Peri-Urbanism in Globalising India: Community Perspectives on Pollution and Health in

Ghaziabad

Linda Waldman, Ramila Bisht, Ritu Priya, Abhinav, Rajashree, Kumud, Bushra, Yasir, Fiona Marshall & Pritpal Singh

Aim: To understand diverse perspectives on health and risk

in Karhera, Ghaziabad.

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MethodsFieldwork between August 2014 - May 2015.

Survey of 1788 households examined household composition, caste, primary & secondary sources of livelihood, house and land ownership.

20 in-depth interviews, plus other participatory mapping and photomapping exercises

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Industrial areas near Karhera

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Pollution

Relocation of Delhi’s hazardous and polluting industries in peri-

urban Ghaziabad (Agarwal et.al., 2006).

Hindon River and underground water polluted by industries.

Large scale extraction of water for urban use lowers the water table.

“Gandapani” drain water now used for irrigation.

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Agriculture in Karhera

Karhera’s original residents relied on agriculture

Loss of agricultural land; increasing feminisation of agriculture; & decreasing animal husbandry

Industrialisation and factories led to increased in-migrancy

Water shortages have altered cropping patterns and irrigation methods

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• Peri urban

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Karhera, in Ghaziabad district

22350 residents in 2042 households in Karhera Migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Assam, West

Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, Nepal. Different socio-cultural categories: caste (Dalit,

Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Caste, and sub-divisions of upper castes such as Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Kayastha), religions (Christian, Muslim, Jain and Hindu).

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Scientific & Policy Conceptualisations of Risk

Toxic chemical use in industrial production and urban pollution

dumped in Karhera (cf. Agarwal et.al., 2006).

Scientific studies in Ghaziabad have demonstrated high concentrations of heavy metals; poor quality of groundwater and air pollution (Chadukdhara and Nema, 2012: Chabukdhara and

Nema, 2013; Sajjad, Jyoti and Uddin, 2014).

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Government recognition of polluted conditions

1990s Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board and array of other institution.

Environmental degradation began to be acknowledged.

1998 The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

excessive extraction and pollution of ground water

1999 The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

Overexploited area

2003, 2006 2010

The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB)

Dark zone and/or critical zone.

2009 The Central Environment and Pollution Index (CEPI) report

The third most critically polluted place in India (Air pollution)

2014 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report

One of the 10 most polluted areas of India (Air and water pollution)

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Emic Conceptualisations of Risk

Generally perceptions of risk are embedded in local cultural dynamics, identities and social relationships and shaped by socio-economic and cultural factors (cf. Douglas, Wildavsky, 1982; Wynne, 1992: Fisher, 2005; Gallaher et.al., 2013; Owusu, 2012).

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Half the upper-caste men and women draw a direct correlation between their health and the proximity of the factories, arguing -that the factories cause ill-health

Diabetes, Cancer, high [blood] pressure can be seen more [frequently]. There is a factory at the vicinity of this village [referring to a dye factory which colours jeans and/or a rubber factory which burns rubber]. The smoke from this factory spreads into the village. Many a time, the villagers went to the factory to get the factory chimney closed. We have also approached police about this issue but no one listens to our plea. Possibly the smoke from this is responsible for increased cases of cancer in the village.

Women: nausea, gastroenteritis, back pain, joint pain

Lower-caste inhabitants also recognize the polluting effects of the factories, but do not link this with health issues

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Over half the upper-caste informants are uncomfortable with using ‘gandipani’ and with the

consumption of produce.

The remainder do not see the spinach or exposure to the water as unhealthy.

Almost all lower-caste inhabitants consume spinach grown in sewage water and do not identify

associated health risks.

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Lower-caste residents: Some people say that they won’t eat spinach grown in dirty water. But we won’t keep borrowing clean spinach from others every day. When we grow it at our field with dirty water, we consume the dirty spinach only.  

We do not have a choice. There is no tube-well or boring [borehole] water. Out of desperation, the villagers have to use gandapani for irrigating their fields. What can people do if there is no clean water? We are all helpless. Everyone uses this gandapani in their fields.

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Conclusion

Karhera is a diverse and heterogeneous peri-urban community with diverse views on pollution, health and risk

Socio-cultural and economic factors offer inadequate explanation

Upper-caste members are either risk ‘deniers’ or risk ‘accepters’, lower-caste members are risk ‘deniers’,

This reflects different survival strategies and the ambiguity of rapid urbanization?

This ambiguity is echoed in formal government contexts, where scientific literature has informed government institutions, but not implementation.