Assam's Urban Waste Management Faces Critical Challenges

A recent observation note presented to the National Green Tribunal reveals alarming gaps in Assam's waste management system across its urban local bodies. Despite the government's infrastructure improvements, significant deficiencies persist in managing solid, legacy, and liquid waste. The report highlights a concerning shortfall in waste processing capacity and raises questions about the effectiveness of current waste collection efforts. With a backlog of legacy waste and ongoing challenges in liquid waste management, the need for urgent reforms and better utilization of existing resources is critical. This situation calls for immediate attention to ensure compliance with environmental standards and improve the overall waste management framework in Assam.

By Narendra Chaudhary Oct 16, 2026, 11:31 IST

Concerns Over Waste Management in Assam

Guwahati, Oct 16: Despite the Assam government's efforts in enhancing infrastructure and implementing remedial strategies, significant deficiencies remain in the scientific management of solid, legacy, and liquid waste across the state's 104 urban local bodies, as highlighted in a recent observation note presented by the amicus curiae to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).

This note was submitted in response to the government's status report regarding adherence to municipal solid waste management regulations and other environmental concerns.

According to the observation, while the State has initiated considerable infrastructure improvements, there are still major gaps in effectively managing solid waste, legacy waste, and liquid waste across the 104 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), which include 103 ULBs and the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC).

The amicus curiae urged a reevaluation of the government's assertion of achieving 100 percent waste collection and transportation across all ULBs, pointing out significant discrepancies between the installed processing capacity and its actual use.

The report indicates that Assam has a total waste-processing capacity of 1,925.38 tonnes per day (TPD), but only 1,370.30 TPD is being utilized, which is approximately 69 percent. This results in a shortfall of nearly 598 TPD. The amicus curiae suggested conducting audits at each plant to determine the causes of underutilization and to implement corrective actions within a specified timeframe.

Additionally, the note pointed out a disparity between the generation of biodegradable waste and the capacity for composting. Assam produces 920.59 TPD of biodegradable waste, while its composting facilities can only handle 766 TPD, leading to a deficit of 154.59 TPD.

Concerns were also raised regarding the quality of compost produced, which is reportedly of non-agricultural grade and is used for purposes such as landfilling and earth filling.

The state's waste-to-energy (WTE) facility has a processing capacity of 5 TPD but is currently only processing 1 TPD, leaving 4 TPD of capacity unused. The amicus curiae called for the identification of reasons behind this low intake and the establishment of a suitable feedstock supply plan to enhance utilization.

Furthermore, the observation recommended that ULB-wise data on construction and demolition (C&D) waste generation and processing be disclosed, along with information on the separate collection and disposal of sanitary waste.

Liquid waste management also poses a significant challenge, with a processing gap of 418.65 million litres per day (MLD) identified. Additionally, 8.646 MLD of industrial effluents are being discharged into drains, ultimately contaminating rivers, natural drains, and open areas.

The state is also dealing with a backlog of 19.23 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of legacy waste, highlighting the magnitude of the issue in managing accumulated waste. The note emphasized the ongoing pressure of waste being added to landfills daily.

In Guwahati, the shortfall in solid waste processing capacity is estimated at 316.37 TPD, with a daily increase of waste in landfills reported at 206.17 MT.

These observations stress the urgent need for the state to tackle the deficiencies in waste collection, processing, and disposal, enhance the use of existing infrastructure, and strengthen monitoring to ensure compliance with environmental standards.