Cosmos: A Journal of Geography

Environmental Pollution in India: Challenges and Administrative Responses

Environmental pollution threatens India's socio-economic growth by impacting public health, natural resources, and quality of life. This essay analyses environmental pollution in India, its types, sources, and effects, and emphasises the necessity for strong administrative solutions. Vehicle emissions, industrial operations, and agriculture pollute urban air. Industrial waste and agricultural chemicals pollute water and soil, endangering ecosystems. Rising loudness and plastic pollution demonstrate the issue's complexity. Policy gaps, institutional inefficiencies, economic constraints, and technology restrictions must be overcome to reduce pollution in India. Public awareness and behavioural change are crucial to pollution prevention but underutilised. Administrative answers to these difficulties include legislative frameworks, government efforts like the National Clean Air Programme and Namami Gange, and court and pollution control board interventions. The paper concludes that India needs better governance, public participation, and long-term pollution solutions to become cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable.