While the area under forests has increased marginally in the last five years, as has the quality of air, just how poorly India has fared in managing its environment is brought out by the fact that between 1997 and 2002, the amount of solid municipal and other waste generated rose by around the same rate as the country's GDP.
According to a Tata Energy Research Institute review of how the country has fared on environmental grounds in the last five years, the total generation of waste has gone up from 47 million tonnes in 1997 to 60 million tonnes in 2002, representing an annual growth of around 5 per cent.
This figure was 6 million tonnes at the time of Independence, and is likely to increase five times by 2047 -- it will require 1,385 square km of land to dispose this waste.
Even more frightening, the TERI review points out, is the fact that over 58 per cent of total farm land in the country is today affected by either water-logging or salination, up from around 34 per cent during Independence.
If nothing changes, 80 per cent of land will be degraded by 2047.
This has resulted in a loss of production of anywhere between 11 and 26 per cent in the agriculture sector.
For a state like Andhra Pradesh, where over 60 per cent of the land is degraded, the annual loss for farmers is estimated to be in the region of Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion).
For the economy as a whole, according to TERI, if the impact of poor air and water on health, and therefore productivity, is added to the loss due to soil degradation, the annual loss could be as high as 10 per cent of the GDP each year.
While the level of water availability, TERI says, is still manageable since less than a third of the annual sustainable groundwater potential is being utilised right now, states like Punjab and Haryana have been over-exploiting their water resources.
As a result, per capita water availability in the country has fallen 62 per cent since Independence, and by 2047, seven of India's 20 agro-ecological zones are likely to face water scarcity.
Although air pollution resulted in 2.5 million premature deaths in 1997, according to TERI, the number of cities with bad or dangerous air came down from 55 per cent of all cities in 1994 to 37 per cent in 2000.
The number of cities with "fair" air quality rose from 19 to 32 per cent, thanks to the initiatives like unleaded petrol and lowering of the sulphur content in diesel and, in the case of Delhi, even moving the public transport to cleaner fuels like CNG.
Just 70 per cent of the population in Class-I cities has access to basic sanitation, and just 30 per cent of waste water is treated in these cities.
The remaining untreated sewage from urban areas finds its way into rivers and the water we drink and bathe in.
While outlining various initiatives taken over the past five years -- the area under joint forestry management by corporates and the government, for instance, has doubled to 14 million hectares in the last four years -- TERI chief R K Pachauri pointed out that since little progress had been made on the substantive issues, India was one of the 25 most vulnerable countries as far as climatic change was concerned, and this would have its own impact on agriculture and other areas.
The TERI review
- Annual growth of around 5 per cent in waste generation
- Total waste generation at 6 million tonnes at the time of Independence
- Figure likely to increase five times by 2047
- India will require 1,385 square km of land to dispose this waste
- Over 58 per cent of total farm land affected by either water-logging or salination, up from around 34 per cent during Independence
- If nothing changes, 80 per cent of land will be degraded by 2047
- Land degradation has resulted in loss of production of anywhere between 11 and 26 per cent in the agriculture sector
- Air pollution resulted in 2.5 million premature deaths in 1997
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