IS INDIAN industry becoming more pollution-intensive? Consider the production levels of some of the most polluting industries: Gross output of the paper and paper products industry and related activities increased from Rs 450 crore in 1970-71 to Rs 4,807 crore in 1988-89; that of leather and leather and fur products increased from Rs 99 crore to Rs 1,739 crore; of rubber, plastic, petroleum and coal products from Rs 632 crore to Rs 20,204 crore; of chemicals and chemical products from Rs 1,519 crore to Rs 23,865 crore; of non-metallic mineral products from Rs 413 crore to Rs 6,459 crore, and of basic metal and alloys industries from Rs 1,366 crore to Rs 2,359 crore. The total output of these key polluting industries increased from Rs 4,481 crore to Rs 80,665 crore in the same period.
The output proportion of these polluting industries in the total gross output of all industries increased from 32.5 per cent in the beginning of the 1970s to 43.8 per cent at the end of the 1980s. Does anyone need more proof that Indian industrialisation has steadily moved towards more polluting sectors?
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