QUESTION 19
GS1
15 marks
Achieving sustainable growth with emphasis on environmental protection could come into conflict with poor people’s needs in a country like India – Comment.
WRITE IN
11 min
250 words
What the examiner wants
Comment on when environmental protection clashes with the needs of India's poor, and how the two can be reconciled.
CommentGive your own view on the statement and back it with facts and examples.
Demand-wise check
- 1Points of conflict: forest conservation vs forest dwellers, mining bans vs local jobs, pollution curbs on small industry, fuel and crop-residue bans≈65 words
- 2Why the poor are hit first: dependence on natural resources, no alternative livelihoods≈65 words
- 3Reconciliation: green jobs, community forest rights, just transition, cleaner fuel support (Ujjwala), payment for ecosystem services≈65 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Frame the tensionExamples of conflictWhy poor are vulnerableReconciliation with examplesConclusion (sustainability must be inclusive)
Where marks usually go
- Saying there is no conflict at all, or that there is only conflict
- Not giving any Indian example of the trade-off
Draw this
- Triangle: growth, environment, equity, with policy tools on each side
Value addition
- LawThe Forest Rights Act, 2006 recognises community forest resource rights so that conservation can include forest dwellers.Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, 2006
- ConceptJust transition: moving away from coal while protecting workers and communities, e.g. coal districts of Jharkhand.ILO Guidelines for a Just Transition, 2015
Next: plan for one minute, write it in 11 minutes, then get it checked.