The Green March
The state’s comprehensive environment protection plan is showing results on the ground
The grass certainly looks greener in West Bengal, a state with about 15 per cent (12,995 sq. km) of the geographical area (88,752 sq. km) under forest cover. An afforestation drive launched this year, following the loss of a dozen lives from lightning strikes, includes the planting of 5,000 coconut trees in each district over the next 12 months. Hoping to inculcate the green spirit among children, under the ‘Sabujsree’ scheme, each newborn is gifted a sapling—over 10 million plants have been distributed already.
Towards water conservation, 43 rainwater harvesting schemes have been started in Bankura and Purulia to create irrigation potential for about 1,700 hectares. Over 29,000 water bodies were recharged across Bengal under the ‘Jal Dharo Jal Bharo’ scheme. A project is underway to stop river bank erosion along 400 km. Recently, the state set up a quasi-judicial committee to take penal action against illegal reclamation of wetlands. Plans have been drawn to protect the East Kolkata Wetland, spread over 12,500 hectares, from rampant urbanisation.
To battle air pollution, the government is gradually replacing its petrol and diesel vehicles with CNG and battery-operated ones. Forty state-run
CNG inter-city buses began operations in February 2019. “Eighty electric buses, each costing about Rs 80 lakh, are running in Kolkata. These were gifted by the environment department,” says Niraj Singhal, member secretary,
State Environment Impact Assessment Authority. The government has an ambitious plan to convert Kolkata’s entire public bus fleet to CNG/electric by 2030 as well as launch 300 batteryoperated buses in the next one year. ■