A large number of people residing in the National Capital Region (NCR) feel that the quality of the environment around them has worsened, especially air, water and green cover.
An online survey by The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Tuesday, said a majority of the respondents blamed the attitude of people as the most important reason for littering in public spaces.
Despite the use of Compressed Natural Gas for public transport in the region, 59 per cent respondents under the age of 34 found the air quality to have worsened, whereas more than 47 per cent of those above 35 years believed that air quality had improved.
Climate change
A positive sign was that there was high awareness about global environmental concerns, such as climate change. “Internet, national newspaper and television are the most important sources of information,” the survey said.
When asked about the way out, roughly 50 per cent respondents said planting trees was the best measure. Over 80 per cent said energy-efficient labelling of electrical appliances was important.
The TERI survey was carried out in NCR and Karnataka with the aim of assessing perceptions, opinions, behaviour and citizen awareness on environmental quality. A majority of the respondents were in the age group of 25-34 years, followed by the 18-24 group.
Key concerns
In Karnataka, drinking water quality and availability were the key concerns. There, too, plantation of trees was perceived as the most important measure to address environment-related problems, followed by waste management.
Interestingly, respondents who use private transport in both the geographies, said they were willing to use public transport, but cited lack of convenience as the main reason for not doing so.