Jairam Ramesh: India can't remain on the path of further destruction

Former environment minister believes the cult of unfettered economic growth has been ruinous for India's environment, reports Yale Environment 360

Jairam Ramesh was a self-described "economic hawk" when he became India's environment minister in 2009, figuring that the country's ecological problems could wait as India lifted its people out of poverty. But by the time he left his post in 2011, he had become an environmental hawk after witnessing how India's rapidly expanding economy and soaring population had caused widespread pollution and destruction of the environment.

Today, Ramesh is one of the most outspoken critics of India's environmental policy under prime minister Narendra Modi, who, despite his support of major investments in renewable energy, is otherwise widely criticized by conservationists for putting economic growth ahead of environmental preservation. This balance between economic growth and environmental protection is a core theme in Ramesh's recently published book, Green Signals - Ecology, Growth and Democracy in India.