What you cant replenish, dont finish Punjab and Haryana economies have reached the point where

concern for the environment has to kick in. It is time to build a sustainable development model. Dr ! Pachauri

P"#$%& and Haryana to'ether are re'arded as the breadbasket of India and have contributed substantially to the countrys food security. (ore importantly, they have also shown the way to prosperity throu'h rural development and have thus upheld )andhijis vision of treatin' the villa'es of India as the en'ines of development. *hese two states, with a population of appro+imately ,- million people in Punjab and over ,. million in Haryana, to'ether constitute the si/e of an economy that would compare with a major 0uropean country. However, both face some major challen'es which re1uire some reorientation of priorities and new development strate'ies.

In terms of social indicators, both are doin' reasonably well, e+cept for pockets such as the (ewat re'ion in Haryana, which still la's behind the rest of the state. However, one social indicator which is a source of deep concern is the 'ender ratio. *he percenta'e of women in Punjab, accordin' to the ,233 4ensus, was -56 females per 3,222 males, and in the case of Haryana -77 females per 3,222 males. *hese are appallin' statistics 'iven the remarkable pro'ress these states have made in other respects. 4learly, there is a need for major social reform which has to be initiated not only by the political leadership but by the intellectual class, reli'ious leaders and educators.

&eyond these social issues and the need to focus on the Human Development Inde+, there is also a need for both states to 'ive priority to the challen'e of sustainable development and inclusive 'rowth. *here is every reason to be concerned at major environmental problems. *he water table in Punjab and Haryana has been droppin' at an alarmin' rate, brou'ht about essentially by policies such as hi'hly subsidised electricity, which has led to e+cessive pumpin' of 'roundwater and its conse1uent depletion. %r'uments are made that were it not for e+ploitation of 'roundwater major increase in a'ricultural production would not have been possible. &ut this can be countered by the fact that the mar'inal cost of every unit that is now bein' pumped is becomin' hi'her, with the water table fallin' and, therefore, the cost of pumpin' increasin' disproportionately. "nderpriced 'roundwater also leads to e+cessive use of water for a'riculture and the cultivation of crops that perhaps are not 1uite suited to the resource endowments in the two states. %n e+ample can be seen in the lar'e8scale cultivation of paddy based on 'roundwater. Punjab and Haryana also have major problems of 'roundwater pollution with e+cessive use of fertilisers and pesticides. *hese impose major social costs in the form of adverse health effects. 9ubsidies on inputs like

water and chemicals used in a'riculture are leadin' to several ne'ative impacts. *hese trends, of course, have been in e+istence for decades and the time has now come to take some hard decisions, which if e+plained to the public, would 'enerally find acceptance. In particular, e+posin' the health effects of past trends and policies would have stron' emotional and, therefore, political appeal.

In 'eneral, development as practised across the world throu'hout the ,2th century has pursued a path which led to increased pollution and environmental dama'e while incomes and prosperity 'rew rapidly. &y and lar'e, environmental protection and pollution control was taken in hand only when a certain income threshold had been reached. *he relationship between income and pollution was thus defined by what is known as the 0nvironmental !u/nets 4urve. *ypically, the relationship shows an increase in income and pollution till a threshold income has been reached, after which societies have addressed environmental problems and pursued a decline in pollution and thereby an improvement in environmental 1uality as incomes increased further. :or developin' countries, pursuin' the same path can have very harmful conse1uences. We need to find a lower threshold of income beyond which environmental protection must become an important part of development. Punjab and Haryana are clearly beyond the Indian threshold which should tri''er a major effort to protect the environment.

Policies and actions must now focus on clean income8'eneratin' activities, a reduction in air pollution, curbin' overe+ploitation and pollution of 'roundwater and a major pro'ramme of afforestation. In both states the %ravalli and 9hivalik hills have been de'raded seriously, re1uirin' concerted efforts in 'reenin' them. (ore importantly, both the states are likely to face the impacts of climate chan'e to an e+tent that would affect a'ricultural yields and human health as well as water availability. In 'eneral, the impacts of climate chan'e e+acerbate e+istin' environmental and ecolo'ical stress, which Punjab and Haryana can hardly afford. )iven the si/e of the economy of the two states it is essential they spend a substantial amount of resources on ;D to address the problems of unsustainable development. &oth need to focus on creatin' a knowled'e based economy, and for this ;D efforts in every sector become important, ensurin' efficient use of ener'y, water and other resources, as well application of frontier technolo'ies such as nanotechnolo'y, biotechnolo'y and information science. )iven the intellectual calibre of leadership in both states, perhaps these new priorities in development will receive ur'ent attention, resultin' in policies and actions for the benefit of this 'eneration and those yet to come.

*he writer is Director8)eneral of *he 0ner'y ; esources Institute <*0 I=