Mumbai, September 11: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has plunged into action to tackle the issue of global warming by undertaking a baseline survey of green house gas emissions, however, it still has to tackle existing issues like dying coastline, polluted lakes, increasing air pollution and development of open space. The civic body also lacks a strong environment management strategy and action plan, states report.

The annual environment status report for the year 2006-07 states the environmental planning in terms of wetland, freshwater lakes, air pollution, drinking water quality, development of open space and global warming as the biggest challenges in front of Mumbai and the BMC. The report states: City’s 26 km of coast line ‘an integral part of Mumbaikar's life’ is dying due to uncontrolled discharge of sewage, throwing of garbage, indiscriminate reclamation and many other manmade invasion are hastening the decay. However, overlooking these issues, the BMC has taken the task of resolving larger issues like global warming.

Rakesh Kumar, a scientist and head of National Environmental Engineering Research Institute agrees as he says, “Mumbai is a coastal city and is at higher risk of rising sea level due to global warming. We have several properties at the sea front but the beaches are not protected they are at risk. ” Another, worrying factor for the metropolis is that of air pollution. With a daily increase of 384 vehicles in the city, the ambient air quality levels of Suspended Particulate Matters (SPM), Respirable Suspended Particulates (RSP) and Oxides of Nitrogen (NoX) has exceeded in the city compared to the air quality standards in last year. Municipal commissioner, Jairaj Phatak himself has said that with a total of 15.33 lakh vehicles plying on city roads, traffic congestion and air pollution has become a contentious issue.

The report is an annual exercise by the BMC, however, after its release, not much attention is paid to the facts and figures. Deputy municipal commissioner (environment and solid waste management), R R Markandeya, agreed that the issue of environment was not paid enough attention by the BMC. “Environment is a large issue and it has not been addressed in all aspects. We have initiated certain measures but they have not been able to cover the entire city,” he said.

However, Additional Municipal Commissioner (city) RA Rajeev said that the BMC is now getting active on the environment front. He said that global warming is a reality and the city has awakened to this fact. “The baseline survey on green house gas emission will help us identify the pollutants released in the atmosphere,” he said. While the main aim of the BMC is to reduce the green house gas, it is also planning to lay stake on the carbon credits. “If the data on emissions and the strategies help us in getting carbon credit, we will definitely try,”he said.

However, as the report rightly points out, the BMC is in the need of much basic ‘environmental planning’. The Metropolitan Environmental Improvement Programme sponsored by World Bank had suggested adopting an ‘environmental management strategy and action plan’, but the BMC still has to work on it. The report suggests that, ‘in the next development plan, the environmental considerations in respect of all kinds of development should be in-built’.

Rajeev said once the baseline survey results are known, the BMC can make strategies and action plan which will be incorporated in the DP.