Guwahati will, from now on, no longer scrape the sky. And Assam’s real-estate developers are thoroughly disappointed. Chief minister Tarun Gogoi gave them a rude shock when he took personal initiative to ban all up-coming high-rise buildings. “Unchecked growth of high-rise buildings was adversely affecting the environment and would have posed a major hazard in a highly earthquake-prone area like Guwahati. Moreover, the water table was being steadily depleted due to rampant sinking of tube wells,” Gogoi said.
The chief minister has now directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) to conduct a thorough study of the entire city. Says GMDA vice-chairman M.G.V.K. Bhanu: “All aspects like provision for proper approach roads, garbage disposal, car parking will be studied and only then permission will be given for any new construction.”