Soon, comprehensive development scheme for East Kolkata Wetlands

The state Environment department will prepare a comprehensive development and management scheme for East Kolkata Wetlands and get it ratified by Ramsar authority.

The area which is one of its kinds in Eastern India has been declared as a Ramsar site in mid 1999.

"The Ramsar authority said that if there is any error, it could be rectified. So the state government is looking after the matter," said state Environment department minister and KMC Mayor Sovan Chatterjee, while talking at the sideline of a conclave.

"The environment department will prepare the comprehensive development and management scheme. The plan will be prepared after discussing the corresponding issues with Ramsar authorities, environmentalist and local residents. It will be a scientific plan," Chatterjee said. Chatterjee, after being anointed chairman of the East Kolkata Wetlands Management Authority, has proposed the comprehensive development and management scheme of the Ramsar site and argued about proper utilisation of the land that currently lies barren.

"There are many lands which fall under wetland category but those are actually not wetlands," Chatterjee said.

Kolkata is the only metropolitan city in the country that does not have a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). The sewer water is taken to the East Kolkata Wetlands by Dry Weather Flow Channel (DEF) and Storm Weather Flow Channel (SWF). In East Kolkata Wetlands the water is purified by a natural process. The East Kolkata Wetlands produces fish which are supplied to the city markets.

The Left Front government began to fill up the waterbodies and housing complexes came up on wetland. In the past three decades, no management plan has been taken to preserve the East Kolkata Wetlands.

It is for the first time Mayor Sovan Chatterjee who is well acquainted with the wetland for the past three decades have taken a move to prepare a proper management plan.