The West Bengal state budget presented by the new BJP government on Monday attempted to embrace key climate concerns of the state, though experts pointed out that a few environmental issues were not adequately addressed. The latest budget also claims to be ‘sustainable development goal’ (SDG) compliant — a first for the state — and comes with a statement saying key developmental goals had been addressed.
“This budget has catered to the needs of all,” claimed chief minister Subhendu Adhikary after the submission of the budget.
“As we present this budget, we renew our solemn commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals and to the people of West Bengal,” said finance minister Swapan Dasupta, presenting the budget.
The minister proposed several climate change-linked initiatives in the budget, focusing on Sundarban and solar power.
Sundarban in focus
“The Sundarbans are an ecologically fragile area, very critical from the point of view of climate change and bio-diversity. They are also the home to many people from marginalised sections of the 104 islands, 54 are inhabited,” said Dasgupta. “Use of waterways is the most sustainable and eco-friendly option to reach out to the remote islands for providing education, health and livelihood related services. I therefore propose to provide a budgetary support of ₹100 crore for construction of pontoon-based jetties and related infrastructure to improve connectivity,” said the minister. “In addition, solar operated boats with low carbon footprints will be promoted for carrying goods and passengers,” added Dasgupta.
The minister also pointed out that both the Upper and Lower Sundarban Delta projects would be implemented with fund support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank respectively. The projects, totalling INR 1,353 crore and INR 4,100 crore respectively, were conceived and in principle cleared by the state during the Trinamul era, but were awaiting central clearances. Both projects, planned in tandem, are considered critical for the survival of Sundarban. Over and above this, the minister proposed undertaking a central government scheme for the reconstruction of around 60 km of embankments in Sundarban using nature-based technologies.
Solar push
To match the state’s current and expected peak power demand, the minister proposed the expansion of thermal power as well as maximising solar power potential.
“The state’s current peak power demand is 13 Gigawatts. With the new thrust on development and enhanced flow of investments, the peak demand is expected to surge to 16 Gigawatts in the next two years and to 27 Gigawatts by 2035. In order to meet this additional demand, the Government is fully geared up to plan and build new thermal power plants both by the state and the private sector…In addition, solar energy will also be harnessed to its full potential,” said the minister.
“A Mega Floating Solar Photovoltaic Project with Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will be set up at Bakreshwar Dam at a total financial outlay of around ₹2,000 crore,” he added.
“To promote solar energy adoption and empower village communities to achieve energy self-reliance, PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, which offers financial subsidies to domestic consumers for installing rooftop solar power systems will be implemented in the state with the target of 2 lakh rooftop solar installations. The state government will encourage greater generation of solar power and its consumption, both to make affordable power to the industries as well as meet climate goals,” pointed out Dasgupta.
SDG compliant
The SDG linked budget publication number 31 — a statement making allocations for sustainable goals (SDG) 2026-27, a copy of which is with The Plurals — claims that the nearly INR 3.01 lakh crore budget has been allotted to address the 17 goals, the amount making for about 69% of the total INR 4.38 lakh crore outlay of the state budget. The chief minister said the budget, covering the remaining eight months of the financial year, takes care of everyone’s needs.
According to figures accessed, the maximum allotment – INR 53,000 crore — has been made to address SDG 10, reducing inequalities, followed by investment in SDG 1(no poverty), SDG 8 (economic growth) and SDG 4 (education). The assessment has been done in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Good but scope to improve
“It has been a very good budget from the environment and climate change point of view and that, too, prepared on such short notice,” observed Dipak Dasgupta, former chief economic advisor of the Union Government and founding member of the global Green Climate Fund. “Almost all the boxes have been ticked. It is not only good to see the investment being made in climate adaptation but also the proposal that carbon credit will be utilised to raise revenue,” added Nilanjan Ghosh, economist and head of the think tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).“The budget allotted to the environment department is hardly Rs 100 crore, and there has been no mention to combat critical issues like waste management, air pollution and likewise,” said Biswajit Mukherjee, a national award winning environmentalist from Bengal.