Environmental problems have become a common problem to most of the growing countries of the world. India being one of the world’s fast growing economies and which has been listed to be second fastest growing economy in the middle east countries is not an exception. In India, pollution is a common phenomenon. Vapi (Gujarat), for example, is listed in the top ten areas that are most polluted in the world. The common environmental problems in this country are environmental degradation; population pressure, land scarcity and pollution, air, water and soil pollution. Moreover, the level of exploitation of natural resources, which has increased as the economy grows, also greatly contributes to environmental pollution. Due to the many advantages associated with economic development, environmental problems related to this development are easily overlooked. This paper intends to discuss the environmental problems associated with development and the tension created by these two factors India (Paramasivan et al, 2009).
India is the second largest growing economy in Asia and Middle East at large. This has resulted into serious land degradation problems. This has been particularly because of the increasing pressure on the available land. Research has shown that 65% of the land has been degraded to some extent. Moreover little attention has been given to this environmental problem by the government and the community. Among the factors that have contributed this degradation are the poor government policies that govern the environment. The government has been said to be reluctant in both formulating policies that govern increasing environmental problems and also in implementing the policies already in place. This has been attributed by political issues such as abuse of power by those in authority as well as corruption. Garbage management is also a problem in this country to an extent that has become unmanageable. Anyone can throw anything anywhere (Yu, 2008).
There is an increasing need to protect the environment as the country grows. This is because land and other natural resources are not enough to support its ever-increasing population and the rising number of industries. This increase has been contributed by the improved economic standards. Therefore, tremendous pressure is placed on the land and natural resources while people search for raw materials, arable land, housing, industrial locations and infrastructure development space . This has led to vast deforestation which has greatly contributed to land as well as other environmental problems in general.
Land pollution goes hand in hand with economic growth of a country. This in itself creates tension. With an aim to create space for human settlement for the speedily increasing population, a vast area around Himalayas has heavily been deforested. Population growth and expansion of industries are the major factors contributing to land pollution. This form of pollution involves soil pollution, pressure on land and destruction of vegetation cover. Vegetation cover has mainly been lost through deforestation which has been carried out in order to create room for industries and human settlement. Land pollution is also common in the settlement areas and along the rivers. This is more so because agricultural chemicals, industrial and domestic wastes. This has created tension between retaining catchment areas and sparing wildlife and settling people. This also places wildlife at risk since the area is also their habitat. This has also exposed the country to dangerous floods that have continued to affect the country for over three decades now. These floods have claimed people’s lives. Millions of livestock and crops have also been destroyed over the years. The country has also spent millions of shillings on programs that are meant to control the floods. These have however not been successful (Ahluwalia, 2005). .
Population growth which is associated with economic growth has led to water pollution. According to a recent research, India has lost more than 7000 km of its coastline to environmental pollution, particularly dumped wastes from cities. This has increased pressure on the available resources thus increasing the number of people living under poverty. It is a common phenomenon to see people in India settled on agriculturally productive land. Others have been forced some to live under slum conditions and on the streets. Slums are a major source of pollution in the country. Slums, for instance, make up a significant environmental pollutant, since in such areas there no sewage system, drainage is poor and garbage disposal is a problem (Sharma, 2007). All these wastes are openly dumped into rivers and into the ocean. (Stein et al, 2010).
Industrial growth has played a huge role in all forms of pollution. For example, chemicals and other waste products from these industries are dumped into rivers and on agricultural land. This is common in cities and major towns. India has more than three thousand towns and cities where most of the industries and located. . E-waste which is as a result of advancement of technology and which includes wastes from TV sets mobile phones and computers are also a threat to the environment. These wastes have been on the increase in the resent years. Their contribution to environmental degradation has however been caused by un-organized disposal wastes
Of importance is the silting of dams and reservoirs due to soil erosion enhanced by poor farming methods, and mostly done along riverbanks. Examples are those rivers running through highly populated areas like Buddha Nullah River, which runs through Punjab State, a vast populated area. Others include Malwa, Sutlej, and Indus rivers. Studies have indicated that most major rivers in India are polluted to an extent of having metallic and nonmetal residues in the water at their mouths, which implies that Indian Ocean is rapidly being polluted. Despite these problems, there is few community or tribal-based conflicts over water sources, probably due to open access to water, and consequently open pollution.
Industrialization coupled with urbanization have for long been associated with air pollution and forms of pollution. As industries grow, the amount of gaseous wastes released into the atmosphere also increases. They also attract people to settle around them due to benefits associated with them such as direct and indirect employment opportunities. In India, the modern state of the country has been associated with industrialization with its contribution to growth and development of cities. The government has invested a considerable amount of resources on industrialization but ignored taking measures on the environmental consequences that these industries have on the surrounding environment (Kumar, 2009).
Air pollution has also been contributed by urbanization and industrialization. This is because these factors have contributed to growth and expansion of the transport network. The country has however continued to use old diesel engines on both road and railway system. These engines generate a lot high leaded petroleum wastes including sulphur and carbon that are released into the atmosphere. These have in the long run brought about the green house effect. This has resulted expansion the land covered by desert conditions due to increase in temperatures. Air pollution is not only in urban areas but also in the rural sector. This is mainly through the use of firewood as a source of fuel. The authorities have already realized this and currently there are initiatives aimed at reducing the number of old model diesel engines on the road, railway and in the industries, but the process is slow and expensive. Moreover, there has been low-level of electricity production, probably due to the excessive pollution of rivers and the low-level of technology for producing nuclear power affect the cost of developing electricity engines in factories and transport system (Miller et al, 2008).
Noise pollution is also evident in the country. This is caused by the thousands of cities and towns have complex transport network have numerous vehicles on the road at all times of the day .The improved peoples standards as a result of economic growth has enabled many people to be able to buy personal vehicles. This explains why there has been growing traffic jam in the Indian cities. The noises produced by the industries also contribute to this form of pollution. Even with the noise pollution rising to severe levels in some cities and towns, there have been no government policies that have been put in place to solve the problem (Razzaque, 2004).
Tension created between development practices and environmental problems
Several dams and water reservoirs have been constructed along rivers in India, with an aim of preserving, purifying, and managing water sources for the increasing population. These have also played a role in contaminating the water supplies. Critics and proponents of water conservation through dams have argued over what direction India should take towards water preservation for its overpopulation. Already, Indian authorities have adopted the initiative of damming major and minor rivers to increase sources of water for irrigation and urban use, and this has been very instrumental in industrialization and agricultural development.
However, opponents of these initiatives have pointed out the excessive use of land for construction of dams as the major cause of scarcity in land, displacements, and poverty in these areas. They also argue that most dams are a threat to the natural flow of rivers, since the amount of water flowing downstream is very low. Moreover, they provide evidences that most of these dams were poorly constructed, and may break anytime, causing serious floods, loss of life and property in areas on the downstream side (Sharma, 2007).
This is because of the human settlement of people around and near the water sources. What results is that sewage, industrial waste, and agricultural chemicals find their way into the dams. On the same note, the negative reaction to nuclear power tests has increased the rate of dam construction in India. Medical critics point out that dams are hazards in that they create new breeding sites for mosquitoes, thus increasing prevalence of malaria and other waterborne diseases, taking into account the rate of water pollution.
Although these initiatives have been instrumental in industrial, agricultural and lifestyle development, there are numerous problems associated with them. For instance, agencies and departments mandated with managing these facilities are sometimes ineffective, corrupt ridden, poorly structured, and may lack machinery and technology to preserve and maintain them. They have led to water pollution thus killing fish and other aquatic organisms. These wastes also pollute the soil making it less productive or unproductive at all. This plays a big role to food shortage in India (Sharma, 2007).
The government’s reluctant tendency to implement policies that govern dumping of wastes by the industrial sector and construction of sewerage and drainage system in slum areas has caused strong criticisms by environmental conservatisms. If measures are not taken early enough, then India may end up loosing most of its water sources while the remaining ones will be all contaminated. Environmental analysts also claim that with the speedy encroachment of wildlife habitats, some species will become extinct.
Conclusion
Economic growth and development cannot be separated from environmental degradation. Due to the benefits associated with economic growth and development, the environmental effects associated with these developments are usually overlooked. India’s economic development has brought about serious environmental issues such as environmental degradation; population pressure, land scarcity and pollution, air, water and soil pollution. Environmental pollution has taken toll on water resources, soil, the ocean, and the air, but few initiatives established to check these phenomena, while regulations and law enforcement seems very reluctant. This creates tension between environmental conservation and economic growth. Authorities should therefore put in place policies that will deal with environmental problems that result from economic growth and development since they are both of importance to any given country (Krishnamoorthy, 2005).
References
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