Gandhi's concern for the environment is evident from his views on industrialization and the unrestricted pursuit of the materialism of the west.
He had cautioned against the latter and said that though the earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, yet it cannot provide for every man's greed.
Thus to have a sustainable development it is important that the rich restrict their wants and hold their wealth as a 'trust' for the poor. This is possible only if people distinguish their real needs from artificial ones and be able to cut down the latter. This would help the poor people and also help to protect the environment for the future. Thus he urged men to lead a simple life based on physical labor.
He held that we have not got the earth and the elements of nature as an inheritance from our forefathers, but rather as a loan from our children. So we have to hand them over to the next generation in at least in the same, if not in better condition, in which they were handed over to us.
His views on the environment also included his love for all creatures based on non-violence or Ahimsa. Gandhi advocated the use of Ahimsa between man and man and between man and the animate world. For him, Ahimsa was not merely a negative state of harmlessness but was a positive state of love, truthfulness, humility, tolerance, and kindness.
He held that a culture of violence ultimately turns on the society that breeds it. He said that man's supremacy over lower animals did not mean that he should prey upon them, but that the higher should protect the lower. He said, "I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man.' He also added that "The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
Gandhi was a strict vegetarian and believed that man must not ape animals in eating flesh-food, which was not meant for the human species. Man needs plant-food to survive and the consumption of flesh food by him is merely for enjoyment. Gandhi decried animal sacrifice and was also against vivisection, which he called an 'unpardonable slaughter of innocent life in the name of science and humanity so-called'.
In keeping with the Gandhian tenets of sustainability of the environment the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Government of India, has launched the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. It is a scheme for providing LPG connections to women in the Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. It has been implemented over a period of three years, starting from 2017 to 2019.
This measure will empower women and protect their health as there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels, which can lead to deaths due to pulmonary and lung disorders. The indoor air pollution caused by cooking with fossil fuels is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory diseases in young children. The use of LPG will also reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth who can find jobs in the supply chain of cooking gas. It will also reduce air pollution as LPG is considered a clean fuel.
