PCEF 6 Oct 2007

PCEF Notes of Meeting
Date: Oct 6, 2007
Venue: Indradhanushya: Citizenship and Environment Education Centre, Dattawadi

Agenda

1. Environment Status Report (ESR) process to be taken up by PCEF
2. Updates of progress by theme groups

Environment Status Report
As decided in the inception meeting of the PCEF, one of the tasks that the Forum should take up is the development of a framework for the Environment Status Report ESR). This is a mandatory annual report that municipalities in Maharashtra are required to produce.

The process agreed upon at the meeting is:

1. A core group consisting of Aneeta Benninger, Ranjit Gadgil, Himanshu Kulkarni, Sanskriti Menon, Laxmi Narayan, Ajay Ojha, Vijay Paranjpye (and expandable as per needs) should be set up, to develop an overall framework for the report and for individual chapters
work with the PCEF theme groups and additional groups/ individuals to take up responsibilities for the development of various sections of the ESR, including Indicators for each theme
review and edit the drafts submitted by each group submit a budget to the PMC for developing the framework and content

2. The minutes of this meeting are to be considered as the formal communication to PCEF from PMC to begin work on the ESR

3. Decisions related to content and framework:
a. Currently ESR focuses on PMC’s contribution to environment management. However, achievements by NGOs, Corporates, Citizens Forums and their best practices should be a part of the ESR.
b. The ESR should report on ecological carrying capacity and the footprint of the city and not only sectoral environmental status. This paradigm of environmental status reporting can take into account the impacts of Pune such as due to the sourcing of water from catchments outside Pune and releasing effluents without treatment.
c. A document containing the framework and benchmarks for various sectors of the ESR is one deliverable. This would help to standardize the future ESRs and make them comparable and over time to reveal the changing status of environment
d. Methods for collecting and reviewing data should be standardized; thus data gaps in current data collection systems should also be identified
e. ESR should be based on ‘spatial and temporal’ approach because environmental changes do not happen in sectors. Performance of each municipal ward must be reviewed, ranked and linked to budget allocation. ESR should have two components – status of municipal services offered and status of ambient environment.
f. An ongoing data compilation process may be developed so that data and information from diverse sources can be gathered at one location (online and as a repository)
g. The ESR should be uploaded on the PMC website
h. ESR should have relevant indicators from the Human Development Index (HDI).

The UNDP will be able to provide training to the PMC officials and PCEF on how to develop a city-level Human Development Report. The PMC is to write to JS, JNNURM requesting such a training programme.


School Education
1. The group has met three times. Apart from EE, the School Group is also studying the gaps in the provision of infrastructure, access, enrolment and student-teacher ratios. Several issues such as low enrolment in city centre schools and lack of schools in the periphery have been highlighted; average money spent per student in private schools (such as Aksharnandan and R B Academy) is similar to that spent by municipal schools, with vast difference in quality
2. It was decided that a half-day meeting should be organized to address basic education issues
3. However, the ‘environmental education’ role of the School Group should be addressed and should not be lost in the basic education work that the School Group is otherwise interested in; the EE package may address issues such as traffic, water and sanitation etc and not just nature education
4. Mr. Dhananjay Pardeshi will be the contact person from Education Department of PMC to the PCEF group.


Traffic and Cycling
1. The group has not met, however several suggestions were discussed and it was agreed to form a Cycles and Road Design group consisting of Ashok Sreenivas and Jugal Rathi, and from PMC Vivek Kharwadkar and Dinesh Girolla.
2. The ideas discussed were:
a. Design of cycle tracks, including barriers to motorized vehicles, construction material and surface, width, drainage system, signage, etc
b. A PMC phone number to be allocated for citizens to call and report broken or encroached cycle tracks/ footpaths
c. PMT services can be used to encourage cycles. PMT bus can have collapsible stands where cycles can be hooked. So people will use PMT on main roads and cycles from main road to houses, offices through narrow lanes.
d. Parking fees for bicycles must be cancelled immediately at least at PMC offices, to encourage cycling.
e. After putting adequate resources for cycle tracks in place, PMC should do a publicity campaign to encourage cycling.

(A note has subsequently been developed on the tasks of the Cycle Group; uploaded in the Cycling Theme minutes, to be discussed with Vivek Kharwadkar and Dinesh Girola).

Biodiversity
1. Several activities had been discussed by the BD theme group in the past (including Nature Awareness Areas and Interpretation Centers, Biodiversity Vision for Pune, Output on Pune’s existing gardens (suggestions for enhancing biodiversity), directory of plant nurseries of indigenous species, etc). However, the group has focused on the Baner Pashan Biodiversity Parks as that is a priority project of the PMC
2. Several experts have been consulted for the discussions on the Baner-Pashan Biodiversity Park (Prof. Sanjeev Nalawade, Vijay Paranjpye, Sujit Patwardhan. Dr. Aparna Watve and Ankur Patwardhan etc) and a smaller group is working to finalize the plan and will share the work with the rest of the BD group in the next ten days
3. Some of the broad decisions agreed upon are:
a. Road and plantation being carried on should temporarily be halted and wait for the final plans so that resources are not wasted if the plan is different.
b. Mosaic of ecosystems and elements are to be conserved in the BDP, such as quarry to be used as water body, grassland and plantation of native flora along periphery of wall based on terrain and soil availability
c. Citizens may not understand the mosaic approach immediately, and so it was decided that plantation work by citizens be stopped till the plan is decided.
d. It was agreed that boundary wall work would continue for protection of land, as that is very important to avoid private land owners from staking claim.
e. The hill walks were appreciated and it was decided that a walk would be done on 13th October along with local citizens, corporators, Mayor and party leaders (this has happened, see note appended to these minutes).
f. Signage and nature trails are to be included in the interpretation/ management plan for the park

4. The Municipal Commissioner asked about the status of the Mula Mutha Bird Sanctuary. Mr Khaire updated the group that the land belongs to Forest Dept and private owners (mainly the Wadia family). A proposal is being developed by the Forest Dept. However the Air Force has an objection, as the bird sanctuary is very close to the Airport and poses the danger of bird hits. It was clarified that the Bird Sanctuary is largely for water-based bird and for woodland birds like warblers that may not pose a threat to the aircraft. However this is to be discussed with Air Force.


Present
1. Pravinsinh Pardeshi, Municipal Commissioner
2. Yashwant Khaire, Environment and Garden Dept, PMC
3. Prashant Waghmare, City Engineer, PMC
4. Ashok Rajguru, School Education Dept, PMC
5. Dhananjay Pardeshi, School Education Dept, PMC
6. Sourabh Phadke, PuneAlive
7. Aneeta Benninger-Gokhale, CDSA
8. Tasneem Balasinorwala, Pune Tree Watch
9. Ashish Kothari, Kalpavrish
10. Anchal Sondhi, Pune Tree Watch
11. Sanskriti Menon, CEE
12. Laxmikant Deshpande, CEE
13. Ashok Sreenivas, PTTF
14. Ranjit Gadgil, Janwani
15. Jugal Rathi, Pune Cycle Pratishthan
16. Harshwardhan, ACWADAM
17. Avinash Madhale, CEE
18. Ujwal Keskar, Corporator
19. Erach Bharucha, BVIEER
20. Laxmi Narayan, Waste Matters
21. Himanshu Kulkarni, ACWADAM
22. Zigisha Mhaskar, Independent Consultant
23. Vijay Paranjpye, Gomukh