Is Environment a stumbling block to growth?

The statement issued by the new environment Minister, Jayaram Ramesh, is depressing. He says, Environmental issues wont be a stumbling block to Economic growth. Then comes the politically correct blah blah -"that doesnt mean we'll not follow laws and all that." See http://www.indianexpress.com/news/environment-wont-be-stumbling-block-to-grow/468186/

Now its official. The government is no longer interested in protecting our environment. Neither are the Courts. The entire system has been in favor of the rich and the powerful. Now, the Government's anti-poor bias has become official in the name of industrial growth and nation's development.

The worst hit, if the environment deteriorates, are the poor. If industries pollute the air, the rich sit in AC rooms and travel in AC cars, unaffected, it is those who cant afford an AC that suffer. If the water is polluted by industries, the rich can drink mineral water, it is the poor who drink the polluted water. By not safeguarding the environment, the UPA Government is being anti-poor.

With an Environment Minister who sees environment issues as stumbling blocks, and not important issues that need to be addressed with seriousness, the Ministry will become, not that it already hasn't, a mere formality that will oversee the destruction of the environment.

Like the British who had these namesake commissions to safely vent the anger of the Indian public, the Ministry will become the safety valve of Environmentalists and an eyewash for the gullible Indian public, who still think there is someone out there who is protecting our environment.