Bengal Government to invest Rs 650 crore on green city mission

KOLKATA: The urban development department in West Bengal is acting on chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s vision to increase the green cover across Bengal.

The Urban Development department has decided to spend Rs 650 crore to ensure the same.

“Plans have been taken for comprehensive development of the areas. The schemes taken up under the Green City Mission include conservation of waterbodies, illumination through LED lights, installation of high mast lights, landscaping along historic buildings, development of parks and green spaces. We will also take up plans to improve IT-enabled citizen services and safe transportation system,” said Firhad Hakim, the state urban development minister.

The green city mission apart, under the Nirmal Bangla project, ten integrated solid waste management projects at an estimated cost of Rs 421crore have been approved for 14 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). The department has allocated Rs 4.52 crore for all the 125 ULBs to create awareness against malaria and dengue. It has also taken the initiative to provide safe drinking water in all the ULBs. Safe drinking water project has been commissioned in 34 ULBs and the work is in progress in 51 ULBs.