The State Election Commission on Saturday issued guidelines for political parties ahead of the July 8 panchayat elections and they were asked to avoid plastic material for the campaign and use microphones without causing trouble for people.
The guidelines were sent to district panchayat officers and district magistrates, who were directed to communicate the same to “all candidates and political parties” for compliance, said a source.
“All candidates/ political parties should take adequate steps and measures to not use plastic as campaign materials (posters, banners etc.) during the election in the interest of human health and environment (and) disposal of campaign materials should be done by the candidates/ political parties within three days after the poll day,” reads the notice signed by the secretary of the commission.
The notice also stated that “indiscriminate and unfettered use of loud speakers at odd hours and at odd places at very high volume cannotbe allowed” and directed that the microphone be used for campaigning “only between 8 am and 10 pm” and till 48 hours prior to the end of the voting.
The commission has asked local authorities and police to strictly enforce the norms, said the source.
Earlier, several green groups had written to political parties, SEC and the State Pollution Control Board, demanding that environmental norms be adhered to during the election campaign.
While the green lobby welcomed the guidelines issued by the SEC, some activists said a few important issues had not been addressed.
“We welcome the latest directive and now, it is the responsibility of the administration to implement the norms. However, the guidelines, according to the Supreme Court order, should have barred the use of fireworks — a common practice after any candidate wins the election,” said Biswajit Mukherjee, a former chief law officer of the pollution control board and the president of non-profit Paribesh Academy.
Mukherjee also said green generators should be used at major campaign meetings.
“We have also urged the candidates to follow the environmental laws, particularly those critically linked to the welfare of rural areas. We requested them to comply with the norms about microphones and plastic during the campaign,” said Mukherjee.
“The guidelines should include the mandatory use of sound limiters in all microphones according to the orders of the National Green Tribunal and the pollution control board," said Naba Dutta, the secretary of Sabuj Mancha, a common platform of close to 50 green organisations in Bengal.
The platform has recently released a green manifesto highlighting the critical environmental issues impacting rural Bengal that hardly get a mention in the campaign.
Earlier, several green groups had written to political parties, SEC and the State Pollution Control Board, demanding that environmental norms be adhered to during the election campaign.
While the green lobby welcomed the guidelines issued by the SEC, some activists said a few important issues had not been addressed.
“We welcome the latest directive and now, it is the responsibility of the administration to implement the norms. However, the guidelines, according to the Supreme Court order, should have barred the use of fireworks — a common practice after any candidate wins the election,” said Biswajit Mukherjee, a former chief law officer of the pollution control board and the president of non-profit Paribesh Academy.
Mukherjee also said green generators should be used at major campaign meetings.
“We have also urged the candidates to follow the environmental laws, particularly those critically linked to the welfare of rural areas. We requested them to comply with the norms about microphones and plastic during the campaign,” said Mukherjee.
“The guidelines should include the mandatory use of sound limiters in all microphones according to the orders of the National Green Tribunal and the pollution control board,” said Naba Dutta, the secretary of Sabuj Mancha, a common platform of close to 50 green organisations in Bengal.
The platform has recently released a green manifesto highlighting the critical environmental issues impacting rural Bengal that hardly get a mention in the campaign.
“The green manifesto is meant to highlight the environmental issues before both the electorate and political parties to push for a qualitative change in the panchayat governance,” added Dutta.
Animesh Bose, an environmentalist in Siliguri, told The Telegraph that several north Bengal forest areas like Lataguri had been severely impacted in the name of tourism and urbanisation and panchayats concerned needed to play a proactive role in preserving the jungles.
