Liberalization and Environmental Conservation: An Odisha perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrijm.2026.v11.n08.016Keywords:
Liberalization, Environmental Conservation, Odisha, Environmental Governance, Community ParticipationAbstract
Economic liberalization initiated in India in 1991 fundamentally transformed the country’s development trajectory by encouraging private investment, industrialization, trade expansion, and greater integration with the global economy. Odisha, endowed with abundant mineral, forest, water, and coastal resources, has become a major destination for mining, industrial, infrastructure, and investment activities. While liberalization has contributed to economic growth, employment opportunities, infrastructure development, and industrial expansion, it has simultaneously intensified pressures on natural resources and generated significant environmental and social challenges. This paper examines the relationship between liberalization and environmental conservation in Odisha, focusing on the competing imperatives of economic development and ecological sustainability. It analyses the environmental consequences of mining and industrialization, including deforestation, biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, land degradation, displacement, and pressures on forest-dependent communities. The paper also examines the changing role of the state, private sector, local communities, civil society, and environmental institutions in addressing these challenges. It argues that liberalization has produced a complex environmental landscape in Odisha, where accelerated resource extraction and industrial growth coexist with regulatory interventions, conservation initiatives, community resistance, environmental activism, and emerging sustainability practices. The paper further contends that environmental conservation cannot be treated as separate from questions of livelihood security, social justice, participation, and equitable resource governance. Sustainable development in Odisha therefore requires stronger environmental regulation, transparent institutions, responsible corporate practices, meaningful participation of local communities, and effective mechanisms for balancing economic growth with ecological protection. The Odisha experience demonstrates the need to reconcile market-oriented development with environmental sustainability and inclusive governance.
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