8» SOCIAL SCIENTIST monitor water pollution and to take steps to prevent and control it. All industries already existing at the time of enactment were required to seek consent of the Board within three months of the setting up of the Board. Air pollution, though not as much of a menace as water pollution, is still a^big problem primarily in the urban areas. The air-pollution levels of certain selected cities in 1979 is given in Table 5. TAB11--3Suspended Paniculate matter (microgrjmms/cu metre) Sulphur Dioxide (mg/cum) Ahmedabad Calcutta Delhi 243 578 481 71 85 39 Maximum levels permissible 150 b0 In actuality, the situation in specific areas of each city is much worse. For example, in some of Delhi's industrial areas the level of suspended paniculate matter reaches over 900 mgm in the winter months. The government's response to this has been the enactment of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1981 which is also to be administered by the earlier mentioned central and state boards. Despite the 'water act' being in force for 11 years and the 'air act' for 4 years, less than 50% of the large and medium industries have, till today, installed pollution control devices (as per the Department of Environment Annual Report, 1984-85). This, despite the fact that the law requires them to do this within three months of the setting up of the Boards. In many cases where devices have been fitted, they are not used and are only serve a decorative function pass the cursory .inspections in practice. Lack of focussed debate on environmental issues It is unfortunate that even today issues relating to the natural environment are not usually considered important enough to form a central part of the debates on political economy. Whenever the debate has started, it has usually been seen as a debate of "Development" versus "Environment", as if economic and development issues are so to speak on one side and environmental issues in opposition to it. It seems quite clear to me that the legitimate environmental debate does riot lie in contradiction with issues of economic development, but rather ought to be seen as an integral part of the questions of development. In other words, when one talks of economic development vs environment one is really talking of short-term (often short-sighted) economic interests vs long term economic interest except that in India today the situation has become so critical, especially as regards forests and land, that there is now no essential difference between short-term and long-t^rm interests; there exists no