Peninsular Uplands, covering an area of about 16 lakh sq. km., is the largest physiographic unit of the country. It consists of a series of plateaus interspersed with summit plains, gradational val­leys and detached hills. The region was well wooded during ancient days and still rich in flora and fauna. Here population density is also not as high as in the plains. It is also a mineral rich region of the country.

A number of tribal’s with their traditional and rich cultural heritage reside in this region. These tribal dominated areas are lagging behind in modern eco­nomic development and are confronted with prob­lems including related to environment. Shrinkage of forest cover, indiscriminate mining, rehabilitation arising out of development projects, cultural inva­sion by non-tribal have added to their misery.

Main environmental problems of the region are related to deforestation, mining, industrializa­tion, power generation, urbanization, vehicles move­ment and development projects. Forest cover in the region is shrinking due to indiscriminate cutting of trees since the British days. With the Independence the demands for wood and timber are increasing. Development projects like Narmada Project, mining activities and transport development have led to the loss of thousands of hectares of valuable forests. Many trial’s and poor people collect fuel wood to sell in the neighbouring towns to earn their living.

Some valuable forests have been lost due to the epidemic of Sal borers, practice of jhuming and expansion of agricultural activities. Deforestation has not only increased environmental problems but has caused economic and social problems as well. Many tribal’s of the region, whose economy was based on the forests, is facing economic hardships. They have been forced to work as bonded labourers and domestic servants and have been exposed to money lenders, contractors and anti-socials.

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Peninsular uplands are the store-house of India’s mineral and fuel resources. Due to lack of clear-cut mining policy miners are at their sweet will to devastate the environment. They are not under obligation to level the area and plant new trees before closing the mine and moving to another site. Mineral dusts, blasting, mine fires, etc. have adverse effects on the health of the residents living near the mines.

The region has a number of thermal plants and coal wateriest whose smoke emit hazardous chemicals to the air. Refuges from the power plants pollute neighbouring water bodies and reservoirs.

Over two-third of the industrial wealth of the country is localised in various parts of the Peninsular Uplands. Of this mention may be made of Mumbai- Pune, Ahmadabad-Vadodara, Chotanagpur, Madurai- Coimbatore, Bangalore, Bhopal-Indore regions. Maharashtra and Gujarat are the most industrialised states of the country. A recent survey has shown that Maharashtra is the most investment friendly state of the country.

The Maharashtra Industrial Develop­ment Corporation (MIDC) has created 265 indus­trial estates. Maharashtra’s coast has a well devel­oped petroleum industry, which attracts different chemical units. The state accounts for one-fourth of the national annual turnover of the chemicals sector. But this growth is it a great cost in terms of environ­mental degradation. MPCB indicates that 80 per cent of the units in the State pollute water, while 15 percent pollute the air. Of the 83,000 industrial units in the State, 50 percent are in the chemicals, fertilis­ers and textiles sectors. Drive down the Mumbai- Pune highway one may witness the horrible truth of industrialisation.

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Hundreds of industrial units deal­ing with chemicals and fertilisers dump their sludge along the roadside. Chimneys emit gases that make bathing difficult. According to MPCB about 75 per cent of the rivers of the State are polluted. The sea is polluted up to five km. Agriculture has become less productive in many industrial areas and farmers are selling their lands at throwaway prices.

Similarly a 400-km stretch from Vapi to Vatva in Gujarat is called ‘golden corridor’ of industrialisation. But this stretch has become a hot bed of pollution where Bhopal type of disaster may happen any time. Alang, the largest ship breaking yard of the world, 50 km from Bhavnagar, is another example of an environ­mental nightmare. The 1 1-km coastline of the yard has been severely polluted due to the scrapping of hazardous ships.

Maharashtra houses the highest percentage of urban population in the country. The urban growth along the coast is converting the area into concrete jungle. It is in this area running from Mumbai to Ahmadabad the largest megalopolis of the country is in offing. Here cities are full of slums and highly polluted. Air and noise pollution due to transport vehicles is mainly confined to urban and industrial areas of the Peninsula but gradually its impact is spreading towards countryside with growing popu­larity of tractors and small vehicles in rural areas.

Generally old vehicles, discarded from metropolitan cities, find entry to small and medium towns and are used as means of carrying goods and passengers within the urban areas and also to and from neigh­bouring rural hinterlands. Their pollution level is very high and risk to road accidents is always greater.

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Development projects like Narmada river valley project (consisting of 30 major, 135 medium and 3000 minordams), Koyna project, Mahi-Kadana project, Koel project, Bodhghat project, Bedthipro; Ukai project, Hirakud project, Sharawathy and Srisailam project, Rengali project, Nanibosam etc. have destroyed thousands of hectares of g- forests, displaced lakhs of people, threatened livelihood of lakhs of people and ravaged the enrolment of vast area exposing it to the miseries water logging, Stalinization, waterborne diseases seismic risks.

According to an estimate about million people have been displaced by dam’s duff the period 1951-1990 of which only 2.75 mill have been rehabilitated (The Citizens’ Fifth Rep 1999, p. 160). At places this led to the people’ agitation as a result of which many developer projects like Silent Valley (Kerala), Bedt (Karnataka), Bhopalpatnam- Inchampa’ (Maharashtra), Bodhghat (Chhattisgarh) etc. had be scrapped.