• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a extremely reactive gasoline and harmful for these affected by respiratory circumstances and bronchial asthma, is turning into extra widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) throughout all seasons, in response to a brand new evaluation by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) launched on Friday. The evaluation stated that opposite to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interplay between gases within the presence of daylight, is predominantly a summer season phenomenon, the gasoline has emerged as an equally robust concern throughout winter as nicely. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” stated CSE govt director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a extremely reactive gasoline and even short-term publicity can irritate respiratory circumstances resulting in emergency hospital admission, it requires a distinct method to danger evaluation and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This evaluation exhibits that the variety of days not assembly the ozone requirements has begun to extend even throughout winter months, making the winter smog extra poisonous,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida additionally registered a 54 per cent soar. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida noticed a decline, with the latter displaying the largest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut doesn’t have enough information for 2019 to hold out comparative pattern evaluation, however with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted main metropolis within the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The information has been captured from 81 official stations underneath the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) unfold throughout Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, 4 every in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida whereas 20 smaller cities in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” class days (50 per cent beneath the every day eight-hour focus customary) have began declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days lower than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used right here is in keeping with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) technique of contemplating the best focus amongst all of the displays inside every reporting space,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi noticed variations as excessive as 150 µg/m3 between places. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi confirmed low ozone ranges, south, central, and north Delhi recorded larger ranges, south-east Delhi had the best ranges that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” stated Mr Somvanshi.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a extremely reactive gasoline and harmful for these affected by respiratory situations and bronchial asthma, is turning into extra widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) throughout all seasons, in accordance with a brand new evaluation by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) launched on Friday. The evaluation stated that opposite to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interplay between gases within the presence of daylight, is predominantly a summer season phenomenon, the gasoline has emerged as an equally robust concern throughout winter as effectively. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” stated CSE government director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a extremely reactive gasoline and even short-term publicity can irritate respiratory situations resulting in emergency hospital admission, it requires a special method to threat evaluation and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This evaluation exhibits that the variety of days not assembly the ozone requirements has begun to extend even throughout winter months, making the winter smog extra poisonous,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida additionally registered a 54 per cent leap. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida noticed a decline, with the latter displaying the largest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut doesn’t have enough knowledge for 2019 to hold out comparative pattern evaluation, however with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted main metropolis within the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. - Advertisement - “The knowledge has been captured from 81 official stations beneath the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) unfold throughout Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, 4 every in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida whereas 20 smaller cities in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” class days (50 per cent beneath the each day eight-hour focus customary) have began declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days lower than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used right here is in keeping with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) technique of contemplating the best focus amongst all of the screens inside every reporting space,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi noticed variations as excessive as 150 µg/m3 between places. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi confirmed low ozone ranges, south, central, and north Delhi recorded greater ranges, south-east Delhi had the best ranges that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” stated Mr Somvanshi.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days less than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” said Mr Somvanshi.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days less than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” said Mr Somvanshi.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days less than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” said Mr Somvanshi.

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Ozone Becoming More Widespread In Delhi-NCR Across All Seasons: Study

Ozone, a highly reactive gas and dangerous for those suffering from respiratory conditions and asthma, is becoming more widespread in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) across all seasons, according to a new analysis by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) released on Friday. The analysis said that contrary to the notion that ozone, produced photochemically from interaction between gases in the presence of sunlight, is predominantly a summer phenomenon, the gas has emerged as an equally strong concern during winter as well. “Ozone is now a round-the-year problem requiring urgent attention of clean air programmes,” said CSE executive director Anumita Roychowdhury. “The risk from it is often not well understood, as the current regulatory practice of spatially averaging the data from all monitoring stations blunts the curve, and underestimates the magnitude of threat from the worst affected locations and also during different seasons. “As ozone is a highly reactive gas and even short-term exposure can aggravate respiratory conditions leading to emergency hospital admission, it requires a different approach to risk assessment and communication,” she added. Another expert said that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards is increasing even in winters. “This analysis shows that the number of days not meeting the ozone standards has begun to increase even during winter months, making the winter smog more toxic,” said Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s Urban Lab team of the Sustainable Cities programme. The assessment has traced trends during different seasons – summer (March-June), winter (October-February) and monsoon (July-September), between 2018 and July 18, 2021. It said that the eight-hourly standard for ground-level ozone exceeded at least in one station in Delhi on 290 days in 2020, which is up by 30 days compared to 2019 and 26 days more than 2018. This year has already recorded 169 days of exceedance, an increase of 21 days for the same period last year, the analysis revealed, adding that in the NCR, Gurugram saw the maximum jump in number of exceedance days between 2019 and 2020 — its tally of 201 days in 2020 was an increase by over 300 per cent from previous year. “Noida also registered a 54 per cent jump. Faridabad recorded no change between 2019 and 2020. Ghaziabad and Greater Noida saw a decline, with the latter showing the biggest drop of 28 per cent. Meerut does not have adequate data for 2019 to carry out comparative trend analysis, but with 109 days of exceedance in 2020, it was the least polluted major city in the NCR,” it said. The CSE said that granular real time data (15-minute averages) have been sourced from the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) official online portal Central Control Room for Air Quality Management. “The data has been captured from 81 official stations under the Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System (CAAQMS) spread across Delhi-NCR (40 stations in Delhi, four each in Gurugram, Faridabad, Noida and Ghaziabad, three in Meerut, and two in Greater Noida while 20 smaller towns in NCR have one station),” it said. From this station-level data, the analysis has calculated the trends in terms of the number of days when the daily level has exceeded the eight-hour standard. According to the CSE, the city-wide average largely remains within the standard with just occasional exceedances. “But even from this yardstick, the “good” category days (50 per cent below the daily eight-hour concentration standard) have started declining in Delhi. In 2020, Delhi had 115 “good” days, which was 24 days less than in 2019,” it said. According to location-wise analysis, exceedance of the eight-hour average standard is quite widely distributed in the city, the CSE said. “The methodology used here is consistent with the USEPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency) method of considering the highest concentration among all the monitors within each reporting area,” it said. The analysis found that ozone build-up is a hyper-local phenomenon as there can be 100 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m3) difference in ozone levels between two neighbouring stations. “On April 27, 2021 Delhi saw variations as high as 150 µg/m3 between locations. While areas adjoining Yamuna, Lutyen’s Delhi and west Delhi showed low ozone levels, south, central, and north Delhi recorded higher levels, south-east Delhi had the highest levels that day. “At the moment, it is not possible to compute the peak pollution in the city as the data that is available from CPCB is capped at 200 µg/m3. This also makes daily AQI reporting ineffective,” said Mr Somvanshi.

• Water Programme

Jal shakti: South Delhi civic body harvests power of rain

NEW DELHI: South Delhi Municipal Corporation has opened its first rainwater harvesting park called Jal Shakti Park in Sector-8 of Dwarka. Such parks will focus on utilising open spaces like parks for harvesting rainwater for groundwater replenishment. A pond has been rejuvenated in the 2.5-acre park and the ground slope of the catchment area has been redesigned to accumulate excess rainwater. SDMC has also installed a 50 kilolitre per day capacity sewage treatment plant which will feed the pond during the non-rainy season, officials said. A senior municipal official said that the project was completed in two months and the slopes were designed to capture the rain run-off from nearby areas to increase the ground water levels in the area. The rainwater harvesting park project demonstrates low-cost interventions of capturing rainwater and channelising it back into shallow aquifer systems. The dry park site was taken over from Delhi Development Authority in 2016 and greening of the area has been carried out using red kaner, ficus benjamina and bottle palms. "We have also developed a children zone, gazebos and footpaths in the park," the official said. Three more such rainwater harvesting sites will be developed in Jahazwala park in Bagdola near Dwarka Sector-8, near Gokul Garden in Dwarka Sector-7, and in Jonapur near Bheem Basti, the civic body has stated. A study from Centre for Science and Environment "Roadmap for implementation of water sensitive urban design and planning in Delhi" has also advocated water harvesting in parks and open spaces in Delhi to augment the drainage system of the city and to address issues related to urban flooding. Spread over 8,000 hectares, Delhi has more than 16,000 parks and open spaces where stormwater harvesting can be implemented with a potential of harvesting 12,800 million litres of rainwater every year, the CSE report states. It advocates that water-sensitive urban design interventions like rain gardens, water detention ponds and rainwater harvesting solutions and swales can be adopted in parks and open spaces, which will reduce waterlogging and help in groundwater recharge. The report highlights that parks under the south corporation have the highest annual water harvesting potential followed by those in the north and east corporations. SDMC mayor Mukesh Suryan said that the civic agency had been making special efforts to ensure water conservation and 20 new sewage treatment plants would be constructed in all the four zones to treat water discharged from sewage. Member of Parliament from South Delhi Lok Sabha Ramesh Bidhuri and Delhi BJP president Adesh Kumar Gupta inaugurated the facility.

• Industrial Pollution

Greening coal-based power: Govt must seriously mull over shutting old, polluting plants

The government (both states and the Centre) must summon the political will to act against inefficient coal-based plants. An analysis by the Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) posits India can save upto $1.2 billion year if shuts down 30 gigawatts (GW) of its old coal-based thermal power plants and runs newer ones for longer hours than the current rate. Apart from cost-savings on 42 million tonnes of coal that would have been otherwise utilised, there are obvious financial gains from the environmental impact. The cost avoided in terms of mandated pollution-control measures that are pending will also provide a boost. It will help address under-utilisation of power-generation capacity and free up investment in cleaner energy sources. The government (both states and the Centre) must summon the political will to act against inefficient coal-based plants. On the contrary, they seem only too willing to cut the polluters significant slack. On April 1, the Centre notified the Environment Protection (Amendment) Rules that push the deadline for GHG-emitting coal-fired thermal power plants (TPPs) on compliance with the emission norms. The norms were announced in 2015, with a 2017 adoption projected at the time. But, litigation managed to push the deadline several times, and it was last (before the April 2021 extension) set at 2022. However, only a third of the TPPs have undertaken any meaningful action so far. And with mere months to the deadline, the government pushed the deadline—upto 2024-25 in some cases. What’s worse is that some plants that are scheduled to retire—that is, they are much older than the rest—have been given a later deadline. So, in a perverse way, the worse polluters will be allowed to pollute for longer. The April leniency covers 75% of the TPPs in India. How large the pollution footprint of this step would be is not too hard to imagine. As this newspaper has pointed out before, the issue is also that violation of the deadline won’t attract heavy punitive measures. Last year, an analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had pegged this at Rs 5-11 lakh per MW. In contrast, the cost of installing the emission-control equipment is estimated to be Rs 40-100 lakh depending on plant-capacity and pollution generated. So, for a clutch of TPPs, the penalty won’t pinch, especially if retirement is in the horizon soon after the deadline expires. Those with the longest relief period will pay the lowest penalty sums as per the amended Rules, and the more inefficient plants—penalty is tied to generation, and smaller plants with lower load-running (meaning more pollution) will be charged a lower penalty—will face a lower punitive burden. TPPs account for 62% of India’s industrial particulate matter pollution and 45% of sulphur-pollution. So, if older TPPs seem unwilling, or incapable of moving towards cleaner generation, shutting them down would make eminent sense. It will, of course, require considerable political will, in view of the number of jobs involved and perfect coordination between the states and the Centre—given how many TPPs are owned by state governments—but it is worth exploring in view of climate gains.

• Climate Change and Green Economy

Developed countries fail to meet pre-2020 climate commitments: report

All developed countries together emitted 25 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2eq) more than their estimated emission allowances in the 2008-2020 period, a Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report released on Wednesday said Most developed countries, including members of the G7 forum, collectively reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by only 3.7% by 2019 over the 1990 levels, a Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) report released on Wednesday said. This is far short of their commitments made under the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol. All developed countries together emitted 25 gigatons of CO2 equivalent (GtCO2eq) more than their estimated emission allowances in the 2008-2020 period, the report said. “CEEW’s analysis of developed nations’ pre-2020 climate actions have significant implications for the fate of post-2020 negotiations. Many developed countries have consumed disproportionate shares of the global carbon budget because they did not meet their commitments in the pre-2020 period. Trust in their long-term commitments will be regained only if their near-term actions free up carbon space for others. Further, the cost of mitigation efforts is set to increase significantly in the coming decade. While all countries must consider raising ambition, the burden of unmet promises and disproportionate use of carbon space cannot fall on developing countries,” said Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, CEEW, in a statement. CEEW conducted a review of mitigation measures by all developed countries vis-a-vis their overall commitment under the Kyoto Protocol and the Doha Amendment. The report also presented a ranking of 43 developed countries based on their climate actions and mitigation efforts made in the pre-2020 period. Sweden, the UK, Belgium, and Denmark topped this ranking. But the US, Canada, Australia, and Russia featured in the bottom half. While nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement are essential for achieving the 1.5 degrees C global warming target, it is equally important to study the outcomes of the emission reduction pledges made by developed countries before the Paris Agreement, in the pre-2020 climate regime, the report said. It added that the fate of post-2020 negotiations for climate crisis crucially hinges upon the achievements, gaps, and issues recognised in the pre-2020 period. “The developing countries have concerns of bearing the burden of tackling the mitigation gaps from the pre-2020 period in the future. Furthermore, it has caused a further fissure between the developed and developing country groupings, contributing to mistrust on the next set of ambitions that were tabled in the negotiations,” the report said. Both Kyoto Protocol and the Doha amendment quantified emission reduction targets to developed countries, based on their 1990 emission levels. Under the Kyoto Protocol, an emission reduction target of 5% based on 1990 levels, was set to be achieved by developed countries in the first commitment period (2008–2012). Under the Doha Amendment, an emission reduction target of at least 18% would be met by developed countries in the second commitment period (2013–2020). Major economies like the US, Canada, Russia, and Japan did not participate in either one or both commitment periods. US non-participation in both commitment periods had several adverse effects on global climate action, including the withdrawal of other developed countries from critical agreements, the report said. The greenhouse gas emissions from all Annex I Parties (both industrialised and economies in transition [EIT] countries) declined by about 14.8% in 2019 compared to their base year emissions levels. This reduction when considering non-EIT Annex I Parties (majorly comprising industrialised countries) was only 3.7% by 2019 compared to their base year emissions levels. A fact sheet by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on “Status of the Country Commitments on the road to COP 26” highlighted that the NDC Synthesis Report 1 published in February 2021 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) found that the world in 2030, as per the current level of country commitments/NDCs, will have 0.7% lower total greenhouse gas emissions than when it started its negotiations for a climate change agreement in 1990. A look at the pledges and emissions of the top emitters reveals a large gap between ambition, and the transformative short-term actions needed to decarbonise their economies and limit global temperature rise. “The two largest emitters, the US and China, are not definitively on track to achieve their 2030 targets and continue the unrestrained production and use of fossil fuels,” CSE said. “India is mostly on track to achieve its 2030 goals and has a minimal contribution when considering the size of its population.” “The implementation phase of the Paris Agreement began in 2021. The world needs the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement to succeed. For this, there has to be trust and confidence in the multilateral process. Thus, it is important to recall and review what were the promises made in the pre-2020 period and whether those were delivered. A clear and unbiased assessment of the pre-2020 commitments and mitigation as well as finance is the need of the hour,” said Richa Sharma, additional secretary, Union environment ministry, at the launch of the CEEW report.

• Solid Waste Management and Circular Economy

COP26: From packaging to milk cartons, how the UK’s paper waste exports present a hidden climate threat

COP26The West is continuing to export its waste problem, wrapped up in a brown-paper package Unread newspapers, corrugated sheets discarded after unwrapping electronic gadgets, tissue or milk cartons from British homes arrive, tightly packed, at Indian factories in a growing stream. They are pulped and remade into fresh paper to meet India’s growing demand for it. Paper waste is sometimes seen as a shining example of how things can be almost endlessly recycled. But it is in fact a new example of a product exported to pollute distant parts of the world, environmental activists say, moving and reshaping waste to skirt regulations. British paper waste imports to India grew by nearly three times in four years, from 2016 to 2019, UN Comtrade – a global trade data organisation – shows. Overall, British waste exports to India rose nearly threefold in four years (from £35.5m in 2016 to £102m in 2019), despite tightened regulation shrinking plastic waste imports down to a tenth. “The biggest challenge is contamination,” says Siddharth Ghanshyam Singh, deputy programme manager at the Centre for Science and Environment, a New Delhi based think-tank. Paper often comes with a film of plastic clinging to it. Bales of paper waste shipped from the US have contained plastic shreds too, says Jan Dell, co-founder of Last Beach Clean Up, a California-based nonprofit that works on reducing plastic pollution. At least a hundred thousand tonnes of non-recyclable plastic may have come along with paper waste, estimated a report by an Expert Working Group, tabled in India’s National Green Tribunal, last month. At Indian paper mills, the plastic bits are separated when waste paper is pulped, or immersed in water and sent away to be burnt at kilns in cement plants or ends up at unsanitary landfills, where waste decays slowly, releasing methane and other greenhouse gases. It was due to the polluting effect of such plastic burning and landfilling that China restricted the import of imported mixed waste paper, moving the problem to India, Turkey and other East Asian countries. Paper waste imports to India began growing when China, then the largest consumer of the world’s waste, banned it in 2018. It left western municipalities stranded, looking for new destinations. Indian paper mills welcomed the paper waste, taking in more than 6.4 million kilos of it in 2020-21 – twice as much as the three million kilos imported in 2016-17, according to India’s commerce ministry data. Plastic traders in Indonesia, Malaysia and India often separate the plastic from these mixed paper bales from the West and send the uncontaminated paper back to China, to be made into packaging and re-exported to western countries again – a highly inefficient process. Sirine Rached, an advocate for Zero Waste Europe, a Brussels-based NGO, said: “Disparate plastic mixed into imported paper waste in West Java [has been found], which is a hub for the paper trade. “This plastic waste may have been slipped in to paper bales by private operators to avoid the cost of disposing of these plastic wastes in the country where they were generated.” It was burned to fuel furnaces in tofu factories, releasing toxins. Both Indonesia and India have tightened norms for acceptable contamination of plastic with paper but implementing them remains a concern. “Inspection covers a minuscule fraction of the imports,” the Indian Expert Group report says. Contaminants in at least one of the four paper mills the group inspected were far higher than the pre-shipment certificate indicated, or that are premitted. Its report calls for stricter monitoring and labelling of imported paper waste. “We need paper to make more paper,” says Rohit Pandit, secretary general of the Indian Paper Manufacturers Association. Recycled paper is the most common type of paper in India and demand is growing. Paper can be remade six to seven times, Mr Pandit said, calling it a great example of how recycling can work across countries. Not everyone agrees. “This is not how we want to develop our economy, by bringing waste from others,” Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxic Links, a New Delhi based nonprofit that works to restrict e-waste and other hazardous waste. “The cost of dealing with the environment is higher than the cost of what is retrieved.” This April, the British government announced it would bring down carbon dioxide by 65 per cent to 1990 levels, by 2035. It was among the first developed economies to announce its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), and its planned cuts remain the steepest worldwide. However, the Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ed Miliband, said that the target was not accompanied by enough of a plan to get there. The US, EU and China announced their own greenhouse gas emission target cuts. Mr Sinha of Toxic Links says a roadmap for cutting polluting emissions must involve wealthier countries building capacity to deal with their waste instead of exporting it elsewhere, while developing countries need better oversight to implement laws restricting waste imports. While Ms Rached says Zero Waste Europe is lobbying the EU to curb plastic contamination in paper, the onus is also with importing countries to inspect and clamp down on it. Otherwise, the West is simply continuing to export its waste problem, wrapped up in a brown-paper package.

• Water Programme

Initiative aimed at 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' launched by Namami Gange

With an aim to improve river's health and flow, a new capacity-building initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' was launched by Centre for Science and EnvironmentNational Mission for Clean in collaboration with research organization launch initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin'<br>The key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Efficiency and Conservation, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Local Reuse, Urban Groundwater Management and Urban Waterbodies / Lake Management.<br>As per a statement from the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimise hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. This includes the method of planning and designing urban areas for optimum utilisation of water (a precious resource), reduce the harm caused to our rivers and creeks and focuses on entire management of entire water systems (drinking water, storm water run-off, waterway health, sewerage treatment and re-cycling).<br>In a virtual address, <a Senior Director Suresh Kumar Rohilla shared that the aim of the program is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. CSE Director General Sunita Narain highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She shared that the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. She emphasized the need of returning to roots and bringing back the traditional knowledge of rain water harvesting sharing the examples of Alhar - Pyne system of Bihar, wells in forts of Rajasthan and Cascade tanks of South India etc.<br>Ranjan Mishra, Director General of <a href="/topic/nmcg">NMCG</a>, reiterating the need for respecting traditions also suggested focus on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. He emphasised the need of protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about Jal Shakti Ministry's 'Catch the Rain' initiative for rain water harvesting. "There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities," he said.<br>An independent consultant from New Delhi presented a case study of a colony in Nizamuddin East through which 48, 531 cubic meters was harvested i.e. 39.6 per cent of total rooftop and surface runoff being harvested.<br>This initiative is part of the series of ongoing efforts by <a href="/topic/nmcg">NMCG</a> aimed to ensuring convergence of the <a href="/topic/namami-gange-mission">Namami Gange Mission</a> with national flagship urban missions (AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, HRIDAY, NULM) and other missions (Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeewan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan) at state/city level across Ganga basin states.<br>Under this initiative there will be more than 40 training programs supported with development of learning material/ practitioner's guides and spread over a period of 3 years. This will include residential trainings, online trainings, field visits and webinars etc. Initially, the project will be implemented in 3-4 pilot cities in the Ganga basin. Technical support will be provided to urban local bodies (ULBs). This is the first of its kind capacity building program. More than 840 people participated in the event from 240 cities across 33 countries. (ANI)

• Water Programme

Initiative launched to make cities in Ganga basin water sensitive

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Tuesday launched a capacity-building initiative on "making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin", aimed at improving river health and flows. The key focus areas of the programme will be water sensitive urban design and planning, urban water efficiency and conservation, decentralised wastewater treatment and local reuse, urban groundwater management and urban water bodies and lake management. Launching the initiative, NMCG Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra emphasised the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. The NMCG is a body under the Jal Shakti Ministry that has been working on the rejuvenation of the Ganga and its tributaries. Mishra stressed the need for protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about the Jal Shakti Ministry''s ''Catch the Rain'' initiative for rainwater harvesting. "There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said. He also emphasised on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well. There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities. He also mentioned about the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building. Suresh Kumar Rohilla, Senior Director of CSE, said the aim of the programme is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. Sunita Narain, Director General of CSE, highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She said the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. PTI PR SMN SMN

• Water Programme

Capacity Building Initiative on Making Water Sensitive Cities In Ganga Basin Launched

New Delhi : A new capacity building initiative on ‘Making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin’ aimed at improving river health/flows was launched by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Efficiency and Conservation, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Local Reuse, Urban Groundwater Management and Urban Waterbodies / Lake Management. Launching the initiative, Director General, NMCG, Rajiv Ranjan Mishra reiterated the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. He emphasized the need of protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about Jal Shakti Ministry’s ‘Catch the Rain’ initiative for rain water harvesting. “There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said. DG, NMCG suggested a framework for integration between Urban Built Form including landscape and urban water cycle are needed. He also emphasized on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well. There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities. For the first time, there is a paradigm shift in planning for River Cities. He also mentioned the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building. Suresh Kumar Rohilla Senior Director, CSE shared that the aim of the program is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. He also explained how the program will engage all the stakeholders which includes, SPMGs (State Program Management Group, Namami Gange), Municipal corporations, Technical & research constants, international organizations and local grassroot communities. Ms. Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She shared that the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. She emphasized the need of returning to roots and bringing back the traditional knowledge of rain water harvesting sharing the examples of Alhar – Pyne system of Bihar, wells in forts of Rajasthan and Cascade tanks of South India etc. This initiative is part of the series of ongoing efforts by NMCG aimed to ensuring convergence of the Namami Gange Mission with national flagship urban missions (AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, HRIDAY, NULM) and other missions (Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan) at state /city level across Ganga basin states. Under this initiative there will be more than 40 training programs supported with development of learning material/ practitioner’s guides and spread over a period of 3 years. This will include residential trainings, online trainings, field visits and webinars etc. Initially, the project will be implemented in 3-4 pilot cities in the Ganga basin. Technical support will be provided to urban local bodies (ULBs). This is the first of its kind capacity building program. More than 840 people participated in the event from 240 cities across 33 countries. Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimize hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. This includes the method of planning and designing urban areas for optimum utilization of water (a precious resource), reduce the harm caused to our rivers and creeks and focuses on entire management of entire water systems (drinking water, storm water run-off, waterway health, sewerage treatment and re-cycling).

• Clean Air & Sustainable Mobility

Among 10 most polluted places in the Rajasthan, 3 are in Jaipur: Study

Among 10 most polluted places in the Rajasthan, 3 are in Jaipur: Study JAIPUR: In an indication that people of the state breathe polluted air for most part of the year, the cities in Rajasthan have recorded a particulate matter (PM) 2.5 concentration more than the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) safe limits of 40 ug/ m3 with only a few exceptions. For the first four months (January-April) of this year too, all the monitored cities of -Ajmer, Alwar, Bhiwadi, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Udaipur and Pali have seen a PM 2.5 concentration of more than safe limits of 40 ug/m3 and more than triple the WHO limits of 10 ug/m3, according to National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), the country’s flagship programme for better air quality in 122 cities, launched in 2019. Out of the 10 most-polluted locations, three are in Jaipur - police commissionerate, Shastri Nagar and Adarsh Nagar. Sahil Singal, a naturopathy doctor and environmentalist, said, “The burning of garbage and diesel vehicles without pollution checks are a major contributor of air pollution in cities. There should be strict regulation and implementation to stem air pollution. Besides, non-motorised vehicles should be promoted to reduce carbon footprint.” “In 2020, while the country was in a complete lockdown from March-June, the cities of Jodhpur and Bhiwadi did not see pollution levels within permissible limits even once,”said the report. The city of Bhiwadi, which is part of Delhi-NCR and home to a range of large, medium and small-scale industries, from steel mills and furnaces to automobile and electronics manufacturing, is among the most polluted in the state with high PM 2.5, PM 10 and NO2 concentration throughout the three years (2019- June 2021). Among the operational Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in the state, the highest monthly average PM 2.5 concentration of 103 ug/ m3 was reported at Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation in Bhiwadi. According to an assessment by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the Rajasthan Pollution Control Board in December 2020, the Bhiwadi Industrial Area contributes around 65% to the industrial pollution load of the region (Jaipur-Alwar-Bhiwadi air shed). Bhiwadi has a total of 328 air polluting industries. A source apportionment study done by IIT-Kanpur in Jaipur in January 2020 showed that while 47% of the PM 2.5 consists of road dust, vehicular emissions and industries contribute 20% and 19% respectively. According to Global Burden of Disease 2017, Rajasthan recorded the maximum number of child mortality which is 126 per lakh due to air pollution.

• Water Programme

Capacity Building Initiative on Making Water Sensitive Cities In Ganga Basin Launched

New Delhi: A new capacity building initiative on ‘Making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin’ aimed at improving river health/flows was launched by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). Key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Efficiency and Conservation, Decentralized Wastewater Treatment and Local Reuse, Urban Groundwater Management and Urban Waterbodies / Lake Management. Launching the initiative, Director General, NMCG, Shri Rajiv Ranjan Mishra reiterated the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas. He emphasized the need of protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about Jal Shakti Ministry’s ‘Catch the Rain’ initiative for rain water harvesting. “There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said. DG, NMCG suggested a framework for integration between Urban Built Form including landscape and urban water cycle are needed. He also emphasized on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well. There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities. For the first time, there is a paradigm shift in planning for River Cities. He also mentioned the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building. Related Posts Scaling the “Summit” of Dryland Food Systems: Research and… Jul 28, 2021 SRI Spinout Wingsure Develops AI-driven Mobile… Jul 28, 2021 Bluebot Bags the Digital Creative Mandate for Simplilearn Jul 28, 2021 Shri. Suresh Kumar Rohilla Senior Director, CSE shared that the aim of the program is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities. He also explained how the program will engage all the stakeholders which includes, SPMGs (State Program Management Group, Namami Gange), Municipal corporations, Technical & research constants, international organizations and local grassroot communities. Ms. Sunita Narain, Director General, CSE highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She shared that the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject. She emphasized the need of returning to roots and bringing back the traditional knowledge of rain water harvesting sharing the examples of Alhar – Pyne system of Bihar, wells in forts of Rajasthan and Cascade tanks of South India etc. This initiative is part of the series of ongoing efforts by NMCG aimed to ensuring convergence of the Namami Gange Mission with national flagship urban missions (AMRUT, Smart Cities, Swachh Bharat Mission, HRIDAY, NULM) and other missions (Atal Bhujal Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, Jal Shakti Abhiyan) at state /city level across Ganga basin states. Under this initiative there will be more than 40 training programs supported with development of learning material/ practitioner’s guides and spread over a period of 3 years. This will include residential trainings, online trainings, field visits and webinars etc. Initially, the project will be implemented in 3-4 pilot cities in the Ganga basin. Technical support will be provided to urban local bodies (ULBs). This is the first of its kind capacity building program. More than 840 people participated in the event from 240 cities across 33 countries. Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning (WSUDP) is an emerging urban development paradigm aimed to minimize hydrological impacts of urban development on environment. This includes the method of planning and designing urban areas for optimum utilization of water (a precious resource), reduce the harm caused to our rivers and creeks and focuses on entire management of entire water systems (drinking water, storm water run-off, waterway health, sewerage treatment and re-cycling).

• Water Programme

Initiative aimed at 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' launched by Namami Gange

With an aim to improve river's health and flow, a new capacity-building initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' wa-> View it--> https://www.newkerala.com/news/2021/106071.htm National Mission for Clean Ganga in collaboration with research organization launch initiative on 'Making Water Sensitive Cities in Ganga Basin' The key focus areas of the programme will be Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning, Urban Water Ef-> View it--> https://www.newkerala.com/news/2021/106071.htm