PRAGATI-50 and Guwahati cleanliness: APSC Current Affairs Notes and MCQs

PRAGATI-50 and Guwahati’s Clean-City Challenge

Current Context (The Trigger)

• New initiative: PRAGATI-50 aims to develop 50 cities in 24 States as clean cities that others can copy.
• Framework: It works under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0. Its focus areas are visible cleanliness, solid waste, used water, sanitation and citizen participation.
• Method: The programme plans to use technology for monitoring, set targets that can be measured and review progress at regular intervals. The writer says this is different from relying only on cleanliness campaigns.
• Guwahati’s rank: In Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, Guwahati rose from 402nd to 44th in its population category.
• Recognition: The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs named the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) a “Promising Swachh Shehar of Assam”.
• Waste load: The GMC says the city produces about 550 tonnes of solid waste a day.
• Segregation gap: About 95 per cent of communities reportedly took part in a cleanliness contest across the city. Yet the GMC found that roughly half of all households actually segregate their waste.

Core Concepts & Static GK

• Solid-waste chain: Good waste management means segregation, collection, transport, processing and scientific disposal. Sweeping roads is only the first step.
• Used water: Used-water management means collecting and treating sewage and other wastewater, so that untreated water does not pollute rivers and wetlands.
• Drains and garbage: Plastic bags and other waste that enter drains block the flow of rainwater. Careless dumping can also pollute water bodies and low-lying parts of the city.
• Four-stream segregation: The Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 make segregation at source into wet, dry, sanitary and special care waste mandatory.
• Bulk waste generator: Under the 2026 Rules, an entity qualifies on any one of three tests. It produces 100 kg or more of waste a day. It uses 40,000 litres or more of water a day. Or it has a floor area of 20,000 square metres or more.
• Cooperative approach: The article notes that national frameworks work only when wards, neighbourhoods and households act on them.

Constitutional & Legal Framework

• 74th Amendment: The Constitution (74th Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force on 1 June 1993. It inserted Part IXA on Municipalities, covering Articles 243P to 243ZG.
• Twelfth Schedule: This Schedule lists 18 functions for municipalities and is linked to Article 243W.
• Entry 6: It reads “Public health, sanitation conservancy and solid waste management”. So garbage handling is a municipal function under the Constitution.
• Types of bodies: Article 243Q provides for Nagar Panchayats for transitional areas, Municipal Councils for smaller urban areas and Municipal Corporations for larger urban areas.
• Finance: Under Article 243Y, the State Finance Commission set up under Article 243-I also reviews the financial position of municipalities.
• Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026: They take effect from 1 April 2026 and replace the 2016 Rules. They are framed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Institutional Machinery

• Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs: Union Minister Manohar Lal launched PRAGATI-50 in New Delhi on 29 September 2026.
• Review meetings: The Minister will chair review meetings every two months. Ministry officers will be assigned to individual cities for regular supervision and support.
• Digital review: A digital review system for the 50 cities has been set up on the Swachhatam Portal.
• Guwahati Municipal Corporation: The GMC sweeps streets and collects waste from every house across its 60 wards. NGOs handle the first stage of collection.

Schemes & Initiatives

• SBM-Urban 2.0: Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban on 1 October 2021. Its goal is to make cities garbage-free.
• Outlay: SBM-Urban 2.0 received a fresh allocation of Rs 1,41,600 crore at its launch.
• City selection: The 50 cities were chosen for their economic, cultural, heritage, pilgrimage, tourism and administrative importance. Guwahati is reported to be one of them.
• Related launches: The same event launched a Swachh Bharat Test Bed and Innovation Centre at Durgapur with CSIR-CMERI (Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute). A WhatsApp channel for citizens to register sanitation complaints was also started.
• Smart City link: The article says Guwahati’s Smart City vision accepted that storm-water drains misused for dumping must be transformed.

Reports, Indices & Data

• Category rank: Guwahati ranked 44th of 95 cities in the 3 to 10 lakh population category in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25.
• Score: Guwahati scored 8,563 points. The category topper, Mira-Bhayandar, scored 11,652.
• Garbage Free City: Guwahati received a Garbage Free City One Star rating.
• Earlier rank: Guwahati had ranked 356 in Swachh Survekshan 2020.

Assam & Northeast Linkages

• Setting: Hills, wetlands and the Brahmaputra ring the city of Guwahati. The writer says these are central to keeping the city ecologically safe.
• Dumpsite: A 2021 Down To Earth report said more than 85 per cent of the city’s waste went to the Boragaon dumpsite.
• Compost plant: A 50 tonnes-per-day windrow compost plant has worked at Boragaon since 2010.
• Promising Swachh Shehar: Guwahati and North Lakhimpur shared the title for Assam.
• Assam cities: Six Assam cities received ODF++ (Open Defecation Free Plus Plus) certification in the same survey round.

Introduction

Guwahati climbed from 402nd to 44th in its category in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25. Yet the city still produces about 550 tonnes of solid waste a day. PRAGATI-50 now covers 50 cities in 24 States. The question is whether Guwahati can turn a survey success into a daily habit. For a city of hills, wetlands and the Brahmaputra, clean streets are also a flood, health and ecology issue.

Why Waste Is a Governance Problem in Guwahati

• Waste and floods: Plastic and other waste in drains block rainwater flow. This links garbage directly to urban flooding in Guwahati.
• Fragile geography: Hills, wetlands and the river make careless dumping costly for the city’s ecology. Waste dumped anywhere can pollute ponds, wetlands and low-lying localities.
• Heavy daily load: About 550 tonnes of waste a day needs a full chain of collection, transport, processing and disposal.
• Dumpsite dependence: In 2021, more than 85 per cent of the city’s waste went to the Boragaon dumpsite. Heavy dependence on one site increases risk for nearby residents and water bodies.
• Public health: The writer links waste to public health and to how well people live in the city. Open dumping and clogged drains can spread disease.
• Constitutional duty: Entry 6 of the Twelfth Schedule makes sanitation and solid waste management a municipal function. The GMC is therefore the first responsible body.

What PRAGATI-50 Offers

• Clear scope: The initiative covers visible cleanliness, solid waste, used water, sanitation and citizen participation. This goes beyond sweeping roads.
• Measurable targets: The programme uses technology for monitoring and sets targets that can be measured. Cleanliness is judged on results, not on appearance.
• High-level review: The Union Minister chairs review meetings every two months. Regular top-level attention keeps cities under pressure to deliver.
• Handholding: Ministry officers are assigned to individual cities. This gives each selected city direct supervision and support.
• Citizen channel: A WhatsApp channel lets citizens register sanitation complaints. It can feed ward-level problems into the review system.
• Role-model effect: The 50 cities are meant to be examples for others. Success in Guwahati can guide other cities of the Northeast.

Guwahati’s Progress and Gaps

• Ranking jump: The move from 402nd to 44th shows that sustained civic work can bring results. The GMC also earned the “Promising Swachh Shehar of Assam” title.
• Survey versus daily life: The writer warns that cleanliness must become a permanent feature of the city. It should not show up mainly at the time of surveys or special drives.
• Segregation gap: About 95 per cent of communities joined a cleanliness competition, but only about half of households segregate waste. Participation has not yet become behaviour.
• Collection model: The GMC runs door-to-door collection and street sweeping in 60 wards, with NGOs doing primary collection. Quality depends on how well these NGOs are supervised.
• Limited star rating: Guwahati holds a Garbage Free City One Star rating. The city has room to move up the star ladder.
• Processing gap: In 2021, Down To Earth reported a compost plant of 50 tonnes a day at Boragaon. That was small against about 550 tonnes of waste generated daily.

Challenges

• Behaviour change: Households must segregate every morning, not only during drives. Without this, processing plants receive mixed waste.
• Drain misuse: Storm-water drains have been used for dumping, which the city’s Smart City vision itself acknowledged. Clogged drains worsen monsoon flooding.
• Weak processing capacity: The Smart City vision also called for stronger treatment infrastructure for solid waste and sanitation. Waste that is not processed ends up at the dumpsite.
• Uneven monitoring: Cities often judge cleanliness by the look of main roads. Markets, neighbourhoods and dumping hotspots need continuous checks.
• Environmental pressure: Wetlands, hills and the Brahmaputra face harm from careless dumping. Cleaning one area should not push the problem into another.
• Campaign fatigue: The writer warns against treating PRAGATI-50 as one more short-term campaign. A lasting culture of cleanliness needs steady enforcement over years.
• Commercial waste: Shops and markets produce large amounts of food and vegetable waste. Such bulk generators now have clear duties under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026.

Way Ahead

• Enforce segregation: The GMC should apply the four-stream segregation of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 ward by ward. Wet, dry, sanitary and special care waste must be separated at source.
• Track bulk generators: The GMC should register large markets and establishments that meet the bulk-generator test. They must process wet waste on site where possible, or obtain an extended bulk waste generator responsibility certificate.
• Monitor continuously: The city should use technology to track neighbourhoods, markets, drains, collection points and dumping spots. PRAGATI-50 reviews can use this data.
• Join drains and waste: Drain cleaning and garbage collection should be planned together. This reduces blocked drains before the monsoon.
• Build processing capacity: The GMC and Assam’s Housing and Urban Affairs Department should expand composting and treatment. This would cut the city’s dependence on the Boragaon dumpsite.
• Involve citizens: Resident groups, shopkeepers and market associations should take responsibility for shop frontages and food waste. The PRAGATI-50 WhatsApp complaint channel can support this.
• Protect ecology: Cleanliness plans should treat wetlands, hills and the Brahmaputra as part of the city’s ecological safety.

Conclusion

PRAGATI-50 gives Guwahati a national framework with targets and regular reviews. The city’s real test is daily behaviour in every ward, household and market. A better rank is a start, but lasting cleanliness will depend on segregation, working drains and processing capacity.