IE : City coastline dying, air pollution on the rise : Sept 12, 2007
City coastline dying, air pollution on the rise: Report
Express News Service
Mumbai, September 11: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has
plunged into action to tackle the issue of global warming by undertaking a
baseline survey of green house gas emissions, however, it still has to
tackle existing issues like dying coastline, polluted lakes, increasing air
pollution and development of open space. The civic body also lacks a strong
environment management strategy and action plan, states report.
The annual environment status report for the year 2006-07 states the
environmental planning in terms of wetland, freshwater lakes, air pollution,
drinking water quality, development of open space and global warming as the
biggest challenges in front of Mumbai and the BMC. The report states: City’s
26 km of coast line ‘an integral part of Mumbaikar’s life’ is dying due to
uncontrolled discharge of sewage, throwing of garbage, indiscriminate
reclamation and many other manmade invasion are hastening the decay.
However, overlooking these issues, the BMC has taken the task of resolving
larger issues like global warming.
Rakesh Kumar, a scientist and head of National Environmental Engineering
Research Institute agrees as he says, “Mumbai is a coastal city and is at
higher risk of rising sea level due to global warming. We have several
properties at the sea front but the beaches are not protected they are at
risk. ” Another, worrying factor for the metropolis is that of air
pollution. With a daily increase of 384 vehicles in the city, the ambient
air quality levels of Suspended Particulate Matters (SPM), Respirable
Suspended Particulates (RSP) and Oxides of Nitrogen (NoX) has exceeded in
the city compared to the air quality standards in last year. Municipal
commissioner, Jairaj Phatak himself has said that with a total of 15.33 lakh
vehicles plying on city roads, traffic congestion and air pollution has
become a contentious issue.
The report is an annual exercise by the BMC, however, after its release, not
much attention is paid to the facts and figures. Deputy municipal
commissioner (environment and solid waste management), R R Markandeya,
agreed that the issue of environment was not paid enough attention by the
BMC. “Environment is a large issue and it has not been addressed in all
aspects. We have initiated certain measures but they have not been able to
cover the entire city,” he said.
However, Additional Municipal Commissioner (city) RA Rajeev said that the
BMC is now getting active on the environment front. He said that global
warming is a reality and the city has awakened to this fact. “The baseline
survey on green house gas emission will help us identify the pollutants
released in the atmosphere,” he said. While the main aim of the BMC is to
reduce the green house gas, it is also planning to lay stake on the carbon
credits. “If the data on emissions and the strategies help us in getting
carbon credit, we will definitely try,”he said.
However, as the report rightly points out, the BMC is in the need of much
basic ‘environmental planning’. The Metropolitan Environmental Improvement
Programme sponsored by World Bank had suggested adopting an ‘environmental
management strategy and action plan’, but the BMC still has to work on it.
The report suggests that, ‘in the next development plan, the environmental
considerations in respect of all kinds of development should be in-built’.
Rajeev said once the baseline survey results are known, the BMC can make
strategies and action plan which will be incorporated in the DP.
Publication : IE; Section : News; Pg :3; Date : 12/9/07
URL : http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=255910