An environmental roadmap for Bengal drawn up by a group of experts and organisations was presented on June 5, World Environment Day, in Kolkata.
The event, organised by the communication platform The Plurals alongside the non-profit EnGIO, West Bengal Environment Journalists Platform and the non-profit Concern for Calcutta at the Kolkata Press Club, was attended by Swapan Dasgupta, a minister in the newly-elected BJP government in Bengal, and academics, activists and industrialists across the state. Former sheriff of Kolkata Dulal Bose chaired the session, aided by Narain Jain, head of Concern for Calcutta.
The 25-point recommendations, handed over to Dasgupta alongside ‘West Bengal Environment and Development Report 2026: In Numbers’, a report published by EnGIO that evening, stress improving environmental infrastructure, including waste management, addressing pollution and enforcing environmental laws, which are already numerous. Most importantly, the recommendations convey an expectation of strong political will from the new government to address environmental problems.
“Some small errors of judgment have caused immeasurable damage,” Dasgupta stated in a meeting in the presence of frontline environmentalists and experts from the city and beyond. The journalist-turned-politician lamented past administrative and political oversights that damaged Bengal’s crucial green assets and pointed out how Sundarban, East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW), Rabindra Sarobar, and the Kolkata Tramways have been impacted due to poor planning and corrupt practices.
Group of ministers (GoM) urged to address key green issues
The recommendations included reinvigorating the government agencies already in place: the Department of Environment, WB Pollution Control Board and related agencies with the authority to implement environmental regulations. Creating a group of ministers (GoM) to specifically address the environment was another recommendation.
Strict imposition of noise norms, including setting up of an enquiry commission to address the largely unattended cases of those who lost their lives to sound pollution or protesting noise norm violations, was another highlight, as was the call for enforcing laws in brick fields and stone crushing units.
“These are critical. All relevant laws exist, but implementation is lacking. The new government should prioritise the appropriate regulatory actions,” said Biswajit Mukherjee, former chief law officer of West Bengal Pollution Control Board.
Air pollution: disparity dominates
Air pollution is not only a concern for the city, or more specifically, Kolkata. The EnGIO report highlighted the severe levels of air pollution in several parts of Bengal as well as climatic impacts. As economist Mahalaya Chatterjee pointed out, the urban-rural divide has become irrelevant when considering many concerns. including air pollution and climatic impacts.
Between 2019-2020 and 2024-2025, PM10 levels dropped marginally in Kolkata and Barrackpore but increased significantly in Durgapur. A town in Nadia recently earned the dubious distinction of being among the top 10 most polluted cities in the world, according to a report. Residents of Kolkata and Bengal lose 49 months from their lifespan to air pollution, said the EnGIO report, citing data from the environmental research organsiation Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
The figures show a great disparity in air pollution control-related funding. While the Kolkata Municipal Corporation area received over INR 1,100 crore for air pollution control during the last five years, Howrah, which is more polluted than Kolkata, received INR 5 crore. Figures also show that a sizeable portion of the money has remained unutilised.
“There is no doubt that better planning is required for controlling air pollution in the state and the focus should not be confined to few big cities as exemplified by the recent finding that a largely unknown Nadia region was one of the most polluted global cities last year,” reminded Abhijeet Chatterjee, an air pollution expert at Bose Institute.
Climate action needed at the core of all policies
Arup Haldar, a pulmonologist, pointed out that the agenda for countering air pollution should be done in tandem with climate change and health impacts. “The Kolkata Climate Action Plan should be rolled out on the ground as soon as possible,” added Haldar.
The plan has been drawn up by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation with the help of experts, keeping climate considerations at the centre of planning. Vector-driven diseases, such as malaria and dengue, are rising with climate change.
“There should be an over-arching climate body to look after the issue of climate change at least in Kolkata Metropolitan Area,” observed Tathagata Chatterjee, an urban planner, supporting the recommendations.
The issue of drainage in Kolkata, especially given the increasingly erratic and extreme patterns of rainfall, is a major concern as is the depleting groundwater across the state. “Like several global cities, Kolkata may think of creating large reservoirs under the parks or other open spaces to hoard rain water in case of a sudden high intensity rain as happened during 2025 Durga Puja; which can be gradually released afterwards,” said Arunabha Majumdar, a drainage, water and public health expert attached to Jadavpur University.
The human-animal conflict in north and south Bengal forest areas needs immediate attention. Biswajit Roy Choudhury, a wildlife expert, pointed out that the impact of climate change and development on forests has hardly been measured.
‘Waste’ Bengal, low solar spread, Sundarban priorities
The report added that Bengal only processes a mere 8% of the waste generated, while Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh process 100% of the waste generated. Journalist and academic Buroshiva Dasgupta stressed the need for coordination among several linked departments to make the waste management happen on the ground. The report also underlined the less than adequate management of legacy waste: waste dumped over several years that pollutes the atmosphere.
The experts drew attention to Bengal’s low solar capacity and facility, restoration of the health of rivers and wetlands, including the Adi Ganga, East Kolkata Wetlands, and the Sundarban region as a priority. Sundarban’s extreme vulnerability to climate change and its implications for the rest of Bengal were highlighted. The importance of a Loss and Damage finance, that takes into account the damage already inflicted by climate change, was stressed for Sundarban.
Rejuvenate the rivers
A group of activists working on the Jalangi river demanded that the river should be restored, as did the group working on the Adi Ganga. The latter was also mentioned by Dasgupta.
The upper delta of Ganga and the river systems of Ichhamati and Jalangi need immediate attention, agreed experts. The new government was urged to act quickly on the issue with an Asian Development Bank fund apparently cleared for the project that is linked directly with the survival of Sundarban, as the island region will not survive unless silt deposits from the upper delta. .
Acdemic and Sundarban expert Tuhin Ghosh spoke about a restrictive condition overall for environmental work and research: lack of baseline data.
Green bonus, parks, tram and nontoxic agriculture
A call for restarting trams and maintenance of green spaces in the city, such as Rabindra Sarobar, was made.
Environmental economist Nilanjan Ghosh demanded a green bonus for the state to reward the environmental services that the Himalayan states provide. The recommendation was made in line of a demand that 11 Himalayan States of India made in 2019.
As agriculture expert Anghshuman Das pointed out, heat stress is affecting those who work in the open excessively. Agriculture expert Anupam Paul drew attention to the debilitating impact of boro (winter) cultivation of paddy on groundwater level in Sundarban.
Crime and no punishment
One huge concern in Bengal is the large number of unreported environmental crimes. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data for 2024, out of 57,670 environmental offences recorded nationally, only 97 were in West Bengal, far less than 1% of the total number. Tamil Nadu reported 26,475 cases, the highest in the country. Despite rampant use of DJs that create damagingly high-level noise in public spaces as well as loud speaker violations, only one case was recorded against noise norm violation in the state during the period, according to NCRB.
The rate of submission of charge sheets in environment offences in Bengal is much lower compared to the national average: 74.2% compared to 98.2%.
Physician Purnendu Roy called for penalty for violation of environment law, particularly biomedical waste management, which can prove fatal.
Minister speaks and an activist responds
“There is no shortage of money, but there lack of true intention and positive implementation,” said Swapan Dasgupta, the new minister. “Environment movement should be in the mainstream,” he added. He had earlier claimed to The Plurals that the current BJP-run government in the state has no shortage of political will to address environmental and climatic issues.
“Good to hear what the minister said in the meeting. Hopeful but with a question mark, as the BJP’s track record in protecting environment across the country is not that great,” reminded an activist, with a twinkle in his eye.