Measuring impact of Indian ports on environment and effectiveness of remedial measures towards environmental pollution

Abstract

As the Indian port sector flourishes through a boom in external trade, it becomes crucial to look into the environmental impact it creates on the coastal seas. Research aims to determine the environmental consequences of a rising port sector in India and checks the effectiveness of measures taken to curb growing pollution caused by port operations. Researchers have offered a comparative perspective of the green performance of major ports vis-a-vis minor ports. Researchers have collected primary data across 15 busiest major and minor ports of India from six different categories of stakeholders in port sector, using stratified random sampling and questionnaire method. It was found that port operations caused considerable environmental harm in terms of water pollution, disposal of effluents, hazardous toxins and more. As for effectiveness of remedial measures to atone for such damage, researcher has provided a comparative analysis and found differences in the success rate of sustainable operations between major and minor ports. Lastly, the researchers have ranked the surveyed major and minor ports in order of their environmental impact and sustainability performance.