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• Published: 08 July 2022

A critical examination of a community-led ecovillage initiative: a case of Auroville, India

• Abhishek Koduvayur Venkitaraman   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8515-257X 1 &
• Neelakshi Joshi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8947-1893 2  

Climate Action volume  1 , Article number:  15 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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• Sustainability

Human settlements across the world are attempting to address climate change, leading to changing paradigms, parameters, and indicators for defining the path to future sustainability. In this regard, the term ecovillage has been increasingly used as models for sustainable human settlements. While the term is new, the concept is an old one: human development in harmony with nature. However, materially realizing the concept of an ecovillage is not without challenges. These include challenges in scaling up and transferability, negative regional impacts and struggles of functioning within larger capitalistic and growth-oriented systems. This paper presents the case of Auroville, an early attempt to establish an ecovillage in Southern India. We draw primarily from the ethnographic living and working experience of the authors in Auroville as well as published academic literature and newspaper articles. We find that Auroville has proven to be a successful laboratory for providing bottom-up, low cost and context-specific ecological solutions to the challenges of sustainability. However, challenges of economic and social sustainability compound as the town attempts to scale up and grow.

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Introduction.

Scientists have repeatedly argued and emphasized for an equilibrium between human development and the basic ecological support systems of the planet (IPCC 2014 ; United Nations 1987 ). Human settlements have been important in this regard as places of concentrated human activity (Edward & Matthew E, 2010 ; Scott and Storper 2015 ). Settlement planning has responded to this call through visions of the eco-city as a proposal for building the city like a living system with a land use pattern supporting the healthy anatomy of the whole city and enhance its biodiversity, while resonating its functions with sustainability (Barton 2013 ; Register 1987 ; Roseland 1997 ). In planning practice, this means balancing between economic growth, social justice, and environmental well-being (Campbell 1996 ). However, the concept of eco-cities remains top-down in its approach with city authorities taking a lead in involving the civil society and citizens to implement the city’s environment plan (Joss 2010a , b ).

Contrary to the idea of eco-cities, ecovillages are small-scale, bottom-up sites for experimentation around sustainable living. Ecovillages resonate the same core principles of an eco-city but combine the social, ecological, and spiritual aspects of human existence (Gilman 1991 ). Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland is one of the oldest and most prominent ecovillages in the world and has collaborations with the United Nations and was named as a best practice community (Lockyer and Veteto 2013 ).

Another notable example is the Transitions Town movement that started in Totnes, United Kingdom but has now spread all over the world (Hopkins 2008 ; Smith 2011 ). The movement focuses upon supporting community-led responses to peak oil and climate change, building resilience and happiness. Additionally, it emphasizes rebuilding local agriculture and food production, localizing energy production along with rediscovering local building materials in the context of zero energy building (Hopkins 2008 ). Ecological districts within the urban fabric are also termed as ecovillages (Wolfram 2017 ).

Ecovillages are intentional communities characterized by alternative lifestyles, values, economics and governance systems (Joss 2010a , b ; Ergas 2010 ). At the same time ecovillages are located within and interact with growth-oriented capitalistic systems (Price et al. 2020 ). This dichotomy presents a challenge for ecovillages as they put ideas of sustainability transformation into practice. We explore some of these contradictions through the case study of Auroville, an ecovillage located in southern India. A discussion on the gaps between the ideas of an ecovillage against their lived reality throws light upon the challenges that ecovillages face when they attempt to grow. We begin by elaborating the key characteristics of ecovillages in the “Characteristics of ecovillages” section. We then present our material and methods in the “Methodology” section. Furthermore, we use the key characteristics of an ecovillage as a framework for analysing and discussing Auroville in the “Auroville, an ecovillage in South India” and “Discussion” sections. We conclude with a reflection on the concept of ecovillages.

Characteristics of ecovillages

The concept of an ecovillage is broad and has multiple interpretations. Based on a reading of the existing literature on ecovillages, we summarize some of their key characteristics here:

Alternative lifestyles and values : Ecovillage can be seen as intentional communities (Ergas 2010 ) and social movements which have a common stance against unsustainable modes of living and working (Kirby 2003 ; Snow et al. 2004 ). Ecovillages advocate for achieving an alternate lifestyle involving a considerable shift in power from globalized values to those internalized in local community autonomy. Therefore many ecovillages aspire to restructure power distribution and foster a spirit of collective and transparent decision-making (Boyer 2015 ; Cunningham and Wearing 2013 ). However, it is difficult to convince many people to believe in a common value system since the vision is to establish a world that is not only ecologically sustainable but also personally rewarding in terms of self-sacrifice for a good cause (Anderson 2015 ).

Governance : ecovillages tend to rely on a community-based governance and there is an assumption that the local and regional communities respond more effectively to local environmental problems since these problems pertain to the local context and priorities (Van Bussel et al. 2020 ). In a community-based governance system, activities are organized and carried out through participatory democracy committed to consensual decision-making. However, participatory democracy has its own set of problems. Consensual decision-making is time-consuming, and the degree of participation tends to vary from time to time (Fischer 2017 ). Participatory processes have also been criticized on the grounds for slowing down the decision-making process and resulting in a weak final agreement which doesn’t balance competing interests (Alterman et al. 1984 ).

Economic models in an ecovillages : ecovillages have attempted to combine economic objectives along with the overall well-being of people and have experimented with budgetary solutions appealing to a wider society (Hall 2015 ). As grassroots initiatives, ecovillages have advocated and practised living in community economies (Roelvink and Gibson-Graham 2009 ) and have influenced twentieth century economic practices beyond their geographical boundaries (Boyer 2015 ). Due to the emphasis on sharing in ecovillages, they can be considered to accommodate diverse economies (Gibson-Graham 2008 ) where human needs are met through relational exchanges and non-monetary practices, highlighting strong social ties (Waerther 2014 ). In some ecovillages, living expenses are reduced by sharing costly assets and saving cost on building materials by bulk buying and growing food for community consumption and sale (Pickerill 2017 ). These economic models have their own merit but are perhaps insufficient for the long-term economic sustainability of ecovillages (Price et al. 2020 ). Eventually, ecovillages might have to rely on external sources to import goods and services which cannot be produced on-site. This contradicts the ecovillage principles of being a self-reliant economy, reduction of its carbon footprint and minimizing resource consumption, thus implying a dependence on the market economy of the region (Bauhardt 2014 ).

Self-sufficiency : fulfilling the community’s needs within the available resources is a cornerstone principle for many ecovillages (Gilman 1991 ). This is often achieved through organic farming, permaculture, renewable energy and co-housing. Such measures are an attempt to offset and mitigate unsustainable development and limit the ecovillage’s ecological footprint (Litfin 2009 ). The initial small scale of the community often allows for this. However, as ecovillages grow in size and complexity, the interconnectedness and inter-dependence to the surrounding space become more apparent (Joss 2010a , b ). Examples include drawing resources from central energy and water systems (Xue 2014 ). Furthermore, ecovillages might turn out to be desirable places to live, with better quality of life, driving up land and property prices in the region as well as carbon emissions with additional visitors (Mössner and Miller 2015 ). Furthermore, in their role as catalysts of change in transforming society, ecovillages need to interact with their external surroundings and neighbouring communities, the municipalities, and the state and national level policies (Dawson and Lucas 2006 ; Kim 2016 ). This is particularly relevant in the Global South, where the ecovillage development has the potential to drive regional-scale sustainable development.

The characteristics of an ecovillage, however, do not exist in a geographical vacuum. Scholarly understanding of ecovillages as bottom-up efforts to drive sustainability transitions largely draw from the experiences of the Global North (Wagner 2012 ). Such ecovillage models often challenge the dominant capitalistic paradigm of post-industrial development, overconsumption and growth. Locating ecovillages in the Global South requires an expansion or re-evaluation of their larger socio-economic context as well as their socio-ecological impacts (Dias et al. 2017 ; Litfin 2009 ) .

To build upon the opportunities and challenges of ecovillages, locating them within the context of the Global South, we present the case of Auroville, an ecovillage located in southern India.

Methodology

We use the initial theoretical framework of ecovillage characteristics as a starting point for developing the case study of Auroville. Here, we draw from academic literature published about Auroville during 1968–2021. We also draw inferences from self-published reports and documents by the Auroville Foundation. Although we cover multiple interconnected aspects of Auroville, the characteristics pertaining to an ecovillage remain the focus of our work. We review the literature sources deductively, drawing on aspects of values, governance, economics and self-reliance, established in the previous section.

We triangulate the secondary data sources against our ethnographic experience of having lived and worked in Auroville for extended periods of time (2010–2012 and 2013–2014, respectively). We have worked in Auroville as architects and urban planners. During this time, we participated in multiple meetings on Auroville’s development as part of our work. We have discussed aspects of Auroville’s sustainability with Aurovillians working on diverse aspects, from urban planning to regional integration. Furthermore, living and working in Auroville brought us in conversation with several individuals from villages surrounding Auroville, employed in Auroville. For writing this case study, we have revisited our lived experience of Auroville through memory, research and work diaries maintained during this period, photographs as well our previously published research articles (Venkitaraman 2017 ; Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). Given our expertise in architecture and planning, we have also presented the translation of the key characteristics of an ecovillage, namely, alternative values, governance and economic systems and self-reliance, in these domains.

We acknowledge certain limitations to our methodology. We rely largely on secondary data to expand upon the challenges and contradictions in an ecovillage. We have attempted to overcome this by drawing from our first-hand experience of having lived in Auroville. Although our lived experiences are almost a decade old, we have attempted to compliment it with recently published articles as well as newspaper reports.

The next section presents Auroville as an ecovillage followed by a critical examination of its regional impact, governance, and economic structure.

Auroville, an ecovillage in South India

Foundational values.

Sri Aurobindo was an Indian philosopher and spiritual leader who believed that “man is a transitional being” and developed the practice of integral yoga with the aim of evolving humans into divine beings (Sen 2018 ). His spiritual consort, Mirra Alfassa realized his ideas in material form through a “universal township” which would hopefully contribute to “progress of humanity towards its splendid future”. Auroville was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa, as a township near Pondicherry, India. Alfassa envisioned Auroville to be a “site of material and spiritual research for a living embodiment of an actual human unity” (Alfassa 1968 ). On 28 February 1968, the city was inaugurated with the support of UNESCO and the participation of people from 125 countries who each brought a handful of earth from their homelands to an urn that stands at its centre as a symbolic representation of human unity, the aim of the project. This spiritual foundation has guided the development of the socio-economic structure of Auroville for individual and collective growth (Shinn 1984 ). To translate these spiritual ideas into a material form, Mirra Alfassa provided simple sketches, a Charter, and guiding principles towards human unity (Sarkar 2015 ).

Roger Anger, a French architect translated Alfassa’s dream into the Auroville City Plan that continues to inform the physical development of Auroville (Kundoo 2009 ). The Auroville Masterplan 2025 envisions Auroville to be a circular township (Fig. 1 ) spread over a 20 sq. km (Auroville Foundation 2001 ). Initially planned for a population of 50,000 people, today Auroville today has 3305 residents hailing from 60 countries (Auroville Foundation 2021 ). Since its early days, there has been a divide between the “organicists” and the “constructionists” of Auroville (Kapur 2021 ). The organicists have a bottom-up vision of low impact and environmentally friendly development whereas the constructionists have a top-down vision of sticking with the original masterplan and realize an urban, dense version of Auroville.

A map of Auroville and its surrounding regions, with the main villages in the area

Auroville has served as a laboratory of low-cost and low-impact building construction, transportation, and city planning. Although the term sustainability has not been explicitly used in the Charter, it has been central to the city planning and building development process in Auroville (Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). Unlike many human settlements that negatively impact their ecology, the foundational project of Auroville was land restoration. The initial residents of Auroville were able to grow back parts of the Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest in and around Auroville using top-soil conservation and rainwater harvesting techniques (Blanchflower 2005 ). While the ecological restoration has been lauded both locally and globally, Namakkal ( 2012 ) argues that it is seldom acknowledged that the land was bought from local villagers at low prices and local labour was used to plant the forest as well as build the initial city. At the time of writing this paper, the Auroville Foundation still needs to secure 17% of the land in the city area and nearly 50% of the land for the green belt to realize the original masterplan. However, land prices have gone up substantially as have conflicts in acquiring this land for Auroville (Namakkal 2012 ).

Governance structure

While the Charter of Auroville says that “Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole” (Alfassa 1968 ), in reality, it is governed by a well-defined set of individuals. Auroville’s first few years, between 1968 and 1973, were guided directly by Mirra Alfassa. After her passing, there was a power struggle between the Sri Aurobindo Society, claiming control over the project, and the community members striving for autonomy (Kapur 2021 ).

The Government of India founded the Auroville Foundation Act in 1988 providing in the public interest, the acquisition of all assets and undertakings relatable to Auroville. These assets were ultimately vested in the Auroville Foundation which was formed in January 1991 (Auroville. 2015 ). The Auroville Foundation envisioned a notion of a planned future, resulting in a new masterplan in 1994. This masterplan encouraged participatory planning and recognized that the architectural vision needs to proceed in a democratic manner. This prompted the Auroville community to adopt a more structured form of governance. The Auroville Foundation has other governing institutions under it, namely: The Governing Board which has overall responsibility for Auroville’s development, The International Advisory Council, which advises the Governing Board on the management of the township and the Residents’ Assembly who organize activities relating to Auroville and formulate the master plan. Furthermore, there are committees and working groups for different aspects of development from waste management to building development.

Auroville is an example of the ‘bottom-up’ approach, in the sense that developments are decided and implemented by the community and the state level and national level governments get involved later (Sarkar 2015 ). An example of this is seen in the regular meetings held by the Town Development Council of Auroville which also conducted a weeklong workshop in 2019 for the community which covered themes such as place-making, dimensions of water and strategies for liveable cities and community planning (Ministry of Human Reource Development Government of India 2021 ).

Conflicts often arise between the interpretation of the initial masterplan and the present day realities and aspiration of the residents (Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). This is often rooted in the initial vision of Auroville as a city of 50,000 versus its current reality of being an ecovillage of around 3000 people. Spatially, this unusual growth pattern has been problematic in Auroville’s building and mobility planning (Venkitaraman 2017 ). At the time of writing this paper, there is a clash between the Residents’ Assembly and the Auroville Foundation over the felling of trees for the construction of the Crown Road project inside Auroville (The Hindu 2021 ). While the Residents’ Assembly wants a re-working of the original masterplan considering the ecological damage through tree cutting, the Auroville Foundation wants to move ahead with the original city vision.

Beyond its boundaries, Auroville is surrounded by numerous rural settlements, namely, Kuyilapalyam, Edayanchavadi, Alankuppam, Kottakarai, and Attankarai. The Auroville Village Action Group (AVAG) aims to help the village communities to strive towards sustainability and find plausible solutions to the problems of contemporary rural life. In September 1970, a charter was circulated among the sub-regional villages of Auroville, promising better employment opportunities and higher living standards with improved health and sanitation facilities (Social Research Centre Auroville 2005 ). Currently, there are about 13 groups for the development of the Auroville sub-region. However, Jukka ( 2006 ) points out that the regional development vision of Auroville is top-down and does not sufficiently engage with the villagers and their aspirations.

Auroville’s economic model

Auroville has also strived to move away from money as a foundation of society to a distinctive economic model exchange and sharing (Kapoor 2007 ). However, Auroville needs money to realize its multiple land and building projects. Auroville also receives various donations and grants. During 2018–2019, Auroville received around Rs. 2396 lakhs (around 4 million USD) under Foreign Contributions Regulation Act (FCRA) and other donations. The Central Government of India supports the Auroville Foundation with annual grants for Auroville’s management and for the running costs of the Secretariat of the Foundation, collectively known as Grant-in-Aid. Auroville received a total of Rs. 1463 lakhs (around 2 million USD) as Grant-in-Aid during 2018–2019. The income generated by Auroville during this time was Rs. 687 lakhs (around 91,000 USD) (Ministry of Human Reource Development Government of India 2021 ).

Presently, the economy of Auroville is based on manufacturing units and services with agriculture being an important sector, and currently, there are about 100 small and medium manufacturing units. The service sector of Auroville comprises of construction and architectural services and research and training in various sectors (Auroville Foundation 2001 ). In addition to this, tourism is another important source of income generation for Auroville. As per the Annual Report of Auroville Foundation, the donations and income have not been consistent over the years. In this regard, Auroville’s growth pattern in terms of the economy has not been linear and it does not mimic the usual growth patterns associated with the development of counterparts, in terms of capitalization, finance, governance, and on key issues such as distribution policies and ownership rights (Thomas and Thomas 2013 ).

Auroville also benefits from labour from the surrounding villages. The nature of employment provided in Auroville to villages remains largely in low-paying jobs (Namakkal 2012 ). It can be argued that the fruits of Auroville’s development have not been equally shared with the surrounding villages and a feeling of ‘us and them’ still pervades. Striving for human unity is the central tenet of Auroville (Shinn 1984 ), however, it has struggled to do so with its immediate neighbours.

Striving for self-sufficiency

Auroville has strived for self-sufficiency in terms of food production from local farms, energy production from renewable sources like solar and wind sources and waste management.

Many prominent buildings of Auroville have been designed keeping in mind the self-sufficiency principle in Auroville. For example, the Solar Kitchen was designed by architect Suhasini Ayer as a demonstration project to tap the solar energy potential of the region. At present, this building is used for cooking meals thrice a day for over 1000 people. The Solar Kitchen also supports the organic farming sector in Auroville by being the primary purchaser of the locally grown products (Ayer 1997 ). Another example is the Auroville Earth Institute, renowned for its Compressed and Stabilized Earth Block (CSEB) technique, which constitute natural and locally found soil as one of its main ingredients (Figs. 2 and 3 ).

Compressed earth blocks manufactured by Auroville Earth Institute

A residence in Auroville constructed using compressed earth blocks

However, it is important to acknowledge that Auroville does not exist as a 100% self-sufficient bubble. For example, food produced in Auroville provides for only 15% of the consumption (Auroville Foundation 2004 ). An initial attempt to calculate the ecological footprint of Auroville estimates it to be 2.5 Ha, against the average footprint of an Indian of 0.8 Ha (Greenberg 1998 ). Furthermore, though Auroville has strived for material innovation in architecture, it has not been successful in achieving 25 sq. metres as the limit to individual living space (Walsky and Joshi 2013 ). This challenges the notion of Auroville continuing to be an ecovillage if it aspires to be a city of 50,000 people and might end up having substantial ecological impact on its surroundings.

Urban sustainability transformation in a rapidly urbanizing world runs into the risk of focusing on technological fixes while overlooking the social and ecological impacts of growth. In this light, bottom-up initiatives like ecovillages serve as a laboratory for testing alternative and holistic models of development. Auroville, a 53-year-old ecovillage in southern India, has achieved this to a certain extent. Auroville is a showcase of land regeneration, biodiversity restoration, alternative building technologies as well as experimentations in alternative governance and economic models. In this paper, we have critically examined some achievements and challenges that Auroville has faced in realizing its initial vision of being a “city that the world needs” (Alfassa 1968 ). Lessons learnt from Auroville help deepen our understanding of ecovillages as sites of fostering alternative development practices. Here we discuss three aspects of this research:

Alternate lifestyles and values in the context of an ecovillage : Ecovillages are niches providing space for realizing alternative values and lifestyles. However, ecovillages seldom exist in a vacuum. They are physically situated in existing societies and economies. Although residents in an ecovillage seek to achieve collective identity by creating an alternative society, an ecovillage is embedded within a larger culture and thus, the prevailing ideologies of the dominant society affect the ecovillage (Ergas 2010 ) as seen in Auroville. This can be noticed between the material and knowledge flows in and out of Auroville. Furthermore, the India of the 1970s when Auroville was born with socialist values is very different from present-day India where material and capitalistic aspirations are on the rise. These are reflected in higher land prices and living costs in and around Auroville. Amidst the transforming political landscape of India in the 1970s, there were implications which were seen in the character of architectural production. Auroville welcomed and immersed itself into this era of experimentation. These developments form an integral part of the ethos of Auroville. To achieve its initial visions, Auroville depends on multiple external economic sources. In analysing ecovillages, it is important to critically examine the broader context within which they are located and how they influence and, in turn, are influenced by their contexts.

Even though Auroville’s architects and urban planners remain committed to their belief that architecture is a primary tool of community - building, decades later, the developments seem to have progressed at a slow pace. The number of permanently settled residents in Auroville has barely reached 2000 currently and the overall urban design remains fragmentary. Despite witnessing a slower rate of progress, it has been able to sustain a culture of innovation and Auroville remains utopian in its aim to create an alternative lifestyle (Scriver and Srivastava 2016 ).

Governance, economy, and self-sufficiency in an ecovillage that wants to be an eco-city : In growth-based societies, ecovillages present the possibility of providing an alternative vision of degrowth (Xue 2014 ). However, Auroville currently functions as an ecovillage that aspires to be an eco-city as per its initial masterplan. This growth-based model sometimes conflicts with Auroville’s vision of being a self-reliant, non-monetary society. Given the urgent need to remain within our planetary limits, ecovillages like Auroville could re-evaluate their initial growth-based visions and explore alternatives for achieving sustainability and well-being. The visions of ecovillages should thus not be set in stone, but rather remain flexible to evolving ideas and practices (Ergas 2010 ).

Similarly, governance structures might need a re-evaluation with changing priorities within the ecovillage as well as a need to be inclusive of regional visions and voices. It would be intriguing to explore on what kind of governance model/leadership is best suited to fulfil the aims of an ecovillage. Auroville seems to follow the elements of sustainability-oriented governance: empowerment, engagement, communication, openness and transparency (Bubna-Litic 2008 ), yet it is seen that conflicts arise. One solution to this could be greater external engagement with government and continuing to engage the external community about Auroville. Generally, intentional communities are organized by embracing the ideology of consensus, but it remains to be seen whether the consensus decision-making model works to its full potential in the context of alternative lifestyles. When individuals seek alternative lifestyles in the current world, there is a shift from globalized values towards local community autonomy, this shift demands a need for processes that allow for a different and more equitable approach to governance (Cunningham and Wearing 2013 ).

Ecovillages in the Global South : Situating ecovillages in the Global South requires a nuanced examination of the social, economic, and environmental aspects of sustainability that the ecovillage aims to achieve (Dias et al. 2017 ; Litfin 2009 ). In the case of Auroville, Auroville has helped bring back ecologically restorative practices in forestry, agriculture, and architecture in the region. However, the average Aurovillian has a higher standard of living than the neighbouring villagers. This in-turn influences the material consumption practices within the community. The lessons in sustainable living, in ecovillages located in the Global South, need not be unidirectional (from the ecovillage to the surrounding society). Rather, the ecovillage also stands to lean from the existing models of low-impact living.

Ecovillages in the Global South such as Auroville face similar problems related to Governance as seen in some other ecovillages in the developed world such as The Aldinga Arts Village in South Australia (Bubna-Litic 2008 ) and in Sweden (Bardici 2014 ). However, despite the issues related to consensus in Governance, the ecovillages are noted for their sustainable innovations.

Auroville’s sustainable measures have been endorsed by the Government of India as well. The Auroville Master Plan for 2000–2025 has been dedicated to creating an environmentally sustainable urban settlement which integrates the neighbourhood rural areas. The surrounding Green Belt, intended to be a fertile zone is presently being used for applied research in various sectors such as water management, food production, and soil conservation. The results promise a replicable model which could be used in urban and rural areas alike (Kapoor 2007 ).

To address the expansion and re-evaluation of the larger socio-economic context of Auroville and its socio-ecological impacts, as enunciated by Dias et al. ( 2017 ) and Kutting and Lipschutz (2009), a proposal for a sustainable regional plan was prepared in 2012 jointly by Government of India, ADEME (French Environment and Energy Management Agency), INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and PondyCAN (An NGO which works to preserve and enhance the natural, social, cultural and spiritual environment of Pondicherry). The report was prepared and aimed to be a way forward for unique and diverse communities to grow together as a single entity and to develop a holistic model for future development in this region. This report takes into consideration the surrounding villages and districts around Auroville: Puducherry, Viluppuram and Cuddalore (ADEME, INTACH, PondyCAN,, and Government of India 2012 ).

The concept of eco-cities in urban planning is defined as utopias, hard to achieve standards of human settlements. Ecovillages emerge as small-scale realization of the ideas of an eco-city. Over the years, the alternative practices of Auroville have served as an educational platform for researchers, students, and the civil society alike. However, realizing alternative ecological lifestyles, governance and economic system and self-sufficiency struggle with challenges and contradictions as the ecovillage interact with a larger growth-oriented capitalistic system. Although ecovillages are sites of experimentation, they are seldom insular space. Regional impacts of and on ecovillage are important in analysing their developmental trajectories. Finally, the vision of ecovillages needs to evolve as the ecovillage as well is surroundings grow and change. Experiments in ecovillages like Auroville remind us that alternative visions of human settlements come with opportunities and challenges and are a work-in-progress in achieving a more sustainable future. There is further potential to understand the consensus-based approach and the governance models in an ecovillage in a better manner.

It can be deduced from the findings that ecovillages as catalysts of urban sustainability have a lot of potentials and challenges. The potential is in terms of devising an alternate lifestyle based on an alternative style of governance while the challenges include the local ecological impact and the difficulty in consensus about certain things. There is a future possibility to explore other conditions which facilitate the mainstream translation of ecovillage practices and how future ecovillages can progress to the next level (Kim 2016 ; Norbeck 1999 ).

Availability of data and materials

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

ADEME, INTACH, PondyCAN, & Government of India (2012) Sustainable Regional Planning Framework for Puducherry. Viluppuram, Auroville and Cuddalore

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Koduvayur Venkitaraman, A., Joshi, N. A critical examination of a community-led ecovillage initiative: a case of Auroville, India. Clim Action 1 , 15 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44168-022-00016-3

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Suggested citation: TNGCC and CEEW. 2024. Tamil Nadu’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Pathways for Net-Zero Transition . Chennai: Tamil Nadu Green Climate Company, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Forest, Government of Tamil Nadu; and Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).

With a gross state domestic product (GSDP) of INR 23.64 lakh crore in 2022–23, Tamil Nadu (TN) contributes nearly 10 per cent to India’s overall gross domestic product (GDP). As a leading industrial state, it has an ambitious target of becoming a USD 1 trillion economy by 2030–31. Given that TN is a growing economy with a stabilising population, its energy needs are also expected to significantly increase in the future, notably in key sectors such as transport, industry and building. In this context, the Government of Tamil Nadu embarked upon an exercise to develop the state’s long-term net-zero (NZ) emissions transition plan. TN undertook a scientific and rigorous energy systems modelling exercise to inform the state’s vision and sectoral pathways to achieve NZ emissions.

• Updating TN’s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions inventory
• Assessing long-term energy demand and associated carbon emissions
• Analysing a Business as Usual (BAU) scenario to estimate TN’s energy needs until 2070 and economy-wide Net-Zero (NZ) emissions pathways through which TN could potentially achieve NZ emissions by 2070
• Understanding the sectoral implications of a BAU scenario until 2070 and sectoral pathways for TN to achieve NZ emissions by 2070
• Assessing the carbon sequestration potential of the Green TN (GTN) Mission

Key Highlights

• TN saw an 84 per cent rise in overall Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions between 2005 and 2019.
• Net-zero is as much about economic transformation as it is about climate change.
• Understanding when the state’s emissions could peak is as important as the choice of net-zero year.
• The pursuit of net-zero emissions results in massive electrification of end-use energy consumption.
• The efficiency of the energy system increases as a result of this massive electrification and dedicated efforts to enhance energy efficiency.
• Power sector decarbonisation paves the way for other sectors to decarbonise.
• TN needs nearly 475 GW of solar and 90 GW of wind power (including offshore) to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Thus, it is imperative to reassess the state’s solar and wind potential.
• Nearly 17 GW of offshore wind capacity is required to meet the 2070 net-zero target.
• Compared to 2005, the overall energy sector emission intensity of TN’s GSDP needs to reduce by 46 per cent in 2030 and 87 per cent in 2050 to achieve net-zero emissions
• The Green Tamil Nadu (GTN) Mission has the potential to sequester CO2 emissions worth 19–25 MtCO2 per annum.

HAVE A QUERY?

Executive summary

Climate change impacts are increasingly being felt worldwide, and emissions mitigation commitments by countries and companies have picked up the pace. This has been especially true since the release of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels that called for achieving global net-zero (NZ) emissions by the middle of the century (Fischlin et al. 2018). At the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, India demonstrated its climate leadership by announcing that it would achieve NZ carbon emissions by 2070 . This will require significant transformation across key sectors that produce and consume energy, such as agriculture, industry, power, transport, building and waste. Each state in India will have distinct low-carbon transition pathways depending on its current level of economic development, resource availability, and socio-political context. As a developing economy, Tamil Nadu (TN) is bound to witness increased economic growth in the near future, resulting in higher per-capita income and urbanisation levels, which will further lead to increased energy demand and emissions across sectors contributing to the economy. The challenge for TN, then, is to identify and chart out decarbonisation pathways for the aforementioned sectors, while not compromising on the prospects of economic growth. In addition, TN will need to identify and nurture technologies and financing that will enable its NZ transition. A commitment to NZ emissions, therefore, requires consistent efforts to adopt low-carbon pathways across various sectors in the near, medium, and long term. Our analysis based on the latest greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory and long-term projection for emissions in business as usual (BAU) and NZ scenarios reveals important trends and provides the following significant insights.

TN saw an 84 per cent rise in overall GHG emissions between 2005 and 2019

From around 100 Million tons of Carbon di-oxide Equivalent (MtCO2eq) in 2005, TN’s overall GHG emissions rose to 184 MtCO2eq in 2019. In this year, the state’s energy sector accounted for 77 per cent of the total emissions at 141 MtCO2eq. Other key sectors include the Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU) sector emitting around 22.5 MtCO2eq, accounting for around 12 per cent of the overall emissions, followed by the Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) and Waste sectors at approximately 11 MtCO2eq and 9.5 MtCO2eq, accounting for around 6 per cent and 5 per cent each.

Net zero is as much about economic transformation as it is about climate change

NZ ambition entails reducing GHG emissions across key energy producing and consuming sectors. The face of mobility will change from fossil-based to low-carbon mobility , necessitating a significant change in the automobile industry set up. Industrial energy use will have to be largely electrified, having implications through pass through of electricity prices. Rapid renewable energy penetration will present significant opportunities for investment and job creation. Therefore, it is critical to view NZ transition as a larger economic transformation that has profound implications for the future economy of TN.

Understanding when could the state’s emissions peak is as important as the choice of NZ year

Peak year is defined as the year in which absolute economy-wide emissions peak, following which there will be a continuous drop in emissions. Given the diverse economic profiles of various states in India, the shape of emissions pathway for various states, including at what level and which year they will peak, would be different. Understanding this critical milestone is critical for various stakeholders in the state.

Overall CO2 emissions in the BAU (a) and NZ (b) scenarios

Source: Authors’ analysis

The pursuit of NZ emissions results in massive electrification of end-use energy consumption

A net-zero scenario necessitates electrification of the various end use sectors. Total electricity consumption in 2070 Tamil Nadu in the NZ scenario is 75% higher than that in the BAU scenario. In 2020, the building and industry sectors in the state consume about 44 per cent and 42 per cent of the total electricity respectively, while agriculture accounts for 13 per cent, and the transport sector accounts for a negligible 1 per cent. In projections for the future, the electricity demand for NZ emissions is higher for all sectors, and transport sees an exponential growth, accounting for 24 per cent of the share in 2070. Therefore, this key insight pertains to the criticality of the power sector and the imperative to significantly ramp up renewable generation capacity to meet growing consumption needs.

Electricity consumption, by sector, in the BAU (a) and NZ (b) scenarios

The efficiency of the energy system increases as a result of this massive electrification and dedicated efforts to enhance energy efficiency

Our assessment shows that significant efficiency gains are obtained from the large-scale electrification of end-use sectors. In addition, dedicated interventions to enhance energy efficiency across sectors will have to be undertaken. Compared to 2020, the energy intensity of TN’s GSDP has to reduce by 24 per cent in 2030 and 55 per cent in 2050 to achieve NZ emissions. TN’s total electricity consumption for 2020–21 stood at around 110 BUs. Electrification and energy efficiency gains imply mean annual energy savings in 2070 could be equivalent to nearly three times that of current electricity consumption.

Final energy demand, by sector, in the BAU (a) and NZ (b) scenarios

Power sector decarbonisation paves the way for other sectors to decarbonise

In the NZ scenario, power sector emissions are projected to peak at around 157 MtCO2 in 2040, followed by the building sector at 20 MtCO2 in 2045, and the transport and industry sectors at nearly 62 and 50 MtCO2 in 2050, respectively. This signifies that the power sector holds the highest emissions mitigation potential and is key for other end-use energy consumption sectors to successfully decarbonise, given the extent of electrification observed in the NZ scenario. It is imperative that early focus of decarbonisation efforts is in the power sector, where many technologies are already cost competitive.

TN needs nearly 475 GW of solar and 90 GW of wind power (including offshore) to achieve NZ emissions by 2070, it is imperative to reassess the state’s solar and wind potential

Our assessment indicates that TN will need to procure power from outside the state in the future in both the NZ and BAU scenarios. The need for electrification of the end use sectors to achieve the goals of net-zero necessitates the need for significant renewable energy capacity addition over the coming decades. It requires TN to add around 9 GW of solar capacity and 2 GW of wind capacity on average every year, with capacity addition growing at compounded annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 8 and 4 per cent, respectively, for solar and wind. According to TN’s energy policy note from 2023–24, one of the targets is to increase the installed capacity of solar to 20 GW over a period of 10 years, indicating that the state is on track in the near term to achieve NZ emissions in the long term. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has conservatively estimated that 17 GW of solar capacity can be obtained using 3 per cent of wasteland area (PIB, 2024). However, other estimates indicate that there is much greater potential, which has to be reassessed in the light of the net-zero target.

Electricity generation, by fuel, in the BAU (a) and NZ (b) scenarios

Nearly 17 GW of offshore wind capacity is required to meet the 2070 NZ target

While it is necessary to increase both solar and onshore wind power capacity in the future, offshore wind power must start contributing to clean energy generation. While India currently does not have any offshore wind power plants, the National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE) identified that there is potential to harness about 70 GW from offshore wind, spread across 16 offshore zones along the coasts of TN and Gujarat. The MNRE aims to bid out 37 GW worth of capacity by 2030. In 2023, the MNRE published an updated strategy paper and a tender for allocating seabed areas to develop 7 GW of open access–based or captive offshore projects off the TN coast. This could potentially help reduce the emissions footprint of commercial and industrial electricity consumers. Offshore wind, therefore, remains an important untapped source of energy in TN.

Compared to 2005, the overall energy sector emission intensity of TN’s GSDP needs to reduce by 46% in 2030 and 87% in 2050 to achieve NZ emissions

Emission intensity measures the amount of GHGs released per unit of economic output. India’s NDC aims to reduce the emission intensity of the gross domestic product (GDP) by 45 per cent from the 2005 level (Government of India 2022). In this context, based on the modelling results, TN needs to reduce its emission intensity by 46 per cent in 2030 and by a further 87 per cent by 2050, compared to 2005 levels, to achieve NZ emissions by 2070. For context, in 2020, for every USD 1 million of TN’s gross state domestic product (GSDP), the state’s energy sector emitted nearly 510,000 tCO2. This Tamil Nadu’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Pathways for Net-Zero Transition 3 has to be reduced to about 410,000 tCO2 in 2030 and 100,000 tCO2 in 2050.

The Green Tamil Nadu (GTN) Mission could sequester CO2 emissions worth 19–25 MtCO2 per annum

A comprehensive study of one of TN’s flagship missions, the GTN Mission, reveals that the GTN Mission is capable of sequestering emissions to the tune of 19–25 MtCO2 per annum. The average annual carbon sequestration potential is 19 MtCO2 for a tree rotational period of 15 years, and this goes up to 25 MtCO2 for a rotational period of 10 years. Carbon sequestration through trees will have to be an important part of the strategy to achieve net-zero for the state.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the greenhouse gas (ghg) emissions of tamil nadu.

Tamil Nadu (TN) saw an 84 per cent rise in overall GHG emissions between 2005 and 2019. From around 100 million tons of carbon dioxide Equivalent (MtCO2eq) in 2005, TN's overall GHG emissions rose to 184 MtCO2eq in 2019. In this year, the state’s energy sector accounted for 77 per cent of the total emissions at 141 MtCO2eq. Other key sectors include the Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use (AFOLU) sector emitting around 22.5 MtCO2eq, accounting for around 12 per cent of the overall emissions, followed by the Industrial Processes and Product Use (IPPU) and waste sectors at approximately 11 MtCO2eq and 9.5 MtCO2eq, accounting for around 6 per cent and 5 per cent each.

What is the net-zero target of Tamil Nadu?

At the TN Climate Summit 1.0 held in December 2022, the Chief Minister of TN, Mr. M. K. Stalin, announced that the state will achieve net-zero emissions (NZ) ahead of India’s target of 2070. This commitment was reiterated by Mr. Udhayanidhi Stalin, Minister of Youth Welfare and Sports Development, at the TN Climate Summit 2.0 held in February 2024. CEEW’s analysis suggests continuous effort to mitigate emissions from the energy sector combined with increased ambition to improve the forest and tree cover as part of the Green Tamil Nadu Mission could potentially enable TN to achieve NZ before 2070.

What is the Green Tamil Nadu Mission?

The Green Tamil Nadu (GTN) Mission is one of the four flagship climate change missions of the Government of Tamil Nadu, the other three being the TN Climate Change Mission, the TN Wetlands Mission and the TN Sustainably Harnessing Ocean Resources and Blue Economy (SHORE) Mission. The GTN Mission aims to increase TN’s tree and forest cover from 23.7 per cent in 2021 to 33 per cent by 2030-31 through new plantation activities and restoration of degraded forest land.

What are Tamil Nadu's renewable energy requirements to align with a 2070 net-zero target?

CEEW’s analysis suggests that for Tamil Nadu to achieve NZ by 2070, the state needs about 475 GW of installed solar capacity and 90 GW of installed wind capacity (including both onshore and offshore wind). Note that these projections are based on the evolution of the cost of electricity generation technologies and certain key socio economic indicators such as population growth, gross state domestic product, per capita income and urbanisation. Refer to the Annexure in the report for further details on electricity generation costs across various technologies and socio economic trends in the state.

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Societal Sustainability of Handloom Sector in Tamil Nadu—A Case Study

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Indian handloom sector is one of the age-old cottage industries. The sector provides millions of employments to rural regions of the country either directly or indirectly. This is considered one of the largest employment sectors next to agriculture. Handloom products occupy approximately 40% of the products produced in the Indian market. The handloom industries are termed as the art and craft sector, and it is a part of Indian heritage by representing the richness and diversity of our country. Among various states in India, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh are the dominant states that produce more handloom products. In which, Tamil Nadu leads the market with a higher number of weavers and handlooms than other states. Though the handloom sector plays a vital role in the country's economies, the sector faces many serious issues like a lower price, higher market competition, antiquated technologies, an unorganised production system, low productivity range, etc. These challenges often affect the weaver’s livelihood due to the poor pricing and the sustainability of the handloom products in the market. Based on the current market situation, this study aimed to measure the various problems faced by the handloom weavers in the Coimbatore region of Tamil Nadu. Several prevailing issues were collected and surveyed among the weavers related to their importance in the sustainability of handloom products in the market. The problems are segmented as production related, sales and marketing related, weaver oriented and health related. The responses were recorded and ranked using the Hendry Garett ranking method to evaluate the ranking of the issue. The results identified the potential issues which affect the sustainability of the handloom sector in Tamil Nadu.

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Appendix I: Questionnaire

13. Rank the following production-related problems on the scale of 1–6?

14. Rank the following weaver-related problems on the scale of 1–7?

15. Rank the following marketing-related problems on the scale of 1–9?

16. Rank the following health-related problems on the scale of 1–7?

17. What are other problems do you face?

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Rathinamoorthy, R., Prathiba Devi, R. (2021). Societal Sustainability of Handloom Sector in Tamil Nadu—A Case Study. In: Gardetti, M.Á., Muthu, S.S. (eds) Handloom Sustainability and Culture. Sustainable Textiles: Production, Processing, Manufacturing & Chemistry. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-5272-1_7

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SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Global multi-lateral efforts to solve developmental issues resulted in the adoption of a universal development framework called “Transforming our World: 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” at the Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 by 193-member countries of the United Nations. The Agenda included 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030. These goals officially came into effect in 2016. Consequently, to monitor and review the progress of implementation of the goals across the world, regions, and countries, a measurement framework known as the Global Sustainable Development Indicator Framework consisting of 232 indicators was adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission. These indicators are quantitative benchmarks that measure the progress of development across economic, social and environmental dimensions in the context of the SDGs.

India, also a signatory to this effort, has adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as the guiding principle for its National Development Agenda. The National Institution for Transforming India Aayog (NITI Aayog) is the nodal agency coordinating the implementation of the SDGs in India. NITI Aayog has mainstreamed the global goals and targets to the context of India, and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation has developed a National Indicator Framework for measuring the progress of the nationally defined targets. The State Governments have been entrusted with the mandate of implementing, monitoring and reviewing the goals in their respective States. Tamil Nadu has achieved noteworthy success in implementing the SDGs. The Government of Tamil Nadu began implementing the Vision 2030 Agenda in 2016, with the Tamil Nadu State Planning Commission (TN-SPC) coordinating its implementation. The Government of Tamil Nadu set up a High-Power Committee to oversee implementation of the SDGs in Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu also constituted eight Working Groups (WGs) to review and monitor the implementation of the goals and achievement of targets.

The Department of Environment and Climate Change was created in 1995 as the Nodal Department for dealing with environmental management of the State. The Department of Environment (DoE) is the nodal Agency for planning, read more ...

Director Department of Environment and Climate Change No.1, Jeenis Road, Panagal Building, Ground Floor, Saidapet, Chennai-600 015 Tel : 044 - 24336421, 24336928 Fax : 044 - 24336594 Email : [email protected] , [email protected]

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Information Note: Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project

Construction of tertiary treatment and reverse osmosis plant with capacity of 45 million of leters per day capacity at Koyambedu

The World Bank in May 2019 conducted a mid-term review of the $400-million Tamil Nadu Sustainable Urban Development Project. The Project supports the Government of Tamil Nadu in strengthening the financial and administrative capacity of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to plan, finance and deliver services in a financially sustainable manner.

Project Approved: 31-March-2015; Effective: 21-August-2015; Closing: 31-March-2022

Loan Amount: $400 million; Disbursed: 48%

Project Context:

According to the 2011 Census, Tamil Nadu is 48.5 percent urbanized, with about 35 million people living in towns and cities. The Government of Tamil Nadu’s emphasis on the importance of urban development is laid out in its ‘Vision Tamil Nadu 2023’ document, where it seeks to "promote and facilitate the development of inclusive and sustainable cities".

TNSUDP seeks to help the Government of Tamil Nadu (GoTN) put in place a new model for urban management by empowering select municipalities and providing them results-based grants to improve a range of urban services such as water supply, sewerage, drainage, solid waste management, and urban transportation networks. The cities where urban infrastructure is being improved under the Project are Chennai, Theni-Allinagaram, Pammal, Pallavaram, Namakkal, Nagercoil, Sankarankoil, Cuddalore and Thoothukudi.

The cities of Vellore, Erode and Hosur have also been selected for a ‘Model Cities’ pilot where urban management will be improved in four areas: (i) ULB empowerment and organizational capacity; (ii) spatial/development planning; (iii) sustainable finances; and (iv) e-governance and public disclosure.

Implementation is on track and the project development objectives are expected to be achieved by the closing date of 31 March 2022.

In Chennai, the Project is helping improve stormwater drainage to ensure that the city does not suffer as it did during the floods of 2015.  Some 407 km of drains and canals are expected to be rehabilitated and upgraded by the end of 2019.  The Project is also providing technical assistance for a comprehensive flood warning and control center system for Chennai city. This is scheduled to be completed by October 2020.

An innovative drone-based global information system (GIS) mapping for Chennai is also underway and is scheduled to be completed by March 2020. This mapping will help the city authorities improve urban planning, and facilitate the collection of revenue such as property tax.

With the technical and financial assistance available under the Project, the three Model Cities have increased their own-source revenues, and strengthened the transparency and accountability of the municipal functions in these cities.

Under the e-governance module, a mobile-based interface for citizens called Urban Tree is being developed and will be operational by the end of 2019; this system will allow citizens of these cities to access a range of urban services from their cell phones.

Nearly 100 ULB officers from the Local Fund Audit Department have been trained on audit software in the first phase as part of capacity-building.

Hosur sewerage sub-project will be taken up on a priority basis as all regulatory clearances have now been obtained. While there is an improvement in the management of environmental safeguards for the Project overall, there are pending issues related to the Pallavaram Lakes sub-project in Chennai, including the need to adhere to the disclosed environment management plan, especially with respect to permits for silt disposal. An action plan regarding this is in place.  

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Tamil Nadu’s Ennore is a case study in climate recklessness and environmental casteism

On April 12, the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) is scheduled to conduct a public hearing for state-owned electricity utility TANGEDCO’s proposal to set up the Ennore Thermal Power Station (ETPS), a 660 MW coal-fired thermal power plant in Ennore in north Chennai. Coming up in a state where the government is talking up its commitment to combating climate change and social injustice, its insistence on pushing ETPS in an already over-polluted region exposes the yawning gap that the government needs to span to actually walk its talk on both counts. Here’s why.

Environmental casteism

Even after the racial epithet “Black Town” in reference to north Chennai was dropped post-independence, this predominantly working class region remains a site of structural environmental and social discrimination. The proposed power plant falls within the Ennore-Manali industrial area, a patchwork of localised toxic hotspots within north Chennai’s polluted airshed. Ennore’s cluster of thermal power plants has 3,300 MW of coal-burning capacity; of this, TANGEDCO operates 1,800 MW and NTPC-owned NTECL Vallur operates 1,500 MW.

Two more TANGEDCO projects totalling 2,120 MW are at an advanced state of completion, and two projects of 1,320 MW capacity are in the pre-licensing stage. TANGEDCO’s ETPS (expansion) is one of the latter two; ETPS (replacement) is the other. If all plans materialise despite local opposition, the Ennore cluster will be home to 7,740 MW of coal-burning power plants. Then, Chennai will have the dubious distinction of hosting the largest capacity of carbon-spewing coal power plants among any metropolitan region in the world.

That is not all. North Chennai is home to a 10 million tonne/year oil refinery, 36 large, red category petrochemical and other factories, and the city’s largest garbage dump. Taken together, the Ennore-Manali region contains the densest concentration of fossil-fuel industries in south India.

Demographically, north Chennai is also home to the densest concentration of marginalised communities in the Metropolitan area. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report for the ETPS (expansion) project, more than 37% of the population in the study area is from Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe or Most Backward Communities. It is no coincidence that such a high concentration of dirty industries is located in this region. This is modern untouchability, or as social scientist MSS Pandian puts it “caste by other means”.

Officially over-polluted

Industries in north Chennai operate in a regulatory vacuum. In November 2020, Chennai Climate Action Group, a youth-led initiative,  published a report titled ‘Poison in the Air’  that analysed real-time emission data from the smokestacks of six large polluting industries, including TANGEDCO’s North Chennai Thermal Power Station (NCTPS), NTECL, CPCL’s oil refinery, Madras Fertilisers Ltd, Tamil Nadu Petroproducts Ltd and Madras Petrochemical Ltd. Taken together, the six were operating in violation of prescribed air pollution norms for nearly 60% of the year in 2019. The fact that the data was available with and sourced from the TNPCB using Right to Information exposes the agency’s ineptitude as a regulator.

The report triggered suo motu action by the National Green Tribunal, which constituted a Joint Committee comprising senior officials of the Union environment ministry, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and TNPCB, and a scientist from Anna University. Buried in the report are two key findings:

1. Ground-level Particulate Matter (PM) pollution due to emissions from NCTPS’ Stage I power plant alone exceeded the carrying capacity of the area in the vicinity of the plant.

2. Ground-level sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution from emissions from CPCL’s oil refinery exceeded the carrying capacity of the area in the vicinity of the plant.

The carrying capacity of an airshed for an air pollutant, say PM 10 or SO2, is the maximum emission (or the natural limit) of that air pollutant that can be released from all sources into the airshed such that these emissions do not lead to concentrations of that pollutant in excess of local ambient air quality standards.

The  Joint Committee’s report  finds that the carrying capacity for PM 10 has been exhausted just from the emissions from NCTPS’s Stage I, and for SO2/NO2 by emissions from CPCL. The cumulative impact of pollution from other industries or the movement of heavy vehicles to and from the port and factories was not even considered.

TNPCB claims to have issued notices demanding “environmental compensation” of more than Rs 8 crore from the six industries. But none has paid up. Even if they do, the compensation will not reach the victims of the pollution. Rather it will be paid to the account of TNPCB that allowed the pollution in the first place.

SO2 and dust or PM pollution are serious health hazards. SO2 is an acidic gas that irritates the lining of the nose, throat and lungs, and can worsen existing respiratory illnesses, and heart disease. PM pollution is linked to various kinds of cancers, reduced lung function, cardiovascular and respiratory disorders, and an overall reduction in life expectancy.

Curiously, TANGEDCO’s EIA for the proposed ETPS plant also confirms the over-polluted state of the local airshed. According to the EIA, PM 10 levels recorded in all seven residential areas – Ennore, Athipattu, Sivagami Nagar, Vallur, Ponniamman Nagar, Ernavur village and Manali New Town, and 2 industrial sites, including within the proposed ETPS site – exceeded safe levels.

Official confirmation

Earlier this month, a report of a Joint Experts Committee (JEC) set up by the National Green Tribunal (SZ) in a case (OA 8 of 2016) filed by an Ennore fisherman appeared on the tribunal’s website. This committee looked into the pollution – particularly coal ash leaks – caused by TANGEDCO’s NCTPS. The high-level committee included Santha Sheela Nair, IAS (retd) as chairperson, senior officials from the CPCB and TNPCB, Dr  Balaji Narasimhan, hydrologist, IIT-Madras, Dr Indumathi Nambi, environmental scientist, IIT-Madras, eminent botanist Dr D Narasimhan, restoration ecologist Dr Jayashree Vencatesan, and Dr Deepak Samuel, a marine biologist from the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management.

The  report’s findings  reveal the depth of the pollution and health crisis already underway in north Chennai. Unlike the detached and often substandard reports submitted by committees dominated by regulatory authorities, the JEC’s report relies on and narrates the experiences of members during field visits and interactions with local residents, and draws from detailed investigations by scientific members of the committee.

A sample of extracts from the JEC’s observations from the field visit, public consultation and findings are reproduced below:

From the Site Visit:  “The JEC visited the ash-contaminated sites by road on 30.12.2021. A site visit report is annexed. [Annexure 3] However, we also wish to register our observations not merely as unemotional observers, but also at a human level.

“The visit brought home to all committee members the harsh reality of the life of local residents. The committee’s exposure to ash-choked neighbourhood, though brief, was distressful. Visibility was poor due to the dust in the air. Many committee members experienced breathing difficulty after some time there and eye irritation. The sheer physical discomfort in the brief period the committee spent there deeply impacted us as it made us realise that this is a 24/7 phenomenon for people living here.”

From the Public Consultation:

“The committee’s own observations that polluters have polluted and continue to pollute with impunity were repeated by members of the public who were openly cynical of this committee and voiced their fears of this also being just another “eye-wash.”

“Pollution is reported to be the main cause of illness in the region. NCTPS was identified as a major cause of air pollution, and the region is a hotspot of pollution due to the concentration of power plants and other polluting industries. Children and women are particularly affected, and gynaecological problems were particularly reported by respondents. . .They expressed concern that more and more polluting industries are proposed to be located in Ennore unmindful of the prevailing health crisis.”

From the Findings sections (paraphrased):

            Unlicensed operation

• TANGEDCO’s NCTPS Stage I and II have operated without a valid Consent/License under Air and Water Acts since 2015 and 2019 respectively.

              Illegal emissions

• CPCB/TNPCB found TANGEDCO had tampered with the Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System so that actual results are not transferred to CPCB and TNPCB.
• Despite the tampering, between 01.04.2019 and 07.03.2022 (1071 days), NCTPS Stage 1 emitted particulate matter (including ash) in excess of permissible levels for 481 days.
• During the same period (1091 days), NCTPS Stage II emitted particulate matter (including ash) in excess of permissible levels for 791 days.

             Cancer risk

• Adults face a high cancer and non-cancer risk due to cadmium and lead exposure.
• Cancer and non-cancer risk for children is much higher due to exposure to cadmium, lead and copper. Compared to an acceptable cancer risk norm of 1 in a million, cancer risk for children due to exposure to these pollutants is a 1000 times higher.

             Wetlands choked, contaminated by coal ash

• More than 56 lakh tonnes of coal ash is spread over the riverbed, with flyash deposits ranging in depth from 1 ft to 8 ft.
• Natural drainage patterns have been considerably altered due to fly ash pond construction and ash contamination. This will have an impact on local hydrology and flooding.
• Surface sediments are heavily contaminated with levels of cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, nickel and zinc well in excess of safe levels as per Canadian sediment quality guideline for protection of aquatic life.

             Loss of wetlands

• The Ennore wetlands studied by JEC has shrunk from 855.69 ha in 1996 to 277.92 ha in 2022. Meanwhile,

◦         built-up area increased from 0 ha to 259.87 ha;

◦         area covered by flyash increased from 0 ha to 260.28 ha;

◦         area under mangroves decreased 68.72 to 33.74 ha.

              Impact on fisher livelihoods

• Several fish species have either disappeared or diminished. These include: White prawn, black prawn, sand prawn, tiger prawn, green crab (Scylla serrata), Flotosus canius, Mugil cephalus, Silver Biddy (Gerres sp.), sand whiting (Sillago sihama), Terrapon jarbua, sea bass (Lates calcarifer), and other fishes locally called Kalavan, Udupathi, Panna, Oodan.
• Damage to the river and reduction in fish catch has drastically affected fisher livelihoods, including of women fishers from SC/ST community who hand-pick shrimp and crab from the river bed.
• The impacts of pollution on livelihoods and health has eroded the economic status of affected people due to lost income, lost work days and increased health care expenditure.

A climate reckless act

On April 4, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) third Working Group released a report that unequivocally declared that no new coal plants can be built anywhere in the world if we are to have any hope of keeping global temperature rise below 1.5 degree Celsius. This is the threshold beyond which the costs of adapting to climate change will become prohibitively expensive and yield diminishing returns. The window of opportunity to keep climate disasters within manageable limits is closing fast, and will have closed completely by 2030 – just 8 years away.

IPCC’s reports – this one on mitigation and the earlier one on adaptation – spotlight the increased risk exposure of marginalised communities and the poor. Both between nations and within countries, it is the poorer nations and people – those that contributed the least to the climate crisis – who will be worst affected by the effects of climate change. The report’s prescriptions for Climate Resilient Development situate equity and social justice concerns at the centre of all interventions, and warn that measures taken either in the name of development or climate adaptation that aggravate inequity and injustice will defeat global efforts to contain runaway climate change and meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Climate change manifests itself in the form of rising sea levels, increased heat stress, intense rain events and droughts, salinity intrusion and ocean desertification due to warming seas. Coastal wetlands like the Ennore estuary and Kosasthalai’s backwaters are natural shock absorbers that mitigate flooding during heavy rains or tidal surges, check salinity intrusion and keep the oceans healthy by restocking it with fish. ETPS will aggravate the already degraded state of the Ennore wetlands and nearshore seas.

• The ETPS project envisages a coal ash dump inside the river, and a coal conveyor corridor cutting through the already degraded estuary and mangrove-fringed islands.
• Each day, more than 170 million (17 crore) litres of seawater will be drawn using giant pumps that will suck in marine life along with water. What life does not get killed by getting trapped by the filters fitted at the pipe-heads will be killed by dousing with biocides in the intake water storage tanks.
• More than 120 million litres of hot wastewater will be discharged daily into the ocean. Marine organisms are hypersensitive to temperature changes. Such discharge in an already warming ocean will create localised marine deserts in the nearshore waters, and further hurt the artisanal fisher economy.

For all the controversy it has generated, ETPS does not even address an electricity shortage. In 2019-20, all state-run thermal power plants operated at a plant load factor of 56%, according to the government’s submission to the state Assembly. That means the existing plants remained idle for the equivalent of 160 out of 365 days*.

The ETPS project is a reckless proposal because of its global climate implications and because of what it does to local communities. Just in Ennore and between the two power plants under construction and the two that are in pre-licensing stage, the state government is investing Rs 30,000 crore in climate-changing, inequity-aggravating activities. Meanwhile, for all of Tamil Nadu, the government has announced a Rs 500 crore climate mission and a Rs 100 crore wetland mission. For Tamil Nadu to stay true to its declared commitment to social justice and combating climate change, this imbalance has to be rapidly set right. Abandoning the ETPS proposal and investing in improving local health, health care and the health of the wetlands would be a step in that direction.

* Source: Energy Policy Note, Government of Tamil Nadu, 2020-2021.

Nityanand is a Chennai-based writer and social activist. Views expressed are the author’s own.

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Tamil Nadu is a ‘front-runner’ in 13 Sustainable Development Goals, says NITI Aayog report

Sdg india index 2023-24 analysed the performance of states and union territories in achieving the goals on the basis of 70 targets and 113 indicators. tamil nadu stands third with a composite score of 78, surpassing national average of 71.

Published - July 18, 2024 12:37 am IST - CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu has been classified a ‘front runner’ in 13 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, according to the latest SDG India Index 2023-24, released by the Union government’s think-tank NITI Aayog.

The recently released fourth edition of the SDG Index analysed the performance of the States and the Union Territories in achieving the goals on the basis of 70 targets and 113 indicators.

The report categorises the performance of the States based on their scores as ‘aspirant’ (0-49), ‘performer’ (50-64), ‘front runner’ (65-99), and ‘achiever’ (100). According to the report, Tamil Nadu took the third spot with a composite score of 78, surpassing the national average of 71. The State also retained its position as a front runner. The composite score of Tamil Nadu was 74 in the previous report released in 2020-21.

The State has been placed as a front runner in 13 SDGs in the latest report. It continues to be placed in the achiever category for fulfilling the target of affordable and clean energy. Gender equality and life below water are the goals in which the State is in the ‘performer’ category. Tamil Nadu is below the national average in two goals: sustainable cities and communities and life on land.

According to the report, Tamil Nadu tops in the goal of eradicating poverty, compared with the other States and the Union Territories.

The Head Count Ratio, according to the Multidimensional Poverty Index, stands at 2.2%, as against the national average of 14.96%. The report says 22% and 25% of the children aged below five in the State are underweight and stunted respectively.

The Maternal Mortality Ratio for one lakh live births and Under-five Mortality Rate for 1,000 live births stood at 54 and 13 respectively for the State, well within the target and lesser than the national average. The rate of deaths in road accidents per one-lakh population was 23.31, one of the highest in the country, the report says.

The gross enrolment ratio of students in higher secondary and higher education was 81.5% and 47% respectively, against the national average of 57.6% and 28.4%. Further, the report noted that 81.87% of the rural households in Tamil Nadu are getting safe and adequate piped drinking water.

The unemployment rate and labour force participation rate in the State in the age group of 15-59 were 4.8% and 62.3% respectively.

Nearly 92.8% of the households own at least one mobile phone. The percentage of the population covered by Aadhaar is 97.94, the report notes.

Tamil Nadu has been performing consistently well in achieving SDGs, especially with respect to social indicators, owing to the State’s constant investment in social capital, says R. Sujatha, senior SDG consultant, Planning and Development Department.

“The unemployment rate has come down from 7.2% to 4.8%, compared with the previous report, and the labour force participation rate has increased by two percentage points. These are good signs. With respect to the goal of gender equality, the sex ratio at birth was taken from the National Family Health Survey-5, which is a sample survey. The actual sex ratio would come out only if the Civil Registration System (CRS) was taken as an indicator,” she says.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Tamil Nadu has built back in a much better manner without slipping in many of the indicators, Dr. Sujatha says, adding, “Schemes such as Naan Mudhalvan, Pudhumai Penn, and the Chief Minister’s Thayumanavar Scheme to tackle poverty have been playing a crucial role in the social and educational sectors.”

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