Legislators, the executive and the judiciary today came on single platform to voice "serious global" concerns posed by climate change and pitched for carrying on "development without destruction" of environment to achieve sustainable growth.
Vice President Hamid Ansari, who inaugurated 'the International Conference on Global Environment Issues' here, said the key environmental challenge a developing country like India faces relate to the nexus of environmental degradation with poverty in its many dimensions and economic growth.
"It is thus important to understand the dichotomous relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation. On one hand, economic growth may result in excessive environmental degradation through use of natural resources and generation of pollution aggravated by institutional failures.
"On the other, economic growth permits improvement in environmental quality by making available the necessary resources for environmental investments and generating societal pressures for improved environmental behaviour, and institutional and policy changes. The latter is most critical to its success," the Vice President said.
Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar said the government was committed to going for "development without destruction".
He said the ministry was taking policy decisions to overcome the image "inherited" of being a "speed breaker" and "roadblock" in development and his ministry, which was known as "license permit quota raj," has been changed to "public participation ministry."
"Unfortunately, I inherited when people were saying that Environment Ministry has become road block, a speed breaker and some people were saying that you have detroyed the nature. Basically, our goal is development without destruction. So, we will grow but without destruction of nature and take due care of environment.
"We will have flag of environment protection on one hand and that of development in the other. Both have to go together," he said.
