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The Minister for Environment and Forests, Thiru A. Raja, has called for social mobilization and people's participation for environmental sustainability of the development process. Addressing the ‘Delhi Sustainable Development Summit 2005’, here today, Thiru Raja said that the intrinsic role of natural resources and the environment in development and welfare has to be mainstreamed into the overall strategy of every sector.
“A key objective of our Government is to strike a balance between development and the environment. This very issue is in fact India’s frontline policy issue. Considering this, the country’s priority concerns within the realm of sustainable development such as population growth, urbanization, wasteful consumerism, perpetuating poverty, food security, conservation of energy, environment-friendly technologies have acquired a great deal of significance in India”, he pointed out.
Observing that the process of development including industrialization and economic growth has come at a huge cost to society, to the environment and to our very future, the Minister stressed that the Government has initiated a series of corrective actions and sustainability and environment have been integrated in the planning process.
“Over the past two decades there has been a growing consensus that development strategies would have to take an integrated view of the milieu within which people live and the resources they use for generating a livelihood”, he added.
AKS/RS
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