Context

• From the degrading ridges of the Aravalli range to the hazardous smog of the National Capital Region and the alarming spread of groundwater contamination across northern states, a web of interconnected ecological emergencies is unfolding.
• While each of these developments may appear geographically and thematically distinct, together they paint a picture of systematic neglect and exploitation of the nation’s ecological foundations.
• Together, these developments reveal a pattern of regulatory dilution extractive policymaking that threatens both the environment and public health.

The Aravalli Crisis: A Symbol of Systemic Exploitation

• The Aravalli range, stretching from Gujarat to Haryana, has served for millennia as a natural barrier against desertification, a cradle of biodiversity, and a foundation of cultural history.
• Yet illegal mining has already stripped large sections of these ancient hills.
• The recent decision to exclude elevations below 100 metres from mining protections effectively provides a licence to destroy nearly 90% of the range, inviting further degradation.
• This move prioritises short-term commercial extraction over long-term ecological stability, threatening to accelerate desertification and undermine regional climate resilience.

Air Pollution and Public Health: A Slow-Motion Emergency

• Northern India continues to face one of the world’s most severe air-quality crises, with Delhi entering its annual smog season marked by dense clouds of particulate matter, dust, and toxic emissions.
• This recurrent haze has evolved into a full-scale public health emergency, with estimates of up to 34,000 pollution-related deaths annually in just ten major cities.
• Despite this, air-quality initiatives remain underfunded, inconsistently implemented, and administratively fragmented, reflecting a failure to treat air pollution as the urgent national crisis that it is.

Groundwater Contamination: An Emerging Catastrophe

• Groundwater assessments have revealed dangerously high uranium levels in significant portions of Delhi, Punjab, and Haryana’s water supplies.
• Chronic exposure to uranium can cause serious kidney damage, developmental issues, and long-term cancer risks.
• The presence of such contaminants signals deep failures in water monitoring, aquifer protection, and environmental oversight.
• This is not an isolated concern but part of a widening pattern of soil degradation, unchecked borewell drilling, and regulatory inertia.

Policy Dilution and Regulatory Weakening

• A decade of legislative and executive decisions has contributed to the erosion of India’s environmental safeguards.
• Key examples include:
  • The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act, 2023, which created expansive exemptions from forest clearances.
  • The Draft EIA Notification 2020, which sought to reduce public scrutiny, expand exemptions, and weaken compliance requirements.
  • The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2018, which relaxed construction restrictions in sensitive coastal ecosystems.
• These measures collectively represent a sustained weakening of transparency, accountability, and precaution, enabling large-scale diversion of natural resources.
• Parallel to this regulatory dilution, political funding patterns have raised concerns about environmental policymaking being influenced by corporate interests, further undermining public trust.

Marginalising Communities: A Counterproductive Approach

• Local and indigenous communities, historically central to ecological stewardship, have increasingly been portrayed as obstacles to conservation.
• Authorities have attributed forest loss to the implementation of community rights, despite evidence that forests managed by indigenous groups are often more resilient.
• Proposals such as the eviction of 65,000 families from tiger reserves contradict the principle that relocations must be voluntary and mutually beneficial.
• This adversarial approach weakens conservation outcomes while eroding the rights and knowledge systems of forest-dependent communities.

The Way Forward: Toward a New Environmental Compact

• A sustainable path forward requires a comprehensive reorientation of environmental governance.
• First, India must resolve to halt ongoing ecological destruction.
  • This includes stopping large-scale deforestation in Great Nicobar, Hasdeo Aranya, and the Himalayan belt, and launching strong crackdowns on illegal mining and unregulated development in eco-sensitive regions.
• Second, environmental laws weakened in recent years must be reviewed and, where necessary, reversed.
  • Post-facto environmental clearances should be discontinued, and institutions like the National Green Tribunal must be restored to full capacity and independence.
• Third, environmental management must operate through cooperative federalism, particularly on issues such as air pollution and groundwater contamination that cross state boundaries.

Conclusion

• India’s deepening environmental crises arise not from natural inevitabilities but from policy choices that undervalue ecological security.
• Protecting the nation's future requires an environmental philosophy grounded in the rule of law, partnership with local communities, and recognition of the inextricable link between ecological health and human development.
• Only through such a transformative approach can India build a safer, more resilient, and more equitable future.