Unclean air, water may be causing 8 lakh deaths a year: Report

Unclean air and water could be responsible for the death of eight lakh people every year in the country, according to a report released today.

The report 'Green India 2047' prepared by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), said that quality of environmental services like access to clean drinking water and sanitation, control of air and water pollution and management of industrial and household waste has a direct bearing on the health of people.

"Our limited analysis suggests that unclean air and water may be taking a toll in terms of over eight lakh deaths in the country each year and morbidity costs amounting to 3.6% of the GDP," said the overview of the report, which was released by environment and forest minister Jairam Ramesh.

The report has dealt with issues of depletion of resources like water, forests, land and soil as well as biodiversity and sought to find out the major impact and economic costs of degradation.

The report also seeks to find out whether environment degradation impede the translation of the population into demographic dividend.

TERI chief RK Pachauri said about 45% of the population do not have access to safe drinking water. The air quality is poor in most of the cities in the country. Almost 85% of the cities violate the standards for Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) level, Pachauri said.

Transport is a significant and growing source of air pollution in cities, he said adding, there is need for inspection and maintenance of old vehicles and strengthening of the public transport system.

About 85% rural household continue to depend on firewood, chips and cow dung as a primary source of fuel for cooking. Nearly 3.4 lakh deaths may be attributed to indoor air pollution each year, he said.

There is a need to redouble efforts to find cooking and lighting solutions, he said. The kerosene subsidies should be redirected to provision of solar lanterns in rural areas.

The TERI report said that there are major lacunae in the design and implementation of environmental policy and legislation in the country, including the lack of credible incentive based pollution deterrence.

At present 21% of the land area is under forest cover. While 2% of the forest area has high density, 9% has medium density while 10% of such area is degraded forest, the report said.

Greater emphasis on renewable energy, energy efficiency and afforestation can provide employment to over 7% of India's working population, the report said.