People don’t feel responsible for environment: TERI survey

According to a survey, 60% of Delhiites said the responsibility of improving the environment rested with the government and only 13% said the consumers themselves were responsible. HT reports.

As many as 85% of Delhiites think surface air quality and availability has worsened in the past five years and 83% think that ground water availability has gone down drastically in the same time.

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When it came to efforts at improving the environment, 60% said the responsibility rested with the government and only 13% said the consumers themselves were responsible. Also, majority was not aware about government policies on these parameters.

This 'attitude' and perceptions of Delhiites towards the city's environment were reflected in an 'Environmental Survey 2013' released by The Energy and Resource Institute

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(TERI) on Monday.

In Delhi, the survey indicated that 79% people felt that the tree cover had gone down in the past five years, 80% perceived that waste and waste management situation had worsened. "Only a small percentage of people (6-16%) perceived that things were getting better," the survey said.

Another interesting throwback from the survey was that a majority of respondents were not aware that government policies on climate change (80%), forest conservation (76%), waste management (81%), water availability (76%), water pollution (67%) and air pollution (68%).

Commenting on the data, V Rajagopalan, secretary, ministry of environment and forests, said: "A lot more needs to be done in terms of awareness."

While releasing the survey, Dr RK Pachaury, TERI's director general, said: "Our purpose is to see that issues related to environment and development get embedded in the consciousness of the people. Of course, we are creating awareness on the major changes required to ensure we are moving on the path of sustainable development."