Green City mission: Opportunities and agenda for action

Venue: Kolkata, West Bengal 

Date: December 8, 2018

The Sustainable Buildings and Habitat team convened regulators, urban local bodies, academia and urban practitioners from West Bengal in Kolkata at a workshop titled 'Green City Mission: Opportunities and agenda for action'.

Around 105 professionals were sensitized on the challenges faced by West Bengal in the wake of climate change and its increasing vulnerability to disasters such as flooding and cyclones. Kolkata is the world's third most at-risk city from flooding, witnessed up-to 12 deg C temperature rise due to urban heat island effect, has only 0.67 sqm of green space per capita and recently experienced worst air quality at par with Delhi's. The participants were engaged on how the ongoing Green City Mission can be leveraged to take immediate action against these issues.

A roadmap for planning and action on adaptation was discussed by Mr. Rajneesh Sareen, Programme Director, Sustainable Buildings and Habitat team at CSE. It included a checklist for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water and waste management, circular economy, etc. to be incorporated in building rules. A session on sustainable urban transport by Ms. AnumitaRoychowdhury, Executive Director, CSE provided key requisites for reinventing local mobility curbing air pollution to a good extent.

Mr. K.K. Joadder, Former Chief Planner, TCPO, MoHUA, Mr. DebadityaKumer, Chief Planner, WB HIDCO, Mr. SaibalThakurata, Chief Town Planner, Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs, Dr. Joy Sen, HOD of Architecture and Regional Planning, IIT Kharagpur, Mr. Chandan Banerjee, Executive Engineer, Green City Mission, Mr. C.S Pradeep Kumar, Founder and CEO-Symbio Greentech Pvt. Ltd were a few speakers whose insight enriched the deliberations.