Guwahati: Open waste burning remains one of the most visible and highly polluting sources of air pollution in Guwahati, the capital city of Assam.
According to a report released by iFOREST in collaboration with Assam Pollution Control Board (APCB), although Guwahati generates an estimated 884 tonnes per day (TPD) of municipal waste, existing infrastructure processes only about 35 percent—leaving a gap of 333 TPD that remains unprocessed and is directly linked to open dumping and burning.
As per filed survey conducted by iFOREST, nearly 61 tonnes of waste are burned daily, emitting around 122 tonnes of PM_2.5 and 22 tonnes of black carbon annually. Furthermore, the city’s landfill emits over 5,600 tonnes of methane per year, making it a major environmental and health hazard.
To address this, iFOREST, in partnership with the APCB, on Wednesday launched Guwahati’s first comprehensive hotspot-based Clean Air Action Plan.
This initiative is built on detailed ward-level mapping designed to identify exactly where pollution concentrates and how it can be reduced, said a statement.
A Growing Crisis in the Northeast
Guwahati has been grappling with chronic air pollution since 2017, with particulate matter levels frequently exceeding national standards. This trend has steadily worsened due to rapid urbanization, rising vehicle numbers, construction activity, waste burning, and industrial growth.
Long-term data confirms a rising trend in both PM 10 and PM 2.5 between 2017 and 2022.
As the fastest-growing city in Northeast India, Guwahati faces unique geographical challenges. Its bowl-like topography—bounded by the hills and the Brahmaputra river—limits the dispersion of pollutants, compounding emissions from transport, dust, cooking, waste burning, and industry.
Expert Insights on Economic and Social Impact
Chandra Bhushan, CEO of iFOREST, emphasized the gravity of the situation during the launch. He noted that air pollution carries a real economic cost, estimated between 3 and 5 percent of the GDP, because it harms both public health and the economy.
He defined air pollution simply as “smoke from what we burn and dust from what we mobilize,” urging that the city’s first priority must be to meet existing air quality standards.
Arup Kumar Misra, Chairman of the Assam Pollution Control Board, highlighted the changing nature of the city’s climate and infrastructure. He pointed to the lack of rain for months, a long dry season, flyovers under construction, over 10,000 vehicles, and high winds as major contributors to the resuspension of dust.
He stressed that without public cooperation, controlling pollution in Assam is nearly impossible, describing the new plan as a sincere effort supported by technical expertise.
The launch also featured a Goodwill Ambassador for the plan—a prominent musician and composer—who noted that for the plan to succeed, conversations about air quality must move beyond “educated spaces” to reach people who currently have no access to such information.
Mapping the Hotspots: Where Pollution Concentrates
Satellite-derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) analysis has revealed distinct seasonal pollution hotspots across the city.
During the summer, these hotspots are concentrated along the silted Brahmaputra riverbanks, floodplains, dust-prone riverbed zones, and construction-heavy wards. High traffic corridors also see significant pollution due to road dust resuspension, said the iFOREST statement .
In winter, the hotspots expand across central and eastern Guwahati. This expansion is caused by poorer atmospheric dispersion combined with combustion-driven emissions from residential heating, waste burning, commercial cooking, and traffic congestion, it pointed out.
High-density commercial corridors such as Fancy Bazar, Ganeshguri, Beltola, Zoo Road Tiniali, Maligaon, and Lokhra show consistently elevated pollution due to clustered restaurants and informal food vendors, the statement added.
Major markets and transport hubs like Paltan Bazar, Bhangagarh, Uzan Bazar, Six Mile, Azara, and Jalukbari also record high PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels. Prevailing south-westerly winds further transport these pollutants toward the northeast, intensifying the formation of these hotspots, it said.
Identifying the Primary Drivers of Pollution
The study identifies a wide set of dominant emission sources linked to daily activities in the city. With 333 TPD of waste left unprocessed, open dumping and burning have become unavoidable consequences. This leads to the massive annual emission of black carbon and methane from the city’s landfills.
Residential cooking and winter heating contribute significantly to neighborhood-level pollution. Despite a high LPG coverage of 96 percent, “fuel stacking” persists. In slum and hilly settlements, biomass, charcoal, and kerosene are still widely used.
Residential cooking alone contributes an estimated 3,900 tonnes of PM 2.5 annually. Furthermore, winter heating, which is often left out of clean air plans, adds substantially to seasonal emissions. In commercial zones, the use of coal and charcoal by vendors leads to elevated levels of PM 2.5, PM 10, and carbon monoxide.
Transport emissions are driven by a fleet where private vehicles account for 85 percent of the total. This is exacerbated by limited public transport, aging vehicles, and weak enforcement of Pollution Under Control (PUC) standards.
Additionally, diesel generator sets are widely used during power outages in residential, commercial, and industrial zones, as well as for mobile towers, emitting harmful nitrogen oxides and particulate matter.
Industrial activities, including brick kilns, stone crushers, and cement plants, rely heavily on coal and older technologies. Total PM 10 emissions from industries in the Kamrup Metropolitan area are estimated at 1,940 tonnes per year. This is further compounded by pollution drifting in from the nearby Byrnihat industrial cluster.
Phased Recommendations for a Cleaner Guwahati
The report recommended several targeted interventions to restore air quality. It advocated for achieving zero-open waste burning through improved collection systems, decentralized processing, community-led activities, and strict enforcement of regulations.
The strategy also highlighted the need to accelerate clean fuel transitions for both households and commercial cooking, specifically mentioning the introduction of clean heating solutions.
In the transport sector, the report recommended strengthening management through tighter PUC enforcement, the deployment of small EV buses, and upgrades to road infrastructure and signage.
To tackle dust, the plan suggested implementing mechanized road sweeping, stricter construction dust controls, and systematic post-flood silt management.
For industry, the report recommended phasing out polluting fuels and technologies, alongside the installation of Continuous Emission Monitoring Stations on RED category industries regardless of size.
It also proposed using low-cost sensor monitoring and automated systems to discontinue power supply when pollution levels rise. Finally, it stressed the importance of strengthening community-level environmental awareness to improve household waste segregation and eliminate open burning at its source.