Environmental issues in India

The Indian Penal Code of 1860, imposed a fine on anyone who voluntarily fouls the water of any public spring or reservoir.

Whilst these laws failed in having the intended effect, British-enacted legislations pioneered the growth of environmental regulations in India.

Article 48(A) of Part IV of the amended constitution, read: The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard the forests and wildlife of the country.

[3] In August 2019, the Indian government imposed a nationwide ban on single-use plastics that will take effect on 2 Oct.[4] Some have cited economic development as the cause regarding the environmental issues.

[5] Major environmental issues are forests and agricultural degradation of land, resource depletion (such as water, mineral, forest, sand, and rocks), environmental degradation, public health, loss of biodiversity, loss of resilience in ecosystems, livelihood security for the poor.

[6] The major sources of pollution in India include the rapid burning of fuelwood and biomass such as dried waste from livestock as the primary source of energy, lack of organised garbage and waste removal services, lack of sewage treatment operations, lack of flood control and monsoon water drainage system, diversion of consumer waste into rivers, using large land area for burial purposes, cremation practices near major rivers, government mandated protection of highly polluting old public transport, and continued operation by Indian government of government-owned, high emission plants built between 1950 and 1980.

Population growth, because it can place increased pressure on the assimilative capacity of the environment, is also seen as a major cause of air, water, and solid-waste pollution.

The possible reasons include: increase in human knowledge, rapid increases in productivity, innovation and application of knowledge, general improvements in farming methods (industrial agriculture), mechanisation of work (tractors), the introduction of high-yield varieties of rice and wheat among other plants (Green Revolution), the use of pesticides to control crop pests.

[19] The majority of government-owned sewage treatment plants remain closed most of the time due to improper design, poor maintenance, or lack of reliable electricity supply, along with severe understaffing.

The uncollected waste accumulates in urban areas, causing unhygienic conditions and releasing pollutants that reach to surface and groundwater.

[22] Other sources of water pollution include agriculture runoff and small scale factories along the rivers and lakes of India.

[23] Flooding during monsoons worsens India's water pollution problem, as it washes and moves all sorts of solid garbage and contaminated soils into its rivers and wetlands.

[24] Air pollution in India is a serious issue, with the major sources being biomass burning, fuel adulteration, vehicle emission, and traffic congestion.

Traditional fuel (fuelwood, crop residue and dung cake) dominates domestic energy use in rural India and account for about 90% of the total.

Fuel wood, agricultural waste and biomass cake burning release over 165 million tonnes of combustion products every year.

Approximately 500 million tons of crop residue are burnt in the open, releasing NOx, SOx, PAHs and particulate matter into the air.

This burning has been found to be a leading cause of smog and haze problems through the winter over Punjab, cities such as Delhi, and major population centers along the rivers through West Bengal.

[28][29][30] In other states of India, rice and wheat crop residue straw burning in open is a major source of air pollution.

[40] In 2000, India's Supreme Court directed all Indian cities to implement a comprehensive waste-management programme that would include household collection of segregated waste, recycling and composting.

Even medical waste, theoretically controlled by stringent rules that require hospitals to operate incinerators, is routinely dumped with regular municipal garbage.

They have become significant sources of greenhouse emissions and breeding sites for disease vectors such as flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats, and other pests.

These plants are being welcomed for addressing the city's chronic problems of excess untreated waste and a shortage of electric power.

They are also being welcomed by those who seek to prevent water pollution, hygiene problems, and eliminate rotting trash that produces potent greenhouse gas methane.

The projects are being opposed by waste collection workers & local unions who fear changing technology may deprive them of their livelihood and way of life.

The source of most outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines and transportation systems, motor vehicles, aircraft, and trains.

It was alleged to be caused by fly ash ponds of thermal power stations, which reportedly lead to severe birth defects in children in the Faridkot and Bhatinda districts of Punjab.

[44][45] In 2012, the Government of India confirmed[46] that the ground water in Malwa belt of Punjab has uranium metal that is 50% above the trace limits set by the United Nations' World Health Organization.

India was the third largest emitter of carbon dioxide, a major greenhouse gas, in 2009 at 1.65 Gt per year, after China and the United States .