Sustainable or Pseudo Development-Looking at Natural Resource Management in a Developing State, Kerala, India

Bibliographic Data

ID4876997
AuthorsP P Nikhil Raj (0000-0002-5104-4607, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, corresponding author), P A Azeez (0000-0002-9953-6459, Bharathidasan University)
Year2024
Volume35
Issue2
Pages36-56
Publication date2024-04-02
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCapitalism Nature Socialism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1045-5752 • E-ISSN: 1548-3290
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10455752.2023.2178472
OpenAlexW4321453114
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited34

India's mainstream political discourse is yet to grant genuine space to environmental issues or sustainable development; their priority being economic development. This is despite noteworthy environmental conservation movements and civil society organizations committed to the cause of the environment. Although the country has an array of competent environmental regulations, the environmental sustainability of the development programmes remains the least addressed. The case is not different for the Kerala state, despite its high literacy and human development matching many developed countries. The "Kerala Development Model" has been highly praised for its high-level social development. The apparently well-informed population of the state also outscores most states regarding environmental identity. In this context, this paper explores the Athirappilly hydroelectric Project pursued by the Kerala State Electricity Board Limited and other interest groups. It appears that the contemporary socio-economic-political scenario is urging the state's highly literate and politicized public to a post-nature or post-truth society increasingly engrossed in a consumerist lifestyle at the cost of the unique environmental setup. The present study also highlights how the Kerala population, once dominated by socialistic/liberal ideologies with egalitarian values, has been riding the neoliberal development wave giving little importance to nature and long-term ecological security

Civil society · Context (archaeology · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Geography · Ideology · Mainstream · Natural resource · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Population · Sociology · State (computer science · Sustainability · Sustainable development · Hydropower, Displacement, Environmental Impact · Law · Social and Economic Development in India · Water Governance and Infrastructure · Ecology

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