Ahmedabad tops UNs green list
Turnaround After 03 Most Polluted Tag …….Paul John
Ahmedabad: In 2003, the Central Pollution Control Board gave Ahmedabad the ignominious tag of being the most polluted city in the country, with dangerous levels of lead and sulphur found in the air.
Six years on, the city has turned a full circle. Today, Ahmedabad leads 15 other cities in the country, including Delhi, in promoting the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)s theme of Green CitiesPlan for the Planet. Another Gujarat city, Jamnagar is ranked seventh.
In 2005, Ahmedabad signed the United Nations Urban Environmental Accord (UEA) with 16 other Indian cities to implement 29 agendas in seven years to protect precious natural resources. The city has so far implemented 20 agendas, way ahead of other cities, says a study by International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) for UNEP.
For the first time, were conducting a tree audit to verify aspects like survival rate of trees. Greening the city is top priority. We plan to plant two lakh saplings this year, said IP Gautam, commissioner of AMC.
Among the measures implemented are greenhouse gas reduction, establishing an Air Quality Index (AQI), putting in place systems to meet 10% of the citys energy needs through renewable resources, efforts to reduce electricity consumption, waste reduction, creating of environmentally beneficial jobs in slums and BRTS.
Despite having one of the highest electricity consumption rates and in the absence of an energy policy, the AMC has done an energy audit, begun using energy efficient street lights and installed energy efficient pumps in sewerage and water distribution stations.
Going Green
UNEP ranking of cities for implementing environment friendly systems
City Rank
Ahmedabad 1
Hyderabad 2
Bhopal 3
Gwalior 4
Bhilai 4
Kota 5
Lucknow 6
Jamnagar 7
Delhi 7
Aligarh 8
Brownie points for:
* No power shortage & bid to reduce consumption
* Projects for sustainability, climate change
* Innovative use of solid waste
* Projects to improve green cover
* Strengthening the public transport system
* Lessened gap between water demand and supply