“east kolkata wetland” ecosystem - the need assessment study - mr. asesh sengupta

8/19/2019 “East Kolkata Wetland” ecosystem - The need assessment study - Mr. Asesh Sengupta.

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Introducing the need assessment study of

“East Kolkata Wetland” ecosystem -Mr. Asesh Sengupta, Project Consultant

There are enough documentation on East Kolkata Wetland. So what we are

approaching here, in this study, is not just another documentation. Rather we are

finding the gaps, through this need assessment study. And these finding are

meant to help policymakers. Prof. Abhijit Kundu made the point very clear in thebeginning itself; and that made the study particularly interesting. Prof. Goswami,

Director, BIT Kolkata, made it very specific, and explained the interface where a

technology and management institute can join hand with Social Science. Mr.

Asim Barman (IAS, retd.) who was instrumental behind the East Kolkata Wetland

Acts (as the then Principal Secretary, Dept of Environment, Government of West

Bengal) always made it sure that the study serves a bigger policy purpose.

It took four months to understand that, there are no structured institutional data

available on East Kolkata Wetland. As these institutional interactions used to

take some time, around fifth month of the study, Prof. Kundu instructed the team

to develop a way to collect primary data. Thanks to Mr. Asim Barman that he

referred the social research organization, “Kolkata Commons Centre for

Interdisciplinary Research and Analytics” a road map was developed to reachall seven Panchayats spread over three blocks, within the East Kolkata Wetland.

With the help of “Kolkata Commons CIRA” meetings were conducted explaining


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Contents

Page

Introduction 1The Site 1

Geology and Climatic Features 2

Water 2

Land Use pattern 2

Flora 2

Fauna 3

The Wetlands system and the local community 3

Existing Conservation measure 4Improvement of Agricultural Area 5

East Kolkata Wetlands: Background and Genesis 5

A timeline of East Kolkata Wetland 7

Institutional Initiatives 12

Previous development initiatives 14

Production system at EKW 15

Constrains in EKW system 16

Need Assessment 20Problems regarding the Sewage Canals and the Fish Ponds 23

Irrigation and Drainage 24

Other Problems in Sewage-fed Fish Cultivation and Vegetable Cultivation 24

Problems & Threats 27

Regional Categorisation — Problem census and Defining Management objectives 28

Substantially Waterbody Area 35

Improvement of Agricultural Area 37

Improvement of Productive Farming Area 38

List of references: Books and Articles 39Annexure - 1 Keynote Address by Asim Barman, IAS (Retd.) National Conference On WetlandsOrganized By ICAR, CIFRI & SAFE, March 02, 2014, CIFRI, Barrackpore

42

Annexure - 2 Calcutta High Court Verdict 1992 46


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INTRODU TION

The wetlands to the east of Kolkata are well known over the world for their multiple

uses. The resource recovery system, developed by the local people through ages using

waste water from the city, is the largest in the world and unique of its type. In the

process, it treats the waste water and has saved the city of Kolkata from constructing

and maintaining a wastewater treatment plant. It also is the only metropolitan city inthe world where the State Government has introduced development controls to

conserve the water bodies. The wetland is largely human made, comprising intertidal

marshes including salt marshes, salt meadows with significant waste water treatment

areas like sewage farms, settling ponds, oxidation basins. The East Kolkata Wetlands,

provide three basic securities, which are critical for the third world countries — food,

sanitation and livelihood. The East Kolkata wetlands system is the vital component of

the friendly water regime that provides ecological security to the mega city of Kolkata.

The East Kolkata Wetlands comprises a large number of water bodies distributed across

the districts of South and North 24 Parganas adjacent to the Eastern part of Kolkata. The

multifunctional wetland ecosystem is of an area of 12,500 hectares and it comprises 254

sewage fed fisheries, agricultural field, solid waste farms and some built up areas in

ddi i h l d A l f l d h b h ld’ l


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Geology and Climatic Features

Climate here is more or less sub-tropical with the annual mean rainfall around 200 cm.

The maximum temperature during summer rises around 390 C. while minimum

temperature during winter is around 100C. The average temperature during most part

of the year is around 300C. During day time with a fall in temperature of 5-60C.at night

(Garg et.al., 1998).

Water

Hydrology of this wetland is particularly different from any other aquatic systems. The

wetland has as such no catchment area of its own, although an estimated amount of

approximately 250 million gallons of sewage per day is being charged into it. So far as

ground water is concerned, there is hardly any good aquifer upto a depth of 400 feet.

Water is present in basically perched aquifers. The total dissolved solid content

sometimes exceeds 1800 ppm. The water table stands at a depth of 8m.with a

downward fluctuation of 1-2m. during summer. (Garg et. al., 1998). In the fishery water

the average pH is 7.5. In the fisheries the BOD remains within the range from 35 to 50

ppm. & COD remains within the range from 55 to 140 ppm. (Saha and Ghosh, 2003).

Land Use pattern

The breakup of the sector wise land use of the EKW area as found from the analysis of

the satellite supported by actual ground survey is given below:

(i) Substantially Waterbody-oriented Area 5852 14 Hectare


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Fauna

Amongst the rare mammals marsh mongoose and small Indian mongoose, palm civet

and small Indian civet are significant in and around East Kolkata Wetland area. About

20 mammals are reported from this region. Threatened reptiles like, Indian mud turtle

is also reported occasionally from the adjacent locality. Presently, more than 40 bird

species comprising of both local and migratory types are reported to visit these cluster

of wetlands. Among these grebe, coot, darter, shag, cormorant, teals, egrets, jacanas,

snipes, tern, eagle, sand piper, gulls, rails and kingfishers are significant.

The Wetlands system and the local community

What happened was this: Retention of wastewater in the ponds, before the initial

stocking of fish, allowed bacteria to act upon the organic matter in the sewage and

decompose the organic waste. The growth of these beneficial bacteria was supported by

the algae that thrived in these shallow ponds under the ample sunshine. The algae also

provided food for the fish. This ecosystem provides a natural kidney for the city's

organic wastewater. So a double boon was taking place: The organic sewage was being

treated by the natural ecosystem, and was producing rich quantities of fish food on

which the local varieties thrive.

So stable has the system been that in spite of assaults by developers, the area still

supports the world's largest ensemble of wastewater fish ponds, nearly 250 covering


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of the poorer areas recognize municipal wastewater as a nutrient pool that can be used

in fisheries and agriculture.Informations from Fishery Co-operative Societies of East Kolkata Wetland reveals that,

this World’s largest wastewater fed aquaculture system produces about 13,000 tonnes

fish per year and as such provides the livelihood of more or less 60,000 inhabitants of

this area. This has been possible due to development and practice by the fishermen of

this area, since 70 years and unique eco-based sustainable technology for the treatment

of raw sewage of the city flowing through drainage channel in and around these areas.

Existing Conservation measure

The conservation area boundary for the East Kolkata wetlands and waste-recycling

region was mapped in 1985 by the State Planning Board, Government of West Bengal.

This wetland area is protected by order of the Kolkata High Court in 1992, which

prohibits change in land use. High Court directed the State government to take recourse

to statutory cover, if required, to prevent any private alienation of land. Recently, the

Director of land and Land Records, Govt.of West Bengal has issued a fresh order

prohibiting any conversion of land use within the conservation area boundary and

declaring all such conversions, that have taken place since 1992, as void. Filling up ofwater bodies in this area is not permissible under West Bengal Town and Country

(Planning and Development) Act 1979 as well as under the West Bengal Inland


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Improvement of Agricultural Area

The West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Act, 1981National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement on Environment and

Development – 1992

Water (Prevention and Control of

Pollution) Act - 1974 (Amended 1988)

East Kolkata Wetlands: Background andGenesis

East Kolkata Wetlands, the waste-recycling

region of Kolkata has a long history dating

back to the late eighteenth century. Shortly

after the foundation of the city, sewage and

most solid waste were disposed in the

Bidyadhari River from a specially

constructed jetty; and some solid waste was

also used as infill. Overall, this system

proved to be unhygienic and it was widely

acknowledged that a better strategy was


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disruption to both the fish producing drainage channel and the market. However,

discharge of sewage carried in the SWF canal resulted in brackish lagoons, less saline,and freshwater fish which colonized these lagoons. It is also likely that some informal

stocking of fish was undertaken. An account given by Mr. P. Ghosh, former Secretary of

the Fish Producers’ Association suggests that the earliest attempt at formal aquaculture,

deliberately exploiting wastewater was undertaken by Mr. Bidhu Bhushan Sarkar in

1918. Subsequently, construction of the Dr. B. N. Dey Outfall Scheme increased

accessibility of farmers in the area to wastewater, which in turn encouraged others to

adopt wastewater aquaculture.


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to 1972, a further 320 ha were reclaimed to extend Salt Lake City. In 1972, there were

4646 ha of fisheries. During the period 1978-1979 the East Calcutta Township and PatuliTownship were developed, converting 670 ha and 240 ha respectively.

Encroachment: Comparing the

LANDSAT TM Satellite data of

’92 with IKONOS Satellite data

of ’03 it has been identified that

some new settlements have

come up ignoring the historical

Calcutta High Court verdict in

1992, in EKW area. The verdict

of Calcutta High Court by

Hon. Justice Mr. Umesh

Chandra Banerjee, Sept., 1992 -

‘….Incidentally, it was contended that from 20000 acres the Calcutta’s wetlands

gradually shrank to 10,000 acres out of private initiative only and private initiative are

now much more stronger than before.’


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1803 Lord Wellesley noticed that drainage system of Kolkata is

extremely defective

1821 On behalf of Lottery committee, Lt. Schalch, Engineer of

Irrigation Dept., Bengal government, proposed to construct

masonry sewers.

1829-1833 Excavation of Circular canal.

1830 The Government of India wanted to reclaim the Salt Lake to

expand site.

1833 Construction of the Cossipore Lock.

1840 The Fever Hospital Committee reported that the main cause of

the deterioration of public health was the poor drainage

system.

1853 Mr. William Clarck, Chief Sanitary Engineer, prepared a new

detailed drainage scheme.

1857 Mr. William Clarck’s plan of underground drainage system was

accepted.

1864 A portion of the swampy area in the Salt Water Lake Region

was acquired for dumping of garbage.1865 A Salt Lake Reclamation Company offered to undertake the

reclamation work. But due to financial problems it did not take


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1881 A part of the leased land was acquired for works in

connection with the storm water channel.

1882 Construction of Dhapa Lock.

1884 Underground city sewers were laid.

1887 A new fish ghat, named Pagladanga, was established.

1895-97 Construction of Bhangor Canal.

1897 Some additional land was acquired for Drainage work.

Bhangor Kata khal was excavated.

1904 It was noticed that 452 bighas out of 1658 bighas of leased

land were under cultivation (mainly garbage farming).

1906 A five-mile storm-water reservoir was excavated from Palmer

Bazar to The Bidyadhari river at Bantala.

1908-1910 Krishnapur (kestopur) khal was excavated.

1929 First time commercial pisciculture was practiced by a private

entrepreneur.

1947 After Independence a large no. of refugees came to Kolkata.

1947 The actual development of Salt lake started after the

formation of the committee to examine the drainage problem.

30th

Jan. 1953 A preliminary report presenting the general outlines to solve

the problem of reclamation was prepared.


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resolution was adopted to place the question of feasibility

before the high-level commission with judicial and technical

experts.

24th

July,1959 A Fact Finding committee consisting leading Congressmen and

bheri owners approached the Secretary to the Chief Minister.

9th September, 1959 A Fact Finding committee consisting of the leading

Congressmen and bheri owners submitted a memorandum

recommending abandonment of the proposed reclamation

plan the Chief Minister.

1960-1961 Some Planning decision had taken place for Calcutta

metropolitan district regarding water supply sewage drainage.

15th February 1961 The preliminary works of reclamation was started.

1961-1971 The growth rate of the East Kolkata was 15.1% and the growth

rate of the core Kolkata was 7.2%.

March, 1962 The actual works of reclamation was started.

1965 The Essential Commodities Act was formed. Following this Act

the licensing system in pisciculture was introduced to control

prices of fish.

1966 The Traffic and Transportation Plan-16 (T.T.Plan) was


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I

nstitutional Initiatives

State Government’s initiative: After this high court verdict the State Govt. started

considering the matter of conserving and protecting east Kolkata wetland more

seriously. The Department of Land & Land Reforms in association with the Department

of Environment, Govt. of West Bengal, made a detail land schedule of EKW showing all

the mouzas (full & part) falling in this area. This land schedule and a report describing

the uniqueness of EKW was sent to the Ramsar convention by the Govt. of India for

considering it as a “wetland of international importance”. As a consequence the Ramsar

Convention has declared this wetland as a Ramsar site on 19th August 2002. It has been

designated as Ramsar site no 1208 and has been included as the 19th Ramsar site in

India.

After the Ramsar declaration of East Kolkata Wetland (EKW) as an important site the

state government of West Bengal has formed a management committee under the

chairmanship of the

Chief Secretary. The objective of this committee is to look after the conservation and

restoration of the wetland. Under the management of this committee the whole area has

been delineated plot wise and area wise using the high-resolution satellite data. The

management committee has formulated an outline management plan for proper

conservation of this internationally important wetland. In March 2006 the West Bengal

Legislature has passed The East Kolkata Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Actfor conservation and management of EKW and for matters connected therewith. It was

mentioned in this Act that an authority named the East Kolkata Wetlands Management


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a highly significant role in degrading the organic matter in the wastewater, it becomes a

problem of pond management to tackle the phenomenon of plankton overgrowth. It is

at this critical phase of the ecological process that the fishes play an important role by

grazing on the plankton. The two fold role played by the fishes is indeed crucial – they

maintain proper balance of the plankton population in the pond and also convert the

available nutrients in the wastewater into readily consumable form (viz. fish) for the

humans. This complex ecological process has been adopted by the fish farmers of the

East Kolkata Wetland, who have developed such a mastery of these resource recovery

activities that they are easily growing fish at an yield rate and production costunmatched in any other fresh water fish ponds of this country. Apart from sewer

Kolkata generates roughly 2500 Metric Tonnes of garbage (viz. solid wastes), which is

collected daily and dumped at designated sites in the East Kolkata wetland. The

Garbage filled area is extensively used to raise a variety of vegetables. The city receives

roughly 150 Metric Tonnes of vegetable everyday from its garbage farms. On the other

hand, the conventional technology options for the treatment of municipal sewage andwastewater have been found to be excessively capital intensive, operationally unreliable

and highly energy expensive. Compare this with the city of Kolkata which gets its huge

volumes of daily sewage treated at no expense and getting in addition substantial daily

supply of highly edible freshwater fish (a very essential protein supplement in their

daily food). In fact, Kolkata city receives about one third of its daily requirement of fish

from the sewage-fed fisheries (about 11,000 Metric tonnes per annum).

The waste water ponds as well as garbage dumping fields all over EKW absorb and

treat huge volume of wastewater urban solid and air wastes generated by the Kolkata


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Major land-water interface (LWI) production systems in peri-urban Kolkata have been

described by a number of authors. Strategies employed include horticulture,

wastewater aquaculture and irrigated rice production (Olah, Sharangi and Datta 1986;

Ghosh and Sen, 1987; Ghosh, 1990; Ghosh, 1991; Kundu, 1994; Jana, 1998). Horticulture

practices have evolved to use nutrient enriched wastewater from the city for irrigation,

and to exploit organic residues, separated from solid waste collected in Kolkata, as a

nutrient source and soil conditioner. Ponds managed for wastewater aquaculture have

been established in wetland areas close to sewerage canals draining away from the city;

rice paddies further from the urban fringe are also irrigated with wastewater from thesedrainage canals. In conjunction, these practices have evolved to produce dynamic,

interdependent farming systems at the LWI in peri -urban Kolkata. This review

summarises previous development initiatives related to production systems at the

Kolkata peri -urban interface, describes the major production systems, constraints

facing operators, benefits that may be contributing to the continued operation of these

systems and finally identifies some key knowledge gaps that require furtherinvestigation.

From the review it is evident that although much is known regarding the management

and operation of the large-scale aquaculture and horticulture enterprises in the region,

no work has been done on collecting primary data through household survey in East

Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) area for assessing the scope of optimum use of natural as well

as human resources and to understand the need of capacity building. Furthermore,

despite the proposition that these peri -urban production systems supply affordable

vegetables fish and livestock to urban markets it is not known whether poor


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waste resources. Contributions to the UNDP -ESCAP-World Bank sponsored workshop

highlighted aspects of wastewater reuse practices for aquaculture, including a series of

recommendations for further research on the design and operation of culture systems,

public health aspects and technology transfer and dissemination (Edwards and Pullin,

1990). Following this conference, it was widely acknowledged that the East Kolkata

Wetlands system should be investigated further to elucidate the complexity of the

interrelationships within wastewater aquaculture systems (Edwards, pers. comm.).

Subsequently, ODA commissioned a project identification mission (Asian Institute of

Technology, 1991) and following this initial review, ODA commissioned LagoonTechnology International Limited to conduct a pre-appraisal mission to develop a

research proposal for a two phase project, the first focusing on the operation and

performance of existing wastewater aquaculture practices and the second facilitating

the implementation of findings and recommendations (Lagoon Technology

International, 1993). Despite a comprehensive description of the physical nature, health

risks, social aspects, environmental considerations and future prospects, a detailedproject proposal and an assessment of local institutional capacity, ODA requested a

follow -up mission prior to commissioning the full project (Muir, Goodwin and Walker,

1994). The purpose of this study was to develop a more integrated approach

considering the relative merits of alternative sewage treatment and wastewater

aquaculture, and also identified potential clients for research outputs. The authors

concluded that a major research and development project was difficult to justify, and

that a more modest study would be appropriate. This could review existing

information, provide initial technical and economic data to waste managers and assist

in creating a focus for further development including support for local actors and


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production systems i.e. wastewater aquaculture and horticulture are discussed in more

detail in the following sections. Rice production in paddy fields at the Kolkata peri–

urban interface has also been described and this aspect of the agro -ecosystem is

reviewed below. However, having reviewed the literature, it appears that little work

has been undertaken regarding the importance of livestock in the LWI production

systems at the Kolkata peri urban interface.

In Peri -urban EKW aquaculture, horticulture and rice production have a mutual

dependence on wastewater from Kolkata, however. The nature of agreements and

strategies for sharing the wastewater resource have not been widely reported, nor theconstraints associated with this mutual dependence. The general extent of these farming

practices have been described and mean levels of productivity have been extrapolated.

However, knowledge on the range of productivity and the relationship this has with

access to resources, input levels and management strategies has not been reported.

Furthermore, the apparent lack of studies regarding livestock farming around Kolkata

may be a significant oversight as it has been shown the livestock production at the peri–urban interface of other cities plays several important roles in the livelihoods of poor

people (Richardson and Whitney, 1995; Brook and Davila, 2000; Nunan, 2000). With respect

to Hubli-Dharwad, India, Nunana (2000) noted that urban dairies contribute to

household nutrition and income generation, manure inputs are important in

maintaining soil fertility and livestock provide draught power for other peri -urban

agricultural activities. The following section presents a review of possible constraints to

the continued operation of the major production systems outlined above.

Constrains in EKW system:


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Urban development encroaching into peri -urban areas affects the physical nature of the

environment and leads to more subtle changes in social interactions. In the recent past

the Indian government imposed compulsory acquisition on peri-urban areas used for

horticulture and wastewater aquaculture; this had both a direct impact on those people

displaced and generated feelings of insecurity within the more general community. The

largely unregulated sprawl of the urban fringe is seen as an irresistible force, once again

generating feelings of insecurity. Feelings of insecurity manifest themselves in what

have been termed „law and order‟ problems (Kundu, 1994); it would appear that

disgruntled laborers, confused as to the legal basis of ownership, dewater the pondsand poach the fish prior to the seemingly inevitable cessation in operations. The

distribution of benefits derived from aquaculture to a wider section of the community

can occur through the presentation of fish to family and friends in the form of gifts; this

custom was reportedly widespread in Saidpur , Bangladesh. In addition, it was found

that through the distribution of some fish at harvest time to community members

residing closest to the ponds, it was possible to reduce the proportion of unaccountedfor fish. This was attributed to either a reduction in poaching carried out by the

recipients or greater vigilance on behalf of these neighbors, reducing the incidence of

both poaching and predation (Bunting, Edwards and Muir , 1999). In contrast to the

scenario presented above, the demand for land and potential benefit from selling this

asset may encourage some owners to limit access to their property; from the perspective

of the owner, restricting access may prevent others from laying claim to rights over the

property and reduce the potential for conflict that could delay or disrupt the sale.

Mechanisms employed to restrict access may include the termination of leases or

actively discouraging the continued operation of production practices Feelings of


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manageable nutrient sources e.g. inorganic fertiliser, as opposed to relying on an

unpredictable supply of free wastewater from the city. The inadequate supply of

wastewater was only one of a number of technical factors identified during interviews

with key informants that could potentially be threatening the sustainability of the

existing wastewater aquaculture system. The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC)

and Department of Irrigation and Waterways (DIW) are responsible for the distribution

of the wastewater to the wetlands to the east of Kolkata; however, these departments

are under no obligation to supply the needs of the aquaculturists in the area.

Individuals involved in aquaculture have no say in the control of the water level in thesupply channels and consequently the supply of sewage is largely unpredictable. It has

been suggested that the wastewater aquaculturists find themselves in this position as no

payment is made for the waste resource (Muir et al., 1994). Other factors also constrain

the equitable distribution of wastewater resources amongst users. Siltation of the urban

drainage systems has been implicated in limiting the degree of control that the urban

authorities have over the levels of wastewater in the canals used to supply fishponds;problems with the maintenance of pumping stations and regulating the operation of

sluice gates have also been implicated in hampering the delivery of wastewater (Kundu,

1994). A further facto r to consider is that of competition between those groups

exploiting the wastewater resource (Kundu, 1994). Introducing a pricing system for the

waste resource may be one approach to optimising the use of the waste resource,

although, such a strategy would probably disadvantage the poor. The potential of

developing markets for waste resources in stimulating improved supply channels has

been further highlighted by Furedy et al. (1997); these authors suggested that where

traditional solid waste reuse practices have declined establishing markets for organic


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demand for products from such systems. Operators of peri -urban farming systems

have to manage uncertain and variable waste resource inputs and contend with the

limited availability to loans and information. In combination these factors have lead to a

reluctance to innovate and invest in enhanced management approaches. Furthermore,

contamination, disease problems, environmental degradation and risk -averse

management strategies may have led to the widely perceived decline in productivity

within the peri-urban farming systems, reducing the competitiveness of these farming

enterprises.


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N

eed ssessment

The principal benefits that may be associated with peri -urban production systems have

been summarized in this paragraph. For poor people the most tangible of these benefits

appear to be employment, income generation and food security. However, wider

benefits afforded to society by such production systems i.e. health protection, economic

benefits, resource recovery, environmental protection and additional functional and

nonfunctional values may also play an important role in the livelihoods of poor people.

According to Goodland (1990) the World Bank has acknowledged the need to include a

wider range of issues in economic decisions and to revise the economic appraisal of

projects to include externalities and sustainability. From this review it is evident that a

more thorough assessment of the wide range of benefits associated with peri –urban

production systems will be useful in informing target institutions, planners and policy

makers of the true value of these systems to both poor people and society in general.

Considering the politcal economy as well the as the ecological history so far of this

wetland the paradigm of collaborative resource manageement i.e., Co-management willbe best-suited guiding principle for the conservaiton of this wetland. The capacity

development intervention will follow the principles of co-management as in-built


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critical means of doing this is through the use of participatory research and

implementation approaches.

Any effective management plan will have to address the different types of problems

related to these different types of lands and land use pattern. Simultaneously, the

possibility of alternative and better uses within the given parameters need to be

explored.

For example, the watercourses need to be widened and de-silted in a manner which iseconomical and which meets the demands of agriculture and fish farming.

In respect of agriculture, it has been pointed out that paddy cultivation is becoming

uneconomical over time because of rising input costs. The original cultivators are

showing a tendency to switch over either to fisheries or alienate their land to real estate

agents.

So far as waste disposal site is concerned two things need to be thoroughly looked into

in a long-term management plan. It may be pointed out that garbage disposal site is no

longer one but two, threatening to be three in the near future. While the garbage of

Kolkata is still being dumped in the Dhapa area, Salt Lake Municipal Authority is

dumping its garbage at Mollar Bheri (a Ramsar site). It is expected that when Rajarhat

Township comes up it will also encroach upon the wetland because it is adjacent. From


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waterbodies and proper management of the sewage disposal system ensuring

participation of the local stake holders, the NGOs and community based organizations.

So far as alternatives to agriculture as viable economic options are concerned proper

survey needs be taken up to explore the possibilities of introducing horticulture and

floriculture in degraded wetlands and part of the uplands which will once again bind

the owners or the lease-holders with their own lands. They have to be motivated not to

alienate their lands.Similarly, the possibility of developing parts of the uplands and degraded wetlands into

nature and thematic parks as well as education cum recreation centers should be

explored. In fact, the areas can be imaginatively used to stock many of the commonly

known but vanishing species of flora and fauna, which Bengal was once proud of and

which have repeatedly been mentioned in the Bengali literature.

The idea of re-locating the Calcutta Zoological Garden in these areas may also be

revived and re-explored.

Proper study is also required for the study of wetland biosphere so as to prepare an

effective plan for the maintenance of its bio-diversity.

There is a persistent suggestion from the local people that keeping an eye to future

development of not only the wetland area but also the region as a whole, the old


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Horticulture, aquaculture and paddy farming practices exploiting wastewater and

garbage resources in peri-urban Kolkata produce significant quantities of fresh market

produce. It also provides direct and indirect employment for mainly poor people and

managed wastewater reuse reduces health risks from unregulated discharges and

protects downstream environments.

The East Kolkata Wetland area is the actual place where these activities of horticulture,

aquaculture and paddy farming is carried out through a natural waste recycling

process. The place is a part of the delta of the river Ganga. The present wetland area

was inter-distributary marshes in this delta, consisting of active tributaries,distributaries and re-distributaries of the Ganga that dried up with the shifting of the

main river. Over time, the land became depressed because silt was no longer deposited

there. Since the slope of the land was gradual so it became a natural drainage system.

The marshes that remained were located between the rivers Hooghly in the West and

Bidyadhari in the East. These two rivers were formerly saltwater rivers due to the influx

of the tides from the Bay of Bengal through the Bidyadhari and Matla rivers. With thecompletion of the sewage and storm water drainage schemes for Calcutta in 1884, the

Bidyadhari, which happened to be the main outlet for these schemes, dried up. This

was further exacerbated by the drainage scheme introduced by the Kulti Outfall

Scheme. Subsequently the water in the bheris changed from saline to non-saline, and

carp culture was started with regular sewage inflows from the year 1929.In 1945, there

were 20,000 acres of wetland of which nearly 18,000 acres were used for sewage fed

pisciculture by around 350 fisheries. In 1956, the Salt Lake Reclamation Scheme was

formulated leading to the conversion of half of the wetland area. Since 1978, though no

major conversion has taken place more and more wetlands have been converted for


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fishponds are getting reduced, as a result of which, the natural way of wastewater

recycling, through sewage-fed fish cultivation is getting hampered. Desiltation in the

ponds and the canals is, hence, a necessity for better functioning of this whole system.

The soil extracted from desiltation can be used to create embankments on the sides of

the fishponds and canals, so that they do not overflow during heavy rains and affect the

neighbouring areas. People have also complained that the quality of sewage is getting

reduced day by day. The amount of biodegradable wastes, that are needed for fish feed,

are getting reduced day by day. Instead, the quantity of chemical content in the wastes

in the sewage, coming from the entire city of Kolkata, and especially from KolkataLeather Complex is basically disturbing the natural wastewater recycling system.

Moreover, due to siltation, the quantity of sewage is also getting reduced. The major

problems regarding desiltation is that, the proper infrastructure required for desiltation

is quite costly and is hence, out of the reach of the fish cultivators. Hence, financial aid

from the government is needed for the purpose. As far as this matter of desiltation in

the sewage canals is concerned, the names of a few specific canals, like Krishnopurcanal, Bamonghata canal, Tally canal, have also been mentioned by the participants, in

different FGDs.

Irrigation and Drainage:-

Other than fish cultivation, paddy and vegetable cultivation is yet another common

occupation of the people residing in that area. Many of the fields in that area have the

capacity of cultivation, twice or thrice a year. But, due to lack of proper supply of water,

cultivation in these lands become difficult even once a year Better irrigation facilities


28/112

for the unemployed people in the area. Moreover, in many of the ponds, fish cultivation

is not flourishing much and the owners of these ponds have demanded some sort of aid

for improvement of their cultivation procedure and their products. Also, many fishcultivators do not have enough money for buying medicines for fish diseases and

government aid has been demanded for this purpose. People have also demanded

training programme for making the process of fish cultivation more scientific, so that

the amount of fishes available increases and so does the profit of the fish cultivators and

other people associated with the process of fish cultivation.

People have also demanded for the modernization of the system of paddy andvegetable cultivation, along with financial aid from the government for buying

fertilizers and pesticides. The desiltation of the sewage canals is also necessary because

the solid wastes coming from these canals act as fertilizers for the crops in the fields.

The Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organization (CMPO) released its basic plan

document in 1966, in which it took a very strong position against the eastward

expansion of the city (Banerjee, 2012). In spite of that, the Eastern Metropolitan Bypassand Salt Lake City has been constructed on reclaimed wetlands making the core

wetland area more accessible and attractive to the real estate speculators. The Institute

of Wetland Management and Ecological Design (IWMED) was set up in the early 1980s

but it never obtained the statutory powers needed to play the role expected from it.

On 24 September 1992, high court justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee delivered the first

major judgement on the matter where it has been recognized that the wetlands are too

precious to be sacrificed for a mere township. Another landmark is the recognition of the

EKW as an International Ramsar site on 19 August 2002.16 Following this, in the year

2006 East Kolkata Wetlands Conservation and Management Bill was passed and 12 571


29/112

buffer area (area between the main city and the wetlands) in protecting the core area. A

ring of Regulated Development Zone (RDZ) around No Development Zone (NDZ)

would have been helpful for sustenance of the wetland (Chattopadhyay, 2003). In theabsence of any such regulatory check the majority of small pond-owners or fish-

growers find the secret offers of land transfer financially lucrative enough to accept. The

legal disapproval only made the path circuitous and the transactions covert. However,

the end results are grossly observable from the recent GIS mapping of the land use

pattern.

The foregoing discussion makes us aware of the difficulty of maintaining an ecosystemdependent livelihood in close proximity of aggressively developing urban metropolis.

The ecosystem emerged through a number of historical events and provided livelihood

to nearly 0.1 million people. However, with the opening up of urban opportunities the

local people are not always considering the traditional options lucrative enough and

those who are better placed in terms of education and skill are readily joining newer

vocations. This is encouraging further urban encroachment and putting the ecosystemdependent livelihood into more severe threat. Resistance from the civil society in the

form of a series of Public Interest Litigations (PIL) has compelled some legal

intervention into the matter; change of land use pattern within the core area has been

legally banned. However, the land use pattern in the buffer area has experienced drastic

change over last two decades and the urban topography has changed altogether. This is

making it almost impossible for the core area to retain its unique characteristics.


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27

PROBLEMS

T

HREATS

To identify the problems of the wetlands system East Kolkata Wetlands were divided in to 11 regions with distinct physical,

environmental and social characteristics. A problem census was conducted in each region to verify the key constraints facing

stakeholders living and working in the wetlands.

1

2

3 4

10

6

11

7

8

9

5

Regionalcategorisation


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28

Regional Categorisation— Problem census and Defining Management objectives Region Proximity to

main sewagecanals/qualitysewageavailability:

Type of landuse

Size of thelandholding

Accessibility Proximity toarea ofenvironmentalhazard

Proximity toarea of massiveurbanization

ManagementObjective

Problemcensus

Actions Required

1 Close/moderate Fish farming,

Urbansettlement

Large best Moderate Contiguous to

the city.(Western andnorthern side).

Encroachment

preventionProductionenhancement

Improvementin civicamenities.

Sewage

QualitySiltation offish ponds

Siltation ofcanal

De-silt

KhashmahalCanal

De-silt outletpipes

2 Close/moderate Fish farming Large andmedium

good Moderate Adjacent to thecity andupcomingtownship.(northern fringe)

Encroachmentprevention

Productionenhancement

Improvementin civic

amenities.

Lack of water

Siltation ofponds

Siltation offeeder

canalSewagequality

Desiltation offeeder canals,inlets, outletsand fish ponds

Improve waterdistribution

3 Close/not good Fish farming fragmented Not good Moderate Adjacent to thecity andupcomingtownship.(northern fringe)




Inadequatesewage

Poor civicamenities

Lack of water

Divertchowbaga waterstation water south (viachak-kolar khal,Kheyadaha 1&2 and Bidydhari)

Desilt para-

chaprashi khal(Bantala to Tardah),ghosher khaland Feedercanal

4 Close/bad Mostly fishfarming,someagriculture

Mediumandfragmented

Not good Moderate Not soimmediateneighbour

Production

enhancementImprovementin civicamenities.

5 Close/moderate Agricultureand Fishfarming

Mediumandfragmented

Good Moderate Distant Productionenhancement


Siltation ofponds

Siltation offeedercanal

Prevent Tannery influx

De-silt ponds

Better sluicegate – gate


32/112

29

Sewagequality

Poor civicamenities

management atBantala

6 Close/not good Fish farming Mediumand small

Good Moderate Neighbouring(western side)




Sewagequality

Siltation ofponds

Siltation offeedercanal

Poor civicamenities

De-siltChowbaga andBoynala canal

De-silt branchcanals Khyerkhal andDongasaranoror khal.

Unblock 2siphons nearLalkuthi.

7 Distant/bad Dominantlyfish farmingand someagriculture

Small andfragmented

Not good Moderate Not soimmediateneighbour



Lack ofsewage

Sewagequality

Lack of

irrigable water

Poor civicamenities

Desiltation ofponds andBidydhari

Better watermanagement

with Bantalalock gate andexcavating newcanals.

Stop chemicaldischarge.

8 Distant/bad Agricultureand Fishfarming,Seasonal

Small andfragmented

Not good Moderate Distant Productionenhancement


Sewagequality

Siltation

Poor civicamenities

Better watermanagement with Bantalalock gate andexcavating newcanals.

De-siltation ofBidydhari andbranch canals

9 Close tobidydhari/bad

Agriculture Small andfragmented

Bad Moderate Distant Productionenhancement


Lack ofirrigable water

Siltation

Poor civicamenities

De-siltation ofBidydhari andbranch canals

10 Close/bad Agriculture Small andfragmented

Good Highly potentialdue to the

Distant Productionenhancement

Lack ofsewage


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30

neighbouringKolkata leathercomplex


Sewagequality

Siltation11 Close/moderate Waste

disposal andGarbageFarming

Small Good High, being thesolid wastedisposal area ofthe city.

Contiguous butcontrolled byKMC.

Urbanencroachment

Pollution

Lack of

irrigable water

Sewageavailability.


34/112

Following the above exercise of problems/threats identification, as developed by

Institute of Environmental Studies and Wetland Management, this study surveyed the

rural area within the wetland. There are seven gram panchayats, viz. Kheadaha I,Kheadaha 2 and Pratapnagar of Sonarpur block, Bamanghata, Beonta I and Beonta II of

Bhangar II Block and Tardaha of Bhangar I Block, under the jurisdiction of south twenty

four parganas district. The survey teams conducted meetings with all these seven gram

panchayats. And then focus group discussions were organised at habitation level.

Following are the list of habitations identified during the survey procedure.

Mouza Village Admin. Unit

Chak kolar khal Chak kolar khal

Kheadaha - II

Karimpur Nazirabad

Jagadipota Jagadipota

Mukundapur Mukundapur

Rabindra park

Atghara Atghara

Radha housing

Ranabhutia Ranabhutia

Kantipota Chamurait

Katipota

Bhagabanpur Goalbati

Kalar khal

Khuderabad

UchchhepotaKharki Belekhali

Kharki


35/112

Harapur

Kheadaha – I

Baburabad

Challa paraGhulla

Pailen

2 no.saheber abad

Tihuria Dakshin Tihuria

Saheber abad

Tihuria

Uttar Tihuria

Nayabad Nayabad

Uttar Nayabad

Vutpukur

Samukpota Addirabad

Chaonamari

Samukpota

Tara mistry abad

Pratapnagar Pratapnagar

PratapnagarUttar Pratapnagar

Garal Garal

Saralia

Hatgachha Dakshin Hatgachha

Bamanghata

Madhya Hatgachha

Uttar Hatgachha

Hadia 1 no. ColonyChochoria

Dakshin Bamonghata


36/112

Tardah kapasait

Tardaha

Seoradaria

Nazir gheriBarahopota

Bhangarkhal

Chandipur

Haripota

Jhoukhali

Kakuria

Katatala

Khorokhali

Tong para

Comparing the cesus data of 2001 and of 2011 it was revealed that, in most cases higher

the rate of population growth lower the degree of dependence on natural resources.

6000

8000

10000

12000

14000


37/112

For the villages, those have witnessed most growth in population, total other

workers have increased significantly. The populations that are still depending on

natural resources for livelihood are mostly agricultural labourer.

-500%

0%

500%

1000%

1500%

2000%

2500%

M u k u n d a p u r

B h a g a b a n p u r

J a g a t i p o t a

R a n a b h u t i a

A t g h a r a

K a n t i p o t a

K g h o d a h a t i

C h a k K o l a r K h a l

T

a r d a h a K a p a s a t i

D h a r m a t a l a

P a n c h u r i a

K h e a d a h a

G o a l p o t a

Top 12 villages by population growth

Total Population:

Total Cultivator

Total Agricultural Labour

2500%Bottom 12 villages by population growth


38/112

-500%

0%

500%

1000%

1500%

2000%

2500%

M u k u n d a p u r

B h a g a b a n p u r

J a g a t i p o t a

R a n a b h u t i a

A t g h a r a

K a n t i p o t a

K g h o d a h a t i

C h a k K o l a r K h a l

T a r d a h a K a p a s a t i

D h a r

m a t a l a P a n c h u r i a

K h e a d a h a

G o a l p o t a

H a t g a c h h a

K u l b e r i a

B e o n t a

K h a r k i

T i h u r i a

N a y a b a d

T a r d a h a

K u m a r P u k h u r i a

H a d i a

D e a r a

K a r i m p u r

D h a p a

a n p u r

All villages by population growth

Total Population: Total Cultivator


39/112

canal. There is another canal which was extremely used for carrying the sewage from

the fishery feeding canal to further south connecting the abandon water courses of

Bidyadhari river. But during 70s the connection was closed by local people for certain

reason. It is to be mentioned that there were several arterial canals connecting the fish

ponds spread over there.

In the survey undertaken for the preparation of a detail management plan reveals that

all the Fishery feeding canal, Palmer Bazaar canal and Ghosher canal are encroached in

many places and depth reduced by siltation in its bent. This situation has further

aggravated by the inefficient operation of sluice gate both at Topsia-1 and Bantala. In

both these place the arrangement was to close the canal of comparatively low level for

raising the water level to a point which is necessary for supplying sewage to input

canals of the fisheries. Further in some areas the arterial canal of respective fish ponds

are used both for sewage as well as to drain out the water from the fisheries.

The sewage quality has undergone a substantial change because of removal of khatals

and slaughter houses from the city and a large part of added area is not connected with

traditional sewage system.

Additionally a number of polluting industries are still discharging in the sewage even


40/112

2. DESILTATION WORKS

All the canals through which the city sewage is drained out e.g. SWF canal, DWF canal,

Central Lake canal & Kestopur canal are now facing the problem of siltation. This is not

only the problem of main canals but also of numerous arterial canals which supply

sewage water in various fisheries. As a result the fisheries are not getting adequate

amount of sewage. This siltation problem thus adversely affecting the pisciculture of

this region.

Additionally the fishponds are also facing this problem of siltation. The depth of the

fishponds has reduced at an alarming rate affecting the production rate of fisheries

negatively. Additionally the road network of the area is quite poor which makes it

difficult to carry out the soil after siltation from wetland area.

3. PRODUCTION PROCESS

Production process must address the enhancement of local livelihood. Most of the

people in waterbody region depend upon fish farming for ages. The fish farming

business has been quite profitable for them. But now a days fish farmers are facing

various problems regarding pisciculture. Hence various innovative ideas regarding bio

diverse production can be introduced in this waterbody region which will enhance local


41/112

the residential villages and crop fields is an obstacle towards the improvement of

livelihood in EKW. Because of the poor road network, marketing facility is also

hampered in this region. People are selling their produce only at nearby markets. They

don’t have the access to the city markets.

2. PROMOTION OF OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES:

In wetland region various economic activities other than paddy cultivation, which are

new to this area, should be promoted.

3. IMPROVEMENT OF IRRIGABLE WATER:

Most of the agricultural fields of EKW region are suffering from acute shortage of

irrigable water. The problem becomes more severe in the dry season. In some places

irrigation is done by shallow. The scarcity of water is the most important cause behindpoor performance of agriculture.

Improvement of Productive Farming Area

1. TAKING STEPS AGAINST URBAN ENCROACHMENT

The garbage farming area, being so close to the urban Kolkata is a very attractive zonefor urban use. Thus the local people are always in fear of losing their land. This problem

i f “dh ” i


42/112

KHEYADAH I


43/112

KHEYADAH II


44/112

List of references Books and Articles

1. Adhikari, S., Mitra, A. and Gupta, S.K. 1992. Post-irrigation effect of sewage

application on soil micronutrients and some heavy metals in north -eastern

fringe of Calcutta. Paper Presented at the Workshop on Micronutrients,

Bhubaneswar, January 1992.

2. Alaerts, G.J., Rahman Mahbubar, Md. and Kelderman, P. 1996. Performance

analysis of a full-scale duckweed-covered sewage lagoon. Water Research 30(4):

843-852

3.

Amahmid, O. and Bouhoum, K. 1999. Health effect of urban wastewater reuse ina periurban area in Morocco. Environmental Management and Health 11(3): 263-

264. Asian Institute of Technology, 1991. Calcutta Wastewater-fed Fish Pond

Systems: Project Identification Mission Report and Preliminary Proposal .

Bangkok, Thailand:

4. Asian Institute of Technology [unpublished report].

5.

Bunting, S.W., Edwards, P. and Muir, J.F. 1999. Wasted Opportunities?Constraints to Wastewater Aquaculture . Stirling, UK: Institute of Aquaculture

[unpublished report].

6. Edwards, P. 1992. Reuse of Human Waste in Aquaculture, a Technical Review .

7. Washington, USA: UNDP-World Bank Water and Sanitation Progra m.

8. Edwards, P. 1993. Environmental issues in integrated agriculture-aquaculture

and

9. wastewater-fed fish culture. pp. 139 -170. In: Proceeding of a Conference on

Environment and Aquaculture in Developing Countries, Bellagio, Italy,

b l h l l f


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17. Institute of Wetland Management and Ecological Design, 1986. Growing

Vegetables on Garbage: A Village-Based Experience of City Waste Recycling .

Calcutta, India: Institute of Wetland Management and Ecological Design[unpublished report].

18. Kundu, N. 1989. Urban - development and public policy: east Calcutta

experience.

19. Nagarlok 21(2): 47-60.

20. Kundu, N. 1994. Planning the Metropolis , a Public Policy Perspective. Calcutta,

India:21. Minerva Associates Ltd.

22. Lagoon Technology International, 1993. Calcutta Wastewater-fed Fish Pond

System:

23. Pre-Appraisal Mission Report. Leeds, UK: Lagoon Technology International

(unpublishedreport].

24. Little, D. and Muir, J. 1987. A Guide to Integrated Warm Water Aquaculture.

Stirling,

25. Scotland: Institute of Aquaculture, Universit y of Stirling.

26. Little, D.C., Surintaraseree, P. and Innes -Taylor, N. 1996. Fish culture in rainfed

rice fields of northest Thailand. Aquaculture 140.

27. Nunan, F. 2000. Waste recycling through urban farming in Hubli -Dharwad.

Urban

28.

Agriculture Magazine 1(2 ).

29. Okun D.A. 1991. A water and sanitation strategy for the developing world.

Environment


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36. Gerard Marwell and Ruth E. Ames, Experiments on the Provisions of Public

Good. II. Provision Points, Stakes, Experience and the Free-Rider Problem,

University of Chicago Press, US, 198037. Robert Cameron, Mitchell Richard, T. Carson, Using surveys to value Public

Goods: the Contingent Valuation, published by the Johns Hopkins University

Press, Washington DC, 1989.

38. Peter Abelson, Public Economics published by Mc Graw Hill, February, 2008

39. Sacchidananda Mukherjee, Economic Valuation Of A Wetland In West Bengal,

India40. Abelson, P., 2001, Lectures in Public Economics, Applied Economics, Sydney

41. Cullis, J. and P.Jones, 1998, Public Finance and Public Choice, Oxford University

Press, Oxford.

42. Luke M. Brander, Raymond J. G. M. Florax and Jan E. Vermaat, The Emperics Of

Wetland Valuation: A comprehensive Summary and a Meta-Analysis of the

Literature, Springer Publishers, Netherlands, 2006

Websites:

www.jstor.org,www.online.sagepub.com,

www.appliedeconomics.com.au/people/-, www.rje.org www.ekwma.com

http://www.jstor.org/http://www.online.sagepub.com/http://www.online.sagepub.com/http://www.online.sagepub.com/http://www.appliedeconomics.com.au/people/-http://www.appliedeconomics.com.au/people/-http://www.rje.org/http://www.rje.org/http://www.ekwma.com/http://www.ekwma.com/http://www.ekwma.com/http://www.ekwma.com/http://www.rje.org/http://www.appliedeconomics.com.au/people/-http://www.online.sagepub.com/http://www.jstor.org/


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Annexure 1

Keynote Address by Asim Barman, IAS (Retd.) National Conference

On Wetlands Organized By ICAR, CIFRI & SAFE, March 02, 2014,

CIFRI, Barrackpore.


48/112

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Annexure 2

Calcutta High Court Verdict 1992


52/112

People United for Better living v. State of W.B. 1993(1) CLJ 105

1993(1)CLJ People United for better living v. State of W.B.

[CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION]

Before Mr. Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee

Decision : September 24, 1992

People United for Better Living in Calcutta,

Public & Anr. Petitioner Versus

State of West Bengal & Others. Respondents

Ecology and Environmental Problem – Social Problem – Duty of the Law Courts

– Developmental programme of Government – World Trade Centre – Striking balance

between development and ecology – Reclamation of wetland in eastern part of the

metropolis – Value of wetland.

In the name of People United for Better Living in Calcutta – Public and another

instituted a writ petition against the State of West Bengal challenging the attempt of theState Govt. to reclaim the wetlands on the eastern side of the Calcutta metropolis for

proposed World Trade Centre to promote trading activities not only of Calcutta but also

of the country as a whole. In support of the writ petition it has been contended on behalfof the petitioners that the proposed World Trade Centre will be another shopping plaza or

a commercial complex. The proposal for establishing a World Trade Centre is not a

Government proposal but a private entrepreneurs proposal for private gain and as such,

the Law Courts would not be justified in granting such a proposal for private gain at thecost of the society at large. It is contended that preservation of wetlands in this part of the

city is necessary for the protection of environment and there should be a balance between

development process and protection of environment The contention of the State


53/112


The Court allowing the writ petition.HELD ; The issue of environmental degradation cannot but be termed to be a

social problem and considering the growing awareness and considering the impact

of this problem on the society in regard thereto, Law Courts should also rise uptothe occasion to deal with the situation as it demands in the present day context.

Law Courts have a social duty since it is a part of the society and as such must

always function having due regard to the present day problems which the society faces. The social problems shall have to be dealt with in the way and in the manner

it calls for since benefit to the society ought to be the prime consideration of the Law Courts and ecological imbalance being the social problem ought to be decidedby a court of law so that the society may thrive and prosper without any affection.

(Para 29)

While the Law Court ought not to put an embargo to the development project whichis in the offing, it shall have to strike a balance between the development andecology.

(Para 37)

The wetland being a bounty of nature do have a significant role to play in the

proper development of the society be it from environmental perspective or from

economic perspective.

(Para 39)

Case referred to :-Calcutta Youth Front & Another v. State of West Bengal & Ors.,1986(2) Cal LJ 26

Mr. Sudipta Sarkar and Anjan Verma ……….for the Petitioner

Mr N N Gupta (Advocate General)


54/112


the two basic factors for such environmental degradation. The National

Environmental Engineering Research Institute has confirmed that levels of sulpher-dioxide and other particulate matters in big cities have exceeded the permissible

limits as prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

2. While it is true that in a developing country there shall have to be

developments, but that development shall have to be in closest possible harmony

with the environment, as otherwise there would be development but noenvironment, which would result in total devastation, though, however, may not be

felt in present but at some future point of time, but then it would be too late in theday, however, to control and improve the environment. Nature will not tolerate usafter a certain degree of its destruction and it will in any event, have its toll on the

lives of the people: Can the present day society afford to have such a state and allow

the nature to have its toll in future – the answer shall have to be in the negative: The

present day society has a responsibility towards the posterity for their proper growthand development so as to allow the posterity to breathe normally and live in acleaner environment and have a consequent fuller development: Time has now

come therefore, to check and control the degradation of the environment and sincethe Law Courts also have a duty towards the society for its proper growth and

further development, it is a plain exercise of the judicial power to see that there is

no such degradation of the society and there ought not to be any hesitation in regardthereto-but does that mean an imply stoppage of every developmental programme-

the answer is again ‘no’: There shall have to be a proper balance between the

development and the environment so that both can co-exist without affecting the

other. On the wake of the 21

st

century, in my view, it is neither feasible nor practicable to have a negative approach to the development process of the country

or of the society, but that does not mean, without any consideration for the

environment As noted above there should be a proper balance between the


55/112


has made the subject complex and a matter for multi-disciplinary study. Environmental

conditions get substantially influenced by local factors; factors like regular recurrence of

natural calamities, i.e., floods, draught, land subsidence and the like of features likeintensives, explosion of natural resources, e.g., mining, deforestation or a highly effective

health phenomenon in the form of predominance of an endemic disease or a typical socio

economic condition engulfing a large percentage of local population – all exert profoundinfluences of different nature and dimensions on the environment that revolve in a

particular area. The intensity of the major factor determines the essential character of the

environment under such circumstances. In – depth studies of such problem areas revealinteresting features exposing intricate linkages between environmental conditions and the

pattern of human behaviour and response. Some possible solution towards meeting thechallenges of nature may also be struck which, if adopted, may bring a significant changefor the better.

4. Turning attention now on to the present writ petition, it appears that the entire

thrust of challenge in the petition is in regard to the maintenance of wetlands in theeastern fringe of the city of Calcutta – but what is this wetland ? The Water Board of the New South Wales Government, Australia in its Secondary Poster 2 ‘Protecting our

Wetlands’ records the following :“Wetlands’ often called bogs, swamps, marshes, billabongs and a host of other

names, are areas of wetland. The amount of water in them varies depending on the

weather and the time of year. Sometimes they can be quite dry. Special plants, such asseeds, grow in wetland areas. Wetlands also provide a home for a host of different

wildlife ranging from migratory and local birds to fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects.

All these living things depend on wetlands for their existence.

Estuarine wetlands are found where rivers start to join the sea. Their water is brackish (a mixture of salt and fresh water) and it rises and falls along with the tide.

Mangroves grow in estuarine wetlands.

Billabongs are old river beds that are left when the river takes a different


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instance, is changed, all the other parts will be affected too. Often change to one

element of an ecosystem results in the destruction of the whole. Not only are the wetlands fragile ecosystems in themselves, but they form a vital

part of the world’s ecosystem as well.

Wetlands rely on established water drainage pattern. Any population nearby, withits paved streets, gardens, storm water wastes etc. inevitably alters water drainage pattern

and affects the wetland.

We need to take steps to prevent destruction of our wetlands.”

5. The poster noted above also record the importance of wetlands as follows :-“Even though many people never notice wetlands, they play a very important part in ourlives.

Wetlands provide a haven for vast numbers of living creatures which rely on them

for food, shelter and as a breeding place. While they may not live permanently in the

area, huge numbers of birds, animals, reptiles, fish, amphibians and insects regularly visitand use wetlands. Disappearance of wetlands threatens their very existence.

Migratory birds, some from as far away as Siberia and Japan, travel to Australian

wetlands every years to escape the cold winter. Many of these migratory birds are rareand endangered species.

Many kinds of fish hatch and grow to maturity in the safety of the wetland

mangrove swamps. When they are adults they move into the ocean. Most of the fish weeat depend on these mangrove ‘nurseries’ for hatching their young and for the survival of

the species.

Many species of plants survive only in the special environment of the wetlands.

Loss of wetlands threatens their survival.Wetlands play and important rose in the water cycle, cleaning and purifying water

as it passes through them. They can also help control flood water by stopping and

releasing it slowly through the ground


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6. The New South Wales Water Board, as appears from relevant statistics

look after around 500 wetland areas. As part of the Special Environment Programme,

scientists and wetlands specialists are working to rebuild wetlands that have beendamaged and to protect wetlands in the future. The Water Board is teaching people ways

and means to protect the wetlands.

7. It is to be noted that the American environmentalists also in their turn are

making frantic efforts so as to maintain American wetlands system. It has been calculatedin the United States that one acre of wetlands is worth tens of thousands of U.S. Dollarsfor the services it renders. According to the American environmentalists, the following

can be ascribed to be the contribution of the wetlands :-

(i) Wetlands act as water purifier ;

(ii) They help maintain surface moisture ;(iii) They help curb soil erosion ;(iv) They lessen the impact of both floods as well as droughts ;

(v) They contribute pure water to wells ;(vi) They preserve the wildlife ; and

(vii) They support the fishing industry.

8. History records that the American city of Grand Fox had extensive

wetlands, but people chose to do away with them for commercially more lucrative option

– the end result being that there were 8 floods in 30 years which should have come once

otherwise in 80 to 100 years. The Mayor of Grand Fox is now making an all-out effort toconvince and impress upon the farmers to convert their fields into wetlands even by

compensating them lucratively as it will be cheaper than tackling the repeated floods.


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resources. The over-utilisation of the total wetlands stock has been the result of acombination of economic development pressure, information failure and market and

intervention failure. There is an urgent need for a balance to be struck between wetland

conservation, sustainable utilization and wetland conversion – Sustainable utilization and

the maintenance of a sustainable flow of income derived from the wetland stock is thekey issue for developing economics. Economic valuation of the multi functional wetland

resources is required, principles and methods used in the assessment of temperate

wetlands in developed countries can aid the analysis of tropical wetlands in developingcountries.

11. Turner also notes that development projects have often stimulated wetland

conversion largely because of information failure planners just did not realise howimportant some wetlands were for sustainable development. Nevertheless, there is a

growing awareness that most wetlands are more valuable economic resources when

retained in their natural or semi natural state. Conversion or degradation of such naturalcapital assets will therefore, often not represent an increase in resource use efficiency .

Social efficiency in wetland use is connected to the fact that wetlands are multifunctional

resources and that, under heavy utilisation pressure, some of the multiple uses conflictwith each other. The inefficiency is not a consequence of the multiple-use conflict itself,

but of the fact that not all the uses are properly evaluated and accounted for.

12 Goodland and Ledec in a published paper “Wildlands; Balancing

Conversion with Conservation In World Bank Project (1989; Environment 31,6 to 11 and27 to 35)” have remarked that until two or three decades ago a large proportion of the

world’s wildlands including wetlands were protected by their remoteness, their vastnessand their marginal direct usefulness for agriculture or other economic activities The last


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It is stated that wetlands have been lost inadvertently because of policy interventionswhich have been badly coordinated or poorly designed.

13. As earlier noted the population influx and modern technologicaldevelopment have been identified as the chief culprits to contribute a major share of the

pollution in the cities. But the obsession with the phenomenon of pollution which isassociated with urban and industrial areas make us lose sight of the environmentalconditions of the rural areas where a major percentage of our population leave. In that

view of the matter, environment needs to be protected not only in the urban areas but also

in the rural areas.

14. Turning attention on to the Calcutta wetland’s we find that there are 40species of algae and 2 species of fern, 7 species of monocods and 21 species dicods.

Latest datas suggest presence of about 155 species of summer birds of which 64 speciesare resident birds and 91 are migratory. There are 90 species of winter birds of which 44

are residents and 46 are migratory. These migratory birds are mainly from Siberia and

East Europe and they arrive at the city through Trans-Asia Migration Route. Admittedly,Calcutta has had around 20,000 acres approximately of wetland area, of which 10,000

acres have already been reclaimed and the sprawling metropolis under the name of Salt

Lake City being a satellite township area of Calcutta exists, and the East Calcutta

Wetlands now therefore comprises of around 9,000 and odd hundred acres approximatelyon the eastern fringe of the city with a natural slope from the West to the East. The entire

area comprises of low lands characterised by marshes and ponds etc. as regards the soil,

there is no manner of doubt that it has very high moisture content of a mixed clay and


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tremendous impact on to the living organisms as also human being on the surface. It has

been argued that the role and importance of wetlands in relation to its surrounding cannot

in any way be undermined. It is vital for maintaining micro climatic condition ; absorbing pollution from air receptacle for rain water and sewage; waste recycling; pisciculture;

habitat for aquatic flora and fauna : proven high biomass density : gainful occupation tolarge population supplying low cost fish and vegetation. It was further contended thatwithin urban limits, water bodies act as detention centers and outside the core area, they

provide the spill basin and any change may lead to floods. It has been suggested that in

the United States of America, detention centers are created to control the passage of

storm water and sewage.16. In continuation of his submission in regard to the beneficial role of

Calcutta wetlands, Mr. Sarkar, appearing in support of the application, stressed that

efficient management of the sewage outfall channels with periodic dredging will ensueadequate waters to save the wetlands. Tidal flows from the mouth of Bidyadhri river do

not reach the backwaters due to siltation. It was further suggested that pisciculture,

horticulture, agriculture from a chain in the recycling of resources and generate essentialnutrients for human consumption. Mr. Sarkar laid stress that acquiring the wetlands for

industrial activity will disrupt the fragile ecosystem and Calcutta will die through

permanent damage to natural sewage system : loss of cheap nutrients : loss of habitat for

flora and fauna : threat to their survival : loss of unique system of natural waste disposalforcing costlier and environmentally hazardous options : damage Calcutta’s micro

climate involving rainfall, humidity, temperature control, oxygen generation : displace

marginal families who depend on primary and secondary occupations on the wetlands


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Sl.

No

Parameter East and South-eastern

growth

Northwards Growth

1. Environmentalconsideration

Loss of wetlands ; Increasesair pollution ; destroys

valuable ecosystem and wastetreatment facility.

The wetland eco-systesmremains intact.

2. Drainages floodcushioning and

health

Reclamation and urbanconstructions cause major loss

of drainage outfall basins.

Less facilities for disposal of

rainfall excesses ; increasinghealth hazards.

Wetland facilities in theeastern metropolitan fringe

can be utilized healthier.

3. Water supplies Increasing mineralization and

hardness of water ;

unpredictable salinity in

ground water. Consequentneed to tap and treat Hugli

water.

Prolific ground water supplies

major basin; lesser pumping

costs and mineralization

problems (only iron removalcalled for); safe and potable

for human beings.

4. Sewage /treatment and

solid wastedisposal

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“east kolkata wetland” ecosystem - the need assessment study - mr. asesh sengupta

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