Sovan releases state environment report 2016

Sovan Chatterjee, environment minister on Monday released the state environment report West Bengal, 2016 at a function organised by the state Pollution Control Board (PCB).

The 348-page document will help in the formulation of policy and planning by providing all relevant information. The task of preparation of the report was taken up in 2015 and it incorporates all relevant information regarding the current state of environment. There are 20 chapters in the report starting from West Bengal at a glance followed by demography, land and land use, soil , agriculture, forest and wild life.

There are write-ups on bio-diversity, water resource, groundwater, wetlands and mineral resource of the state. The report also covers major environmental challenges like climate change, industrial pollution management, solid waste management and urban waste water management.

Biomedical waste management and electronic waste management have been given special emphasis. The major environmental regulations and salient orders of various courts have also been dealt with in a separate chapter.

Experts in various spheres of environment studies have contributed their articles and the key issues have been explained with the help of tables, figures and boxes.

PCB has taken up elaborate measures to create awareness about environment among students. Thirty rain water harvesting centres have been set up all over the state. Stress has been given on the use of solar power. Some tribal students from Bhalopahar School in Purulia were given solar lanterns. The office of PCB and PDCL in Salt Lake are also using solar power.

Sovan Chatterjee also stressed the need to create awareness among students about environment. " We cannot see environment but it is controlling our lives and we will have to preserve it by following the right method," he said.

PCB has published a book containing poems on environment by Pratul Mukhopadhyay and cartoons by Chandi Lahiri to create awareness about environment.

The state environment department is also brining out another book containing 60 poems on environment and cartoons by three well-known cartoonists on environment among children.

The book will be distributed among the students of all state-run, aided and sponsored schools. The environment minister on Monday released posters on environment at the function.