The plan drawn up by the Howrah Municipal Corporation, approved unanimously at a recent meeting of the civic house, outlines policy initiatives aimed at reducing the city’s carbon footprint and preparing an action plan to tackle the fallout of climate change.

Mayor Mamata Jaiswal said: “The plan was not only passed unanimously but was appreciated by the councillors of all parties. We are preparing a roadmap for its execution and have started approaching various funds sources for undertaking specific projects under the plan.”

Several national and international studies, including one by the state environment department and supported by World Bank, have highlighted the “acute climate risk” that Howrah (and Calcutta) face in the long run because of being located on the banks of the Hooghly.

“Howrah is among the 24 hotspots identified across the country,” Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had told The Telegraph sometime back.

The vision plan of the municipality, which has started tapping various sources for funds, calls for creating an underground sewer system across the city (the present drainage system runs on the surface), regular testing of water supplied by the civic body and monitoring the use of ground water.

Among the other measures the municipality plans to implement are traffic rationalisation, imposition of green tax on industrial units that emit excessive carbon dioxide, conservation of the Hooghly, upgrade of the public health infrastructure to tackle diseases resulting from climate change and setting up of disaster management teams.

To fight air pollution — Howrah is among the worst sufferers of the menace — the civic body plans to relocate polluting industrial units from the city.

“The climate vision plan of Howrah is possibly the first of its kind in India. A few states including Gujarat have opened a climate department but I have never come across any such plan prepared by a civic body,” said Kushal Yadav, a climate expert from the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment.

Arun Roy Choudhury, of the Congress, said: “We have supported the plan in principle. Our councillors will monitor the execution and if need be, will review the stand.”

Braja Majumder, of the Trinamul Congress said his party would keep reviewing its stand depending on the implementation of the projects.

Experts, too, are in a wait-and-watch mode. “The vision plan would mean nothing unless it is properly implemented,” said Yadav.

Environment activist Subhas Dutta, a resident of Howrah, said: “I welcome the initiative but am sceptical about its success. We have all seen how Howrah’s environment has been systematically damaged in the past few decades.”

The Howrah action plan has turned the focus on the city’s neighbour across the river — equally susceptible to the fallout of global warming.

A senior official in the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) said: “We will chalk out a roadmap after the Copenhagen summit.”

Municipal commissioner Arnab Roy said: “We might not have prepared any detailed plan but have already taken a series of actions on the climate front, such as introducing energy audit and attaching timers to street lights to prevent energy wastage.”

Cyclone Aila had exposed the CMC’s lack of preparedness in tackling a disaster.

“We have enhanced our preparedness by procuring instruments such as electric saws,” claimed Roy