This article throws light upon the three main aspects which are affecting environmental quality in India. The aspects are: 1. Social Aspects 2. Legal Aspects 3. Financial Aspects.
1. Social Aspects:
Poverty as we know is a very drastic condition wherein the individuals suffering under it are deprived of most of the basic needs, namely, food, clothing and shelter. The social status of the people suffering from poverty is very low.
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Enviro-friendly goods are far too expensive for the access of the poverty struck people. Since a vast part (26.10%) of India’s population is below the poverty line, a major section of the society is deprived of environmental quality. The living conditions of the poor is highly unhygienic and disease prone.
There are two possible ways of bringing better environmental quality to the poverty struck and they are:
(a) Better awareness among the uneducated mass.
(b) To reduce the costs of various enviro-friendly products so that they are more accessible to the poor.
Over the last two decades, awareness on environmental quality has been increasing as a result of the efforts made by many organizations and societies around the world.
Ironically, some societies take time to recognize the need to develop a conservative response to environment and learn only when disasters of severe magnitude strike. Nevertheless, domestic organizations (NGO’s) and international bodies like WHO/UNEP/ UNESCO have launched this programme way back in the early 1970’s.
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Environmental Education in India is partly a response to the effort by the international bodies. Organizations like SCERT, NCERT, and UNICER have been working in environmental education area, to make meaningful changes in present educational syllabus.
Environmental education in this context is defined as a process of learning through which one acquires sufficient knowledge to understand environmental problems and contributes towards solving them. This would, over a period of time give rise to a more responsible citizen which in turn means greater responsibility towards environment protection leading to a healthier environment.
On the basis of the above definition, environment education is a continuous process, starting in early childhood and going on till life aimed at creating an environmentally responsible society with an understanding of how attitudes and values can affect the environment.
Environmental awareness can be achieved only be learning outside the classroom and into the community so that the students see for themselves the relevance of this education in terms of existing realities and not in terms of grades in examination (Mares Cherry, 1985).
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Slum areas, Dams, Industries, Public Health Museums, Social Forestry Programme, etc. would also be effective. This education would essentially have to be supplemented with audio visuals, viz., radio, television, newspapers, magazines, slides shows, posters, pamphlets, charts, etc.
And to give a serious thought to environmental issues, painting, drawing, debate and elocution competitions could also be arranged. Since environmental awareness is developing in response to our existing problems, environmental education should essentially be undertaken through a study of these pressing problems.
2. Legal Aspects:
With the realization that poverty and the state of underdevelopment led to many of the environmental problems that confront the nation, comes the understanding that it was more rapid development which was the best approach.
This development has to benefit people (and particularly the poor) by providing for their basic human needs and rising aspirations. Thus, many of the developmental programs, and particularly those included in the 20-point program, could indeed be termed as environmental management programs.
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However, another class of environmental problems has arisen as unintended side effects of the very attempts of development. These are: Mismanagement of natural resources, large scale of deforestation, unplanned discharge of residues and wastes, handling of toxic chemicals, indiscriminate construction, expansion of settlement activities, etc. It is to this class of problems that the tools and methodologies of environmental planning are primarily addressed.
In the beginning of fourth plan, problems related to the environment received the Government’s attention. Also a Committee on environmental co-ordination was set up in 1972 to look into the problems and suggest solution in consultation with the experts and the concerned ministries/departments of the Government.
Another committee was set up in January 1980 for reviewing the existing legislation measures, administrative machinery for ensuring environmental promotion and for recommending ways to strengthen them.
On the recommendation of this high-powered committee, the Department of Environment was set up in 1980, which subsequently was made a new Ministry of Environment, Forests and wildlife in 1985 to serve as the focal point in the administrative structure for planning, promotion and co-ordination of environmental program. There are about 30 major enactments related to protection of environment now being administered by the Central and State Governments.
Some of them are listed below:
1927 The Indian Forest Act
1972 The Wildlife (Protection) Act
1974 The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act
1980 The Forests (Conservation) Act
1981 The Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act
1986 The Environment (Protection) Act
1991 The Public Liability Insurance Act
1995 The National Environmental Tribunal Act
1997 The National Environment Appellate Authority Act Policies
1988 National Forest Policy
1992 National Conservation Strategy and Policy Statement of
1992 Policy Statement on Abatement of Pollution
These acts are implemented through several organizations like the Central and State Pollution Control Boards, Chief Inspectors of factories and insecticides inspectors of agriculture department. In spite of several organizations functioning in the field, industrial accidents have led to widespread concern regarding the danger to environment through hazardous substances.
The existing laws to cover such hazards do not provide a clear focus of authority to prevent or limit the damages. Taking into account these factors, the Government has enacted the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to provide a single focus for environment issues in the country and to plug loopholes in the existing Acts. The Act has been into effect from 19th November, 1986.
Its important features are as under:
(a) It confers powers on the Central Government to:
(i) Take all necessary measures for protecting the quality of environment;
(ii) Plan and execute a nation-wide program for the prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution;
(iii) Lay down standards for discharge of environmental pollutants;
(iv) Empower any person to enter, inspect, take samples, and test;
(v) Appoint or recognize government analysis;
(vi) Lay down standards for the quality of environment;
(vii) Lay down procedures and safeguards for handling hazardous substances;
(b) The jurisdiction of civil courts is barred under the Act.
The Ministry has taken several steps to provide legal and institutional basis for implementation of the Act, which include issue of rules, notification of standards, action regarding environmental laboratories, strengthening of state departments of environment and pollution control boards, delegation of powers, identification of agencies for carrying out various activities for hazardous chemical management and setting up of environment protection councils in the states.
The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 have been amended to make them more stringent.
3. Financial Aspects:
The main reason for poverty is the lack of finance for the development of the rural poor. The infrastructure in the rural areas is still in its infancy and needs to be developed even more. The Government has come up with various infrastructure development programs for the benefit of the poverty struck at the rural levels.
However, as a result of urbanization, the urban areas in our country are in an equal dire need of financial aid. In spite of what has been done in the past, poverty has not been fully alleviated in our country and the problem has been aggravated by corruption into the allocation of resources at all levels of society. As a result, it is the poor who bear the burden of ecological disturbances.
Because poverty in India is concentrated in rural areas, the government will give priority to financing projects impacting directly on the poor. These include rural roads and electrification, promotion of small and medium enterprises, and water supply and sanitation programs (wherever the absence of basic services jeopardizes the health of the poor) which benefit environmental growth.
The focus in financing of the development of transport and communications will be on reducing costs of transport to and from rural areas and between growth centres, and increasing access of the poor to markets, education, health care and employment.
Preference will be given to projects in poorer parts of the country or those that connect poor or isolated areas to the economic mainstream. Concerted efforts will be made to find innovative ways of harnessing the potential of information technology so that it enhances, rather than militates against, the human capital and market access of the poor.
Policy reforms and market infrastructure will be promoted to encourage the emergence of sustainable financial institutions geared to better serving the needs of medium-, small-, and micro-enterprises.
Sound and efficient banking systems and capital markets will also be promoted, since these remain indispensable for macroeconomic stability, mobilizing savings, and ensuring availability of long-term financing, an essential requirement for pro-poor growth.
These efforts help towards the development and uplift of the standard of living of those who live below the poverty line in the country and thereby, improve the environmental quality of our surroundings.
Strategies are more effective if outcomes are monitored and the results fed back to improve performance. However, outcomes such as declines in the proportion of people below the poverty line, illiteracy rates and gender gaps take time to achieve.
Hence, there is need to develop poverty indicators that provide early information on progress in approaching the desired outcomes. A strong, well-regulated capital market is essential if India is to raise the billions of dollars needed for investments in infrastructure and other key sectors necessary to reduce poverty in the country.
Commercialization of urban and environmental infrastructure development and management also raised concerns that subproject sponsors and financiers may pursue financial returns at the expense of environmental degradation or ignoring the social impact on poverty.