Puducherry Environment Council (PUDENCO)

Ms. Sunita Narain, Centre for Science and Environment releases the Green Manifesto for Puducherry.

Puducherry Environment Council (PUDENCO)
Secretariat: HOPE, Plot No. 106, MGR Nagar
100 Feet Road, Puducherry - 605 004
Phone: 9486086938, E-mail: pudenco@gmail.com

Objectives in Green Manifesto for Puducherry 2011

Agriculture:

Selling of agricultural lands for real estate, educational institutions and industries
should be stopped immediately through suitable enactments.

Production, Sales and Usage of chemical fertilizers and pesticides should be banned
in Puducherry, since it is increasing the cost of Agriculture and polluting the land and
water.

Natural Farming and Organic Farming should be encouraged with incentives and
subsidies Kitchen Gardens and Roof Gardens should be promoted with subsidies.

Coast

Take immediate measures to restore the coast, which is severely eroded due to the
negligence of the Puducherry Government.

No projects should be taken up in coastal land due to its environmental vulnerability.
Write to Central Government to repeal Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification
2011 since it will cause widespread destruction to the livelihood of the coastal
communities and coastal eco-system. Implement the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)
Notification 1991 in its original form.

Port Project should be stopped immediately at Thengaithittu and Murthikuppam.
Proposal to dispose the effluents from Tiruppur Dyeing Units should be dropped.
Further expansion of Karaikal Port should be stopped. The private company
managing the port should be asked to nourish the beaches to the north as they are
severely eroding as a result of the port breakwaters.

Drain Water from Uppanar Drain and Grand Canal should be treated 100% before
letting out into the sea.

Untreated waste in any form should not be released into the sea. Violations should
be strictly monitored and heavy penalties to be levied on the violators.

Cities

Public transport system should be improved; and the present tempo vehicles should
be upgraded as non-polluting vehicles either as Bijlee or CNG, etc.

Total ban on Plastics should be introduced and it should be enforced properly.
Severe action should be taken on the owners of Empty plot which is not filled and
allowed as dump yards.

Dumping of garbage near water bodies and roadsides should be banned and made
punishable.

Installation of Flood flight / High Mass lights should be stopped immediately; all the
present ones have to be replaced with ordinary lights when they become defunct.
The Grand Canal located in the middle of the town should be cleaned up and
measures taken to ensure that water never stagnates in it.

A comprehensive plan to determine road design (material, levels, gradients, etc.)
should be done once for all and all construction of roads should follow this design.
All roads to have pedestrian paths, existing encroachment on pedestrian paths to be
evicted and made available for pedestrians.
Separate cycle tracks to be delineated in all existing and future roads.



Industrial

Water-intensive industries should be closed immediately; other polluting and
chemical industries should be closed immediately.
The employees who lose job from these industries should be encouraged to promote
eco-friendly business ventures such as jute bags, paper bags, solar energy, etc.
Govt. should promote cottage industries; and importance should be given for local
employment rather than promoting migrant labour.

Water

Drinking water supplied by the town should be tested periodically and results
published.

The wastage of water from the public taps should be stopped and monitored;
and those who misuse the same to be severely punished.
Tanks rehabilitated under the Tank Rehabilitation Programme should be maintained.
Local level Tank Users Associations should be revived and strengthened. A
comprehensive State Irrigation Management Act to empower the User Associations
to be passed.

Rain water harvesting should be made compulsory for all the houses, Govt. Offices,
Marriage Halls and Educational Institutions.

All water bodies should be protected; Proposal to convert the Kanakkanery into
sewage treatment plant should be stopped.

Any kind of pollution to water bodies should be monitored and severely punished.
No construction should be allowed around water bodies and canals
Encroachments on water bodies and canals should be removed
Ousteri and Bahoor to be declared as ecologically sensitive areas.

Forest

Forest Department should take over the vacant plots and promote social forestry
with short term trees and crops.
As agriculture is getting increasingly difficult, forest farming should be encouraged
and incentives given.
Mandatory green area to be part of all future residential complexes. Green cover
of the UT to be increased with an effective plan with participatory implementation
strategies involving residential associations.

Administrative

A group comprising of civil society organizations and citizens should be officially
formed to monitor the state of the environment in Puducherry and come with an
annual report.

All projects whether government or private to come up with a Environment
Management Plan.

Environment education should be made compulsory in all the Schools both Public
and Private.

All TV channels to devote some time to create awareness on the environmental
issues in Puducherry.

(P. Joseph Victor Raj)
Convenor, PEC

(Raghu Menon)
Puducherry Science Forum

(Probir Banerji)
Pondy Citizens Action
Network

(Seenu. Tamil Mani)
Poovulagin Nanbargal)

(S. Hemachandran)
People’s Pulse
(K. Ramamoorthy)
Sembadugai Nanneeragam
(www.amityindias.blogspot.com publishes this letter being received from PUDENCO. The contents of the
letter rest on them)