An Empirical Study of Economic Reforms and Environmental Hazards in India

In the last decade of 20th century, India marked a dramatic & momentous change in its economic policy shifting towards market economy. The objective of these reforms was to attain a higher growth. The prime objective of this study is to look into the effect of economic reforms on environment and to forecast the future level of degradation for India. The study also states the growth rate of economic development and environmental degradation for 207 countries. It was found that there had been a significant growth of economy & environmental degradation for all income groups and India. Also, growth had a positive and significant impact on degradation. The elasticity of this impact for India is more than one. Reforms also had an adverse impact on environment. The level of degradation is forecasted to be 27 times of 1998 level in 2020 & will be 39.75 million tons in 2032. The study suggests increase in forest cover, promotion of climate exchange, faster implementation of EURO IV norms and change in mindset of people towards public transport for sustainable development and environmental security