We are changing habits: Vijay Nehra

City administration says the efforts are now to change the habits of citizens preferably through education or else through penal actions. In an interview to DNA, Vijay Nehra, commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) said that the administration is determined to tackle legacy issues in areas of water and air pollution. Systems and process are being put in place so that cleanliness drives will be sustainable.

Which are the key initiatives for World Environment Day taken up by the city administration?

Ahmedabad has been facing legacy issues in terms of pollution of air, water and land. For years, untreated sewage water was being discharged in Sabarmati river, while solid waste of entire city is being dumped at Pirana. It (Environment Day) is an historic day when multiple initiatives will be launched, that has the potential to alter the way Ahmedabad is being looked at.

How do we plan to clean the Sabarmati river?

Till now untreated sewage water was discharged, which was the major cause of the problem. Also people threw plastic and other garbage into the river. We have identified 44 points from where untreated water was being drained into the river. Now almost all of 180 million litres per day (MLD) of water being drained into the river is treated. We are draining out all the dirty water from the river. Beginning June 5, over 20,000 citizens will be cleaning the river, by picking up the garbage and plastic. We believe that when people will themselves clean the river, and others will see them cleaning the river, they will not make it dirty.

We have seen that previous initiative have fizzled out as actions were not followed up with proper institutional mechanism. What follow up actions you have planned?

There is a large segment in the society which will voluntarily not throw garbage in the river. Those who will still continue to make the river dirty, will have to pay a hefty fine. Every month we are collecting a fine of Rs one crore from those who throw garbage (at public places). So habits are changing. We have also procured skimming machines to clean the river.

What are your plans to tackle air pollution?

Ahmedabad has only six lakh trees with a green cover of just 4.5 per cent. Through out the four months of monsoon, we plan to plant 10 lakh saplings. We have micro-planned the sites for plantation, from where these will be sources, how to guard them. We have prepared five lakh saplings in our own nursery and we are working with the forest department as well. About 100 places have been identified for urban forestry. We are also upgrading our public transport buses which will operate on CNG and electricity.

In the aftermath of Surat fire tragedy, how is AMC upgrading its safety mechanisms.

It is wrong to say that we swing in to action after the Surat fire incident. We had begun our exercise much earlier, but the media did not take note of it. Eighteen fire stations were without Station Fire Officers and Deputy Fire Station Officers. We had started recruitment process much earlier. However it was met with resistance from the unions, litigations and even code of conduct for elections. Negligence cannot be misunderstood for accident. We are levying hefty fines on offenders.