By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit Saturday termed sustainable development and making the national capital more habitable a challenge that needed to be addressed by all stakeholders.
“The city of Delhi with 18 million population is facing a big challenge of achieving sustainable development,” Dikshit said while releasing the State of Environment Report for Delhi on the occasion of World Environment Day.
“Therefore, this report doesn’t just highlight the achievements but also the challenges the city faces and action needed to make the city more habitable. The work has been done by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI),” she added.
Talking about the report, Dikshit said that the first chapter broadly covers urban growth pressures – population, transport, industries, land-use changes and economic intensity – and at the same time, emphasizes on future projections and efforts towards a carbon neutral Commonwealth Games 2010.
“The second chapter is on the key environment parameters, namely air, water, land, forests and climate change. This section provides information on various natural resources and outlines the future strategies for abatement of pollution and conservation,” Dikshit said.
“The third chapter highlights key environmental concerns for sustainable development and also gives recommendations for measures that can be taken for energy efficiency and conservation in municipal services, residential and commercial sector,” she added.
At the end, the report emphasizes on the need for mapping all the natural resources and environmental assets of Delhi for making better policy decisions.
“I hope the report will serve as a useful document for policy makers, NGOs and government agencies in policy making and maintaining a balance between development and conservation,” she said.
“I hope it sensitizes citizens, authorities and other stake holders about the need for a long-term strategy to improve the quality of our environment,” the chief minister said.
To celebrate the day and stress on the importance of eco-friendly transport, the chief minister also flagged off a rally of battery operated cars and bikes from her residence to the Commonwealth Park on the Africa Avenue.