Rejuvenating degrading eco-systems is my top priority: Eshwar Khandre

Bengaluru: "The growth of Bengaluru has been so striking and spectacular that we have gone from being one of the best cities to live in — to the city with endless problems," said Eshwar B Khandre, Minister of Forest and Environment.

He was speaking at the Sustainability Leadership Summit organized by the Centre for Sustainable Development, headed by A Ravindra, the former Chief Secretary of the Government of Karnataka.

"Endless traffic, depleting groundwater, and increasing pollution – these are just a snapshot of the myriad problems we face as Bengalureans today," he remarked.

Khandre added, "When I was sworn in as a minister, I made it a priority to understand and address the processes leading to environmental degradation and to explore ways to rejuvenate our ecosystems throughout the state."

Khandre outlined the specific challenges Bengaluru faces: unregulated and illegal construction, inadequate water sewerage and sanitation systems, encroachment of forest areas, pollution, draining of lakes, the proliferation of non-compliant highly polluting industries, deforestation, depleting groundwater levels, improper waste handling, and vehicular pollution.

He further noted that the ministry has initiated immediate actions to combat these persistent issues. "We have directed immediate attention toward effective waste management, lake rejuvenation, afforestation, reclamation of encroached forest lands, management of polluting industries, policies for vehicular pollution control, air quality improvement, and the introduction of carbon-neutral vehicle transportation," Khandre stated.

Ravindra praised Minister Khandre's dedication to making Bengaluru sustainable. However, he offered critical observations on the government's current development initiatives, saying, "While Khandre is trying to make Bengaluru a sustainable city, others seem to be working towards making it the most unlivable one."

The event was also attended by Javed Akthar, Additional Chief Secretary, Department of Environment and Forests, Karnataka; M R Sreenivasa Murthy, retired IAS officer and current Chief Executive of the Gokula Education Foundation (Medical); and Shalini Rajneesh, Additional Chief Secretary and Development Commissioner, GoK.

During the summit, the dignitaries unveiled the Bengaluru Declaration, a framework designed to accelerate actions towards sustainable development goals in the state.