The Times of India 02.09.2010
Kolkata on brink of civic disaster: World
Bank study
KOLKATA: The unplanned and unchecked real estate growth on EM Bypass and its adjoining areas, sans basic civic amenities, could spell disaster across the city, says a World Bank report submitted to the state government.
It outlines how climate change and global warming are pushing these areas "to the brink of civic disaster".
This first-of-its-kind study was conducted in some of the major cities in the country and identified Kolkata's environment as the most vulnerable and has a grim forecast for the Kolkata of 2050.
The study warns that those who have either bought or plan to buy homes along EM Bypass and other areas of the eastern fringes, like Tiljala, Topsia, Tangra and Pagladanga (Wards 58, 59, 65, 66) could be the worst hit by environmental degradation because of rapid real estate growth sans a matching improvement in civic amenities.
State chief environment officer Debal Roy said the World Bank study factored in Kolkata's social, economic and environmental circumstances. While identifying areas vulnerable to climate change, the team considered the state of a locality's drainage and sewerage systems and its hygiene standards. They were alarmed to find that ponds in eastern fringes are being filled up to make way for buildings that are being constructed in an unplanned manner in an area without a proper drainage system. Repeated waterlogging and accumulation of garbage is slowly degrading the environment.
Based on the report, the environment department is framing a new state action plan on climate change, Roy said. The department has been working on these lines for some time and had come out with a report a few years ago on ways to improve conditions in areas like Tiljala and Topsia. It recently decided to make it mandatory for billboards to be solar-powered.
Mayor Sovan Chatterjee said Kolkata Municipal Corporation would implement recommendations to improve the environment and include these measures in its own environment protection plan.
The World Bank had earlier sanctioned Rs 347 crore for development of Bengal's coastal areas after the state submitted an integrated coastal zone management plan. The environment department is preparing poverty alleviation and skill development schemes for the coastal population. The government has taken an initiative on energy conservation, particularly for high-rise and multi-storied buildings in the hospitality sector.
