‘City can still be saved'

Come June 5 and it is the ritualistic denunciation of things gone awry. Saturday was no different. The city witnessed several programmes where speakers expressed anguish at the environmental deterioration and called for corrective action.

But there were some who looked things in a different way. “Hyderabad has lost a lot, yet there is a whole lot to be saved here. It is still possible to reverse the damage and have a sustainable environment,” felt Amitha Desai, executive director, Goethe Zentrum.

Addressing a programme organised by the Forum for a Better Hyderabad to mark the World Environment Day, she said one must be inclusive with regard to the concept of development. She gave example of how the Berlin city was rebuilt after the infrastructure activity was examined thoroughly from the economics and social point of view.

Citizen's initiative

S.K. Rao, Director-General, Administrative Staff College of India, called for adopting focussed approach to development. He faulted the tendency to blame the government for everything and wanted areas to be identified where citizens could take initiative. There was also need to nurture industry-community partnership.

Dr. Rao, who released a special number of the Forum brought to mark its tenth anniversary, suggested institution of awards for civil servants for initiating environment- friendly action. Maj. Gen. B. Nagarajan, Additional Surveyor General, Survey of India, suggested use of bags other than plastic ones. Forum president M. Vedakumar blamed the haphazard planning for the problems people were facing in Hyderabad. The city so far had six master plans, but all were prepared in isolation. Earlier, M. Mandal, executive committee member of the Forum, said Hyderabad was losing its definition with rocks, gardens, lakes giving way to increasing air pollution. There was no administrative action on complaint. Without invoking RTI one couldn't get any response. Only through judicial intervention things moved, he said.