The execution of the green master plan for Dehradun submitted by the Forest Department to the State in 2010 appears to be delayed further as there has been no response to the re-bid invited by the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (MDDA) for this purpose.
When the authority invited bids for the first time, less than the stipulated minimum of three enterprises had responded due to which the MDDA had gone for a re-bid.
It will be recalled that in 2010, the then Dehradun divisional forest officer had drafted a note to the then Garhwal Commissioner eliciting focus on the need for adopting a green master plan (GMP) akin to the one implemented in cities like Hong Kong in order to make Dehradun environmentally friendly while capitalising on bio-engineering, renewable energy and other features to optimise the urban environment of the State capital. Talking to The Pioneer, the MDDA vice chairman
R Meenakshi Sundaram said that when the authority had first invited bids for executing the GMP there were only two responses of which only one firm had made an impressive presentation. However, since the regulations stipulate that at least three bids are needed, the MDDA went for a re-bid which failed to elicit any response, said Sundaram, while acknowledging that the execution of this plan has been postponed for now.
The measures needed to make Dehradun an environment-friendly city need concerted efforts of various Government departments and agencies along with the participation of corporate houses and public. Works for the forestry related part of the plan for making Dehradun a green city were proposed in the draft submitted by the then DFO in 2010.
Measures proposed in the GMP for greening the city and enhancing its existing environment include the establishment of botanical gardens, sacred groves and implementation of a management plan for city forests. Dehradun has seen a drastic increase in constructions and infrastructural development with the environmental aspect being neglected and unplanned urbanisation taking its toll on the environment of the once green and clean Doon.