Environment a top priority for many Indians: Survey

Over 90 percent people believe that climate change is a reality and rated environment as a top priority, a survey conducted in eight Indian cities by TERI revealed Wednesday on the eve of World Environment Day.

The "Environmental Survey 2014" was carried out by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in eight cities and found that people perceived air quality had worsened and the number of bird species in their cities had also declined.

The survey highlighted that over 70 percent of respondents were aware of water being subsidized, and over half of them felt that the price of water should be charged as per usage. Besides, almost 90 percent felt that improper waste management imposed "severe" to moderate health hazards.

Furthermore, 97 percent of the respondents were in favour of completely banning polythene bags.

TERI has given a set of recommendations to the new government to deal with environment issues like the formation of a committee to address issues related to water.

Others included implementation of BS-VI fuel quality and vehicular norms across all cities to improve air quality; drafting a formal waste management policy to address the diverse waste streams and a mechanism to create and promote a market for recycled products; and to address the country's energy security concerns, a co-ordinated approach cutting across various energy sub-sectors like coal, oil, gas etc. to push forward an energy policy.