Amit Mitra: Bengal emerging as ‘sustainable development’ model

Kolkata: Principal Chief Advisor to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and former state Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Thursday said the West Bengal government has pursued a systematic policy to engage people from different backgrounds for sustainable development while addressing climate change and livelihood challenges.

Speaking at the Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCC&I) summit on ‘Business Imperatives and Sustainable Development Goals’, Mitra cited the global climate crisis, which has caused damages worth USD 2.8 trillion over the past two decades. He said West Bengal is emerging as a model for green development through circular economy initiatives, renewable energy expansion and water conservation.

Highlighting progress in green transport and renewable energy, Mitra said West Bengal currently has 2,62,620 registered green vehicles supported by 805 charging stations.

“Nearly 75,000 two-wheelers, around 1,63,102 e-rickshaws, 17,822 motor cars, 4,083 goods carriage three-wheelers, 152 electric state buses and 2,496 other four-wheelers operate in the state’s EV space. Solar power projects with a combined capacity of 3,763 MW are nearing completion, including one supported by Germany’s KFW. About 3,500 schools have been illuminated using solar power,” he said.

Mitra also highlighted the excavation of around 800 kilometres of creeks in the Sunderbans to trap rainwater and create a “sweet water” ecosystem supporting shrimp cultivation, reducing groundwater use.

“We planted mangroves along these creeks. The leaves fall into the sweet water and become feed for the shrimps,” he said, adding shrimp cultivation has become a major livelihood source for women in self-help groups. He claimed shrimp exports from West Bengal are worth about USD 500 million.

He said the ‘Matir Srishti’ initiative has converted around 42,000 acres of arid land into productive horticulture zones benefiting tribal communities and women.

Mitra added that forest cover in the state has increased by 2,688 sq km and around 15 crore mangroves have been planted along the coastline. Highlighting small businesses, he said West Bengal has around 90 lakh MSMEs — the second highest in the country — and stressed the need to integrate them into the sustainability transition.

“The challenge is not only medium and large companies. The challenge is how to bring the entire value chain, stage by stage, and integrate MSMEs into the synergy,” he said, urging BCC&I to lead a “value chain sustainability movement”, drawing lessons from industrial ecosystems in Germany and Japan.