Environmental quality is worsening with the passage of time and this has caused a great deal of damage to each and every parameter in the valley. The best environment plans is required to arrest the change at the earliest.
Today everyone is aware about the multiple issues we face as humans and most of us do not want to even hear or understand it. We have put this responsibility entirely on the shoulders of government bodies, although they have a role but we can be stakeholders to make the change. Increasing the number of electronic gadgets to vehicles, cutting down the forests, the skyscrapers, the concrete, the demand for more and more have almost slashed every regulation to which we should have been committed. We have maximized economic growth at the cost of conservation that could have been otherwise. The agricultural land has diminished and development sector has boomed over the decades, in fact, now we have industries everywhere with environmental consequences that we do not even know. The soil on the land is compacting and eroding at horrendous rates in the valley, is a concern. We propose but do almost nothing about this. Forest cover is threatened now more by climatic change than any other factor and this is purposefully allowed by us. Not to talk of introduced pests and diseases, the rise in the pollution due to anthropogenic activities are leading us towards an era where our future generations will witness less forest cover, scarcity of water, more polluted and toxic air, nuisance due to waste, no fields to play and what not. May be they will curse us or laugh on us. “Work with partners to raise awareness” and to “encourage ecofriendly techniques” for better world could be solution.
Development is good, economic boom is better, but at what cost is a million dollar question. The crisis that we are facing need to be acknowledged, the crisis in our water bodies, the crisis of atmosphere, the crisis beneath the earth are alarming. Although, we are not the direct sufferers, our kids definitely are. Day by day we have lost the sheen and beauty of the most pristine ecosystems of our valley, the paradise in terms of its catchy natural beauty is diminishing and is in pace with the most polluted cities of the country. Most of the sensitive areas of the valley have become now garbage sites and now body even wishes to ask the question to concerned authority. Our parks of beauty and the gardens although managed well for the sake of tourists, but what about those that are not in the news.
The government’s plans for a nature recovery are miles away and its interest in the “dynamic management of nature” is yet to come. If it what have been the present government strategy, it might have sensor for a major shift from our dismal and unambitious conservation policies. It could have been the initial noteworthy step that we could have seen from any government of this country towards better future. But anything positive towards this direction will definitely be criticized by the many, who think otherwise. A vision of “clean growth” is very necessary for our kids. Consuming less per unit of growth may be an attempt to look upon as more economy grows the more resources it will consume.
(The author is Assistant Professor in Department of Environmental Science ITM University Gwalior)
