There are multiple environmental issues in India. Air pollution, water pollution, garbage, domestically prohibited goods and pollution of the natural environment are all challenges for India. Nature is also causing some drastic effects on India. The situation was worse between 1947 through 1995. According to data collected and environmental assessments studied by World Bank experts, between 1995 through 2010, India has made some of the fastest progress in addressing its environmental issues and improving its environmental quality in the world. However, pollution still remains a major challenge and opportunity for the country.
Environmental issues are one of the primary causes of disease, health issues and long term livelihood impact for India.
Law and policies
British rule of India saw several laws related to the environment. Amongst the earliest ones were Shore Nuisance (Bombay and Kolkata) Act of 1853 and the Oriental Gas Company Act of 1857. The Indian Penal Code of 1860, imposed a fine on anyone who voluntarily fouls the water of any public spring or reservoir. In addition, the Code penalised negligent acts. British India also enacted laws aimed at controlling air pollution. Prominent amongst these were the Bengal Smoke Nuisance Act of 1905 and the Bombay Smoke Nuisance Act of 1912. Although these laws had limited effectiveness, they laid the foundation for the development of environmental regulations in India.
Upon independence from Britain, India adopted a constitution and numerous British-enacted laws, without any specific constitutional provision on protecting the environment. India amended its constitution in 1976. Article 48(A) of Part IV of the amended constitution, read: The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country. Article 51 A (g) imposed additional environmental mandates on the Indian state.
Other Indian laws from recent history include the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1974, the Forest (Conservation) Act of 1980, and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act of 1981. The Air Act was inspired by the decisions made at Stockholm Conference. The Bhopal gas tragedy triggered the Government of India to enact the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986. India has also enacted a set of Noise Pollution (Regulation & Control) Rules in 2000.
In 1985, the Indian government created the Ministry of Environment and Forests. This ministry is the central administrative organisation in India for regulating and ensuring environmental protection.
Despite the active passage of laws by the central government of India, the reality of environmental quality mostly worsened between 1947 and 1990. Rural poor had no choice, but to sustain life in whatever way possible. Air emissions increased, water pollution worsened, forest cover decreased.
Starting in the 1990s, reforms were introduced. Since then, for the first time in Indian history, major air pollutant concentrations have dropped in every 5-year period. Between 1992 and 2010, satellite data confirms India's forest coverage has increased for the first time by over 4 million hectares, a 7% increase. In August 2019, the Indian government imposed a nationwide ban on single-use plastics that will take effect on 2 October.
Possible causes Some have cited economic development as the cause regarding the environmental issues. It is suggested that India's growing population is the primary cause of India's environmental degradation. Empirical evidence from countries such as Japan, England and Singapore, each with population density similar to or higher than that of India, yet each enjoying environmental quality vastly superior to India's, suggests population density may not be the only factor affecting India's issues.
Major issues
Major environmental issues are forests and agricultural degradation of land, resource depletion (such as water, mineral, forest, sand, and rocks), environmental degradation, public health, loss of biodiversity, loss of resilience in ecosystems, livelihood security for the poor.Environmental Issues, Law and Technology – An Indian Perspective. Ramesha Chandrappa and Ravi.D.R, Research India Publication, Delhi, 2009,
The major sources of pollution in India include the rapid burning of fuelwood and biomass such as dried waste from livestock as the primary source of energy, lack of organised garbage and waste removal services, lack of sewage treatment operations, lack of flood control and monsoon water drainage system, diversion of consumer waste into rivers, using large land area for burial purposes, cremation practices near major rivers, government mandated protection of highly polluting old public transport, and continued operation by Indian government of government-owned, high emission plants built between 1950 and 1980.
Air pollution, poor management of waste, growing water scarcity, falling groundwater tables, water pollution, preservation and quality of forests, biodiversity loss, and land/soil degradation are some of the major environmental issues India faces today.
India's population growth adds pressure to environmental issues and its resources. Rapid urbanization has caused a buildup of heavy metals in the soil of the city of Ghaziabad, and these metals are being ingested through contaminated vegetables. Heavy metals are hazardous to people's health and are known carcinogens.
Population growth and environmental quality
There is a long history of study and debate about the interactions between population growth and the environment. According to a British thinker Malthus, for example, a growing population exerts pressure on agricultural land, causing environmental degradation, and forcing the cultivation of land of higher as well as poorer quality. This environmental degradation ultimately reduces agricultural yields and food availability, famines and diseases and death, thereby reducing the rate of population growth.
Population growth, because it can place increased pressure on the assimilative capacity of the environment, is also seen as a major cause of air, water, and solid-waste pollution. The result, Malthus theorised, is an equilibrium population that enjoys low levels of both income and Environmental quality. Malthus suggested positive and preventative forced control of human population, along with abolition of poor laws.
Malthus theory, published between 1798 and 1826, has been analysed and criticised ever since. The American thinker Henry George, for example, observed with his characteristic piquancy in dismissing Malthus: "Both the jayhawk and the man eat chickens; but the more jayhawks, the fewer chickens, while the more men, the more chickens." Similarly, the American economist Julian Lincoln Simon criticised Malthus's theory.Simon J.L. 1981. The ultimate resource; and 1992 The ultimate resource II. He noted that the facts of human history have proven the predictions of Malthus and of the Neo-Malthusians to be flawed. Massive geometric population growth in the 20th century did not result in a Malthusian catastrophe. The possible reasons include: increase in human knowledge, rapid increases in productivity, innovation and application of knowledge, general improvements in farming methods (industrial agriculture), mechanisation of work (tractors), the introduction of high-yield varieties of rice and wheat among other plants (Green Revolution), the use of pesticides to control crop pests.Antony Trewavas: "Malthus foiled again and again", in Nature 418, 668–670 (8 August 2002), retrieved 28 December 2008
More recent scholarly articles concede that whilst there is no question that population growth may contribute to environmental degradation, its effects can be modified by economic growth and modern technology. Research in environmental economics has uncovered a relationship between environmental quality, measured by ambient concentrations of air pollutants and per capita income. This so-called environmental Kuznets curve shows environmental quality worsening up until about $5,000 of per capita income on purchasing parity basis, and improving thereafter. The key requirement, for this to be true, is continued adoption of technology and scientific management of resources, continued increases in productivity in every economic sector, entrepreneurial innovation and economic expansion.
Other data suggest that population density has little correlation to environmental quality and human quality of life. India's population density, in 2011, was about 368 human beings per square kilometre. Many countries with population density similar or higher than India enjoy environmental quality as well as human quality of life far superior than India. For example: Singapore (7148 /km2), Hong Kong (6349 /km2), South Korea (487 /km2), Netherlands (403 /km2), Belgium (355 / km2), England (395 /km2) and Japan (337/ km2).
Water pollution
India has major water pollution issues. Discharge of untreated sewage is an important cause for pollution of surface and ground water in India, since there is a large gap between the generation and treatment of domestic waste water. The problem is not only that India lacks sufficient treatment capacity but also that the sewage treatment plants that exist do not operate and are not maintained. The majority of government-owned sewage treatment plants remain closed most of the time due to improper design, poor maintenance, or lack of reliable electricity supply, along with severe understaffing. The waste water generated in these areas normally percolates in the soil or evaporates. The uncollected waste accumulates in urban areas, causing unhygienic conditions and releasing pollutants that reach to surface and groundwater.
According to a World Health Organization study,World Health Organization (1992), Our Planet, our Health: Report of the WHO Commission on Health and Environment, Geneva out of India's 3,119 towns and cities, just 209 had partial sewage treatment facilities, and only 8 have full wastewater treatment facilities (1992). Over 100 Indian cities dump untreated sewage directly into the Ganges River.National Geographic Society. 1995. Water: A Story of Hope. Washington (DC): National Geographic Society Investment is needed to bridge the gap between 29,000 million litre per day of sewage India generates, and a treatment capacity of mere 6000 million litre per day.
Other sources of water pollution include agriculture runoff and small scale factories along the rivers and lakes of India. Fertilizers and pesticides used in agriculture in northwestern India have been found in rivers, lakes and ground water. Flooding during monsoons worsens India's water pollution problem, as it washes and moves all sorts of solid garbage and contaminated soils into its rivers and wetlands.
Water resources According to NASA groundwater declines are highest on Earth between 2002 and 2008 in northern India. Agricultural productivity is dependent on irrigation. A collapse of agricultural output and severe shortages of potable water may influence 114 million residents in India. In July 2012, about 670 million people or 10% of the world's population lost power blame on the severe drought restricting the power delivered by hydroelectric dams.Decade of drought: a global tour of seven recent water crises Guardian 12 June 2015
Air pollution