Preservation of rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats, comprehensive land and water use policy, ban on import of waste and stop of discharge of effluents in the river are among the 18-point “environment manifesto” released by the party.
The Congress party released an exclusive manifesto on Environment “Environment Manifesto” for Maharashtra. The manifesto states the immediate attention that environment seeks and focuses on 18-points that needs immediate attention. The manifesto was released with the agenda, “nothing at the cost of the environment’. It raises the need to preserve biodiversity and natural resources. The manifesto states that if the party comes o power, it will look into the crucial environmental issues like- Preservation of rich biodiversity of Western Ghats, declaring rising air pollution as a public health emergency, comprehensive land, and water use policy, and ban on import of waste and stop the discharge of effluents in the river. The party manifesto stated that party workers will work to create awareness among the residents on environmental issues and also be available to solve problems related to climate, water, and ecology. The Maharashtra Congress unit claimed that the environment Manifesto was constituted after consulting environmental specialist and activists. The environment manifesto was released in the presence of Vice Chairman of the state Congress environment department, Sadhna Mahashabde. Speaking on the condition of the river bodies, he stated “River regulation zone, which was enforced in the state, was abruptly revoked by the current government. The key objective was to prevent encroachment along the rivers and floodplains. We will ensure that it is re-enforced and at least one major river in the city/state is revived.” The party also promised that the coast will be preserved without affecting the livelihood of the fishing communities. The party will impose a complete ban on import of all types of waste. The manifesto also stated that Illegal mining of sand, implementation of a solid waste management plan, promoting waste segregation, making local communities’ custodians of forest and shareholders of forest resources and providing clean cooking fuel.