Impacts of development trajectory in Gujarat
Student name: Mr Chintansinh V Suratia
Guide: Mr M.V. Shiju
Year of completion: 2012
Host Organisation: Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA)
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Dr P.K. Singh
Abstract: Gujarat has always been a front runner in industrial development. In last decade it
has attracted the investments from all over the globe. The Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) of the state has remained way higher than the country’s GDP. The state has
shifted its focus now from industrial clusters to Special Economic Zones and Special
Investment Regions (SIR) making Gujarat an international economic hub. Rapid
approval of industrial proposals and increasing trend in urbanization will exert
enormous pressure on land resources of the state as land is the prior requirement
for any developmental activity and also provide the basic life services. Also it is
important to note that state has only 5 percentage area of the total geographical
area of the country. Mineral exploration in the state has increased in the state
drastically to fulfill the demand of industrial and urban sector. Waste generation
from industries and urban centers have been increased many folds, so the disposal
of hazardous and solid waste will further put additional pressure on land resources.
These altogether have the potential to degrade the land. Land degradation is a wide
scale problem in the state like Gujarat, where 66 percent of the total area is under
the impact of land degradation. In a coastal region of Saurashtra and Kutch salinity
ingress is a wide scale problem which has been accelerated by industrial
development at the coast. It is widely accepted that land degradation contribute to
climate change by emission of green house gases. Industrialization has the potential
to exacerbate this process because in some cases forest land conversion, mangroves
destruction and acquisition of agricultural land have been observed which are the
main causes of land degradation and further it can impact the climate of the state.
Industrialization has the highest potential to affect the climate. Climate change
trend was observed in the state. Intensity and occurrence of extreme events has
increased over the years. Thus, the study tries to look at the overall development
trajectories of the state and its possible impacts.
Key words: Industrialization, Land degradation, salinity ingress, livelihood, PSIR
Framework, climate change.
