Kolkata receives best cities award for tackling climate change

Kolkata received the award during the C40 Mayors Summit held in Mexico City

Kolkata, along with 10 other cities from across the globe, has been honoured with the best cities of 2016 award in recognition of its inspiring and innovative programme with regard to solid waste management.

"Kolkata Solid Waste Management Improvement Project has achieved 60-80 per cent (depending on site) segregation of waste at its source, with further waste segregation occurring at transfer stations," a media release said on the occasion of international summit of Mayors of millions plus cities of which Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi are its members from India.

"Forward looking, the project aims to eradicate open dumping and burning of waste and to limit the concentration of methane gas generated in landfill sites," it said.

Kolkata is the only Indian city to receive the prestigious award. It received the award during the C40 Mayors Summit held in Mexico City.

"In our country, only Kolkata metropolitan has got this award," Dilip Yadav, chairman of the Uttarpara Municipality, said over phone from Mexico City after receiving the prestigious award from C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes.

"This motivates us for more performance for the sustainability of this project," he said.

"Our motto is participation of the common people. Being chairman, I have visited 50,000 house and have made our people aware about the benefits of solid waste management," he said.

"The project involved 100 per cent door to door collection of solid waste, segregation and recycling by way of compositing which is sold in the market," Onkar Singh-Meena, Secretary Municipal Affairs and CEO of Kolkata Municipal Development Authority said.

"One significant aspect of this project is that ragpickers are part of it," said Meena, who is head of the Kolkata delegation to the Mayors Summit.

Other cities that won the award are Addis Adaba, Copenhagen, Curitiba, Sydney and Malborne, Paris, Portland, Seoul Shenzhen, and Yokohama.

"On behalf of C40, I want to congratulate all the winning cities for their commitment to their citizens and their dedication to tackling climate change," said outgoing C40 Chair and Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes.

"Throughout my tenure as C40 Chair, I have been increasingly impressed by the calibre of the C40 Cities Award winners, and I look forward to seeing other mayors around the world adapting and implementing these models in their own cities," he said.

"The C40 Cities Awards recognise the best and boldest work being done by mayors to fight climate change and protect people from risks," said C40 President of the Board and UN.

Secretary General's Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change Michael R Bloomberg.

"The winning projects show that great progress is being made on every continent, and they serve as an inspiration to other cities. They also show how cities can help the world meet the ambitious goals set a year ago in Paris," he said.