NEW DELHI, 3 JUNE: India's six major metro cities have indicated that the environment has deteriorated over the past five years; air and water quality, waste management, green cover and climate change are the major areas of concern, an online study titled National Environment Survey by The Energy Resources Institute (Teri) to mark World Environment Day (5 June) has revealed.
A very small percentage of people in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore perceived that things were getting better, according to the study.
The total sample of 4,039 people was drawn in proportion to the population of the six cities; though the sample comprises just 0.005 per cent of the combined population (82 million) of the six metros, Teri researchers said the survey was “conducted scientifically, randomised and with no bias towards any particular area”.
Launching the findings, Teri director general Dr R K Pachauri said, “We are releasing the findings of the survey, which we have found by way of public attitudes in the six metros of the country. Our purpose is to see that issues related to environment and development get embedded in the consciousness of the people.”
According to the survey, air quality in the six cities has become worse in the last five years or seen no change. In terms of drinking water quality and its availability, there is a perception that it has improved in all cities except for Hyderabad, where the respondents felt it has worsened. Surface water quality seemed to have deteriorated in all cities apart from Mumbai, where no change was seen. Five cities saw a fall in ground water availability, excluding Chennai. The number of trees, birds and animals saw a decline in all six cities. Respondents from Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad claimed worsening of waste management in their city, while respondents from Kolkata and Mumbai reported an improvement.
The study threw up mixed results with regards to people's awareness of government policies concerning the environment. Only 70-80 per cent of Delhi respondents were unaware of policies on air and water pollution, water availability, waste management, forest conservation and climate change. Respondents from Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai felt that the policies on climate change were either inadequate or not well implemented. In Chennai, 42 per cent of respondents were not aware of policies related to climate change.
Stating that the uniform perception in Delhi was, “We don't know”, Dr Pachauri said in Delhi, authorities were not doing a good job of raising awareness. “Or, people are more cynical, their minds taken up by scams and crime,” he noted.
Pointing to the interplay between environment and development, Dr Pachauri said while 59 per cent of the respondents in Delhi felt the two should go hand in hand, nearly 65 per cent respondents from Kolkata felt environment protection should be given priority.
However, 85 per cent of the respondents from Hyderabad felt that environment protection and development should be treated differently, with almost 50 per cent giving priority to development.
