The strategies for sustainable development are:

(i) Use of Non- Conventional Sources of Energy: India is hugely dependent on thermal and hydropower plants to meet its power needs. Both of these have adverse environmental impacts. Thermal powerplants emit large quantities of carbon dioxide which is a green -house gas. Hydroelectric projects inundate forests and interfere with the natural flow of water in catchment areas and the river basins. Wind power and solar rays are examples of conventional but cleaner and greener technologies which can be effectively used to replace thermal and hydro-power.

(ii) LPG, Gobar Gas in Rural Areas: Households in rural areas generally use wood, dung cake or other biomass as fuel. This practice has several adverse implications like deforestation reduction in green cover, wastage cattle dung and air pollution. To rectify the situation subsidised LPG is provided and gobargas plants are provided. LPG is a cleanfuel-it reduces household pollution to a large extent. Also, energy wastage is minimised. For the gobar gas plant to function collect dung is fed to the plant and gas is produced which is used as fuel while the slurry which is left over is a very good organic fertiliser and soil conditioner.

(iii) CNG in Urban Areas: In Delhi, the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel in public transport system has significantly lowered air pollution and the air has become cleaner in the last few years.

(iv) Wind Power: In areas where speed of wind is usually high. Wind mills can provide electricity without any adverse impact on the environment. Wind turbines move with the wind and electricity is generated. No doubt, the initial cost is high. But the benefits are such that the high costs gets easily absorbed.

(v) Solar Power through Photovollaic Cells: India is naturally endowed with a large quantity of solar energy in the form of solar energy in the form of sunlight. We use it in different ways e.g. we use Sunlight to get the clothes grains dried to keep our body warm in winter with the help of photovollaic cells, solar energy can be converted into electricity. These cells use special kind of materials to capture solar energy and then convert the energy into electricity. This energy is extremely useful for remote areas and for places where supply of power through grid or power lines is either not possible or proves very costly.

(vi) Mini-hydel Plants: In mountainous regions, streams can be found almost every where. A large percentage of such streams are perennial. Mini-hydel plants use the energy of such streams to move small turbines. The turbines generate electricity which can be used locally. Such power plants are more or less environment friendly as they do not use pattern in areas where they are located; they generate engouh power to meet local demands. This shows that they can reduce the requirement of large scale transmission towers and cables and avoid transmission loss.

(vii) Traditional knowledge and Practices: Traditionally, Indian people have been close to their environment. They have been more a component of environment and not its controller. With the sudden on slaught of the western system of treatment we were ignoring our traditional systems such as Ayurveda, Unani, Tibetan and folk systems. These health care systems are in great demand again for treating chromic health problems. Now-a-days every cosmetic produce hair oil, toothpaste, body lotion, face cream and what not is herbal in composition. Not only are these products environment friendly, they are relatively free from side effects and do not involve large scale industrial and chemical processing.

(viii) Biocomposting: In our quest to increase agricultural production during the last five decades or so, we almost totally neglected the use of compost and completely switched over to chemical fertilisers. The result is that large tracts of productive land have been adversely affected, water bodies including ground water system have suffered due to chemical contamination and demand for irrigation has been going up year after year. In certain parts of the country, cattle are maintained only because they produce dung which is an important fertiliser and soil conditioner. Earthwarms can convert organic matter into compost faster than the normal composting process. This process is now being willdely used.

(ix) Biopest Contract: With the advent of green revolution, the entire country entered into a frenzy to use more and more chemical pesticides for higher yield. Soon, the adverse impacts began to show, food products were contaminated, soil, water bodies and even ground water were polluted with pesticides. Even milk, meat and fishes were found to be contaminated. To meet this challenge efforts are on to bring better methods of post control with the use of posticides like neem trees are proving to be quite useful. Mixed cropping and growing different crops in consective years on the same land have also helped farmers.

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1. Air Pollution: It occurs when greater reliance is placed on mechanisation and automation. Greater use of energy like of coal, kerosene oil and diesel causes greater emission of smoke (and pollutions) in the air. It causes a serious damages to public health. Expenditure on public health owing to environmental pollution is becoming an alarming component of social cost of development.

2. Water Pollution: Process of development has shown a phenomenal rise in industrial production. In the context of environment pollution, growth of textile industry merits a special mention. The process of bleaching and dyeing in the textile industry is passed on an intensive use of chemicals. Industrial waters are often channelised into rivers and canals of the adjoining areas. It causes water pollution. The consequences is obvious spread of water-borne diseases. Implying damage to human life as well as animal life, particularly the sign, the survives largely on water.

3. Noise Pollution: The process of mechanisation and automation (which is the hub of production activity these days) is well known for noise pollution. Machines must produce noise and greater the horse power, greater the noise factor. Unwarranted noise is a great irritant and it erodes the quality of life. In the unorganised sector of iron and steel production, one often encounters deafening sounds which indeed are injurious to public health.

Main features of Sustainable Development are as under:

1. Sustained rise in real Per Capita income and Economic Welfare: There should be a sustained rise in real per capita income and economic welfare over time.

2. Rational use of Natural Resources: Sustainable development does not mean that natural resources should not be used at all. It simply means that natural resources be rationally used in a manner such that they are not excessively exploited.

3. No reduction in the ability of future generations to meet their own needs: Sustainable development aims at making of natural resources and environment for raising the existing standard of living in such a way as not to reduce ability of the future generations to meet their own needs. For example, if non-renewable sources of energy (like oil) are recklessly used to increase present production at the cost of our ability to produce in the future, it would not be in tune with the concept of sustainable development.

4. No increase in pollution: Sustainable development discards (or does not approve of) those activities which, in order to maintain exiting high standard of living, prove deterimental to natural resources and environment. According to this concept, one should desist from undertaking such activities as may increase pollution and decrease quality of life of future generation.

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The measurement of sustainable development is done in terms of two different aggregates:

1. Green Net National Income: Green Net National Income is the difference between Net National Income and Depreciation of Natural Capital. It involves the knowledge of following concepts:

(a) Net National Income: It is the market value of the final goods and services produced by the residents of the country during the period of one year.

(b) Depreciation of Natural Capital: Depreciation refers to loss of value of the capital because of its continuous use. Natural captial refers to the sum total of natural resources including environment. Accordingly depreciation of natural capital refers to the loss of value of natural resources of a country because of their continuous use, as well as environmental degradation.

Green National Income = Net National Income – Depletion of Natural Resources – Environmental Degradation.

Sustainable development is to be measured in terms of the rise in Green National Income.

2. Genuine Savings: Another measure of sustainable development is genuine savings. The genuine saving is the rate of savings adjusted not only for depreciation of man-made capital but also for loss of value of the natural capital.

Genuine Savings = Rate of Savings – Depreciation of man-made capital – Depreciation Natural Capital (Depletion of Natural Resources and Degradation of Environment).

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