When 'Age Of Development' Started, It Was A Blunder From Economy To Ecology

It was a Thursday in 1949, and on January 20, then-US President Harry S. Truman used the word "development" in his speech. Two-third of the world's population allegedly became underdeveloped. Being the new world rulers, "US and Developed countries" had a huge obligation to care for them and develop them into developed nations, just like their predecessors who sought to civilise the world, also known as "White men's burden." The Age of Development then started. The United Nations' primary goal from 1960 to 1970 was the first Development Decade.

As the introduction to the Secretary-General’s report on Proposals for Action states:

“At the opening of the United Nations development decade, we are beginning to understand the real aims of development and the nature of the development process. We are learning that development concerns not only man’s material needs but also the improvement of the social conditions of his life and his broad human aspirations. Development is not just economic growth, it is growth plus change.”

To develop, undeveloped countries now had to imitate the developed or industrialized countries to go through the makeover with the help of the blueprint provided by the west. The age of development continued for the next three decades with propaganda and aid as per the economic blueprint again provided by the west.

After three decades it was realized that the concept of 'Development' has added up to the blunders as there was degradation from economy to ecology. There was a huge income inequality not only in undeveloped countries but also in developed countries. At the same time, the global climate was hampered and depleted.

The whole narrative of Development went wrong and it had to be replaced by another new concept of Sustainable Development in the year 2015. Now the objectives of the UN moved towards attaining sustainable development worldwide.

Since then, "sustainable development" has evolved into a catchphrase and a fundamental component of all organisations' plans and agendas. The 'Sustainable Development Goals' and achieving them are the main emphasis of everything from the G20's aims to academic programmes held in schools and colleges.

As per the definition by the UN, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income: To promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognize that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities while tackling climate change and environmental protection.

The Indian government is likewise making every effort to achieve these objectives. The ecosystem of India, however, has a different tale to tell. A paradoxical scenario seems to develop between the SDG and the impulse to climb the growth ladder. When we discuss SDGs, they conflict with the growth-related criteria. The Himalayan catastrophe and the cracks that are emerging in Joshimath's homes illustrate how the aims of sustainable development are being subverted by the economics and politics of growth and greed. The ecosystem has been depleted as a result of initiatives like the Tapovan-Vishnugad Hydroelectric Project, tunnels constructed for "Run of River" projects, and an 889-km All Weather Road project to boost tourism in Uttarakhand, to name a few. Despite warnings from scientists, environmentalists and guidelines by National Green Tribunal this developmental work is “in progress”.

These areas of Uttarakhand have already been declared fragile as they come under the seismic zone. The Char Dham project to promote tourism and develop accessibility to the four shrines; Yamunotri, Gangotri, Badrinath, and Kedarnath has created havoc in the name of development. Ruthless deforestation and uprooting of vegetation can have a perilous effect on ecological balance. For the past few years, overburdened with the unmindful course of development, the Himalayan crisis is spearheading in almost many districts of Uttarakhand. Rudraprayag, Tehri, Nainital, Pauri, Bageshwar, and Uttarkashi all seem to be waiting for their part of Development just like the cracks appearing in Joshimath or like the floods in Chamoli. The story goes the same for the plains too, Jharkhand is endowed with the gift of natural resources and this has been a curse and the cause of its degradation. According to a study by the Centre for Science and Environment, 69 per cent of its land is degraded. Unscientific way of coal mining has not only degraded the soil but also the major rivers which include Damodar and Subarnarekha. Illegal Mica mining has been the cause of hazardous health diseases. Despite its growing contribution to GDP, it is the second poorest state after Bihar according to Niti Aayogs first Multidimensional Poverty Index.

Odisha resonates with the same story. According to the annual activity report 2019-20 of the Forest and Environment Department, Most of the forest lands have been diverted for mining projects, irrigation projects, transmission projects, industry projects, exploration of minerals and small public utility projects. As many as 18,500,748 trees were felled between 2010-11 to 2020-21 for widening and building roads, as per the Forest and Environment minister of Odisha, Bikram Keshari Arukh. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh follow the same policy. The socioeconomic aspects have already been negatively impacted by global climate change over the past few years, and the tendency to grow further compounds the problems by undermining the objectives of sustainable development. The consequences are chaos. Many floods, droughts, health risks, and losses of life and property are on the rise. Environmentalists, campaigners, and scientists are either disregarded or kept silent while the looting goes on. SDG is still mentioned frequently in every forum, though. History does indeed repeat itself because we either fail to learn from our mistakes or have a tendency to learn from them.

(Dr Trishna Sarkar is Asst Prof in Dept. of Economics at Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College of University of Delhi)