Table 2: Description of the Environmental Groups
|
Groups |
Description |
Number of |
|
AIRPOL |
Air Pollution |
6 |
|
INDOOR |
Indoor Air Pollution Potential |
9 |
|
GHGS |
Green House Gases (GHGs) Emissions |
6 |
|
ENERGY |
Pollution from Energy Generation and Consumption |
6 |
|
FOREST |
Depletion and Degradation of Forest Resources |
8 |
|
WATER |
Depletion and Degradation of Water Resources |
12 |
|
NPSP |
Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Potential |
10 |
|
LAND |
Pressure and Degradation of Land Resources |
6 |
|
Total |
63 |
For the analysis on education, we use the data available from
the " 7th All India Educational Survey (AIES): All India School Education
Survey (AISES)'', published by NCERT (2002). On the health front, IMR
data is taken from Sample Registration System (SRS) Bulletins; Registrar
General of India, New Delhi and LE data is taken from Indiastat database
website (www.indiastat.com). The data on EG of the States is obtained
from EPW Research Foundation Database Software and RBI's Database
on Indian Economy.
20
4. The Results
4.1 EQI
In Table 3, we present the EQ scores and rankings of the
States for Period A, both for individual categories as well as for the
composite index. It is observed that Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra
were the toppers during this period, while Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and
Haryana had been the laggards. Interestinglythetopper Kerala, despite
a good performance in AIRPOL, GHGS, ENERGY, WATER and NPSP,
fared among the laggards in case of INDOOR, LAND and FOREST.
Karnataka had good performance in case of AIRPOL and GHGS, while
maintaining moderate performance in other categories. The third ranking
of Maharashtra, an industrialized state, is justified by the fact that the
State performed appreciably in several categories like INDOOR, GHGS,
LAND and NPSP, however the performance with respect to ENERGY,
WATER, FOREST and AIRPOL was not that satisfactory. Looking at the
other extreme, we can see that the overall rankings of laggards like
Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were influenced by their performance in
sub-categories like LAND, NPSP etc. It is observed that while some
major States like Madhya Pradesh (tenth) and West Bengal (ninth)
placed in the lower segment, others like Gujarat (sixth) and Andhra
Pradesh (seventh) had performed moderately well. Interestingly, a
relatively poorer State, Orissa, obtained the fourth rank, owing to
comparatively better performance in case of AIRPOL, ENERGY and
WATER.