[ad_1]
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has cleared a proposal to set-up town’s first Biodiversity Management Committee. The 23-member committee will likely be headed by a joint municipal commissioner.
On December 1, through the General Body assembly, Mayor Kishori Pednekar gave the formal approval to the structure of the committee and introduced names of 5 environmentalist and consultants who will likely be among the many 23 members.
The committee will formulate a folks’s biodiversity register, which is able to include complete info on availability and data of native organic sources, their medicinal use or advantages and conventional data associated to them.
An official from the Garden division stated that the civic physique was going through the chance of getting fined for failing to comply to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) order, which was issued on March 18 this yr. In its order, the NGT had stated that states that failed to adjust to Biodiversity Act, would have to pay Rs 10 lakh penalty each month.
“The BMC had already initiated the process of constitution of committee in 2017. However, it took a lot of time to finalise the names of experts… Also, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, no general body meeting had been held in the past seven months. This also delayed the process,” stated a BMC official.
Multi-tasking committee
As per the Biodiversity Act, 2002, the committee will put together a folks’s biodiversity register (PBR), and assist in conservation and preservation of organic range, sustainable use of its parts and honest and equitable sharing of the advantages. It will even regulate entry to organic sources. Civic officers stated the primary activity of the committee will likely be to put together an in depth database of town’s biodiversity together with flora-fauna, wildlife, birds and marine life.
In 2016, the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court had ordered the state authorities to type a biodiversity committee underneath the city our bodies.
Of the 23 members, there are seven corporators, eight civic officers from varied departments, 5 consultants, two particular invitees (MP and MLA) and a member secretary who will likely be superintendent of gardens. In a latest assembly, the civic basic physique cleared names of 5 consultants — Subhas Patne, horticulturist, Dr Deepak Apte, ornithologist, Mayur Kamat, wildlife warden, Mahesh Palkar, schooling officer, and Jitendra Ramgaonkar, subject director of Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
According to civic officers, the biodiversity committee ought to have a minimum of 4 conferences in a yr and meet as soon as in three months. Opposition chief Ravi Raja stated the proposal was cleared in House and the committee will assist in preserving town’s uncommon biodiversity.
Experts have additionally expressed pleasure over the structure of the committee. “Mumbai has a lot of biodiversity, which is unnoticed and undocumented. The main aim of the committee is to prepare a record of biodiversity and then take steps towards preservation and conservation. Also, infrastructure works have also affected the environment and the committee can work on compensation towards the damage,” stated Subhash Patne, member of the committee.
© The Indian Express (P) Ltd
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink