Tuesday 10.30 - 12.30
Workshop

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT — CASE STUDIES (INDIAN SCENARIO)

JAWAHAR KAUL
Senior Vice President, Consulting Engineers Association of India

abstract

Chairman, Ladies and Gentlmen,

The World Commission on Environment in its report ‘Our Common Future’, has defined "Sustainable Development" as "development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

In fact, Sustainable Development is that intermediate position between the two extremes of "no growth" and "unlimited growth" which ensures optimization of utilitzation and equitable distribution of natural resources.

Historically, exploitation of the natural resources has been going on since the dawn of civilization but then nature could replenish its used up resources without any adverse effect on the environment. However, the rapid technological developments of the last couple of centuries, especially since the Industrial Revolution, combined with the ever-increasing population’s needs for food, clothing and shelter , man started over-using natural resources to an extent which nature could not replenish. This resulted in disorientation of man’s symbiotic relationship with nature.

A biosphere is an integrated functional system of a number of components working together in a closely related manner. In such a system, all the objects and their attributes have symbiotic relationship. Environment is an aggregate of such systems. Changes in the behaviour of one such system sets up a chain reaction in all other systems these influences the environment at large, sometimes invisibly. The current pattern of economic development has not only harmed the environment but has deeply affected some of its systems thereby retarding its regeneration capacity because it is exploitation based and founded on a finite material base. Thus man is imposing changes on the natural ecosystem and by trying to increase his control of environment often creates conflicts between his goals and natural processes. In the present day economic systems, only money circulates within a system and between economic systems whereas sustainable development requires that free exchange take place between natural ecosystem and the socio-ecosystem. This fragmented vision of development has resulted in degradation of the nature to such an extent that eventually it is posing a threat to the survival of life. Over-exploitation of natural resources beyond their rate of replenishment has already created a stage of environmental crisis. Nature/s is clearly visible now in the form of desertification, soil maladies, floods in some areas and drought in others, urban congestion, extinction and/or threat to many flora & fauna, deterioration of air, water and land quality. These consequences have prompted the need of restructuring our economic growth in co-ordination with the natural system and thus the concept of ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ has emerged. The concept is based on the foundation of survival oriented development instead of fulfilling greed and materialistic lust.

India is a vast country with a lot of resource potential but the almost unchecked growth of population, which has now crossed 1 billion mark, is a formidable problem of the country for effective sustainable development to be achieved in any field of development.

The concept of conservation of natural resources is not new to India. It existed even in the vedic period. The relationship between the society and the environment has been forged over centuries with moral, cultural and ecological bonds. Respect for these bonds was ensured historically through a set of formal and informal rules and norms. Traditional and local beliefs promoted the conservation of the environment and key ecological areas were recognized as the abodes of gods and goddesses and protective deities. Mountains, rivers, forests have been worshiped from the very beginning of the Indian culture.

But, as mentioned earlier, rise in population has thwarted all efforts towards sustainable development. India’s population constitutes over 15.6 per cent of the global population, but shares only 2 per cent of the total land area of the world. Moreover, there is large inequity in economic distribution. Presently, 25.71 per cent population is living in urban areas, while the rest is rural population. The urban settlements are also facing pressure on land resources due to very high population density as compared to the rural settlements. The rural economy is essentially agricultural economy but rural population does not have even minimum infrastructure facilities for improving their quality of life. This has prompted the exodus towards urban areas causing over-crowding.

I would now like to dwell upon two typical examples of the degradation of the environment in two different parts of India.

First, the example of YAMUNA RIVER. This perennial river which is one of the burning examples of unregulated development. Yamuna has nurtured civilization along its banks for centuries with its clean and abundant flow, is today not only starved of water due to over- exploitation by a huge population but has now become one of the most polluted rivers in India. The river originates from the Yamunotri glacier, in the Himalayas. It covers a total length of 1,367 km from its origin to its confluence with the Ganges at Allahabad. The capital city Delhi lies on the bank of Yamuna. Most of the Yamuna waters that flow into the city cater to Delhi’s extravagant water requirements. Delhi is, at the same time, the biggest polluter of the river. This is evident from the fact that the length and basin area of the river in Delhi constitute only 2% of the total, but the river receives 71% of total wastewater discharge from Delhi city alone. About 1700 million litre per day of untreated sewage is generated by Delhi and gets its way into the river at various points along its 22 km stretch along Delhi. This includes domestic as well as industrial discharge. Besides, the river is facing scarcity of water because its waters are diverted to the neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh States for irrigation and other forms of consumption through two canals, Western Yamuna Canal and Eastern Yamuna Canal before entering Delhi. Consequently, the riverbed of Yamuna from Delhi onwards remains mostly dry except in the monsoon season, thereby reducing the flow of fresh water to 5cum per second , which is half of 10cum per second required for natural cleaning process.. The pollutants thus cannot be diluted and the ill effects of it cannot get reduced. Hence, the river flow past Delhi has turned into stinking water stream almost akin to a sewer.

The second example I would like to quote is that of the LOKTAK LAKE, located in the valley region of Manipur State in NorthEast India. It is referred to as the lifeline of the people of Manipur due to its socio-economic, cultural and ecological importance. Being the largest fresh water lake of these regions it occupies an area of 286 sq. km and is located about 38 km away from the capital city Imphal. Based on its unique bio-diversity and socio-economic importance Loktak Lake was designated as a ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention in 1990. It is also among the 19 wetlands selected for conservation and management under National Wetlands Programme.

The Lake, along with its surrounding swamps, is an integral part of the flood plain of Imphal River, which skirts it on the eastern side and is the only drainage outlet from the valley, ultimately joining the Chindwin River in Myanmar.

The lake has a unique feature of floating mats of vegetation locally called ‘phumdi’. It is also the only natural habitat of many endangered species, Manipur brow antlered deer or ‘dancing deer’ locally known as ‘Sangai’ which is on the verge of extinction.

There are 55 rural and urban settlements around the Lake with a total population of 1,00,000 people directly utilizing the Lake for various purposes. Further, a large population of fishermen lives on some 688 floating huts, many of which have been converted into permanent dwellings

The lake is also used as a source of water for generation of 105 MW of power, which is exported to the neighbouring States of Northeast region. The Loktak National Hydel Project was commissioned in 1983, and with its commissioning, lift irrigation facilities have been provided benefiting 40,000ha of agricultural land annually. Thus the lake supports, to a huge extent, the economy of the state as well as its ecology by supporting bio-diversity in a large measure.

Today Loktak Lake is seriously threatened due to over-exploitation to meet the growing demand for land and food, and faulty unsustainable economic development. Consequently, the rich bio-diversity of the lake is depleting rapidly, as its capacity to support the communities is diminishing.

Eutrophication is a major problem of this Lake. Huge quantities of silts are deposited into the Lake by 10 streams flowing off the steep slopes. Extensive deforestation in the catchment by the local people for fuel, fodder and timber is the major cause of heavy silt generation. The traditional agricultural practice of shifting cultivation (locally known as ‘Jhum Cultivation’) further adds to soil erosion problem and thereby siltation of the Lake. Further, proliferation of weeds, particularly water hyacinth is another major reason for siltation of the lake.

Another problem is encroachment of the lake area to bring more and more land under cultivation. About 4000ha of Lake has already been reclaimed for paddy cultivation and an additional 600ha ringbunded for commercial fish farms. The eastern part of Loktak Lake has almost entirely been converted into paddy fields and permanent housing.

The quality of water of the Lake is also deteriorating due to the discharge of sewage and chemicals from towns in the catchment, area. This is causing large-scale destruction of aquatic life.

The construction of Ithai Barrage on the Lake has accelerated deterioration of the fragile ecosystem of the Lake.

The hydrological and ecological changes arising due to the damming of Lake have certainly upset the delicately balanced wetland ecosystem. The loss is too high a price for a hydel project.

The Government of India showed concern to restore the ecological character of Loktak Lake and this Lake was included under the Montreux Record in 1992, which highlights the priority action required to be taken for conservation and management of this lake to restore its ecological character. The state Government has constituted a separate Loktak Development Authority (LDA) for management of the Loktak Lake.

The LDA has already achieved, to some extent, the control of water hyacinth in the Lake using biological methods and desiltation of the Lake through dredging. LDA is currently involved in developing strategies for conservation and management of the Lake by integrating social and ecological dimensions for sustainable management.

These two examples amply demonstrate how the increasing pressure of population and accompanying developments are resulting in depletion and deterioration of the quality of natural resources thereby threatening the lives of the present as well as future generations.

There are many more such cases in India spread throughout the length and breadth of the country.

The Government of India has already shown concern on the various issues involved in the disturbances of ecological balance. It has framed many policies and guidelines to control unorganized development, abuse of natural resources and conservation of environmental components. Several Laws and Acts have been passed or framed to ensure environmental safety. Environmental Impact Assessment has been made mandatory for every new development project

In this background, I would now present before you highlights of sustainable development attempted in the Highways sector in India in the case of two National Highways.

Presently, infrastructure development is a priority sector in India. Road network constitutes a vital component of State’s infrastructure which directly and indirectly triggers overall economic development by providing better accessibility and, at the same time, helps in reducing the gap between rural and urban economies. Periodical maintenance and improvement of this network is essential for maintaining the dynamism of development.

Development of such a network facilitates economic development, but simultaneously puts pressures on natural resources, especially the land and water resources. Effective resource management plan has to be an integral part of any such project. Keeping the concept of sustainable development in mind, these aspects are being integrated right from the project preparation stage.

In this respect I would like to bring out the case of a Road Project which is funded by World Bank i,e. "Strengthening and Widening of National Highway 2 (NH2) from 2-Laning to 4-Laning"

This National Highway runs from the Eastern part of the country starting from Kolkata to the Western part of the country going upto Amritsar. This is a part of the ‘Golden Quadrangle’ of the13,000 km National Highway Development Programme announced by the Prime Minister in 1998. The Golden Quadrilateral will link Delhi with Kolkata in the East, Mumbai in the West and Chennai in the South. This highway project ( NH-2 ) has been divided into a number of different packages. Careful Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out for each package of the project to identify the potential environmental conflicts during design, construction as well as operational stage of the project. These were examined separately to ascertain their degree of environmental degradation they might cause

A comprehensive Environmental Management Plan was formulated with the objective to minimize adverse impacts the project activities on the environment. Thus, an endeavour was made to avoid the over-use, misuse and abuse of environmental resources thereby reducing the conflicts. The Principle of Avoidance was followed to the maximum possible extent at the design phase itself through adjustment & readjustment of alignments in such a manner as to

• minimize tree-felling,
• ensure ease of land-acquisition,
• reduce loss of productive land to a minimum,
• ensure minimum displacement of people and
• ensure no obstruction to commercial activities.

Towards achievement of these objectives, a number of bypasses have been provided in the densely populated settlement areas. Use of appropriate ecofriendly techniques, depending upon the area and availability of adequate resources, have been envisaged without compromising on the quality of work. For example, use of fly-ash as filling material was proposed to reduce the loss of topsoil and construction of rigid pavement, which reduced the maintenance cost, and, at the same time, has no emission of toxic gases and particulate. This ensured a better air quality and reduction of chances of exposure of the workers and settlements to toxic gases.

Participation of stakeholders in decision making was encouraged as it was strongly felt that active participation of the local road users will enhance the feeling of belongingness to the project and thereby the project will receive more cooperation from the local population. Employment of the local people was also ensured during construction , which was considered a good approach towards acceptance of the project by the inhabitants around the project area.

Environmental Upgradation was also given emphasis in the project. Bus stops at regular intervals, Rain Shelters, Drinking water and toilet facilities were provided at regular intervals, Avenue Plantations and Compulsory Afforestation are a few examples of such upgradation provisions to improve not only the aesthetics of the area but also the ecological productivity.

Other significant proposals are provision of Water Recharging Pits at several places along the roads and use of Solar Energy for lighting in the toilets and bus stops.

Kalka - Shimla Section of National Highway 22

Similarly, in another project of "Strengthening and Widening of Kalka to Shimla Section of National Highway 22" in the State of Himachal Pradesh (116 KM), a number of tunnels have been proposed to avoid social and environmental conflicts. The road traverses hilly terrain with altitudes varying from 640 m to 2150 m above mean sea level. On one side of the road are high hills and on the other side are valleys with steep to very steep slopes. Almost 35% of the total length of the road passes through reserved forest area. The physiographical features of the terrain coupled with the common tendency of the inhabitants of the area to settle along the roadsides, this road section raised a number of constraints. To reduce these constraints tunnels have been proposed which will not only avoid tree- felling and dislocation of people and business, but at the same time reduce the severity of slope instability.

Disposal of excess fill material and waste materials is also a major problem in hills. Balanced cut and till can minimize waste generation.

Scarcity of plain land is a major problem in these hills as everyone wants to settle near the roads to avoid the stresses & strains of the hostile terrain. Lack of foresight and almost total absence of land-use regulation of have resulted in bottleneck development along the roads. This needs amendment in the regulations pertaining to land use along the road with special attention to resettlement so as to safeguard the environment from the direct & indirect adverse impacts.

To summarize, the following measures should in my view, form part of the Action Plan, to move towards the goal of Sustainable Development:

• In view of the limited natural resources ( local, national and global ), the rising population, and the need for development and protection of the ecosystem that sustains the productive capacity, achieving environmentally sustainable forms of development is the need of the time.
   
• A holistic approach towards each dimension of development is essential. Regional planning of development should include these dimensions in an integrated way covering both rural and urban areas to bridge the gap between the two economies.
• The only way to end the present fragmented approach to rural development is to promote integrated village ecosystem planning and management.
   
• Settlement policies should be reviewed. Rural settlements should also be provided with the minimum infrastructure facilities for a better quality of life. Balance between life sustaining system and life-supporting system must be ensured. The rate of increase of consumption of available resources must be reduced and eventually brought to the steady State level.
   
• Population stabilzation is a major strategy for achieving sustainability. There is urgent need to take up critical studies on relationship between population growth and the life support system and availability of resources including energy.
   
• Any solution to the environmental crisis will require environmental awareness and understanding by each segment of the society. Environmental conservation is not an individual but collective responsibility
   
• The interests of competing groups can be best harmonized in a plan, which provides for political and larger social acceptability in democratic traditions.
   
• Resource efficient and cost effective technologies are crucial in the quest for sustainable development.

It is thus abundantly clear from the illustrations brought out that we cannot go on with our development programmes as before addressing the issues of sustainability of our environment allied parameters. If we do, it will at our peril with reluctant of inheriting a polluted and world of extreme inequality; science without civilization and a society without humanity. A proper scientific monitoring of effectiveness of policy measures and their modification according to the demand is essential to bring the philosophy of sustainable development to fruition.

Thank you all,

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