Environmental Pollution and Control: A Case Study of Delhi Mega City

Environmental Pollution and Control: A Case Study of

Delhi Mega CityDewaram A. NagdeveInternational Institute for Population SciencesThe present paper is an attempt to examine the trend in the level of environmental

pollution in Delhi and measures taken to control it. The data have been analyzed

from various secondary sources of data. The analysis reveals that rapid population

growth continues to be a matter of concern as it has manifold effects, one of the most

important being environmental pollution. Densely populated and rapidly growing

Delhi mega city is often entombed in a pall of pollution from vehicles, sewage and

liquid wastes generated by human settlement and uncontrolled pollution from

industries. The recent pollution control measures taken by central government

reduced the environmental pollution up to some extent.KEY WORDS: environment, pollution, control, mega city.Environmental pollution is one of the serious problems in most of the

mega cities of the world, especially in developing countries, which not only

experiences a rapid growth of population due to increasing rate of rural

urban migration but also industrialization which is accompanied by air,

water and vehicular pollution. Exposure to environmental pollution is now

an almost an inescapable part of urban life of the world. The phenomenal

increase in the population during the last 50 years has led to rapid industrialization and high rate of urbanization, which has created a great deal ofPlease address correspondence to Dewaram A. Nagdeve, International Institute for Population Sciences, Govandi Station Road, Deonar, Mumbai 400 088, India; e-mail: [email protected] and Environment, Vol. 25, No. 5, May 2004 2004 Human Sciences Press, Inc.462POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENTpressure on its all natural resources. The increase of population has been

tending towards alarming situation. If the world population continues to

multiply, the impact on environment could be devastating. Though the

relationship is complex, population size and growth tend to expand and

accelerate these human impacts on the environment. All these in turn lead

to an increase in the environmental pollution levels. The WHO Commission

on Health and Environment recently concluded its work, identified air

pollution as a major environmental health problem deserving high priority

for action (WHO, 1992).Delhi is one of the 10 most polluted cities in the world. In Delhi city the

municipal services such as water supply and sanitation, drainage...