GMC to bar e-rickshaws from major Guwahati roads, unregistered vehicles to be seized

On the last day of 2025, the Mayor of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) on Tuesday outlined the civic body’s major achievements over the past year and presented an ambitious roadmap for 2026, with a strong focus on cleanliness, infrastructure development, revenue mobilisation, and regulatory reforms.

Addressing a press conference, the Mayor thanked the residents of Guwahati for the city securing the 44th rank in the national Swachhata survey, attributing the achievement largely to public cooperation and improved civic participation.

Detailing the city’s solid waste management system, the Mayor said Guwahati currently disposes of around 408 tonnes of waste daily, while nearly 700 tonnes of garbage are collected every day across the city. Two waste processing stations have been established at Purabi Dairy, and a concrete plan has been prepared for the complete clearance of around 12 lakh tonnes of legacy waste identified at the old dumping ground. At the new dumping ground, nearly 3 lakh tonnes of waste have already been disposed of.

To strengthen waste segregation and recycling, two Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) have been set up at Adabari and Fatasil Bazar, where dry waste is processed after segregation.

The Mayor said GMC has undertaken footpath beautification works in several parts of the city based on recommendations from town planning authorities, with similar beautification planned in front of the new Commissioner’s Office.

Highlighting infrastructure upgrades, he said 34,250 street lights have been installed across Guwahati at a cost of ₹80 crore. The civic body has also procured four water-sprinkling vehicles and placed orders for 250 garbage collection vehicles to further improve sanitation services.

To address water scarcity, arrangements are being made through the Jal Board to supply water in areas lacking regular access. GMC has also been providing free water supply during religious events. The Mayor said applications have been received from around 1,800 religious institutions, of which nearly 200 have already been provided water connections.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Mayor announced that development works worth ₹132 crore will commence from the beginning of the year. Under the plan, street lights worth ₹10 lakh will be installed in each ward, community halls will be constructed, and ₹40 lakh per ward will be allocated for construction and improvement of local roads.

He also informed that cleaning and repair work has been initiated for 559 small and large drains across the city, while GMC will extend support to households adopting doorstep waste disposal and segregation systems.

On the revenue front, the Mayor said GMC collected ₹70 crore in taxes in 2025. Special tax collection camps generated ₹4 crore within a month, prompting the civic body to extend the camps for another month. He added that around ₹1,800 crore has been spent on drainage works in Guwahati so far.

Addressing traffic and regulatory issues, the Mayor announced that battery-operated e-rickshaws will not be allowed to operate on major city roads. GMC will soon introduce stricter rules, and any battery-operated rickshaw found operating without a valid GMC registration number will be seized.

The press conference underlined GMC’s emphasis on cleanliness, infrastructure expansion, fiscal discipline, and citizen-centric governance as Guwahati prepares to enter 2026.