How states tackle pollution

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Maharashtra: Gorai shows way in dumping waste (By Bhagwan Parab)
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Pollution from dumping grounds has always been one of the major concerns in Mumbai. With the city daily generating about 7,500 metric tonnes of garbage, it is a huge challenge for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to treat the waste properly and also maintain the ecological balance of the city. Against this backdrop, BMC’s Public Private Partnership project of scientific closure of the Gorai dumping ground — the first such case in the country — has won international accolades. By converting one of the biggest dumpsites into eco-friendly surroundings the civic body has managed to improve the quality of human as well as marine life.

The Gorai site, spread over an area of 19.6 hectare, is located adjacent to environmentally sensitive Gorai creek area and was operational since 1972. Approximately 2,200 ton of solid waste from western suburbs was being dumped daily at the site. Approximately about 2.34 million ton of waste was lying at the site. As the complaints about the foul odour, smoke and fires causing pollution increased gradually, the local residents moved court against the dumpsite. Based on a SC order, the BMC started Gorai dumping ground scientific closure project.

In 2007, the BMC stopped dumping fresh waste and decided to convert the dumpsite into a green landscape with scientific measures. The work of closure was completed in July 2009.

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Telangana: Chetla Ramaiah (By V. Nilesh)
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Mr Daripalli Ramaiah of Khammam, who has been planting trees across Khammam for more than three decades, was gifted a moped by a non-profit organisation run by NRIs on Friday to make his job easier. Mr Ramaiah, who is over 65 years old, is well known for his endeavour to increase the green cover of the area, which has earned him the sobriquet Chetla Ramaiah (Trees’ Ramaiah).

Locals say that lakhs of trees in the district are a result of his efforts. He travels throughout the district, sometimes with his wife, singing songs on environmental awareness to encourage others to take up similar work. He also distributes free saplings.

Besides several awards, a state run university from Karnataka had conferred a PhD on him recently. A Telangana forest department official said, “Ramaiah has been planting many species, including red sanders. “Some timber merchants showed interest in buying them, which would have fetched Mr Ramaiah lakhs of rupees, but he refused even though his economic status is feeble. Such is the love he has for nature,” he concluded.

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Karnataka: A Divine task, indeed (By Amit S. Upadhye)
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Conservationists in Bengaluru have been striving for decades to preserve green pockets in the city and adjoining areas. Be it Saalumarada Thimmakka, the legendary tree planter who planted or Mr Harish Hande, who is quietly working among the rural masses, there has been tremendous awareness among the people of Karnataka about safeguarding green cover and reducing carbon footprint.

A swamiji of a Ramakrishna Mission math, located on the outskirts of Bengaluru and adjacent to the Bannerghatta National Park, has created a 130-acre “Western Ghats” in an area that was nothing but shrubs and rocks a few years ago. The chief of the math, Swami Vishnu-mayanandaji, has traveled across the country, including Andaman and Nicobar, to collect plants for his forest. Four large artificial lakes have also been created inside the forest area where wild elephants visit.

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Tamil Nadu: A Forest of efforts (By C. S. Kottesewaran)
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It all began in early 2000 along the foothills of Anamalai Tiger Reserve sandwiched between Coimbatore and Pollachi, when the rainforests endemic to Western Ghats were facing biological pressure and the expansion threat from tea plantations were eating in to shola forests of Valparai — Nature Conservation Foundation based in Mysore had just set up its base camp in Valaparai. In 2002, the organisation kickstarted two ecoprojects, restoration of rainforests in Valparai and study of wild elephants that pose a threat to local human life.

After a period 15 years, results have started pouring in from the region that also houses Chinnakalar one of the top three wettest places in India. Ananda Kumar and another scientist Shankar Raman had been instrumental in getting private estate lands in Ryan Division to be restored in to the rain forests enabling a smooth wildlife corridor for pachyderms reducing conflict and now they are pinning hopes for Chinnakalar and Valparai to overtake Cherrapunji and Agumbe in the fight for the wettest place in India.

On an average of two human lives were lost due to elephants every year and most deaths occurred near tea plantation areas and roads forcing NCF to work on solutions. Between 1994 and 2011, 36 deaths were reported in Anamalai and now the deaths have almost reduced by more than 80 per cent. And as a tribute to the feat, the project scientist Ananda Kumar who worked on the scheme was awarded the coveted Green Oscar early this year.