, one in Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute and one in Gorchuk. It needs to be mentioned that at present out of 20 only 8 water ATMs are functioning, but not properly. A source in GSCL said that 10 ATMs are totally spoilt and cannot be repaired. Eight ATMs are functioning and two will start functioning soon. The project cost for the water ATMs was Rs. 2.09 crore which included operation and maintenance by the contractor. So most of the water ATMs are white elephants.
Smart bio-toilets
Along with water ATMs the GSCL had also installed around 30 smart bio-toilets at selected locations in the city. The project cost for bio-toilets is Rs. 9.53 crore and includes operation and maintenance. The Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) took over the city's bio-toilet project in 2021 from the Guwahati Smart City Limited due to the latter’s failure to operate these. The toilets were first installed in 2018 by Guwahati Smart City Limited, but became non-functional just after days of installation. The locations of the bio-toilets in Guwahati were 1 each in Judges field, Food Villa, Sonaram Field, Mahabir Uddyain, Nabagraha Mandir, Nehru Stadium, 3 in the state zoo, 1 in GMDA office, 2 in BBCI, 1 each in Kalakshetra, Regional Science Museum, Basistha Mandir, Azara Civil Hospital, Circle Office (Beltola), Sarusajai Stadium, Garchuk vegetable Market and ISBT. At present many of these bio-toilets are not functioning and GMC sources said that a few are functional and are used during big events. The bio-toilets are basically white elephants.
Foot overbridges
The foot overbridges (FOBs) in Guwahati were constructed using huge amounts of public money for public convenience, but what remains a fact is that these are neither maintained well by the authorities nor is there any mechanism to mandate the pedestrians to utilise the bridges. Despite the bridges, pedestrians are still seen crossing the road even by climbing over the divider. The 28-metre-long foot overbridge at Adabari was built by PWD under SOPD (state-owned priority development) Fund 2019-20 at a cost of Rs 10.38 crore; the 28-metre Boripara, AT Road foot overbridge at Rs 9.70 crore while the 19.70-metre foot overbridge at Sukreswar was constructed at a cost of Rs 7.98 crore. All these FOBs are hardly used. The Lachit Nagar FOB was constructed by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and while enquiring about the maintenance of the FOB, the officials of GMDA revealed that all FOBs are under Public Works Department (PWD) now and it is the agency responsible to maintain the FOBs. GMDA has handed over the FOBs constructed by it to PWD. In the past few years, PWD constructed FOBs with modern facilities like elevators, escalators and so on across the city. One is coming up at Paltan Bazar. On an average, an FOB costs Rs. 10 crore. Many of the FOBs in Guwahati are white elephants.
These projects were trumpeted as necessary conveniences for the public, but are no longer worth the money spent.