Workshop on Urban Sustainability and the Green Cities Mission in West Bengal

Date: 10th March 2018  

Venue: Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kolkata 

The state of West Bengal has come up with Green Cities Mission that identifies areas of intervention and for which action plans are under preparation. The mission is going to trigger extensive development, the environmental impacts of which need to be curbed. The event themed at urban sustainability was to create a platform for the various urban policy makers and regulators to convene and exchange perspectives to help formulate a resilient strategy. 

Construction and Demolition Waste formed the sub-theme of the event considering the six new theme townships being developed in the state. The event saw participation from 110 urban professionals, regulators, scholars, faculty and civil society.

Ms. AnumitaRoychowdhury commenced the technical sessions with an overview on urban expansion and its disconnect with the traditional construction practices, leading to high and adverse impact on environment.

Mushrooming development around Kolkata like New Town (Rajarhat) is generating C&D waste in hefty quantities. Poor management of waste is encroaching the wetlands and choking the city’s drainage system severely. According to Mr. Kalyan Rudra (Chairman, WB PCB), Kolkata generates 4000 million tonnes of solid waste everyday which is unsegregated. All these issues contribute in making Kolkata third most flood-prone city of the world.

Mr. Rajneesh Sareen reinstated the fact that sustainability can be infused in development practices through stringent implementation of C&D waste management rules 2016 and integrating it in building bye laws.