An analysis by IQAir has shown that more than 80 per cent of the people living in Indian cities are exposed to pollution levels which exceed the limits set by the World Health Organisation on a daily basis. One of the main reasons for this is unplanned development.
The rate of growth of Indian cities, both in terms of size and area, has been one of the highest in the world. With fast-paced urbanization, the cities in India were often not accompanied with planned development. This not only means that the city’s infrastructure is not planned sustainably, it also means that not enough importance is given to the city’s ecology and its lungs, which leads to further pollution and problems for city folks.
The Aarey Forest in Mumbai is a perfect example of this. For the development of the Mumbai Metro’s train shed, the government had allotted a part of the Aarey Forest. Being the lungs of the entire metropolis, cutting down any part of it for development purposes could be a disaster. Thanks to the work of activists and groups of the residents of the city, the decision was reversed.
Despite being the tiniest state of the country, Goa has, in the last one year, diverted over 150 hectares of its forest land for energy projects. This, according to Delhi-based Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment, is the country’s third highest share of forest land diverted to linear projects, after the states of Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, which are 23- and 66-times the size of Goa. These statistics are incredibly worrisome and point to unsustainable development policies being followed in the country.
The drastic reduction in India’s forest cover and increase in its per capita carbon footprint is also a point of concern, even though India’s per capita carbon footprint is much lower as compared to that of many developed countries. Nonetheless, various state governments are making efforts in creating more environmentally-friendly cities. The National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO)’s Green Area Development Policy has the potential to be a game-changer. Through the policy, NAREDCO aims to increase green cover within the boundaries of the Capital, encourage people to care for the city’s ecology and help the region’s biodiversity in blooming.
The work done by the Government of Maharashtra in Mumbai is also worth mentioning here. In the recent past, the state government has actively found ways to increase the overall green cover in the city and has invested heavily in building green infrastructure. The state government has also decided recently to turn 1450 hectares of mangroves in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region into a reserved forest, thereby making trespassing into the forest an illegal act, punishable by law. The state government has also introduced amendments to its laws and has decided to give a ‘heritage tag’ to old trees across the state. Cutting down a heritage tree has been made a difficult process and will only be allowed in unavoidable circumstances. The penalty for the same has also been increased multifold. This makes it a landmark decision, with Maharashtra becoming one of the first states in the country to do so.
Thus, Indian cities have realised the importance of planned and inclusive development, while keeping in mind the importance of a city’s ecology and its wildlife. It is time now, however, to put that knowledge to use and increase the green cover in cities across India, if we hope to save our urban residents from the harmful effects of pollution and climate change.