India's Industrial Pollution: A Growing Environmental Threat

India's Industrial Pollution: An Emerging Environmental Pollutant Industrial pollution is one of the most significant environmental problems of today for India and accounts for a significant share of the country's contribution to air and water pollution, climate change, and degradation of ecosystems. Industrialization in the country has gone by leaps and bounds in the past decades, so the level of industrial pollution is now an issue that calls for concern. This will further increase pressure on India, one of the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, to do something about the industrial activities leading to environmental degradation. Extent of Industrial Pollution in India Industrial sectors fall under manufacturing, mining, power generation, and construction sectors that form a leading cause of pollution levels in the country. As per the Central Pollution Control Board, industries account for nearly 40% of the total air pollution. The main industrial pollutants under major categories of industrial pollution sources include particulate matter, SO2, NOx, VOCs, and carbon dioxide. Industrial pollution is a major reason for the deterioration in air quality in Indian cities. Levels of emission are higher than the threshold set by the World Health Organization. For most cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata, dangerous levels of pollution remain present throughout the day and produce intense health damage from respiratory problems, heart diseases, and early deaths. Industries also pollute water. General wastes from chemical factories, paper mills, textiles, and tanneries are issued in rivers and lakes, and this kills all the water resources and aquatic lives. Yamuna and Ganges are two very precious water sources of India and both these have been bearing all the industrial pollutants for decades now, which creates a very alarming situation to this ecology as well as human life. Causes of Industrial Pollution in India Industrial pollution in India primarily arises due to the utilization of archaic and inefficient technologies. Many industries rely on antiquated machineries and techniques that produce humongous amounts of wastes and pollutants. The problem is worse, however because improper waste handling and lack of appropriate industrial effluent treatment facilities further exacerbate the situation. The demand of the nation for fast economic development has largely led to industrial development. Therefore, environmental protection got subsidiary status in favor of industrial growth. In spite of all these, despite the fact that the Indian government has developed thousands of regulations and environmental standards, weak enforcement exists mainly due to corruption, poor infrastructure, and high punishments for violating rules. The energy sector in India is one of the largest sources of industrial pollution; it also represents the largest source of electricity. Emissions from these plants, as they burn coal, contain enormous amounts of CO2, SO2, and NOx; cities surrounding the plants have consequently suffered a massive compromise on their air quality. Increasingly, coal is used in the expanding Indian energy sector in order to supply power for this rapidly expanding economy. Health and Environmental Impact Industrial pollution in India is very deep regarding environmental and health impacts. The air pollution alone causes more than 1.2 million premature deaths every year in India, according to WHO. In most cities, the air quality index has often been seen to be at hazardous levels; this is because of which most people are exposed to severe health issues, and especially the weaker sections like children, old-age people, and those suffering from other health-related issues. The third industrial effluent is the problem of water pollution. Such effluents pollute rivers and lakes that supply drinking water to millions of Indians. Toxic chemicals in polluted water bodies cause water-borne diseases like cholera, typhoid, and dysentery among millions of Indians. Industrial pollution is destroying the ecological systems, thus reducing biodiversity and threatening people's very means of livelihood in the face of centuries of reliance on natural resources. As bad the disaster could become, effects of industrial pollution come only in long run. So, unrestrained industrialization reported to be causing soil erosion and losing biodiversity in addition to climatic changes affecting this country as more and more industries emit into atmosphere the greenhouse gases tend to accumulate thereby bringing upon more the climatic implications to the impact of global warming. Climatic changes have already begun to hit India with relentless waves of heat, drought, and flooding that kill and devastate millions. Attempts to Regulate Industrial Pollution It has now realized the harshness of the problem through industrial pollution. The Indian government has made endeavours in this direction through different regulations and standards by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). This comprises of the NCAP for reduction by 20-30% of particulate pollution by 2024. The last one is the Environmental Protection Act which forces industries to get environmental clearances and also be in line with the standards for pollution control. The government is also in pursuit of cleaner technologies and alternative energy sources. Moving away from coal and reducing the damage caused by the energy sector is to opt for renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. However, the problem is that implementing these regulations still remains a problem. The implementation is still very arbitrary and most of the industries circumvent the control measures for pollution because the monitoring is very weak and no penal provisions exist. In this direction, the government has been increasing the capacity of regulatory agencies and making public aware of environmental issues. Increasingly, private enterprise seeks to take the onus of the problem of issues associated with industrial pollution. Most of the firms, for quite a long period of time have spent much cleanlier technologies; this has continued having fewer carbon footprint practices. Green finance accompanied with sustainable investments had forced a vast number of industries to find their ways into reduced pollution technologies for production besides increased energy efficiency for energy consumption. The Future Ahead While India has made some concrete steps in wiping out industrial pollution, much more needs to be done. The nation needs better law enforcement, better industrial technologies, more renewable energy, etc. At its core, it needs more people's involvement and greater corporate accountability in checking pollution. Indian economic growth demands industrial growth, not at the cost of environmental growth. This demands sustainable industrial practices and innovation coupled with strong regulation, which can make sure development in an industry takes place in a country without any harm to earth or to its people. Source: Reports from the Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and other research organizations dealing with environmental studies have so far been centered on industrial pollution in India.