UPSC Mains 2025 GS1 Q19: model answer

India must grow fast enough to lift millions out of poverty while protecting forests, rivers and climate. Sometimes these goals pull apart.

Where conflict arises

• Energy: coal still gives cheap power and lakhs of jobs in Jharkhand and Odisha; a rushed transition hurts these workers.
• Forests: strict conservation can restrict tribal access to forest produce; protected areas have displaced communities.
• Urban rules: bans on old vehicles or polluting units hit small traders and informal workers hardest.
• Farming: curbs on stubble burning or groundwater use raise costs for poor farmers without alternatives.
• Fuel: clean cooking gas remains costly; many households fall back on firewood (refill rates under Ujjwala).

Where they align

• The poor suffer most from pollution, floods and heat; a clean environment is a pro-poor good.
• MGNREGA water conservation works create jobs and assets.
• Rooftop and solar pumps (PM-KUSUM) cut costs for farmers.
• Forest Rights Act and community forest management combine livelihoods with conservation.

Reconciling

• A just transition for coal regions using District Mineral Funds.
• Payments for ecosystem services and green jobs.
• Targeted subsidies so green options are affordable.
• Participation of Gram Sabhas in environmental decisions.

The conflict is real but not fixed. Designed well, sustainability becomes the poor's best insurance.