The Tribune...50 years of Indian Independence.....Women

Ecological balance facing grave threat
Conservation vital for sustainable growth
by Sunderlal Bahuguna
The 20th century, especially the four-and-a-half decades since 1950,, may rightly be called the era of development because during this period the world economy expanded from $ 4 trillion in output in 1950 to more than $ 20 trillion in 1995. In a span of just 10 years -- from 1985 to 1995-- it grew by $ 4 trillion, which is more than it ever grew from the beginning of civilisation to 1950.
Development became synonymous with growth. Greater production became the key to prosperity and peace. Even before this, there was unprecedented economic growth in the West due to industrialisation. The exploitation of colonies and the extension of trade empires played an important role in it. The evil effects of industrialisation and deforestation for agricultural extension are now apparent. Oxygen, essential for breathing, has become polluted. Carbon-dioxide and other foul gases have spread in the atmosphere, causing acid rain. Forests have been disappearing and lakes have died. Water from rivers is not even fit to bathe in, let alone drinking. The sight of an open and clean sky has become a dream. There are no technical solution to these problems. The development pattern of the West has now become universal. When it was adopted by poor countries with dense populations, the problem of pollution became visible and acute. Depletion of natural resources -- water, forests and land-- started rapidly. The extension of cities is connected with industrialisation. The energy and transport needs of the densely populated cities are responsible for the combustion of fossil fuels [coal, oil and gas]. This becomes the main reason for air pollution. We throw 56 gm. of carbon into the atmosphere when we use one kilowatt of thermal power. The chimneys of industrial establishments directly emit smoke. Automobiles present both smoke and noise. Trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, are disappearing.
The other aspect of environmental pollution is the rapid depletion of natural resources. There has been a miraculous rise in the foodgrain production between 1950 and 1990. It almost trebled -- from 631 million tonnes in 1950 to 1780 million tonnes in 1990.The production of meat went up 2.6 times and that of fish five times. But now this illusion is over.

The rise in the food grain production was mainly due to the extension of crop area, irrigation, extensive use of chemical fertilisers and hybrid seeds. Mining of water was done to such an extent that its level is going down dramatically. Canal irrigation has brought the salts on the surface and the water - logged area has increased. Besides this, soil erosion is eating up fertility of the soil. The magic of chemical fertilisers, whose use had gone up nine times between 1950 and 1984, is now over because they have started giving diminishing returns. In India, 34 per cent of irrigated land is the victim of salinity and waterlogging. Two million hectares of saline land has already gone out of production.
Agricultural land has been raped but a greater injustice than even that is being done to the forests. Centuries old natural forests, especially the virgin forests of Africa, Asia and Brazil, are disappearing at a rapid pace. These are being replaced with fast growing species like eucalyptus and pine, which are detrimental to the health of the soil. A forest is a community of living things, of which the tree is the greatest asset. Social forestry has converted forests into timber mines. Many species have become extinct. Tropical forests are rich as there are a number of species in a small space. Many of these are the very basis of the lives of forest dwellers. These forest dwellers have been forced into the market economy of competition and exploitation from the subsistence economy of the forests, where they have been living in perfect harmony with nature. Some of these tribes are on the verge of extinction. Food production has been directly affected by deforestation because forests are the mothers of rivers and the factories of soil manufacture. One of the main causes of deforestation has been mining. The mining of metals and minerals has destroyed the forests of Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Orissa. The third invasion of the materialistic civilisation has been on water. The Green Revolution was mainly based on hybrid seeds and chemical fertilisers and these require water in very large quantities.

Domestic use of water goes up along with urbanisation. The urban dweller uses ten times more water than an ordinary villager. The affluent use 100 times more and five-star hotels up to 250 times more per capita of water. Industries are responsible for killing the rivers. Industrial effluents flow down to the rivers. Some years ago, the Ganga caught fire in Barauni, due to the spills of oil in it. All the effluents from leather factories in Kanpur flow into the Ganga. I have seen the effluents from a rayon factory flowing into the Chariyar river of Kerala. The 21st century is beginning with struggles over water. These struggles are between states within India. International rivers like the Nile, Mekong and Ganga have become the subject of strife between nations

The earth is a victim of the onslaught of a materialistic civilisation and the oceans too have been invaded. The latter have become dumping grounds for effluents and even of radioactive nuclear waste. Sewage from cities freely flows into the sea. Sea coasts have become spots for luxury tourism. As a result of this, there is severe competition to usurp them. Mangroves have been cut down to build hotels. The crisis of oceans will directly affect the poor, because the fish catch will be lowered. Dams,too, have had a disastrous effect on seas and fresh water lakes. The fish, which survived on the coasts in the mixture of sea and fresh water, have become extinct. Many species of flora and fauna are also becoming extinct. Only 20 per cent of the people of the world enjoy a luxurious lifestyle due to this development whereas the same number of people have no proper habitat. Nutritional food is a far off dream for them. They do not even have access to safe drinking water. This is all about human beings, for whose development there is so much hue and cry. The major problem humankind is facing today is the depletion of three renewable resources -- water, forests and land. None of these problems can be solved in isolation. There are two other intricate problems connected with this which are the gifts of development. The first is that of security. The nations sitting over the citadels of development possess an armoury of 42,000 nuclear weapons. Besides this, there is also the problem of internal insecurity. Governments are increasing poverty by spending the hard earned money of the poor on an unproductive activity like security.
The second problem is that of hunger and poverty. Now famine has taken the form of malnutrition. Production is decreasing due to ecological disasters, loss in soil fertility, water shortage and pollution. The cause of famine and malnutrition is the use of fertile land to grow cash crops. The poor, who constitute one third of the total population of India, do not even get enough calories, leave aside a nutritious diet.
During the long course of history, religion played a vital role in regulating society. But gradually the real face of religion (Dharma) disappeared and it came to be covered with rituals. The Industrial Revolution in Europe led to two basic changes in human thinking: (1) Nature is a commodity (2) Nature is for human beings because society consists only of human beings. This became the basis of human development with economic growth. When the objective of development became affluence and prosperity, man became the butcher of nature. He misused the power of science and technology for maximum exploitation of the resources of the planet. We became the rich children of a poor mother.

A new religion has taken birth in the development era. This is the religion of economic growth. The market is its temple, technocrats and experts its priests, and the ‘Dollar’ is the new god.
Those who equate development with affluence forget that there should be two basic characteristics of development:
1. It should be sustained. The benefits that we are getting now from it should be assured to future generations.
2. It should be ethical. Whatever the benefits, a person or a species should not harm other individuals or species.
Modern life has become so complex that we cannot live without many of the things that have become an integral part of our lives. However, their production creates pollution and is destructive. Among the resources used to generate energy, fossil fuels, nuclear energy and big dams are at the top of the list. This system would be suicidal for poor countries with dense populations. The alternatives that are pollution free and appropriate for the social and economic environment of these countries, in order of priority, are: human, animal, bio, solar, wind, tidal, geo-thermal and hydel power from water.

Energy is related to the production systems. High energy is needed by big centralised industries. This centralised system of production is responsible for exploitation and pollution. There should be more emphasis on khadi, village and other such decentralised industries. These are based on the natural law that whatever is essential for survival, should be easily available in the neighbourhood. Science and technology should be directed towards this objective.
The only way to get more food from less and degraded land is tree farming. Trees give more production on less land. The only way to combat the increasing water crisis in India is to declare water as the main product of forests. For this the remaining natural forests should be managed as protected forests. No green felling should be done in these.
The second step should be the conversion of mono-culture stands into mixed forests by raising food, fodder, fuel, fertilisers and fibre giving species of trees, bushes, climbers, herbs and tubers in the midst of these monocultures. The objective of development should not only be to raise the economic standard of life but to raise the social, economic, ethical and spiritual level of the people.
We shall have to change all those forces and circumstances which are giving birth to war, pollution and hunger. The way will be shown by those who, in spite of the onslaughts of the materialistic civilisation, have survived by sticking to their culture. They live because they did not adopt the lifestyle of the conquerors of nature. Instead they developed a lifestyle which was in harmony with nature.
Renowned scholar of ecology, Edward Goldsmith, concludes his book The Way thus: “The solution can only reside in restoring the natural systems that have been disrupted --- which means returning to the cultural behaviour pattern that assures the maintenance of the critical order of the living world.”
The writer, an internationally renowned conservationist, led the famous Chipko movement.

Tough steps needed to check polluting units
Rapid industrialisation causing havoc in Haryana
by K. L. Johar
A quarter of a century ago, people in the Third World showed little concern about the looming environmental crisis. Whereas ‘Greens’ emerged as a major force in the industrialised North in the sixties and the seventies, there was no effort worth the name to protect the environment in the Asian sub-continent, including India. However, this attitude of callous indifference to an all-important issue in the commerce-crazy world is disappearing fast. The frequent forays of monsoon floods, cloudbursts in the mountains, disastrous landslides and many other environmental disasters are the result of ruthless exploitation of natural resources. For a change, people are now becoming conscious and convinced that protection of environment is essential for the very survival of human civilisation. The only alternative is total extinction of all species on this beautiful planet.
Man is aware of the influence of nature in the form of the air he breathes, the water he drinks, the food that he eats and so on. Unpolluted air and water — precious gifts of nature — are to be preserved. Any disturbance in the level and quality of these ingredients will disturb the quality of life. The total world scenario is dismal and gloomy. The level of carbon dioxide is increasing in the atmosphere, giving birth to the green-house effect which is the direct consequence of the ravaging of ecology, particularly plant life, which absorbs carbon dioxide and exudes oxygen. India has experienced a phenomenal rise in industrialisation during the last two decades, but, unfortunately, not much thought has been given to the problem of industrial pollution. The resultant danger has been recognised only recently and legislation brought into force to prevent such damage to ecology and the quality of water and air.
The ever-increasing use of synthetic goods can lead to serious consequences, short term glitter notwithstanding. Chemicals, fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides are causing water pollution. Soil fertility is going down as a result of the excessive use of chemical fertilisers, nitrates and in some cases by excessive irrigation. Every year more than 200 million tonnes of carbon monoxide and 50 million tonnes of various hydro-carbons are being pumped into the atmosphere. Over 150 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide is also being thrown into the sky. The result is acid rain over many regions with consequences not unknown. The protective layer of the earth, saving it from ultraviolet rays, is in danger. There is already a big hole over the Antarctica.
The threat of population explosion is very grave. Population of the world that stood at about 90 crore in 1800 AD will be around 600 crore by the turn of the century. India’s population, which was 35 crore in 1947, is now touching a billion mark. Added to this is wastage of natural resources by the developed countries. A United Nations Publication Environmental Events Record in its issue of April, 1990, noted that “Westerners admit that they are destroying the earth by consumption of wealth in wasteful ways. The rich North consumes 80 per cent of the world’s global resources, while three quarters of the world’s population who live in the poor South share what is left. The average American flushes away more water everyday than a Madagascan uses in three months. Western industry produces vast amounts of toxic waste, much of which is dumped in the Third World. The World Commission on Environment and Development in its report Our common future said: “It is impossible to separate economic development issues from environment issues. Poverty is a major cause of global environmental problem”.
If India has to survive in the national and international market, we have to improve our technical skills and technologies to eliminate or reduce the industrial waste and adopt technologies and improve production methods and to protect the wholesomeness of our water and air in its natural settings for a better tomorrow, both for the present generation and also for the future generations.
Let us turn our attention to Haryana and see where it stands in terms of environment and pollution. Since its inception in 1966, Haryana has taken unprecedented strides in industrial growth. With just 1.7 per cent of the total geographical area and less than 2 per cent of the country’s population, Haryana today is one of the four states in the country having the highest per capita income. The state today ranks amongst the largest contributors of foodgrain to the central pool after meeting its own requirements. In the industrial sector, the state is the largest producer of passenger cars, tractors and motor cycles manufactured in the country every year. It has about 350 big industrial units with foreign collaboration. The number of small-scale units has now crossed 1.27 lakh.
But, unfortunately, in Haryana, as in the rest of the country, not much attention has been paid to the protection of environment in the wake of the rapid industrial growth. Simultaneous control of environmental protection systems would have been ideal. However, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board, established in the year 1974 to regulate, prevent and control the water pollution caused by untreated industrial effluents and hazardous wastes, has been quite active, particularly during the last two years. The board has taken various tough and stringent measures to regulate and control the ‘highly polluting’ categories of industries such as distilleries, sugar mills, basic drugs, leather tanning, pesticides and chemical fertilisers.
The number of ‘polluting’ industrial units is 2338, which if not checked will cause unprecedented havoc to the quality of life. Currently, all new industrial units falling under 36 categories of ‘pollution’, and ‘highly polluting’ industries are required to obtain consent to operate under Sections 25/26 of the Water Act and Sections 21 and 22 of the Air Act.
The board has been able to persuade as many as 456 units to install effluent treatment plants during the last two years. But perhaps stricter measures need to be adopted in respect of some categories of ‘highly polluting’ industries. All nine distilleries, 13 sugar mills, two thermal plants and four units of sulphuric acid continue to flout the Water and Air Acts with impunity. Out of the 15 drugs and pharmaceutical units, only three are following the Act while out of the 10 paper units, seven units are not complying with the Act. Similarly, only four cement units out of 8 are complying. However, all units of fertilisers (two), cement (eight) and leather (five) and dye (two) are complying with the directions. It is encouraging that most of these defaulting units are now in the process of modification and upgradation of their pollution control devices.
Besides, there are about 405 stone-crushing units of the state in the districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Bhiwani, Yamunanagar and Panchkula. These stone-crushing units are ‘highly polluting’ in nature as a lot of dust is emitted from the crushing operations. The campaign launched by the board for the effective implementation of pollution-control devices, which include providing water sprinklers, covered shed, wind breaking wall and metal road within the premises, is yielding good results.
Haryana is basically an agriculture-based state where a lot of agro-chemicals are being used. This has resulted in the pesticide pollution of water, air, soil, vegetables, grains, bovine, milk, etc. Pesticides from the environment get biomagnified and ultimately result into various types of health problems. Regular monitoring of pesticides, residuals and planned agricultural practices need to be adopted for better environment.
A senior functionary of the Forest Department of Haryana informed that the forest cover in the state is 1.5 lakh hectares which is about 3.2 per cent of the total land area. This compares poorly with the all-India figure of 11 per cent. But the state has done some good work in the area of social forestry and if the plantation under this category is also taken into account, the cover comes to 8 per cent. The Forest Department of Haryana has launched a project under the National Forestry Action Plan, through which it hopes to bring the area under forest cover to 20 per cent in the next 20 years. Social forestry seems to be the best device in Haryana as the state by and large is deprived of natural forestry.
The ground water is saline in many parts of Haryana with excess sodium salts. Ground water has high fluoride concentration in many parts of Haryana (especially Jind and Sonepat) where fluorosis is found to occur commonly in rural areas where people draw water from wells.
Surface water quality in Haryana also needs attention and regular monitoring. Rivers like the Kaushalaya, the Yamuna and the Ghaggar, which are shared by the neighbouring states, should be regularly monitored.
Environmental scientists of Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, in collaboration with the Directorate of Environment, Government of Haryana, are preparing the Environmental Status Report for Haryana. Under this programme, the quality of underground water, surface waters (major rivers and canals), air pollution status and pesticide residue contamination and urea adulteration of bovine milk are being investigated. For spreading environmental awareness a quarterly magazine, Green News, is also being published.
‘Awakening’ to the dangers of environmental degradation is the key word. The government alone will not be able to do it. Voluntary agencies should include protection of environment as one of its primary objectives. The universities and colleges should consider the feasibility of making environment a compulsory subject at each level of education. The universities should incorporate in the syllabi topics on natural environment, socio-cultural environment, demography and human development. It is unfortunate that out of a total of 228 universities in the country, just 20 are imparting education in environmental sciences and environmental engineering. A concerted effort should be made to take Mahatma Gandhi’s message, “Nature has enough for human need but not for his greed” to every home and hearth. Man has to stop being greedy. Once this happens, his craze for ruthless exploitation of nature will cease. He will learn to ‘eat to live’ and not ‘live to eat’.
The writer is the Vice-Chancellor of Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar..

Extensive damage to life support systems in region
Eco-plans should be backed by political will
by S. K. Sharma
IN the first decade following 1947, India accorded high priority to rehabilitation of displaced persons. Large- scale environmental degradation began as forests were cut down, existing towns and cities expanded and new townships were established. In the following decades, major development programmes were launched. Roads were built, industries set up, agriculture developed and water resources tapped. The rapid rate of population growth, urbanisation, increasing industrial and agricultural output caused increasing degradation in environmental quality.
Until 1980, the responsibility for conserving the environment and forests was divided among several Central ministries. No single agency was invested with the authority to coordinate environmental protection activities. In 1981, several factors prompted the Government of India to establish the Ministry of Environment and Forests. In the 1980s, departments of environment were set up in all states and Union territories.
Haryana and Punjab, the pioneer states of the Green Revolution, have forest area just 1.4 and 2.8 million hectares respectively. Even the capital of India, Delhi has 1.7 per cent forest area. As per the National Forest Policy, these states and Union territories should have a forest area of 33 per cent. In the case of Himachal Pradesh, the state forest department has recorded a forest area of 63.60 million hectares.
Vehicular pollution is fast becoming the single largest threat to the environment and health. Medical studies reveal that pollutants released by these vehicles can cause severe respiratory disorders such as bronchitis, asthma and allergies.
In Ludhiana, the number of vehicles has increased by 60 per cent — from 2.4 lakh (in 1989) to 3.9 lakh in 1995.
Chandigarh, too, is slowly being gripped by vehicular pollution. Chandigarh has the highest vehicles per person as compared to any other part of India. If an effective management measure, such as introduction of a viable public transport system from Panchkula to Chandigarh and from Mohali to Chandigarh and back (particularly during office hours), is not taken in time this city too would become a polluted city.
The discharge of untreated sewage into the rivers is the major season for the degradation of quality of water. Long stretches of the Yamuna in Haryana and the Sutlej in Punjab have been identified by the CPCB as highly polluted river stretches. A Rs 2000- crore scheme to make the Yamuna pollution-free has been initiated. Out of this, a sum of Rs 400 crore has already been spent. Reportedly, no worthwhile progress could be seen either in the field or in the quality of water in the Yamuna even after spending such a large amount. The programme for cleaning the Sutlej has been initiated under a national river conservation plan in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Phillaur,
The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, in consultation with the CPCB, identified 17 categories of highly polluted industries in 1992. The aim was to control water and air pollution from large and medium industries under these categories throughout the country as early as possible. Initially, the deadline fixed for these industries to comply with standards was December, 1993, but, on one pretext or another, the date was extended. There are still 180 industries out of 1551 which have not complied with the prescribed standards until December, 1996. Show-cause notices have been issued to these industries but the authorities have not decided the future course of action.
In Punjab, 18 out of a total of 45 industries, have not complied with the prescribed standards, whereas in Haryana there are 8 industries out of 43 that fall in this category.
Keeping in view, serious water and air pollution, the Ministry of Environment and Forest has identified four critical polluted areas in the region. These are Parwanoo and Kala Amb (H.P.) Mandi Gobindgarh (Punjab) and Najafgarh in Delhi. The environmental epidemiological studies to study the distribution and determinants of diseases are being carried out in Mandi Gobindgarh and Najafgarh.
Population growth, rising standard of living and changes in consumption patterns have increased the discharge of the waste into the environment. A survey conducted by CPCB in 1996 regarding municipal waste generation in 23 metropolitan cities has revealed that the total generation of municipal waste is about 30,000 per tonne per day. Of this, Bombay generates the maximum (5355 tonnes) per day followed by Delhi and Chennai. In Delhi the municipal waste generation is about 4000 tonne per day.
On an average, an individual generates about 400-800 gm of solid waste per day. More waste is generated from urban areas. Thus, one can easily calculate the quantity of total waste generated per day in his area. Even in Chandigarh, 500 tonnes of solid waste is generated per day but the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh has not formulated scientific waste management practices such as segregation, composting and recycling.
Plastic is non bio-degradable. It is now posing a serious problem in urban and rural areas. Not only does it increase the volume of waste but also causes choking of drains and affects vegetation. It is also a potential threat to the animals. Efforts are being made to employ the three Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) for effective managements of wide varieties of plastics by the Centre and the states. Himachal Pradesh took a lead by enacting a legislation. Haryana is still in the process of framing a law pertaining to the use of plastic.
There are number of industries in this region which produce hazardous waste matter. This needs to be preferably incinerated or disposed of at a specified site. The site should be selected by conducting Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and should have double impervious lining of a resistant chemical/material and a system of collection of leachates.
Although the MOE&F and CPCB have been insisting the state pollution control boards identify and develop sites for disposal of hazardous waste, nothing has been done in this direction.
The Congress Grass (parthenium hysterophorous) is an exotic weed that poses an imminent threat to our country’s vegetation. Along with its adverse effect on the vegetation, Parthenium also is the causative agent of several diseases like asthma and dermatitis.
On a petition filed by the ESI, the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the governments of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Administration to prepare an action plan for the uprooting of this weed. No state government has so far enacted a law to prosecute owners and occupants of land infested with Congress Grass.
What are the main causes of setbacks? We are excellent in planning but poor in implementation. A prestigious environment and citizens’-friendly “community based sanitary- cum- epidemiological programme”, which was praised by national and international experts in public health was scrapped after functioning successfully for about a decade without the knowledge of a senior functionary of the Chandigarh Administration.
In fact, most of our programmes lack political will and are aimed at short-term and not long-term gains. On the other hand, the main aim of the Non Government Organisations (NGOs) is to supplement government efforts and raise a voice against insults to the environment. A few NGOs do raise a voice against environmental insults but their awareness programmes have no lasting impact unless they are followed by action programmes. A bit of Sanskrit wisdom voices this: “So long as the earth is full of nature, human race is going to survive.”
The writer is the President of the Environment Society of India and is based in Chandigarh.