CHENNAI: The state government will introduce a City Biodiversity Index across all 24 municipal corporations at a cost of Rs 2 crore to strengthen urban biodiversity conservation and improve climate resilience, Minister for Environment and Climate Change VK Rajeev announced in the Assembly on Monday. The index is aimed at assessing and strengthening biodiversity in urban areas.
Rajeev also said the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) will significantly expand its air-quality monitoring network and sensor-based continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations will be established at 80 locations across the state at a cost of Rs 8 crore. The new system will continuously track major air pollutants and data will also be made available to the public through electronic display boards, he added.
The government has also proposed five mobile environmental monitoring vehicles at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore for real-time monitoring and rapid response. Equipped with modern environmental analytical instruments, the vehicles will be deployed for industrial inspections, pollution-related incidents and public complaints. The centres will be integrated with the Tamil Nadu State Emergency Operations Centre to facilitate real-time monitoring.
In another initiative, the government will provide incentives to industries securing voluntary green-rating certification, based on Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze grades, to encourage cleaner production, green technologies, natural resource conservation and sustainable industrial development. As many as 200 government and aided schools and five government colleges will be converted into Blue Green Campuses every year at an estimated cost of Rs 53.75 crore.