PUNJAB- IN BRIEF
The Indian state of Punjab occupies only 1.57% (50,362 sq.km) geographical area of India and contributes around 50 % of the grain in the central grain pool. It contributes about 55% of wheat and 43% rice to the central pool. About 84% of land in Punjab is under agriculture zone as compared to the national average of 40.38%. Being located in the north west of India, is one of the smallest and prosperous states of India. It is a part of the Indo- Gangetic plains formed by the alluvial deposits of rivers and tributaries. Historically, the five rivers namely Sutlej, Beas, Chenab, Ravi and Jhelum gave it its name 'punj-ab' or the 'land of five rivers'.
The present-day Punjab came into existence on 1st November, 1966 after its separation from the states of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. After the state’s partition in 1947 and then its reorganization in 1966 Punjab was left with three rivers, namely Sutlej, Ravi and Beas and three regions (Majha, Doaba and Malwa).
The state has done amazingly well in the field of agriculture and is now focusing on its industrial growth. However, excessive intensification of agriculture along with industrialization and economic development has led Punjab to its degradation and over exploitation of its natural resources mainly water, biodiversity and land. Hence, need of the hour is to maintain the state`s economic prosperity in future and concerted efforts have to be made to protect the environment and promote sustainable use of natural resources.
MAJOR ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN PUNJAB
Working on the grass root level we find out that the environment of any region is governed by a specific set of parameters. If one or more of these factors are disturbed then it results in the imbalance of the nature which further give rise to environmental issues. The factors are as follows: -
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Air quality
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Water quality
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Forest Cover
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Agriculture
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Solid Waste
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Climate Change
AIR QUALITY
The sources of polluted air in the State are emissions from industries, power plants and vehicular emissions, burning of domestic fuel and agricultural residues in the harvesting season. Factors affecting air quality are as follows:-
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Industrial Pollution
INDUSTRY AIR POLLUTANTS:
Beverages Particulates
Paper Products / Printing Mercaptans, particulates
Rice/ Food Products CO2, SO2, NOx
Leather Particulates, odour
Rubber/ Plastic VOCs, Particulates, Odour
Brick Kilns Particulates, SO2, CO
Transport, equipment and parts Particulates
Figure 2 Large and medium scale industries in Punjab
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Vehicular Pollution
Vehicular pollution is of major concern since it is ground level source and thus has the maximum impact on the human population and biotic components. The major pollutants released as vehicular emissions include carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, 1-3 butadiene, lead, particulate matter, hydrocarbon, oxides of sulphur, photochemical oxidants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. According to the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) out of the total hydrocarbon and monoxide emission, vehicular emissions contribute around 80-90% of it.
Alarming increase in the number of fuel-based vehicles is the main reason of the vehicular pollution while the poor maintenance of the vehicles also plays a vital role in it. Even today three-wheelers fitted with diesel engines are used which cause a lot of pollution in the state.
Figure 3 Growth of vehicles in Punjab
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Agricultural Pollution
Pollution from Agricultural and domestic practices also affect the environment of the Punjab region. Punjab produces 20 million tons of rice straw, and around 17 million tons of wheat annually, whose majority of the part (i.e. around 4/5th of rice straw and half of the wheat straw) is burnt in open fields to make it ready for the next set of crops. Not only it adversely affects the soil quality but also pollutes the air heavily, especially in the months of March-April and October-November. Majority of Punjab comes under the rural belt where still cow dungs and cakes are the main source of fuel. Further, air-conditioners and refrigerators also play their role in polluting the air by releasing aerosols (ozone depleting substances).
WATER QUALITY
Three main rivers, namely Sutlej, Beas and Ravi transverse the modern-day area of Punjab. Ghaggar, a seasonal river also flows through the region. Punjab has around 14,500 Km long canal system and around 8,000 Km long drainage system. Water level throughout the region varies from 5 to 20 mbgl (meters below ground level) except in the southern region where it is even less than 5mbgl.
Punjab is an agricultural state and therefore the practice of extensive agriculture has heavily exploited the water resources in this area especially due to wheat paddy monoculture. According to the statistics about 80% of the groundwater is over exploited in this region of Punjab. Water problem is most severe in the central Punjab region which is also called as ‘sweet water zone’ because of the domination of the rice crop in Kharif season.
This water problem of ground water tables is mainly because of the adoption of excessive tube well system. According to the survey the number of tube wells in Punjab have increased from 3 lakhs in 1975 to 14 lakhs in 2016. Even the quality of ground water changes from good to bad from North to South Punjab. After the tube well culture the second factor which degrades the water quality are the 14 thousand red category industries which contribute as the point source of pollution.
Figure 4 Water tables of Punjab
FOREST COVER
Forests cover only 6% of the total geographic area of Punjab with Shivalik, Mang and Bir being the major forests. District of Hoshiarpur records the maximum forest cover with (687 sq.km) followed by Ropar (391 sq.km). The total forest cover has increased within a decade and the credits goes to the excessive plantation drives carried out by the government and non-government organizations. Still the total forest cover in not enough to contribute to the stable eco-system.
Factors that affect the forest and wildlife in Punjab are as follows: -
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Climate change
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Change in land use pattern
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Deforestation
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Increased industrialization
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Degradation of natural habitat
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Increased urbanization
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Forest fires
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Encroachments
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Poaching
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Soil erosion in Shivalik tracts
Figure 5 Forest cover of Punjab
AGRICULTURE
Punjab contributes about 64% to the total rice and wheat production of the country. Major portion of the Punjab’s cropping area is covered with wheat and paddy which has increased from 80% in 2010 to 82% in 2015.
Heavy reliance of the farmers of this region on intensive wheat and paddy cultivation has had adverse effect on the ground water level and soil quality. Mostly all the sown area is irrigated and major source of irrigation are tube wells followed by canals. Increase in agriculture also leads to the increase in the usage of fertilizers. Total consumption of fertilizers increased from 19.11 lakh nutrient tones to 19.43 lakh nutrient tones in 2016.
Apart from the water and soil degradation, it has been observed that agricultural practices in Punjab are also contributing to the air pollution. Wheat and paddy straw left after the harvesting are burnt in the open fields leading to the emission of gases like CO, CO2, NOx, SO2. Wheat straw to an extent is used to feed the cattle but paddy straw due to its silica content is avoided and is leftover to be burnt.
SOLID WASTE
Waste is anything that is generated by humans or animals which has to be discarded and is regarded as unwanted. Solid waste accounts to the household and domestic waste, industrial and commercial waste, dead remains of plants and animals and even large-scale construction waste like debris etc. Solid waste can be broadly classified into three categories.
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Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
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Hazardous Solid Waste (HSW)
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Biomedical Solid Waste (BSW)
Due to excessive industrialization, urbanization and modernization in Punjab the total amount of solid waste produced has increased over the years. Factors contributing to the increase in solid waste generation in Punjab are as follows: -
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Due to steep increase in the population of the state (about 45% increase in the population over the last few decades)
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2 cities of Punjab have population more than 1 million
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Punjab is the 7th most urbanized state in the country
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Most of the solid waste in Punjab is disposed off in open and uncovered fills resulting in the environmental pollution of the surrounding area.
Table 2 District wise hazardous waste collected and treated in punjab
AMRITSAR 244.496 244.496
BATHINDA 12.38 12.38
FARIDKOT 36.97 36.97
FATEHGARH SAHIB 1134.18 1134.18
FIROZPUR 0 0
GURDASPUR 10.845 10.845
HOSHIARPUR 379.33 379.33
JALANDHAR 682.865 682.865
KAPURTHALA 142.615 142.615
LUDHIANA 6586.385 6586.385
MANSA 0.8 0.8
MOGA 0 0
MUKTSAR 28.38 28.38
NAWANSHAHR 4227.736 4227.736
PATIALA 1129 1129
RUPNAGAR 76441 76441
SANGRUR 251.33 0.8
CLIMATE CHANGE
According to the statistics the maximum and minimum temperatures of Punjab have recorded a rise of 0.5-1.0 °C. the annual average maximum temperature is expected to rise by 1.0 to 1.9 degree Celsius while the annual average minimum temperature is also expected to increase by 1.9 to 2.0 degree Celsius. Production of the chief crop of Punjab is likely to decrease by 8% due to increase in average annual temperatures. Forest covers of around 16000 km is expected to get affected by this anomaly in temperature extreme environment conditions like flood and drought causes enormous loss to standing crops, fisheries and livestock.
