The carbon footprint of Pune is around 4.7 million tonnes and 56.38 per cent of that is because of electricity consumption according to the environment status report (ESR) of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which was tabled before the general body on Tuesday. The PMC has thus become the first municipal corporation in the country to include carbon footprint in ESR.
PMC studied the carbon footprint to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions caused by various fuels such as electricity consumption, use of petroleum products, solid waste and sewage.
The PMC studied the greenhouse gas emissions of the city for the period from 2006 to 2011 and calculated that the city’s carbon footprint is 4.7 million tonnes. In this carbon footprint of the city, 56.38 per cent of the share is of greenhouse gas emission caused by electricity consumption. Next comes petroleum products which have 36.5 per cent of the total carbon footprint of the city.
The remaining greenhouse gas emissions are caused by solid waste and sewage generated in the city.
Additional commissioner of PMC Rajendra Jagtap said, “While preparing the ESR, we focused on key issues like driving forces that take the city forward, pressure on natural resources, present status of city’s environment, impact of it on human life and how to improve the present environment status.”
The report also mentions that the city has a total population of 31,15,431 with the population growing at 22.73 per cent. With the growing city, migration has also increased as a result of which the city now has nearly 564 slums in which 11,89,724 people are staying.
Nitrogen oxide in air above danger level, warns report
The growing number of private vehicles is the main reason behind the polluted air of Pune city and the pollutants in the air raise the danger of respiratory diseases. The latest environment status report (ESR) of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) states that the residential, commercial and industrial sectors have witnessed higher level of nitrogen oxide than the specified danger limit.
The ESR tabled before the general body meeting of the PMC mentions that the nitrogen oxide in the air is above the danger level 40 microgram per cubic metre. The PMC selected certain sectors namely Navi Peth as residential sector, Mandai as commercial sector and Hadapsar as industrial sector and measured the nitrogen oxide levels in these sectors.
All the three sectors recorded higher level of nitrogen oxide than the specified danger limit. The industrial area of Hadapsar measured the highest level of nitrogen oxide.
The dust particles in the air that can cause coughing, irritation to eyes, skin diseases are called particulate matter and are above the specified limit in all residential, commercial and industrial sectors.
Mutha, Mula-Mutha river water not dangerous for species
Even though NGOs in the field of environment are criticising the quality of the water of the Mula and Mutha rivers, the Pune Municipal Corporation, in its latest environment status report (ESR) 2013-14, has claimed that the water quality of Mutha and Mula-Mutha rivers are not so polluted that it will harm the biodiversity of those rivers.
The environment status report, which was tabled at the general body meeting of the PMC on Tuesday, mentions that the level of bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) is lower than the danger level specified by the National Pollution Control Board that makes the river water safe for underwater species.
The report says the danger level of BOD specified by the board is 30 milligram per litre and from 2009 to 2012, the level of BOD was higher than the specified danger limit. However, in 2012 the level of BOD went down and it is below 30 milligram per litre which makes the water safe for underwater species.
Similarly, the danger of COD specified by the board is 150 milligram per litre. The COD is formed due to the chemical pollutants released in the water, particularly from industries. However, the PMC has claimed that since there is not much industrial area in the city, the level of COD is lower than the danger level.
Rajendra Jagtap, additional municipal commissioner of PMC said, “The Mutha river has lower level of BOD on the outskirts of the city, but as the river flows into the heart of the city, the BOD level increases as lot of sewage water is released into the river. The Mutha river does not have much of COD but the Mula river which flows from industrial area of PCMC towards Pune carries COD. When it meets Mutha river near Sangam bridge, the BOD as well as COD level of the Mula-Mutha river increases.”
The BOD level in Bhairoba Nala, Nagzari and Ambil Odha is much higher than the specified danger level.
In case of Katraj and Pashan lakes, the BOD level has increased in 2012 compared to previous year, however it is still below specified danger level. On the other hand the COD level in these lakes is below specified danger limit but it is alarmingly increasing.
Tree plantation went down in 2011-12
Though the recent tree census of Pune city shows that the city has over 38.6 lakh trees, the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) latest environmental status report (ESR) 2012-13 states that the tree plantation drive carried out by the PMC for 2011-12 has gone considerably down. While in 2010-11, the PMC planted nearly 70,000 trees, in 2011-12 it could manage to plant barely 30,000 trees.
The municipal administration in the ESR has mentioned that it has taken active steps for conservation of ecology and undertaken a project for increasing the green cover of the city by planting more trees.
According to the tree census of Pune city that was completed in 2012, there are 38,60,055 trees in the city. The ESR mentions that the PMC managed to carry out tree plantation on a major scale for the last couple of years. In 2009-10, the PMC planted 55,000 trees and in 2010-11, the plantation improved and the PMC planted nearly 70,000 trees. However in 2011-2012 there was a drop in tree plantation considerably and the civic body could plant around 30,000 trees only.
While the civic body dropped tree plantation activity, private organisations and individuals seem to have taken up the responsibility of planting more trees. According to the ESR, there was hardly any participation from the private sector regarding tree plantation activities in 2009-10, but in 2010-11, the private sector managed to plant around 5,000 trees in PMC limits. The tree plantation activity further increased in 2011-12 where the private sector planted over 10,000 trees in Pune.
City high on trees to population ratio, Aundh leads
The ESR also categorised areas of the city with comparison of number of trees along with population ratio of that particular area. According to the ESR, Aundh area has nearly three times more trees compared to the population of that area. After Aundh, it is Sahakarnagar area that has two times more trees than the population in that area. The Kasba Peth area has the least trees compared to the number of people in that area. Ashok Ghorpade, garden superintendent of PMC said, “Ideally there should be one tree for every 100 square metres and Pune city has area of nearly 243 square kilometres. For that much area, the city should have 24 lakh trees, but we have over 38 lakh trees in the city.”
Fewer building permissions last year
Though real estate is a booming industry in Pune city, the latest environmental status report shows that 2012 witnessed the least number of permissions given for construction in the last five years. While the PMC granted 4,623 permissions for construction in 2011-12, it granted 4,073 permissions in 2012-13.
Due to the growth in the IT and automobile sector, Pune has been witnessing tremendous growth in the real estate sector as lot of people prefer to settle here due to job opportunities. The city recording a rise in number of new buildings that were coming up in the last five years. But last year saw a dip in the number of permissions granted for construction.
According to the statistics given in the latest ESR, PMC granted 4,397 permissions in 2007-08. The number of permissions increased further in 2008-09 as it granted 4,453 building permissions. The permissions reduced in 2009-10 as the civic body granted 4,171 building permissions. However, 2010-11 witnessed an increase in the permission with the civic body granting 4,420 permissions. The year 2011-12 recorded the highest permissions with 4,623 projects being given the green signal. But 2012-13 recorded the lower ever permissions granted for construction and only 4,073 building permissions were given.
The total of floor space index (FSI) granted in 2012-13 has dipped. In 2012-13, a total of 66,13,245.63 sq metres FSI was granted as against 74,01,991.55 sq metre FSI in 2011-12.
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