An Article on ‘Ecological Concerns’ by

Hasmukh Shah, Chairman,

Gujarat Ecology Commission, Vadodara

Gujarat Ecology Commission

GERI Campus, Race Course Road, Vadodara - 390 007. INDIA
Ecological Concerns
Ecological Concerns
- Hasmukh Shah
GUJARAT exhibits a wide variation of geo-climatic
environments. It is endowed with a great diversity
of natural ecosystems ranging from deserts
(including scrub-forests, grasslands, ranns) and
coastal (including mangroves, coral-reefs, estuaries)
to forests (including dry deciduous, moist deciduous
and evergreen). These ecosystems harbour
important habitats for a variety of plants and animals,
including several rare and endangered species.
Economically, Gujarat is one of the richer states of
India. It is believed that the state is, or would soon
be, the number one industrial state of the country
on several counts, including the proportion of
workforce in industry and per capita industrial
output. Also, with over a third of its population
living in urban areas, it is among the more urbanised
states with a network of about 225 urban centres.
The high levels of industrialisation and
urbanisation also means larger demands for energy,
water, land and infrastructure. As industrial activity
gathers momentum in some of the less industrialised
areas such as the coastal belt, ecologically important
and fragile areas will face serious threats. Some of
them like the thorn forests in Narayan Sarovar, the
habitat of the Asian wild ass, the breeding grounds
of flamingos or the rare coral reefs in the Gulf of
Kutch are the last remnants of their kind.
The demand for natural resources and their products
in urban areas is high, especially resources such as
fuel, timber, procured food and their products. Earth
work, changes in drainage pattern, plantation,
construction and waste disposal place stress on the
natural ecosystems, resulting in a process of
degradation and pollution of the area.
Economic development has not been an unmixed
blessing anywhere. While several sections of
Gujarati society enjoy an improved quality of life,
the predominance of polluting industries - such as
textiles, chemicals, hydrocarbons, pharmaceuticals
and cement - have an adverse fall out. The extensive
withdrawal of ground water in certain areas, overall
hydrologic imbalance and population and livestock
pressures have led to process of desertification,
2
increased soil salinity, drying up of traditional water
sources and depletion of bio-diversity. Gujarat’s
ecological health therefore, is a matter of some
concern.
Two major controversies have contributed to
sullying the image of Gujarat as environmentally
insensitive. One, the opposition to the height of
the Narmada dam, and two, setting up of the Sanghi
cement plant in anerstwhile protected area. Effective
action on the part of NGOs and CBOs in the state,
extensive public interest litigation resulting in
strong judicial pronouncements, remedial actions
initiated by the state government, setting up of
institutions such as the Gujarat Ecology
Commission (GEC) and the Gujarat Institute of
Desert Ecology (GUIDE), excellent work in
watershed management and recharging of wells,
overall increase in green cover and other positive
developments have unfortunately received little
attention.
Let us examine the state of Gujarat’s ecological
health, particularly with respect to key elements
such as air, water, land and bio-diversity.
Air quality in urban centres is far from satisfactory.
The sulphur oxide (SOx) concentrations
considerably exceed the norms (80 and 60 micro
grams per cubic metre for industrial and residential
areas respectively) in the industrial areas of
Ahmedabad and Vadodara. Similarly, the nitrogen
oxide (NOx) levels in Ahmedabad, Vadodara and
Surat exceed maximum permissible limits (80 and 60
micro grams per cubic metre) for industrial and
residential areas respectively. Particulate
concentrations are higher than permissible in all
the three cities (360 and 140 micro grams per cubic
metre for industrial and residential areas
respectively).
Further, even in rural areas, with the use of fuel-
wood and crop residues as fuel, there is considerable
pollution in terms of suspended particulate matter
(SPM) and noxious gases. Rural women bear the
brunt of this pollution. Kirit Parikh observed that
since more than 80% of the rural population depend

on such non-commercial energy (NCE), the
magnitude of pollution in the kitchens is significant.
The cumulative effects of pollution in rural homes
is high and serious enough to merit greater
attention.
Large parts of the state (north Gujarat, Kutch and
Saurashtra) are drought prone with low and erratic
rainfall. High variation in rainfall—in terms of
locales, timing and quantity - within the state results
in skewed availability of water resources. It is
evident that the water needs - agricultural and
industrial - cannot be met from the water available
in each region. Large scale and ‘mega’ irrigation
projects have thus become central to the solution
of the problem. It is in this context that the Sardar
Sarovar Narmada Project (SSNP) has captured the
imagination of the people of Gujarat at all levels,
from the grass- roots to the highest levels of political
decision-making and evokes strong support within
the state.
Unfavourable geomorphologic conditions not only
create shortage of surface water but also result in
poor ground water recharge. Evaporation rates
are high, varying from 1.9m/year in south Gujarat
to over 2.3 m/year in Kutch and northern parts of
the state. As a result, the ground water resources
are relatively limited and almost fully exploited in
some parts of the state, Despite (the fall in ground
water tables, efforts to drill more bore wells show
no sign of tapering off.
Due to the discharge of effluents from industrial
estates and disposal of untreated sewerage, the
lower stretches of the Sabarmati, Khari and Dhadar
rivers have become highly polluted as have the
Mahi, Narmada and Tapi rivers. While the water
quality in most rivers is unsatisfactory in terms of
the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), of greater
concern, perhaps, are the levels of coliform count-
an indication of the large quantity of untreated
sewage that is dumped into these rivers.
The State Pollution Control Board and the state
government have initiated several steps to control
the increasing water and air pollution. The main
sources of waste water are the municipal areas and
the chemical industry estates. It is necessary that
the requisite facilities for collection, treatment and
disposal of effluents, such as common effluent
treatment plants, be established in the industrial
areas.
Further, there is a marked decline in the quality of
Ecological Concerns
ground water in many parts of the state. The entire
coastal belt of Gujarat is beset with problems of
high salinity. A high fluoride content, associated
with the geochemical nature of rocks, affects nearly
15 districts. The heavy withdrawal of ground water
has only worsened the situation.
The net sown area in Gujarat during 1994-95 was
around 96,087 sq km, i.e. less than 50% of its total
geographical area. While the introduction of high
yielding varieties helped increase grain yields to
significant levels wherever irrigation water, fertiliser,
agricultural machinery, pesticides and related inputs
are provided, the droughts of 1985 and 1987 made
clear that without abundant water these new
varieties produced less than the old native ones.
Extensive monocultures devoted to a single variety
are far too susceptible to insect and disease attacks-
despite or because of the massive use of pesticides.
Further, the water intensive cropping patterns have
introduced new vulnerabilities like soil erosion and
soil degradation in a number of areas. Remote data
sensing reveals that more than 78,000 sq km or 40%
of the total area is degraded. Studies carried out by
GUIDE (1996) concluded that the process of deserti-
fication is on the rise in Kutch and Banaskantha
districts.
The area under forests is nearly 10% of the total
land area of the state as against the national average
of 18%. The per capita forest area in the state is
0.06 hectare as against the all India average of 0.13
hectare. Between 1950 and 1975, a nearly 4.1 million
hectares of good forest was lost, including to
agriculture.
Bio-diversity forms the basis of life and
development and plays an important role in
protecting the resilience of ecological systems.
Unfortunately, there are no major studies on the
bio-diversity and natural history of Gujarat.
Scattered studies carried out in universities and
other institutions are rather limited in scope,
confined to a few species or a group of species in
select areas. Recently the Gujarat Ecology
Commission estimated that records exist for about
7040 microbial, 4300 floral and 2700 faunal species
in the state or five, eight and four per cent
respectively of those estimated for the country
(GEC, 1996).
The floral richness is mainly attributable to the
variety of niches available. There are nearly 2,200
species of higher plants belonging to 902 genera
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Ecological Concerns
and 155 families representing 12.9% of the floral
diversity of the country. A large number of
mangrove species — as many as 27 - have been
identified in (the coastal regions of the state. The
published records indicate that 53 species of plants
are rare and restricted to certain localities only.
We now examine the conflict of interest in the
exploitation of natural resources. Different
perceptions lie at the roots of any conflict and
Gujarat is no exception. It may be worthwhile to
reflect on the reasons for such differential
perceptions.
Despite a history of a fractured socio-political set
up Gujarat enjoys a legacy of outstanding
leadership. This has contributed to the emergence
of different schools of thought on development,
ranging from the traditionalist to the post-
modernist, who not only set different goals but also
propagate the adoption of diverse routes.
The state also has a strong organisational ethos
traditionally passed on through a variety of non-
governmental organisations that work for social,
cultural, economic, and even religious purposes.
These community groups and organisations have,
therefore, provided a ready vehicle for the
acceptance and propagation of the different
ideological schools.
Developmental efforts in the state have obviously
failed to take due cognisance of this multiplicity.
Instead of trying to forge a certain level of
consensus with different stake holders on important
issues, state planning relied mainly on the verdict
of the people’s elected representatives. Any dissent
was viewed as politically motivated, fit to be
ignored. A natural corollary of this being reduced
communication, it led to serious restrictions in the
availability of information. Lack of proper
information or only partial information often lies
behind misinformation campaigns, which make for
an environment of mistrust and ultimately to
situations of conflict.
The levels of concern among the entrepreneurs for
their products and by-products (chiefly wastes) are
often quite different. This corporate insensitivity
has led to serious conflicts in many cases. The case
of Maradiya Chemicals at Sayla is a classic example
of how toxic effluents were released in the open,
creating serious problems of land degradation and
contamination of ground water. For people in the
neighbourhood, the productivity of land and the
4
quality of water resources is of prime concern for
the simple reason of survival. There are many other
such cases, even in GIDC industrial centres, which
have provoked the local people to take up cudgels,
chiefly through agitation and public interest
litigation.
Though pollution remains a major rallying point
against many of the industrial units, the spin-off
from such debates often broadens the scope to
include questions related to allocation of natural
resources, equitable distribution of wealth,
protection of wildlife and conservation of traditional
systems. Serious concern is expressed when water
is made available for industrial purposes. Similarly,
when bulk quantities of mineral resources and forest
produce are diverted for commercial use, questions
are raised about the rights and aspirations of the
local people.
While these issues directly impinge on human
welfare, a major concern has emerged about the
protection of wildlife and conservation of traditional
systems. The protracted legal battle on the issue of
denotification of the Narayan Sarovar Sanctuary is
a case in point. While the government rightly
perceives the industrialisation of Kutch as a major
step towards the uplift of this backward area,
prominent environmental NGOS and individuals
also rightly see it as the destruction of the last major
chunk of wilderness in the state The conflicts
revolve around threats to natural habitats
conservation of rare and endangered species and
accelerated pressures on a fragile ecosystem .
The issues raised while opposing the height of the
Sardar Sarovar dam provide a classic example of
differential perceptions of development at the local
level as against the larger interest of the state or
nation. Activists stress issues related to human
resettlement, the use of forest areas as current means
of livelihood for the local people, and the breakdown
of traditions. While the state is committed towards
a just and comprehensive rehabilitation programme,
the conflict around Sardar Sarovar has,
nevertheless, opened up and perpetuated debates
on a much wider front.
Finally, some sections question the entire approach
towards development that is currently being fol-
lowed in the state. They propagate the adoption of
organic farming systems, greater reliance on local
resource management, enhanced participation in
decision-making processes at all levels and so on.
Against this backdrop the government is working

for the accelerated economic development of the
state more successfully than in most other states.
The major players in this drama are the politicians,
bureaucrats, entrepreneurs, people whose land has
been acquired and who suffer due to water and air
pollution, NGOs/CBOs, media and the judiciary.
The politician has shown greater concern for
economic development as compared to protection
of environment in the belief that industrialisation
will generate more employment and higher revenues
to the state - both politically important. The
argument is that if the choice were between the
survival (salt workers) and survival of the wild ass,
the former would get preference. Or, if the choice
were between a large cement plant generating
employment and revenue on one hand and a few
chinkaras or a dry thorn forest on the other, the
cement plant would get precedence.
When the life span of a government is short (Gujarat
has been ruled by seven chief ministers and once
by a governor in the last five years) and elections
become more frequent, political will gives place to
political survival. The politician does not consider
the long term implications of his decisions. In fast
changing fortunes the politician has no time to look
for solutions which can provide for coexistence of
agarias and the wild ass or the cement plant and
the dry thorn forest with acceptable adjustment on
both sides.
There are few politicians in the country who
understand the complexities of environmental issues
and their long term ramifications. This is largely
because there has been little effort to inform people
or their elected representatives on environmental
issues, as was done by Jawaharlal Nehru in the
1950s for economic planning or about the use of
science and technology to improve agricultural
productivity.
Unfortunately, the politician is often kept at an arms
length by the environmentalist. Rarely are elected
representatives invited to workshops, conferences
and seminars on environment. The politician no
doubt has his own priorities of survival. But it must
be conceded that rarely does a minister turn down
a good environmental project if it is packaged with
an orientation in favour of adivasis or the landless.
The message, as one civil servant put it, is to
correlate the environmental interest with that of the
politician’s to provide employment or access to
resources like fuel and fodder to the poor.
Ecological Concerns
The bureaucrat’s job is to articulate the legislation,
policies and programmes. While the politician incurs
the wrath of environmentalists, the bureaucrat
prepares the defence. By training he is expected to
carry out the policies of the government and not
the personal wishes of political masters. But in
reality political pressure builds up with obvious
consequences. Also, in the value system that has
evolved over five decades, most bureaucrats prefer
to work in departments dealing with industrial
development or finance. There are few takers for
agriculture and even less for education or health.
Barring some honourable exceptions, the
department of environment is rarely the first choice.
Nevertheless, some officers have tried to do justice
to the given charge as disciplined soldiers, some
have even suffered in the process. Recently, the
position of the bureaucrat in Gujarat has been rather
unenviable, as he has to spend considerable time
in dealing with litigation leaving less time for
developmental work.
The entrepreneur wants a prime location for his
unit irrespective of whether it is within or near a
protected area, tourist site, near a holy shrine, or
close to an urban area. The state government, in its
eagerness to attract investment, is inclined to oblige
the entrepreneur. However given current
regulations, the entrepreneur has to agree to all the
conditions to protect environmental quality. In
practice, some of them do take short cuts, or
transgress the laid down limits. Some companies,
making huge profits, have not hesitated to pump
their highly toxic effluent into the earth with disas-
trous consequences. When such units were sought
to be shut down, often the plea was to keep them
going to protect the interest of workers. In such
cases the entrepreneur’s concern for his workers,
who are normally denied even minimum safety
equipment, is rather touching. Very few units have
on their own followed rigorous environmental
standards.
The people who lose their land are the worst
sufferers since they forever lose the ownership of
the means of production. The compensation that
they receive is often used up in non-productive
pursuits. There are no schemes for a profitable
deployment of compensation. In some cases, mainly
public sector, one member of the land loser’s family
may get a job. But other owners as well as the land-
less become unemployed. They are generally not
equipped to find a place in the new industrial
society.
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Ecological Concerns
The neighbourhood communities who are victims
of air and water pollution and soil degradation have
for long suffered silently. In many cases the village
wells and other water-bodies have been
contaminated. In some cases sustained air pollution
has caused diseases. Land degradation due to solid
waste disposal or release of non-treated effluent
and settling down of fine particles due to air pol-
lution is evident in several areas. Unfortunately,
when these people agitate local leaders or toughies
are brought into the fray. In some cases common
community amenities are provided on a modest
scale to assuage feelings.
NGOs in Gujarat are largely engaged in spreading
awareness or in formulating and implementing
specific projects in identified areas. Some. like the
Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Aga Khan
Rural Support Programme (AKRSP), Shree
Vivekananda Research and Training Institute
(VRTI). Development Support Centre (DSC),
Sadguru, Mahiti-Utthan have an excellent track
record of creating awareness and/ or implementing
projects of far reaching importance in certain areas.
Their success in informing people or their
representatives, sensitising (the bureaucracy and
the entrepreneur or projecting the interests of
neighbourhood communities has however been
rather modest. Only in the recent past have NGOs
and CBOs successfully taken up the cause of
environmental pollution and projection of
neighbourhood suffering as in the case of Sanghi
Cement, Maradia Chemicals, Jetpur Sari dyeing
units, Vatva-Odhav-Naroda industrial estates and
industries around the Narmada estuary. Besides the
NGOs listed above, mention may be made of the
Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC)
and the Manaviya Technology Forum (MTF) in
taking up the cause of neighbourhood
communities.
Though the media has highlighted environmental
issues, the priorities and emphasis of the vernacular
and English language media differ. The electronic
media has helped to create general awareness about
the wonders of nature, but local issues affecting
the life of the viewer rarely get aired. Also,
consistency or objectivity in environmental
reporting is rarely discernible. Negative stories get
wider coverage while positive developments are
seldom reported.
NGO and CBO activism and extensive litigation with
regard to industrial pollution in the mid-90s has,
after initial resistance, led to several positive
6
developments in Gujarat. Industrial units have
realised that they cannot pollute the air and water
and indiscriminately discharge toxic waste. Though
not necessarily out of concern for the environment,
the industry has, due to judicial pronouncements,
initiated measures to contain pollution within
permissible limits.
Some industry associations have taken the initiative
to set up common effluent treatment plants (CETPs)
in their estates. Gujarat now claims to have the
highest - almost 95% -compliance in pollution
control in 17 CPCB classified industries. The first
hazardous waste disposal site in the country has
been commissioned and 17 others are being
developed. Treatment of hazardous waste at three
locations has been completed for the first time in
India. CETP’s are in operation or under construction
at 14 industrial estates. Gujarat is the first state to
commission a GIS based hazardous waste tracking
system. There are several other initiatives which
have been taken up by the state government and
GPCB. Studies of carrying capacity of certain areas
have been undertaken. As a result there has been a
sharp drop in litigation and closures. Gujarat is also
planning to set up an institute on the lines of NEERl.
All this does not mean that everything is well on
the pollution front. While action on various pollu-
tion litigations has been initiated, their success will
depend on rigorous monitoring and deterrent
action against erring units. It will be an acid test for
all the regulatory mechanisms as well as of NGOs,
CBOs and the media. While the ground realities are
not ideal, there are clear signs of improvement.
Gujarat started this decade as perhaps the state
with the most unenviable record of industrial
pollution. But it is likely to end it on a much more
positive note. Compared to other states, Gujarat is
poised to emerge as a cleaner state in terms of
industrial environment within a decade.
The real concern however is about non industry-
related ecological degradation, despite the excellent
track record of NGOs in watershed development
and recharging of wells. The increase in salinity,
accelerated desertification. loss of marine biotic
wealth and the depletion of bio-diversity are areas
of concern, particularly since the process is gradual
and decision-makers may wake up to the danger
too late.