Kolkata: In a first, the Environment wing of Kolkata Municipal Corporation has recently recruited an environmentalist for providing scientific guidance to the department on its effort towards maintenance of the ecological balance in the city.
Kalyan Rudra, the present chairman of West Bengal Pollution Control Board has been appointed at the honorary management of the KMC.
"Kolkata is an unplanned city with a high population density. So, maintaining the environmental balance taking into account the geographical condition is a big challenge. So, there was a need to hire an expert," said Swapan Samaddar, Member Board of Administrators (BOA), KMC who is in-charge of the Environment department. The department is awaiting approval of the Chairman BOA Firhad Hakim to advertise for recruiting two or three more environmentalists.
"The Environment department was one of the most neglected departments in the KMC during the previous Left Front Board. But, since the TMC board took charge in 2010, there has been a serious effort in curbing filling up of water bodies and scientific plantation for beautification and bringing down pollution in the city," added Samaddar.
Till date, engineers in the civil wing looked after environment matters. KMC has designated one separate nodal officer for each of the 16 boroughs to monitor the water bodies and take steps to thwart attempts of filling.