Peri-Urbanism in Globalizing India: A Study of Pollution, Health and Community Awareness

Linda Waldman, Ramila Bisht, Rajashree Saharia, Abhinav Kapoor, Bushra Rizvi, Yasir Hamid, Meghana Arora, Ima Chopra, Kumud T. Sawansi, Ritu Priya and Fiona Marshall
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Linda Waldman: Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RE, UK
Ramila Bisht: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Rajashree Saharia: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Abhinav Kapoor: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Bushra Rizvi: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Yasir Hamid: Department of Psychology, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir 190006, India
Meghana Arora: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Ima Chopra: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Kumud T. Sawansi: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Ritu Priya: Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India
Fiona Marshall: Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) and STEPS Centre, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9RH, UK

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: This paper examines the intersection between environmental pollution and people’s acknowledgements of, and responses to, health issues in Karhera, a former agricultural village situated between the rapidly expanding cities of New Delhi (India’s capital) and Ghaziabad (an industrial district in Uttar Pradesh). A relational place-based view is integrated with an interpretive approach, highlighting the significance of place, people’s emic experiences, and the creation of meaning through social interactions. Research included surveying 1788 households, in-depth interviews, participatory mapping exercises, and a review of media articles on environment, pollution, and health. Karhera experiences both domestic pollution, through the use of domestic waste water, or gandapani , for vegetable irrigation, and industrial pollution through factories’ emissions into both the air and water. The paper shows that there is no uniform articulation of any environment/health threats associated with gandapani . Some people take preventative actions to avoid exposure while others do not acknowledge health implications. By contrast, industrial pollution is widely noted and frequently commented upon, but little collective action addresses this. The paper explores how the characteristics of Karhera, its heterogeneous population, diverse forms of environmental pollution, and broader governance processes, limit the potential for citizen action against pollution.

Keywords: peri-urban; agriculture; water pollution; industrial pollution; health; collective action; urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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