As firms head to India, need to clean up cities

Context: As the firms are relocating from China to India in the wake of the pandemic, there is a need to take lessons from China to solve pollution related problems.

Need for attracting firms:

• Discouraged investors’ sentiments: Moody’s downgrade of the economy to just one notch above junk category.
• Bad decision- making and lack of financial reforms.
• Rising unemployment: needs labor-intensive firms to take over.
• The 3 wealthiest and most industrial regions affected: Mumbai, Gujarat, and Delhi need immediate reviving.

Lessons from China: 

• Following the footsteps of China: draw in foreign firms, and provinces to benefit from the investment.

• Devolution of Authority: to the provinces to allow the growth of industries, resulting in ‘towns and village enterprises’; enhanced coal mining and iron/steel production.
• Increasing the number of coals mined for iron and steel industries.
• Neglect of Environmental laws: Environmental protection Law (1979) ware relegated to the background by the provincial leader.

• Inevitable environmental disasters: due to lack of environmental strictures

• 2011: A US-China Joint Venture led to one of the worst oil spills in history in the Bohai Bay area. US escaped with an out of court settlement 
• 2014: Apple was fined for flouting environmental norms that included the dumping of industrial waste into rivers.

• Recognized importance of the environment

• Tightened environmental laws, 2013: after ‘Airpocalypse’, when thick smog began to engulf China.

• Amended laws: in 2015, allowed NGOs and citizens to report violations to enforce laws.
• Closing of factories: including 80,000 of them to be held directly responsible for environmental woes and fined eventually.

Failure on India’s part:

• In understanding the true nature of relocation: Firms are pulling out also because China is finally putting its citizens’ health above other interests. 

• Trade war, the wake of the virus scare, and global condemnation are just the present reasons.

• Neglecting Environmental Consequences: The relaxing of the labour laws by UP, has been rewarded with a German leather shoemaker.

• Leather is a highly polluting industry that may thwart the efforts of cleaning Ganga.
• Other companies associated with producing Apple iPhone parts are also moving to India.

• Lack of infrastructure and its inability to handle the virus: negatively impact its attractiveness as a destination.

Way Froward:

• Clean up the cities that power India’s economy

• Thinning out population density
• Relocating polluting industries to specific industrial areas, imposing strong environmental regulations. 

• Take heed from China: Avoid China’s biggest mistake, i.e. overproduction and consumption of coal
• India-powered by Sun: The vision of PM  should be aired again. Beijing can be invited to power country using its expertise as domestic injury is suffering from over-expansion.