Journal of Global Resources
Volume 4
ISSN: 2395-3160 (Print), 2455-2445 (Online)

January 2017

Page 15-28

3
URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN JAIPUR CITY,
RAJASTHAN
M. M. Sheikh
Associate Professor, Geography
Govt. Lohia P.G. College, Churu-331001 Raj. INDIA
Email: mmskh@rediffmail.com
Abstract: In an era of global climate change and rapid urbanization, innovations on
governance of urban systems are critically required as 50 percent people are now living inless than 3 percent of the earth’s urbanized terrestrial surface. Urbanisation in India isneither unique nor exclusive but is similar to a world-wide phenomenon. In an era of global
climate change and rapid urbanization, innovations on governance of urban systems are
critically required as 50 percent people are now living in less than 3 percent of the earth’s
urbanized terrestrial surface. Urbanisation in India is neither unique nor exclusive but issimilar to a world-wide phenomenon. According to the City Development Plan Jaipur is afast growing city, ranking 11th in the list of Indian mega cities with a population of 2.3
million and annual growth rate of 4.5 percent. Jaipur forms the urban core being the only
million plus city in the state. It is the primate city of the state acting as the centre foreducation and employment opportunities. It attracts migration from all parts of the state (70percent of migrants come from within the state). Over 2 lakh migrants were added to Jaipur
city during 1991-2001. The city offers jobs in commerce, services and the informal sector
and shows a high economic growth compared to several other Indian cities. Jaipur is oneof the most sought after tourist destination in the world with about 3000 tourists visiting thecity every day. The objective of the study is to find out the urbanisation trend andenvironmental pollution in the city.
Key words: Urban, Development, Urbanisation Trend, Migration, Environment.
Introduction
Urbanisation in India is neither unique nor exclusive but is similar to a world-wide
phenomenon. Indian urbanization has proceeded as it has elsewhere in the world as a partand product of economic change. Occupational shift from agriculture to urban-basedindustry and services is one part of the change. At the same time, increased agricultural
performance has also promoted urbanization as noticed in several top rice and wheat
producing districts in the country. The Urban population of India constitutes 285 million
people and, in some quarters, it is estimated to double by 2025. Over one-fourth of thispopulation lives in urban slums under poor and unsatisfactory environmental conditions,with high levels of susceptibility to disease and ill health. Trends in urban poverty suggestthat the number of urban poor in the country is, in all, likelihood, expected to increase
considerably in the years to come. At the Census 2011 there are 7,935 towns in the
country. The number of towns has increased by 2,774 since last Census. Many of thesetowns are part of UAs and the rest are independent towns. The total number of Urban
Agglomerations/Towns, which constitutes the urban frame, is 6166 in the country. The total
urban population in the country as per Census 2011 is more than 377 million constituting
31.16 percent of the total population. The literacy rates among both males and females
have shown improvement in Census 2011 compared to the last Census. The literacy ratein the country as a whole is 74.04 percent. In the rural and the urban areas the literacy
rates are 68.9 percent and 84.9 percent respectively. Cities occupy less than 3 percent of
the global terrestrial surface, but account for 78 percent of carbon emissions, 60 percent ofresidential water use, and 76 percent of wood used for industrial purposes. In 1800, there15was only one city, Beijing, in the entire world that had more than a million people; 326 suchsuccities exists 200 years later (Brown 2001). Indeed, such rapid has been the pace of growththat in 1900 just 10 percent of the global population was living in urban areas which now
exceeds 50 percent and is expected to further rise to 67 percent in the next 50 years(Grimm et al. 2008). Jaipur is one of the first planned cities of India. According to the City
Development
velopment Plan Jaipur is a fast growing city, ranking 11th in the list of Indian mega cities
with a population of 2.3 million and annual growth rate of 4.5 percent. Jaipur forms theurban core being the only million plus city in the state. It is the primate
primat city of the state
acting as the centre for education and employment opportunities. It attracts migration fromall parts of the state (70 percent of migrants come from within the state). Over 2 lakh
migrants were added too Jaipur city during 1991-2001.
1991
The city offers jobs in commerce,services and the informal sector and shows a high economic growth compared to several
other Indian cities. Jaipur is one of the most sought after tourist destination in the world
with about 3000 tourists visiting the city every
eve day.
Study Area
Jaipur is situated in the eastern part of Rajasthan, surrounded on three sides by the rugged
Aravali hills. Jaipur is located at 26°55′N
275°49′E.. It is surrounded by Alwar and Sikar in the
North; by Sikar, Nagaur, and Ajmer in West; by Ajmer, Tonk, and Sawai Madhopur in theSouth and by Dausa and Bharatpur districts in East. It has an average elevation of 430
meters. Jaipur was founded in 1728 A.D. Maharaja Jai Singh was the founder of Jaipur citywhich is famous for its wonderful architectural
architectural planning. The city has many historicalmonuments and buildings even as on today. The climate of Jaipur city is semi arid andaverage rainfall per year is 556.4 mm. The rainy season lasts from June to September. The
dry bulb temperature lies between 450 C to 250 C in summer and 220 C to 80 C in winter.
The city is renowned for heritage and its colour symmetry and thus known as the pink city.
According to the census 2011, Jaipur district has a population of 6,663,971, which gives it
a ranking of 10th most populous district in India. The district
district has a population density of
598 persons per square kilometre and a population growth rate of 26.91 percent in thedecade 2001-2011.
2011. The gender ratio of this district is 909 females for every 1000 males
and a literacy ratio of 76.44 percent. As of 2011, Jaipur has a population of 3,073,350. The
Population of the Jaipur Metropolitan area is 3,646,590. Jaipur is the 10th largest city ofIndia according to census of 2011.

16

Objectives
The principal objectives of this study are enumerated below. These objectives relate tocurrent perceptions of key environmental challenges.
• To assess the industrial development and its impact on city’s environment.
• To assess the tourism and its impact.
• To study the urban transport system and traffic problems.
• To assess migration and its impact and slum problems.
• To highlight the cause of the environmental degradation and its impact on humanhealth.
Methodology
The study is based upon the primary data collected through questionnaire and secondary
data available from different published reports. About 1000 persons were selected toassess the urban development and its impact of environment. There were 1000
respondents interviewed with the help of a structured questionnaire.
Population
Jaipur city's population is around 3.07 million (2011 census), with 17 percent of total urban
population of Rajasthan. As per 2011 census, Jaipur city witnessed a 32.2 percent
population growth. During 1951- 2011, the city's population went up five 2 times. Decadal
population growth trend have been given in the following table.

Years

1871
1881
1891
1901
1911
1921
1931
1941
1951
1961
1971
1981
1991
2001
2011

Table 1: Decadal Population Growth, 1871-2011, Jaipur City
Population
Variation
Decennial Growth Percentage
in Percentage
Growth per
Annum137,887
142,578+4,691+3.40
0.34
158,905+16,327+11.451.14
160,167+1,262+0.79
0.79
137,098+23,069-14.40-1.44
120,207+16,891-12.32-1.23
144,179+23,972+19.94+1.99
175,810+31,631+21.93+2.19
291,130+115,320+65.59+6.55
403,444+112,314+38.58+3.85
636,768+233,324+57.83+5.78
1,015,160+378,392+59.42+5.94
1,518,235+503,075+49.55+4.95
2,324,319+806,084+53.09+5.30
3,471,847+1,147,528+49.37+4.94

Source: District Census Abstract, 2011, GoI

Poverty and Human Development
The structure of world economy is such that the rich grow richer and poor grow poorer.
Surplus is created by the rich countries at the cost of poor countries due to unfavourable
trade terms and most of the savings of the developing countries goes back as refund ofloan and interest. This could equally be true of the rich and poor states within the country.
However, economic disparity within the country can be eliminated through better planning,
better management of economic and manpower resources which can ensure balanced andsustainable development of all states.

17

Population Growth and Environment
The relationship between population growth and environmental degradation may appear to
be rather straight forward. More people demand more resources and generate more waste.
Clearly one of the challenges of a growing population is the mere presence of so many
people sharing a limited number of resources strains the environment. A large proportion ofthese populations are supported through subsistence agriculture. As populations growcompetition for fertile land and the used of limited resources increases. Meeting theincreasing demand for food is probably the most basic challenge and the most salient
population and environment crisis.
As we all know that population is increasing day by day very fast. Due to thisnumber of problems are increasing like environmental pollution, unemployment, poverty,
fast consumption of natural resources, migration, urbanization, slums and so on. The
following table shows that 65 percent people are positive in response of regarding
increasing of population. About 10.9 percent reported that they don’t know whether
population is increasing or not. The following table shows the response of people about
increasing population.

CategoryYes
No
No response
Total

Table 2: Population Increasing
Response
Number
650
241
109
1000

Percent
65.0
24.1
10.9
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Connection between Environmental and Society
A serious problem the society is facing at present is the deterioration of both the natural
resources and environment. Human activities generate environmental pressure in different
ways. Notable among them is overexploitation of fertile agricultural land renewable
resources such as water. Environment as the term itself indicates is anything thatsurrounds or environs us. Environment in this sense is made of all those things whichthough distinct from us affect our life or activity in some way. It consists of all surroundings
and influences, whatsoever that are present whenever an event occurs. It refers to thoseforces, situations, or stimuli that affect the environment from outside. Environment is thus
not a simple but a complex phenomenon and consists of various forms such as physicalenvironment, biological environment, social environment and supra-social environment.
Global Environmental Concerns
Human life is all about adaptation, especially to our environments. Past civilizations wereconfronted with some of the environmental challenges that we are familiar with today. For
example, environmental decay forced people to abandon the once-fertile region of the
Middle East known as the 'cradle of civilization.' Or in more modern times, the advent of theIndustrial Revolution greatly increased pollution amounts in Western Europe. However,there are some significant differences between those issues and ones we currently findourselves facing. First, contemporary environmental issues have taken on a global scale,whereas in the past, such issues were confined to small parts of the globe. Secondly,
current environmental concerns are often products of our own doing, whereas in the past,
concerns were much more to do with the confines of nature. Lastly, current environmental
concerns are worsening at a more rapid pace than in the past. Ancient societies had moretime and space to deal with environmental threats than we do today. Collectively, each ofthese qualities makes an ecological challenge a global environmental concern. In thislesson, we will briefly cover some of the more major global environmental concerns, as well
as discuss measures that are being taken to help correct them.

18

Climate Change
One of the biggest global environmental concerns is related to the increase of the average
global temperature. There is a consensus among scientists that greenhouse gases arealtering the atmosphere in ways that ultimately contribute to climate change and higher
temperatures. Human activities are the main causes of these climate developments due tothe heavy development of industry, which creates pollution. What causes this situation iswhen the amount of carbon dioxide increases in the atmosphere and traps solar radiation,
which then increases the atmosphere's temperature. The increase of pollution in theatmosphere not only leads to the changing in the global climate, but it also leads to someother serious problems.
Global Warming and Climate Change
The country's large population and rapidly increasing energy use plays an important andgrowing role in global warming. Global warming can have major physical, environmental
and socioeconomic consequences, which can be both positive and negative. The
estimation of these impacts is complex and marked with uncertainties. Climate change
would cause changes in 14 precipitation patterns, ocean circulation and marine systems,
soil moisture, water availability, and sea level rise. These would make an impact on
agriculture, forestry and natural eco-systems like wetlands and fisheries. Also with risingtemperatures, and subsequent increasing heat stress and alternation in patterns of vectorborne diseases, the global population would be more vulnerable to health problems,causing disruptions in settlement patterns and large-scale migration. The people of thestudy area accepted that global warming and climate change is occurring very fast. About
54.5 percent respondents aware about the population and its impact on climate change.
About 30.8 percent respondents don’t know the global climate change and its impact. The
details are given below.

Category
Yes
No

Table 3: Change Global Climate
Response
Number545
147

Percent
54.5
14.7

308
1000

30.8
100.0

Don’ Know
Total
Source: Field Survey

Poverty and Environmental Degradation
According to World Bank Report on “Global Economic Prospects” published in 2007, about
472 million (33.2 percent) of population in the total population of 1421 million are living in
absolute poverty in South Asia (2003). On the other hand the further estimation shows that,
total number of persons living with absolute poverty by the year 2015 could reduce to 273(16.2 percent) millions in South Asia. There is much controversy surroundings the poverty– environmental degradation nexuses. However, the predominant school of thought argues
that poverty is a major cause of environmental degradation and hence it is suggested that if
the policy makers want to address the environmental issues, then they must first address
the poverty problem with respect to a region. Another school of thoughts argues that thiscausal link is too simplistic and the poverty environmental nexus is governed by a complex
web of factors. The poverty is said to be both cause and effect of environment degradation.
Because, poor people who cannot meet their subsistence needs through purchase areforced to use common property resources such as forests, for food and fuel, pastures for
fodder and ponds and rivers for water. Hence, this directly contributes to environmental
degradation through over exploitation of natural resources like land, air and water.

19

In recent decades, poverty and environmental degradation have been increasingly linked.
The poor have not only suffered disproportionately from environmental damage, but havethey become major cause of ecological stress. Pushed into fragile lands due to population
growth and inequitable income distribution patterns many of the poor have over-exploited
local resource base. Short-term strategies such as abbreviated fallow periods, depletion of
topsoil, and deforestation permit survival in the present but place enormous burdens upon
future generation. In this context, there is a clear danger of India's continuing to show apattern of divergent development, with parts of the country making progress in many fronts,
and other parts stagnating. The following table shows that 44.3 percent respondents
accept that poverty and environment are interlinked and both are result of over population.
The details are given in the following table.

Category
Yes
No
No Response
Total

Table 4: Poverty and Environment
Response
Number
443
422
135
1000

Percent
44.3
42.2
13.5
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Air Pollution and Environmental Degradation
In general, most of our environmental challenges can be traced to the erroneousdevelopment strategy adopted by Indian state, particularly after Independence. The life
style of resource rich nations of the west came to be accepted as the norms, anddevelopment planners failed to find a solution to this fact in the constraints of the ourresource-base, sustainability question, etc. while formulating plans. A near lack of vision isapparent on the part of our planners in that, they instead of promoting means mass public
transport, allowed corporate automobile industry to market a dangerously high number ofcars, two- wheelers etc., in total disregard to environmental factors and carrying capacity of
our road network. However, in the Rajasthan case the public transport like buses and trains
are the prime mode of transport for a majority of the people. In the absence of reliablepublic transport, the middle class people use two wheelers and three wheelers (Auto’s) for
their daily commuting.
The rapid increases in the number of private transport vehicle, particularly of two
wheelers and three wheelers on Rajasthan roads has been causing massive congestion on
roads all over the state, particularly in the major metros. The environmental and healthconsequences of this increased vehicle population are massive; air pollution in most ourmetros have reached alarming levels. Congestion, road rage and fatal accidents havebecome common, and economically nightmarish. Vehicular emission has been going up in
proportion to the growing number of motor vehicles. Heavy dependence on fossil fuels fortransportation is the major reason for air pollution in the state. Though the recent
generation of motor vehicles is relatively eco- friendly, the large number of older vehicles
still continues to pollute by their disproportionate toxic emissions. The degree of air
pollution is severe in Rajasthan. Hence there is urgent need to curb the massive air
pollution caused primarily by existing old generation of motor vehicles. Transport ministry/
departments need to evolve strategies to discourage running of technically obsolescentvehicles in order to reduce auto emission. If also required to introduce stringent policies toreduce air pollution in the state.
Indian cities are among the most polluted in the world. Air in metropolitan cities has
become highly polluted and pollutant concentrations exceeds limit considered safe by theWorld Health Organization (WHO). Suspended particulate levels in Delhi are many times
higher than recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The urban air

20pollution has grown across India in the last decade are alarming. Some of the mostimportant air pollutants are residual suspended particulate matter (RSPM), suspended
particulate matter (SPM), nitrogen dioxides (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO), lead, sulphur
dioxide (SO2) etc. The main factors accounts to urban air quality deterioration are growing
industrialization and increasing vehicular pollution, industrial emissions, automobile
exhaust and the burning of fossil fuels kills thousands and live many more to suffer mainly
from respiratory damage, heart and lung diseases. In the countryside, nitrates from animal
waste and chemical fertilizers pollute the soil and water, and in the cities, the air iscontaminated with lead from vehicle exhaust.
The indoor air pollution may pose an even greater hazard for human health.
Cooking and heating with wood, crop residues, animal dung, and low-quality coal produce
smoke that contains dangerous particles and gases. When fuels such as these are burnedindoors, using inefficient stoves and poor ventilation, they can cause tuberculosis, otherserious respiratory diseases, and blindness (Mishra, Retherford and Smith, 1999). In fact,indoor air pollution from cooking and heating with unsafe fuels has been designated by theWorld Bank as one of the four most critical environmental problems in developing
countries. About 74.5 percent respondents of the area reported that air pollution isincreasing day by day. The details are given below.
Table 5: Air Pollution
Category
Yes
No
No Response
Total

Response
Number
745
147
108
1000

Percent
74.5
14.7
10.8
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Source of Air Pollution
The main source of air pollution is vehicles in the city. About 45 percent respondents said
that vehicles are main source of air pollution. On the other hand 31.6 percent respondents
said that industries are main source of air pollution. About 8.9 percent said that they don’t
have any idea about causes of air pollution. The following table shows the response ofsource of air pollution.

Category
From Vehicles
From Industries
From Home
Other
Total

Table 6: Source of Air Pollution
Response
Number
450
316
145
89
1000

Percent
45.0
31.6
14.5
8.9
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Biodiversity and Development
All the plans drawn and implemented by the Government or non-government organisations
have not get good result to follow principle of biodiversity. This has resulted into soil losing
productivity, water sources drying up and forest wealth degenerating. It has been clearly
defined that biodiversity does not include only life forms of various groups but also theculture of the people, livelihood and the uses of traditional knowledge which enables themto derive direct or indirect benefits from forests areas for their livelihood and jobs. This
needs to be checked and monitored at all stages by the authority appointed.

21

Environment and Development
According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
secretariat, the overwhelming direct cause of deforestation is agriculture. Subsistence
farming is responsible for 48 percent of deforestation; commercial agriculture is responsiblefor 32 percent of deforestation; logging is responsible for 14 percent of deforestation andfuel wood removals make up 5 percent of deforestation. Experts do not agree on whether
industrial logging is an important contributor to global deforestation. Some argue that poor
people are more likely to clear forest because they have no alternatives, others that thepoor lack the ability to pay for the materials and labour needed to clear forest. One study
found that population increases due to high fertility rates were a primary driver of tropicaldeforestation in only 8 percent of cases. Other causes of contemporary deforestation may
include corruption of government institutions, the inequitable distribution of wealth andpower, population growth and overpopulation, and urbanization.
The following table shows that about 69 percent people are very well aware about
negative impact of population on environment and development. They agreed that highgrowth of population will affect the environment in negative way. They will require moreresources and it will create more pollution. About 20.6 percent respondents are not aware
about the effect the population on environment and development. About 10.4 percent
people have not given any response. The details are as follows. (Figure No. 26)
Table 7: Impact of Increasing Population on Environment and Development
Category
Response
Number
Percent
Yes
690
69.0
No
206
20.6
No Response
104
10.4
Total
1000
100.0
Source: Field Survey

Environment and Population Interlinked
It is now well accepted that population, poverty, the economy and environment areinterconnected. Poverty and general lack of access to capital, resources and technology
contribute to deforestation. The population pressures can leads to resource degradationand poverty. There is a growing emphasis that economic policies also affect poverty andenvironment, be it direct or indirect, bearing on the availability as well as utilization of natural
resources. The growing population has forced poor villagers to deforest and cultivate thedeforested land for agricultural purposes and to meet their livelihood needs. The poor areboth agents and victims of deforestation. Undoubtedly, clearing of forests for agricultural
purposes will increase income but this is not without any other side effects. The continuing
need for family labour supports high fertility and rapid population growth. Continued
deforestation will have grave consequences for the health of both humans andecosystems.
The consequences of unrelenting population growth on natural resources depletion andenvironmental degradation are not easily dealt with. The lack of knowledge is a problem.
Thus, there is a need to promote public awareness of the linkages between population,
poverty and environment. Environmentalists and economists increasingly agree that efforts
to protect the environment and to achieve better living standards can be closely linked andare mutually reinforcing. Slowing the increase in population, especially in the face of rising
per capita demand for natural resources, can take pressure off the environment and buytime to improve living standards on a sustainable basis (Green, C.P., 1992). The following
table shows the link between population and environment. About 63.8 percent respondents
reported that environment and population are interlinked. If the population will increase the22environment will affect in negative way. About 26.4 percent persons reported that there isno any link between environment and population. The following table shows the details of
respondents.

Category
Yes
No
No Response
Total

Table 8: Environment and population interlinked
Response
Number
Percent
638
63.8
264
26.4
98
9.8
1000
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Industrial Impact
The following table shows that 67.8 percent respondents accept that industrial impacts arevery high in the city. Due to industries pollution is increasing steadily. Whereas 27.7
percent said that there is no any negative impact of industries in the city. The details are
given in the following table.
Table 9: Industrial Impact
Category

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number678
277
45

Percent
67.8
27.7
4.5

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Tourism Impact
The following table shows that 35 percent respondents accept that tourism is also one ofimportant factor of increasing pollution. Due to tourism pollution is increasing i. e. 35
percent agreed upon this issue. On the contrary 57 percent said that there is no any
negative impact of tourism in the city. The details are given in the following table.
Table 10: Tourism Impact
Category

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number350
570
80Percent
35.0
57.0
8.0

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Urban Transport System
The following table shows that 77 percent respondents accept that urban transport is not
so well managed and proper. Only 12.8 percent respondents said that the transportsystem is well managed in the city. About 10.2 percent said that they don’t have any idea
regarding transport management system. The details are given in the following table.

23

Table 11: Urban Transport System
Category

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number770
128
102

Percent
77.0
12.8
10.2

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Traffic and Health Issues
Due to poor city transport management and maintenance the health problems are very
common in the city dwellers and traffic personnel. The most important this is that 75.5
percent respondents accept that due to poor and heavy traffic there are so many healthissues in the city. Whereas 19 percent said that there are no nay health issues in the city
due to urban transport. 5.5 percent respondents have no nay ideas. The details are givenin the following table.
Table 12: Traffic and Health issues
Category

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number755
190
55

Percent
75.5
19.0
5.5

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Migration
Migration is one of the major causes of urbanization and slum development. The given
table shows that 65.4 percent respondents accept that urban growth is one of the causesof migration. Only 29 percent respondents said that the migration don’t affect the urban
growth. About 5.6 percent said that they don’t have any idea regarding migration and its
impact on urban growth. The details are given in the following table.
Table 13: Migration and its impact on Urban GrowthCategory

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number654
290
56

Percent
65.4
29.0
5.6

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Slum is one of the fast growing problems of every big city. Every year number oflabourers come city for getting employment and they settle in the slum areas of the city.
Due to this migration slum area is also increasing day by day in the cities. The given tableshows that 58.8 percent respondents accept that slum is one of the causes of migration.
Only 17.6 percent respondents said that the migration don’t affect the slum. About 23.6
percent said that they don’t have any idea regarding migration and slum problem. The
details are given in the following table.

24

Table 14: Migration and Slum Problem
Category

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number588
176
236

Percent
58.8
17.6
23.6

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Impact on Water
The water resources, indiscriminate use and mismanagement have caused resource
degradation to the extent that the quality and quantity of available water has been affected.
Shortage of water is experienced during winter months (November to March) and when we
expect good quality water. The fast growing population has pressurized the food production
base and to satisfy their need the people have misused the water resources. The region,
though having sufficient water in aggregate, cannot boast of adequate quantities of water
for its people at all places and during all the seasons. Population growth, caused water,
land and environmental degradation and in many cases irreversible damage to water
resources. The social sanctions and belief system maintained a balance between resource
potential and their utilization for a long time, but with the increase in population andindiscriminate use of water resources, imbalance has been created. The important issue isto promote conservation and sustainable use of resources which allow long-term economic
growthThe following table shows the increasing population and its impact on water. About
67.4 percent respondents reported that water resources are seriously affected byincreasing population. Due to increasing population the demand of water is increasing in
agricultural and domestic purposes. Only 25.5 percent respondents said that there is no
any negative impact on water due to increasing population. Whereas 7.1 percent persons
have not given any response or they don’t know about the impact on water due toincreasing population.
Table 15: Impact on Water
Category

Response

Yes
No
No Response

Number674
255
71

Percent
67.4
25.5
7.1

Total

1000

100.0

Source: Field Survey

Declining Per Capita Forest Land and Agricultural Land
The population growth has resulted in a downward trend in per capita availability of forest
and agricultural land. Per capita availability of forests in India is much lower than the world
average. The growth of population is expected to be faster than hoped for improvements inforest cover as well as quality. Over the last ten years, despite governmental initiatives ofjoint forest management, tree growers’ co-operative movements and other efforts tangible
results are still to be observed, and forest depletion and degradation is still increasing.
Similarly, the per capita availability of agricultural land in rural areas has decline
consistently. About 75.6 percent people said that per capita forest land and agriculturalland is decreasing due to increasing population. The details are given below.

25

Table 16: Declining Per Capita Forest Land and Agricultural Land
Category
Response
Number
Percent
Yes
756
75.6
No
144
14.4
No Response
100
10.0
Total
1000
100.0
Source: Field Survey

Changing Consumption Patterns
The economic and industrial development is inevitably accompanied by changing patternsof consumption. The number of registered motor vehicles in India provides one usefulindicator of expanding consumption and economic growth. The increasing vehicles incountry, producing more air pollution, fuel consumption, traffic jams and demands for road
construction-often at the cost of agricultural land. The population of India in 2000 was justover 1 billion, and there were about 10 motor vehicles for every 1000 people, or a total ofroughly 10 million motor vehicles in the country. In 2020, the population of India will be
about 1.3 billion, and there will be about 44 motor vehicles for every 1000 people, making a
total of 57 million vehicles (Energy Information Administration, 2001). An increase in
vehicular pollution is associated with a number of environmental problems like air pollution
and global warming. In most urban areas, air pollution has worsened due to traffic
congestion, poor housing, poor sanitation and drainage and garbage accumulation. The
environmental effects of fuels like oil and petroleum products are of growing concern owing
to increasing consumption levels. In study area the numbers of all types of vehicles are
increasing in rural and urban areas. This is also due to social symbol of having a vehicle.
The people of study area reported that due to development environmental problems arealso increasing. The situation is worst in urban area in comparison to rural areas. About
54.6 percent respondents agreed on this issue. About 25.7 percent respondents are notagreed upon this issue. The details are given below.

Category
Yes
No
No Response
Total

Table 17: Changing Consumption Pattern
Response
Number
546
257
197
1000

Percent
54.6
25.7
19.7
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Energy Demand
The environmental effects due to increasing consumption levels of fuels are of growing
concern to various researchers. About 55.4 percent respondents agreed on this issue. The
combustion of fuels in industries has been a major source of pollution. Coal production
through open cast mining; its supply to and consumption in power stations and industrial
boilers leads to particulate and gaseous pollution, which can cause pneumoconiosis,
bronchitis and respiratory diseases. The bulk of commercial energy comes from theburning of fossil fuels viz. coal and lignite in solid form, petroleum in liquid form and gas ingaseous form. In addition to emission of greenhouse gases, the burning of fossil fuels has
led to several ecological problems and associated with health problems like cancer risk,
respiratory diseases and other health problems. Burning of traditional fuel adds a large
amount of carbon-di-oxide into atmosphere and increases air pollution. The increasing
population numbers and growing affluence have already resulted in rapid growth of energy
production and consumption, and this trend can only be expected to accelerate in the
future. A considerable amount of air pollution results from burning of fossil fuels. Moreover

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the resources for fossil fuels are also limited thus exploration of alternate energy resources
would provide the way out.

Category
Yes
No
No Response
Total

Table 18: Increasing Energy Demand
Response
Number
554
340
106
1000

Percent
55.4
34.0
10.6
100.0

Source: Field Survey

Effect on Health
The following table shows there is negative effect on the health through environmental
pollution. About 72.5 percent respondents said that air pollution is affecting human healthin negative sense. About 14.5 percent said that there is no any health impact due to air
pollution. The details are given as below.

Category
Yes
No
Don’t know
Total

Table 19: Effect on HealthResponse
Number
725
145
130
1000

Percentage
72.5
14.5
13.0
100.0

Source: Field survey

Conclusion
The result of high population growth rates are increasing population density, increasing
number of people below poverty line and pressure on natural resources which contributes
to environmental degradation through over exploitation of natural resources. The
environment protection should not be a responsibility of government alone but local people
and leaders should be encouraged to make dedicated efforts to eradicate theenvironmental problems. It is high time that the general public, public entities, state andcentral government realize the damage, which our developmental process has made to theliving environment. The extent is such that it cannot be resorted. There a necessity to think
about the needs of present and future by compulsion and also need to balance the public
interest and environment protection. It is to be noted that unless the humanity rises to theoccasion for the prevention and control of the pollution and protection of environment withnecessary zeal and speedy trial, the progressive and prosperous living and to procure
welfare state will become a nightmare. Following suggestions are given for population andenvironment development of the study area on the basis of result of research work:.
• Rapid population growth retards the economic, social and human development.
Enhancement of women’s status and autonomy has been conclusively established tohave a direct bearing on fertility and mortality decline, which indirectly affects the
population growth. More specifically, interrelationships between women’s
characteristics and access to resources are the mechanisms through which human
fertility is determined• The existing legal provisions are inadequate to control the enormous problems ofenvironmental pollution of various types in the country. Therefore, the judiciary has toplay a more active and constructive role. This has become all the more essential inview of the lack of awareness in the masses of the pollution problems; lack of planningand the plenty of the industries and the local bodies in this regard. New jurisprudential

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•

•

techniques have to be devised to deal adequately with the problems of pollution control
and protection of environment.
Environmental law should be implemented effectively by adopting new instruments,
mechanisms and procedures like environmental impact assessment and environmental
audit and incorporate environmental objectives in manufacturing processes, minimum
usage of hazardous materials and toxic chemicals, careful usage of toxic gases will
reduce environmental load.
Public interest litigation for protection of the natural environment should be permitted In
view of the wider social interests affected by environmental pollution. Especially having
regard to the peculiar socioeconomic conditions prevailing in the country where there isconsiderable poverty, illiteracy and ignorance obstructing and impending accessibility to
the judicial process.

Finally, it can also be concluded the more research work can be conducted on the issue toidentify the population and environmental problems and results should be considered forthe further development and planning.
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