2AR733 - Research Seminar - IAPNU-Fall 2018

Assignment 8
Roll number of Researcher: 14bar32
Full Name: Saumya Kansara

Resilient Indian cities: A case study of Guwahati

Saumya Kansara, Student of Nirma University (4th year)

Year of Publication: 2018
Journal Name: Nirma Research Seminar Working Paper Series
Abbreviations:

MSL- mean sea level

ULB- urban local body
NDVI- Normalized difference vegetation Index
MLD- million litres per day
CDP- city development plan
GMC- guawahati municipal corporation
SUDS- Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems

Abstract:
This research paper explores the different reasons and strategies for climatic
and non-climatic crisis in India and analysing the solutions to come up to a learning and
a way forward. The chief interest though is to focus on river floods and its resilience. It
talks about Guwahati city and due to its rapid and unplanned growth, these calamities
have caused a huge amount of loss of population as well as the physical properties. The
risk assessment strategies of the city are viewed and assessed further. It reports the
findings of a book and a survey done by Rockefeller group world-wide in major cities.
What is a resilience? Why does the city need a resilience solution? What
calamities are particularly addressed? What are the measures taken for the
resilience? The focus is particularly narrowed down to Guwahati city as it is situated
near the river Ganga, it is an ideal situation for resilience to the river flood and other
calamities.

Keywords:
Resilience
Water crisis
Risk management
Indian urban cities
Reasons & strategies

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 Background:

water is a major element of architecture. Although, some areas experience

flood whereas some experience water shortage. Over use and less care of water
resources has led to water crisis. “Eleven major cities like Cape Town, Bangalore, Cairo,
Jakarta, Moscow, Istanbul, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, Miami are facing water
shortages”. While, countries like Netherlands, Cambodia face flooding many times.
Water pollution has increased, and climate changes are increasing the temperature,
resulting melting glaciers and increasing water levels. To balance our lives, we need to
balance the water cycle.
The area of interest is particularly in Ecological trends and sustainability as
well as urban planning. An architecture that has a balance of nature and built
environment can contribute to reduce climate changes. Urbanism with sensibility can
change cities into better places.
There has been a saying about climate change and global warming: “What
happens in Arctic, does not stay in Arctic.” Therefore, designing for rising flood level
will incorporate innovative design standards. Thus, comes the concept of resilience.
What is resilience:
Resilience means that does not resists but, rather adapts to the situation and
minimize the casualties and is prepared for another to come. Resistance to natural
calamities is not feasible as it they can’t be predicted. A better way to deal with it is to
probably face it and optimize the chances of 0 loss of population and reduce the
property damage.
The challenge of water crisis leads to sustainable urban planning. A sensible
risk management approach can be a step towards a green environment and work with
nature. The notion of managing water itself is a try towards staying with nature and to
reduce the wreckage of urban environment. A well-managed urban scape and its
awareness towards risk management can save many lives.
fast & unplanned urbanization is happening in certain cities of the globe and
particularly in developing nations are contributing to increase in vulnerability of the cities to
the threat of climate change. The main focus on the conclusion topic is on the reasons for
the environmental crisis in Indian cities and analysing solutions for it. The results of
unplanned risk managements have been so catastrophic that it has raised the need of
disaster management planning. The goal is to emphasise the in-depth study of these
calamities to try to avoid a similar situation.
The present scenario of major Indian cities is in vulnerable position and recent
climate change unstable environment has resulted Indian cities, the reasons behind the
calamities and the comparison to find a probable common solution. Thus, it can provide
a direct or indirect impact on almost every citizen living in those vulnerable situations.
It is focused into the present context with examples and studies to be done from the
past to implement it for the future.

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Aim & objectives:
Reasons

Strategies Analysis

• By understanding present and future risk on the water crisis and other
calamities in an Indian city and its impact.
• To find techniques and methods to manage such calamities.
• To come up with a way forward.

As a research topic, the theory / literature is taken from the secondary research
methods, which referred the survey of 5 Indian cities, environment policies and the
particular data of the corresponding state government. It consists of descriptive, historic
and grounded theory research approach. It reviews the assessment of the risk and
vulnerability of the city of Guwahati and a detailed resilience strategy. The initial step in risk
assessment was identification of main hazards and stressors which have been affecting the
city of Guwahati. Using secondary data, along with literature review and results from
consultation with government departments and experts, past trends of the hazards and
stressors in terms of duration, frequency and damages are analyzed. Besides this a climate
scenario assessment is also carried out by TERI to understand the future implications of
climate change on the city. The data has been generated through above resources and
analysed to a possible outcome.

Case Studies and Analysis:

The paper talks about the city of Guwahati, which is situated at the Banks of River
Brahmaputra and as its tributaries pass through the city, it creates a great diversity. The city
is situated towards the South-eastern side of Kamrup area, encompassed by Nalbari locale in
the North, Darrang and Marigaon areas in the East, Meghalaya State in the south and
Goalpara and Barpeta areas in the West. The city is arranged on an undulating plain with
shifting elevations of 49.5 m to 55.5 m above Mean Ocean Level (MSL). It is the largest
commercial, industrial and educational center of the N-E region. The total population of
Guwahati UA/Metropolitan region is 968, 549. As per the data released by Government of
India for Census 2011.

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The growth in the city has been rapid and half hazardous. The city is prone to floods and
landslides and are located on the earthquake prone belt. The ability to control and fight the
floods is not up to the mark and that has caused the city to be vulnerable and under severe
threat. Guwahati city has encountered significant populace development in the previous
couple of decades in spite of the fact that the decadal development rate appears to have a
declining pattern throughout the years. The number of inhabitants in Guwahati city including
the urban agglomeration has seen a decadal development of 18.29% from 8, 18,809 out of
2001 to 9, 68, 549 out of 2011. Migration has been also a nonstop issue for Guwahati city in
the previous couple of decades. Financial chances alongside numerous social and political
reasons oversee movement of individuals to the city. Better urban administrations as
contrasted with other country regions, for example, training and medicinal offices likewise
are factors influencing migration. In the previous couple of years, with a quick increment in
work openings because of development of ventures and other auxiliary and tertiary
segments, migration has occurred from various urban areas and towns. As by and large these
individuals are poor or from financially in reverse foundation and thus, they tend to settle in
illicit settlements and infringements on slopes or delicate terrains.

Built expansion and reduction of basin area:

A pattern examination of the adjustment in land utilize arrive cover demonstrates an
expansion in the built-up area. It is likewise clear that there has been more spread and infill
improvement in specific pockets in the previous 5 years. The locale north to the waterway
Brahmaputra has developed as another developed zone in format for the year 2010. There
has been an extension in developed regions along NH 37 particularly close to the Maligaon
NE Railway central command and the region between Fatasil Hills and the roadway. The
territory towards the east close Noonmati and Narengi has additionally extended
considerably.

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Flooding:
Flooding occasions have turned out to be very regular in Guwahati in recent years. Despite
the fact that there is no information accessible on such occasions however amid the meeting
it was informed that Guwahati city has a commonplace circumstance of synthetic peril as the
city does not encounter typical flooding occasions but rather is portrayed by urban flooding
attributable to a number of issues like absence of seepage, unmanaged strong waste,
recovery of low lying grounds and unchecked/spontaneous urban development, slope
cutting, and so on. Another reason is the expanded power of precipitation happening in an
exceptionally brief length. In spite of the fact that there are no recorded measurements on it
yet it has been seen that recurrence of such occasions have expanded.
As per the city reports, reverse of the water from the River Brahmaputra, because of blockage
in the waste framework through Bharalu, Khanajan and Bondajan, causes surges as often as
possible each storm. Bharalu bowl is the most surge inclined region in the district. This is
presumably because the majority of the channels fall on the upstream side of River Bharalu.
The stream is at a larger amount than the level of the channels prompting the hindered outlet
of the water. Also, there is overwhelming siltation and dumping of waste in the Bharalu River.
The map demonstrates the developed region overlaid with overwhelmed territories in
Guwahati. The guide demonstrates that the stretches along the Basistha River.
What's more, the Bharalu River bowl are incessantly overflowed territories while a few fixes
close to the Brahmaputra River lie in the every so often overflowed territory. These are
likewise the thickly populated territories of the city. Once in a while overwhelmed territory
are predominantly on the edges of the city and the stretch along NH 37. The guide additionally
demonstrates the area of avalanches in the city which demonstrates that a portion of these
are close to the constantly overflowed zones.

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 Following parameters are used to determine to present and future vulnerability of city in
terms climate change impacts. They are identified as the chief pillars of Guwahati’s resilient
strategy:
• Mass Housing and planning
• City level infrastructure and services (water supply; sewerage; natural and storm
• water drainage; solid waste management; electricity; health)
• Informal settlements and slums
• Poverty and livelihood
• Ecosystems and land-use
• Emergency response capacity

Housing
The Master plan for Guwahati CMP-2025, deals with the housing sector in terms of:
• Present and future shortage in housing stock
• The composition of housing units in terms of occupancy level
• Role of private developers in tacking housing situation and shortage
• Housing for poor
It is pertinent to note that for the interval years 2011-2015 total projected requirement of
housing units has been 67,687 which is more than thrice the need for 2005.
The Master Plan proposes working of around 90909 Dwelling units in the proposed new
towns, around 131721 abiding units in the new private improvement inside Guwahati and
around 56335 staying units as infill advancement in existing local location to take into account
the housing deficit and shortage. This is likewise to be considered, that the housing shortage
anticipated to be 278965 by the year 2025 that does exclude the slum zones.
It is appropriate to include here that the city is sprawling in outside areas. A ton of these
regions going under the spread are huge characteristic highlights like common wetlands,
watershed territories; delicate hilly regions which are definitely not fit for advancement. This
turns into a critical issue in the light of the way that the city faces visit avalanches and flooding
amid stormy seasons. Inspite of the way that the building Bye-laws do exist, the
nonappearance of their notice in a vital archive like Master Plan and inside the segment on
housing is a major hole. Moreover, thinking about urban flooding as one of the impairments
for city, housing areas for future should be considered in the arranging stage as well.
In the event that a city must be slum free, the housing needs to be a considerable number of
inhabitants of the city including the poor would need to be arranged and accommodated
while designation of housing stock. In the nonappearance of such a methodology, the ghettos
would keep built in the hazardous environment and vulnerable locations. What's more,
vulnerable areas in the city, will be regularly expanding the weakness of the inhabitants to
climate related occasions and cataclysmic events. Development exercises The city isn't
considering building development that is apt for the area, for instance consideration to visit
surges, climatic conditions and so forth. promoting this sort of development would standard

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great development hones as well as decrease the basic weakness for the city to different
atmosphere related disasters and events.

Urban Planning
As indicated by city discussions, limiting development and densification is troublesome
because of the FSI (Floor Space Index) is as of now higher in Guwahati than some different
urban areas. The present foundation isn't adequate to accommodate re-densification.
Consequently, the GMDA is considering creating satellite towns which go about as counter
magnets to the Guwahati city. The Master Plan discusses 3 new towns to be created for this
reason. The satellite towns created so they draw in populace to live and work there.
Nonetheless, this moreover implies that transport planning must be a basic integral part of
this activity to guarantee better communicating outcomes (eg. presenting monorail) between
the satellite towns and GMR. Re-densification could then be endeavored along these
transport courses. GMDA is wanting to extend the metropolitan zone and distinguish satellite
townships for private buildings as well as for business exercises to decrease the
communication pressure on the existing transport framework.

Ecosystem and Land use:

Outside variables, for example, improvement close to Meghalaya outskirt have additionally
prompted change in the geology. There are flesh floods close to agricultural university area.
A considerable measure of enterprises, schools, universities and so on have been built along
the outskirt which not just danger nature of the city (cutting of hills is a noteworthy issue) by
disturbing and causing floods, siltation, air contamination; but on the other hand are putting
pressure on the infrastructure and services of the city as this improvement is relying upon
Guwahati city for its necessity.
The area covered by hills is owned by the state government (around 70%) and the rest is
forest area (~20%) or owned by genuine land owners (10%). Thus, the area falls under the
jurisdiction of District administration and the urban local bodies of Guwahati can’t take any
regulatory actions against it. A high-level committee has been established within GDD to
recommend solutions on the illegal encroachment of these hill areas.
Because of siltation, the bed level of waterway Bharalu has impressively risen. A noteworthy
information of the waste released from the city has straightforwardly dumped in this
waterway. Squander water from families, business and business foundations, little and
medium enterprises additionally closes
up in Bharalu River which gets released in the Brahmaputra. Indeed, even in the upper
reaches, the refinery squander water from the Indian Oil Corporation Refinery at Noonmati
streams specifically to the stream (CDP). This has brought about pollution of the water
nature of the waterway and it has been lessened to a deplete. With stifling of the regular
waste, the city has turned out to be more inclined to water logging and urban flooding.
Vegetation health
Normalized difference vegetation Index (NDVI) has been utilized as a pointer of vegetation
health. NDVI is utilizing the data assembled by the satellite sensors in close infrared and red
wavelength. Being standardized in nature, it can catch the variety in the vegetation force
and the wellbeing. The temporal vegetation index maps uncover that the degree of
vegetation cover (i.e. timberland) has diminished over the period everywhere throughout

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the city region. The energy (vegetation well-being) has been corrupted over the examination
time frame. The leftovers of sound vegetation have stayed in the southern piece of the
Guwahati township.

Water Supply:
35% of the city is covered by piped water supply. (Master Plan 2025) The potable water
generation capacity in Guwahati is 98 MLD however; water produced is only 78 MLD as
against the current demand for 132 MLD. The projected demand for the city by the year
2025 is estimated to be 425 MLD.As per the GMDA figures,63.5% of the needed water is
extracted from ground in the form of hand pumps, tube wells and wells in GMA
(Carrying Capacity Based Urban Development Regulations, Guwahati, 2011).
The major industries including the IOC’s Oil refinery, The Railways, Airport and defence
establishment at Guwahati collect treat and supply water for their own requirement on
their own, River Brahmaputra being their major source. The Master Plan proposes that all
the industries in future would have to manage the water collection treatment and supply on
their own without any help with the Municipal Corporation. Only one water supply project
worth Rs. 280 crores (90% funding from Centre) was sanctioned for financial
support under JnNURM under water supply sector. This project covered the West Guwahati
region. Besides this, the South-Central Guwahati and North Guwahati are to be covered by
water supply schemes by JICA finding.
The real ventures including the IOC's Oil refinery, The Railways, Airport and safeguard
foundation at Guwahati collect treat and supply water for their own necessity all alone,
River Brahmaputra being their significant source. The Master Plan recommends that every
one of the ventures in future would need to deal with the water gathering treatment and
supply individually with no assistance with the Municipal Corporation. Just a single water
supply venture worth Rs. 280 crores (90% subsidizing from Center) was endorsed for
financial support under JnNURM submerged supply area. This undertaking secured the West
Guwahati locale. Other than this, the South-Central Guwahati and North Guwahati are to be
secured by water supply conspires by JICA finding. The city development plan (CDP) informs
that the water treatment plants are running below their capacities,

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currently at an average of 50% their capacity. The transmission losses are estimated to be as
high as 40%. There is a grave need to augment present capacity, maintain and refurbish the
old treatment plants particularly the Panbazaar treatment plant which has expired its design
life. The water quality is poor along its flow within the city. Also, in the absence of a sewage
system at place in the city, the municipal waste and waste from the oil refinery is discharged
directly into the river leading to high turbidity, contamination. The rivers like Bharalu and
Deepar Bil (RAMSAR site) are under the threat of degradation due to this.
The Master Plan stipulates setting up of a sewerage system in the towns, including a system
for the proposed new towns as an extension to the Guwahati city limits. The CDP highlights
that unplanned urban development has led to the formation of stagnant pools of waste water
that cause spread of diseases. The plan calls for development of sewerage and drainage
system including waste treatment facility. The system becomes very crucial as an
infrastructure requirement because frequent flooding and water logging of the city due to
floods. The Master Plans estimates a generation of 225 MLD of waste water from Guwahati
city and 107.2 MLD for proposed new towns. The CDP which is an older document calls for
requirement of Rs 300.98 Crores for an integrated sewerage and sanitation system with
additional allocation requirement of Rs 5 Crores for creating awareness. The CDP suggests a
three phased approach where it proposes sewerage collection system to be developed in
short term (1-3 years), augmenting sewerage coverage as a medium-term measure (2-5 years)
and development of tertiary treatment and recycling facilities as a long-term measure (5-10
years). The city does not have a sewerage system at place. The city is dependent on the septic
tank system the effluent is released untreated into the nearby drains and low-lying areas. The
industrial waste water is also being released in the river and its tributaries untreated. The
undulating and bowl-shaped topography makes it all the more important to have proper
drainage, sewerage and stormwater system at place to avoid accumulation of water and
associated hazards. The subsoil water table is very high in many areas in the city, leading to
non-functional soak pits.
Health:
Guwahati is highly prone to water logging owing to its topography, climatic conditions and
lack of adequate sanitation & drainage infrastructure. As a result, the city faces high risks
from diseases caused by contaminated drinking water and vectors.
With respect to the health care set-up in the city, at present there are 4 Government
hospitals, which house about 2430 beds. Apart from this there are 23 non-government/
private hospitals (with 1724 beds) and 24 non-government/ private nursing homes (with
696 beds). Moreover, there are 8 other government run hospitals/ medical units, 20 Urban
Health Centers (UHCs, established under the NRHM) and numerous PHCs (Primary Health
care Centers). As a result, availability of health care infrastructure in terms of beds is
reasonably good. However, the accessibility of this infrastructure is not adequate as there is
geographical disparity in their distribution as most of these hospitals are located in the core
of the city (source: Master Plan for Guwahati Metropolitan Area 2025). In order to manage
emergency situations like outbreak of diseases/ epidemics in the wake of disasters, medical
response has been identified as one of the Emergency Support Functions (ESF-4) under the
Kamrup Metropolitan District Disaster Management Plan. The Plan defines Standard
Operational Procedures (SOP) to be followed for emergency response. The office of the
Joint Director, Health Services (Kamrup Metropolitan District) (JD-H) is the nodal agency for

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carrying out ESF-4 functions in coordination with GMC, Blood banks, Indian Red Cross
Society, private nursing homes, NSS, Rotary Club, Lions Club, Ambulance Services and
medicine stockiest. Apart from this, two rapid response medical relief teams have been
formed in the District Head quarter (D.C. Office) and one 24 hrs.

City resilience strategy:

The resilience strategy for the city of Guwahati is essentially an integrated plan for the
development of three major components:
• Housing
• Ecologically sensitive urban planning
• Urban infrastructure and services

Housing and buildings:

No construction should be allowed on slopes greater than 20% (Steep slopes). Steep slopes8
are most unstable and if disturbed are less forgiving of construction errors. This causes
damage not just in the vicinity but lead to soil erosion, trigger landslides and hampering the
development in the valley. While constructing on slopes, certain measures like enforcing
proper roads layout; establishing contours and gradients; minimising the amount of cuts and
fills; retaining natural vegetation; phased land clearing; proper storm water drainage
management plan should be adopted. As per soil erosion statistics quoted in the consultation
meeting held in Guwahati on 20th Dec, 2013, an estimated5-10 ton/ha/year is lost as soil
erosion. Some measures to counter this could be adopted; Collect drainage water runoff from
construction areas and material storage sites; Construct temporary drainage channels,

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perimeter swales; Construct Sedimentation basin. Basements should not be allowed in any
new construction happening in any of the area most prone to flooding.
It is strongly recommended to reduce hard paving on site to reduce stormwater runoff
attenuation and infiltration and reduce Heat Island Effect. It is important to ensure that the
storm water management system is based on the principles of Sustainable Urban Drainage
Systems (SUDS).
Master Plan for GMA 2025 states housing shortage of 19,802 dwelling units in 2005 and likely
to increase to 2,78,965 dwelling units. A multi-pronged approach is proposed with
components like upgradation of slums on government land, provision of at least 30% of total
housing in new housing schemes for one room, part of which will go to the urban poor. Night
shelters are also proposed as part of new development schemes to cater to the migrants.

Ecologically Sensitive Urban Planning

Considering the present situation of encroachment and construction on hills and natural
wetlands, beside the urban sprawl; there is acute need to revisit the planning practices
adopted in the city. Urban planning practices for the future would have major role to play in
building resilience of the city to increased temperature, extreme rainfall events and overall
reduced rainfall.
Revisiting the land-use plan of the city to consider locating areas fit for construction and
development activities and identifying ecologically sensitive hot spots for conservation and
protection. Bringing in sustainability parameters in the planning for the three proposed
satellite towns which are envisioned to act as counter magnets to the parent city of Guwahati.
Simultaneously plan for proper transport network and public transport/mass transport
system to enable people to commute between these centers. This will help indecongesting
Guwahati and would help in reduction of illegal encroachment. Creating a mechanism for
monitoring of compliance of the development/master plan of the city so that the
development follows the Master Plan and not vice versa. GMC and GMDA should take into
account the location of the water bodies, green/ open areas, parks, etc. while allocation of
land uses. These areas should ideally be marked for low built/ no development zones with
green/ recreational uses for conservation of natural ecosystems. It is important to protect hill
and natural wetland areas and regulate conversion of green fields, especially in case of
Guwahati as they also act as buffers for flood management. Planting of high water
requirement vegetation in and near the low lying areas has been an effective measure to
minimize water logging occurring as an aftermath of floods. The option could be explored
after making appropriate analysis of its feasibility in Guwahati’s case. In Gorakhpur city, under
the resilience building activities a project on development of peri urban agriculture has been
explored to act as the buffer for urban flooding. Similar interventions could be explored for
specific locations within the city of Guwahati. Proper land use planning integrated with a
scientifically designed sewerage /drainage system and solid waste management system
would reduce the city’s vulnerability immensely. Integration of future climate projections and
climate resilience strategy into the Master Plan of the city would enable implementation of
the strategy proposed and also help build the resilience of the city. It will also enable climate
planning in becoming a regular feature in the subsequent plans for the city. It was suggested
during the city consultation that ward level resilience planning should also be attempted for

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Guwahati city like the other city of Gorakhpur. Focusing on ward level requirement would not
only tackle the problem at grass root level, but would also have a positive effect on the
community with increased sense of ownership.
A proper assessment of biodiversity in the city should be carried out in order to understand
the impacts of climate change and climate variability on biodiversity. There is also a need to
carry an assessment of existing land use pressures on biodiversity, such as the extent and
level of fragmentation between vegetation communities, and identifying areas that will
provide climatically suitable habitat for these species after considering the current climate
trends as well as future climate projections. Special attention should be taken for biodiversity
hotspots and protected areas for understanding stresses and taking measures to reduce these
stresses.

Water Supply:
Climate projections indicate increased temperature for the city of Guwahati as one of the
consequences of climate change. This might have impact on the availability of water. The
major recommendations for improving the present water supply systems are as follows:
Augment the piped water supply network in the city:
The city must consider provision of piped water supply in phased manner to the entire city.
The proposed modernised system with 24X7 metered water supply that is being developed
in the city must see to ensure the following:
— Efficient supply
— Good quality of water
— Proper metering system and bill collection system at place
A centralized monitoring system to monitor the quality and efficiency of water supply should
be created in the city. The system should be connected to a data base management system
which is linked to the service level benchmarks proposed by the Ministry of Urban
Development, Government of India.
The city is in the process of constituting a Jal Board which will be responsible for planning
design construction, operations and maintenance of the water supply system in the city.13
The Jal Board will be a centralised agency and should be vested with the role to ensure that
all the above recommendations are complied with.

Augment the water treatment capacity of the city:

The city’s treatment capacity is only 78 MLD as compared to the current demand of 132 MLD,
whereas the future demand projection for the year 2025 is 425 MLD. There is, therefore an
urgent need to augment present capacity, maintain and refurbish the old treatment plants
particularly the Panbazaar treatment plant which has expired its design life.

Rainwater harvesting:
TERI recommends, mandating rain water harvesting for storage purposes in the city. Public
buildings and large industrial establishment should be encouraged to store and use the rain
water. For recharge purpose of rain water, a feasibility study ascertaining the suitable pockets
of land within the city would be beneficial. These measures would also reduce dependence
of the city on Brahmaputra River for its water requirements.

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Ground water withdrawal:
It is recommended that the city government should impose a ban on unauthorized withdrawal
of ground water in the city.
The city government should also demarcate suitable and safe ground water withdrawal sites
within the city and should develop a regulating mechanism wherein strict quality control is
practiced for using the water after proper treatment.
For using ground water for supply of water to the city, the Jal Board could assist the
Corporation to do quality monitoring and assessments on specific locations of bulk
withdrawal of water for the purpose of supply and also at certain destination locations. This
would help locate flaws in the supply system if any that cause health-hazards. In parallel to
this the GWD could help regular monitoring of ground water quality and quantity from various
locations in the city. For places where the municipal supply is not available and individual
boring is being carried out, water quality should be tested at destinations itself, for example
from various residential colonies, slums, LIG locations etc.

Learnings:
The detailed analysis report shows the reasons of disasters and unplanned growth of the city
through the parameters. Mainly, the resilience is depended on the small steps towards
awareness and adaption to the situations, rather then a big stripe towards it. It is continuous
process which happens over years and should be in long term plans. Rapid urban growth has
resulted into the unstable ecology and it has back fired with disasters and calamities that have
become man made rather than a natural one. Resilience, in a way is adaption to the situations
and not to control them. For example, the hard payment has stopped the rain water flow to
below ground floor. This causes rise in water level on the surface we face flood like situations
in monsoons and the ground water level has reduced, and water supply shortage becomes
prominent. Resilience strategies of Guwahati has addressed those issues and has worked
towards solving them through different parameters.

A way forward:
The study shows that the existing vulnerabilities are too strong for the city and addressing
these now, will also help in building resilience in the long run. The city resilience strategy has
prioritized some sectors for undertaking the outlined actions. It is now pertinent that the city
formally adopts some of the recommendations made by TERI and the various departments
adopt the sector specific action points suggested by TERI. The state government could support
some of the suggested adaptation strategies and projects within their existing schemes and
resources. A mainstreaming plan has been provided by TERI to implement the sectoral
strategies. The resilience strategy also highlights the existing windows through which the city
can initiate climate action immediately, without waiting for a mandate or a policy from the
state or the national government. However, since climate resilience is closely related to the
developmental goals and priorities of the city, a policy support from the state and national
government will not only ensure sustainability of the initiative but will also open up new
avenues for channelizing these strategies towards implementable actions. Once the city starts
implementing these pilot strategies, in the long run, learnings derived from these experiences
will feed into the existing system. This would lead to identification of missing regulations and

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institutional setups at various levels of the government and pave a new path for reforms
resulting in initiation of new laws and regulations to support climate resilience.

Schedule:

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Acknowledgement:

This article could not have been fulfilled without the support of IAPNU, Prof. Mansee bal,
Prof. Jitendra Meghani and Prof. Sneha Ramani, the survey & research done by Rockerfeller
group (the 100 resilient cities).

References:

foundation, R. (n.d.). 100 resilient cities. Retrieved from http://www.100resilientcities.org/:

http://www.100resilientcities.org/

GMDA. (1996). Urban Development and Plan Formulation and Implementation (UDPFI). guawahati:
Ministry of Urban Affairs & Employment.

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