Deforestation is responsible for India's pollution crisis and so is the negligence of the citizens, AIPC West Zone Coordinator Rajeev Arora said on Sunday during an in-depth discussion on environmental challenges in the present context.

India has invited this problem by ignoring the natural resources for years, other experts said at the virtual conference.

The All India Professional Congress organized the meeting which discussed the aggravating environmental pollution.

Initiating the video meet, Arora said today a large section of India does not have clean water to drink and sewage system is not efficient in big cities.

He said that if the government works by focusing on these main problems, then half of the problems will be solved.

Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor said that after Covid, environmental pollution can increase at an even faster pace as dependence on industries will increase, resulting in a harsh treatment of the environment.

He pointed out that unseasonal rains and wastage of crops were major problems now. Cutting trees also affects India's GDP, he warned.

Chhattisgarh Health Minister T.S. Singh Deo said that no serious steps have been taken although there has been a huge damage to the environment since the Industrial Revolution. Just banning industries or farmers will not lead to a solution.

He said that most industries in central India are coal-operated. Raigarh in Chhattisgarh has been the most affected by these industries and mines, leading to diseases. "We need to create awareness among the people for environmental protection."

Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Aditya Thackeray said that today the environmental change is not limited to the glacier seas but has reached our roads and fields.

He said: "We are not accepting natural calamities like storms, unseasonal rains as an environment change... Greenery also comes under development, we need to understand this seriously and take the message to the people."