On World Environment day, Centre for Science and Environment CSE and Down to Earth has released The State of India’s Environment 2023.
As per the report, in terms of overall environmental performance Telangana is at the top. Its rank is based on its progress in enhancing the forest cover and also done well in municipal waste treatment.
The bottom ranked states in terms of environmental performance are Rajasthan, Nagaland and Bihar.
In agriculture, Madhya Pradesh takes the top slot for a big jump in foodgrain production. Unfortunately, though about 50 per cent of the cropped area in the state remains uninsured.
Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh feature on the second, third and fourth spots while at the bottom of the ranking in agriculture is Delhi, Goa and Meghalaya.
In public health, Delhi is ranked number one. The national capital has allocated the highest share of its budget to health. It boasts of a robust network of healthcare facilities. However, it has a low immunisation rate. Delhi is followed by Sikkim, Goa and Mizoram.
Madhya Pradesh, which is at the bottom, has a high incidence of maternal mortality ratio and infant mortality rate. Chhattisgarh, Assam and Uttar Pradesh also range in the bottom-half.
In public infrastructure and human development, Gujarat leads the rankings. It makes the cut for its performance in providing employment and tap water connections. The state, however, ranks comparatively low in sex-ratio and has a high proportion of rural households using unclean cooking fuels. However, Jharkhand occupies the bottom spot, and is preceded by Nagaland, Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh.
Kiran Pandey, programme director, environment resources unit, CSE and one of the lead analysts behind this report says, “We have sourced all the data from government and official documents and sources. For ranking the states, we have looked at 32 indicators under four themes for 29 states.”