Does budget have green spots?

Bhagwan Kesbhat Founder Waatavaran FoundationAir monitoring at the neighbourhood level is critical for determining the impact of exposure on Mumbaikars The announcement of 128 sensorbased systems to monitor air quality and provide realtime AQI data within 4 sq km each is a welcome move Having the complete cityrsquos network in one place including MPCB SAFAR and BMC will have a greater synergistic impact in combating air pollution as a valued asset It will make this cityrsquos air quality network the largest in India A network of 100 EV charging stations across Mumbai is insufficient While BMC seems keen on pushing EVs there is an urgent need for a dedicated cell whose only work should be to push for electric mobility infrastructure across all wards This cell could promote solar rooftop installation and better incentivise renewablesDr Anjal Prakash Bharti Institute of Public PolicyISB lead author of the chapter on cities settlements and key infrastructure of the IPCCrsquos 6th Assessment ReportNow that Mumbai has its own Climate Action Plan and also has dedicated funds for its Climate Cell there should be wardwise assessment of impacts as well as solutions to deal with extreme weather events floodings sealevel rise cyclones storm surge and other natural disasters BMC has allocated funds under its MultiHazard Vulnerability Risk Assessment MHVRA of Mumbai City amp Suburb but it has not identified the sectors and hence mapping will be crucial by involving the civil societyDebi Goenka Executive Trustee Conservation Action TrustDespite the huge concerns about climate change sealevel rise and the resultant flooding of Mumbai city this budget is based on a ldquoBusiness as usualrdquo model Capitalintensive projects that are at risk because of climate change are still being planned A floating solar plant is being proposed in the middle of a wildlife sanctuary Though there is mention of a sensorbased air monitoring network there is no budgetary provision for the same The tunnel under SGNP is being budgeted for even though there is no clearance for the same and two Metro projects will be running parallel to these proposed tunnels This shows that the BMC has no intention of getting cars off the roads of Mumbai Buying electric buses is not going to help if there is no space on our roads for these buses EVs powered by coalfired power stations is not going to help in any caseStalin D Director VanashaktiThis budget seems to highlight a welcome shift by the BMC to spend money on environmental issues As far as climate change resilience is concerned there needs to be a separate allocation for coastal zones wetlands water bodies etc and not a general allotment All in all it is a positive approach but knowing BMC there should be a separate body for disbursal of funds and accountability BMC needs to make provisions for an environmental officer who can assess these requirements and disburse the funds appropriately Also I hope that infrastructure projects like Goregaon Mulund Link Road are redesigned and executed in a manner that does not harm the flora fauna of SGNPSumaira Abdulali Convener Awaaz FoundationThe highest expenditures in the budget focuses on executing cementconcrete roads which will cause huge environmental damage These include the Coastal Road for which the CRZ laws were amended Though the budget strives towards ease of living it continues to place major thrusts on projects that have already caused big disruption to peoplersquos quality of life destroyed the coastal environment and taken air and noise pollution beyond safe limits It is unfortunate that the BMCrsquos highest budgetary expenditure instead of focusing on priority areas like environmental pollution which their projects are worsening focuses on destructive infra projects In this time of climate change and our governmentrsquos aspiration to lead the world in meeting C40 cities targets I would have hoped to see environmental safeguards lead in the budgetary provisionsPoliticiansrsquo takePrabhakar Shinde group leader BJPlsquoThe budget is highly dependent on the reserve fund and will lead the city to bankruptcy The authorities who built the Urdu Bhavan forgot about Marathi Bhasha Bhavan Warkari Bhavan and Dabawala Bhavan The GMLR project has been stalled for the last four years It has been observed that funds for various projects are not being utilisedrsquoRakhi Jadhav group leader NCPlsquoMumbaikars got better healthcare facilities in two years during the pandemic but they expect a better health system Though there is a provision it is a slow start While announcing and planning major projects rehabilitation should also be consideredrsquoRavi Raja Leader of OppositionlsquoWhy does only Coastal Road get the priority Why is the budget for roads health and education on the lower side We are not against the Coastal Road but other projects should have received equal treatment It is wrong to charge users for creating waste This budget is not in the interest of MumbaikarsrsquoYashwant Jadhav chairman standing committeelsquoTodayrsquos budget is for the progress and future of Mumbai It emphasises education and health It has been increased by 1737 even during the challenging time of the pandemic Measures have been taken to increase revenuersquoKishori Pednekar mayorlsquoThe budget is development oriented and environment friendly Even though the Centre gets the highest revenue from Mumbai it didnrsquot mention any scheme for Mumbai in the Union budgetrsquoEfforts towards greener cleaner Mumbaigtgt Rs 1 crore to create a Climate Action Cellgtgt 128 sensorbased systems to be installed to provide realtime data on AQIgtgt esweeping vehicles to be introduced to cut net carbon emisisongtgt Upgrade of cemeteries use PNG instead of wood Rs 8679 earmarkedgtgt More plantation using Miyawaki method 3 lakh trees already planted 4 lakh aimedgtgt Focus on energy efficiency building code with thrust on solar and starqualified fixtures Rs 5 crore set asidegtgt Mumbai Parking Authority to be set up It will have transport experts urban planners policy researchers Rs 2200 crore earmarkedgtgt Rs 200 allocated for rejuvenation of Dahisar Poisar OshiwaraWalbhat riversgtgt EVs with segregation compartments to pick garbage allocation Rs 1460 croregtgt Wastetoenergy plant at Deonar planned allocation for 2223 Rs 75 croregtgt Biomining and disposal of 238 lakh tonnes of waste planned provision Rs 50 croregtgt Disaster management allocation Rs 37 croregtgt Dasalination project Manori Rs 200 croregtgt 20 MW hydropower facilities and 80 MW floating solar power project Rs 103 crore