Problems and prospects of development in Guwahati, Assam

Abstract

The exponential increase in population and unplanned growth over the years have created enormous pressure on the availability of land and infrastructure with the result that most cities and towns are severely stressed in terms of available infrastructure and delivery of basic services. Through this paper, an attempt has been made to bring into light the problems and prospects incurred in the way of development in Guwahati City of Assam. Cities and towns play a vital role in the country’s socioeconomic growth, its transformation and change. Guwahati is recognized to be the most critical city in the North East India. The city has a well-developed connectivity with the rest of the country and acts as the gateway to the entire Northeastern India. Hence, the development of the city is not only critical to the state of Assam but also to the entire North East. This paper mainly deals with the issues and challenges related with environmental and also socioeconomic aspects recognized by government, non-government agencies and local people, those standing as barriers in the development of Guwahati city as a smart city identified on the basis of the study conducted on different areas using descriptive survey method and observation method.