Heritage and environment: Its impact on economic growth and development in India

Abstract

The heritage of India is truly enormous, encompassing a wealth of a structural and material heritage, diverse natural bounty and vibrant living culture of many communities and religions. Heritage is protected for its social, aesthetic, economic, historic and environmental values. A change in environmental composition due to pollutants generated by the industries and human activities and other things such as change of air composition, temperature, quality of rainwater, noise quality, affect the outer coat of buildings and monuments. Most of the research studies reveal that the effect of acid deposition on modern structures is significantly less than the effect on ancient monuments. Almost all the heritage structures are built with limestone and calcareous stones, which are most vulnerable to corrosion by the acid, moisture gases, dust particles and carbon. Heritage conservation is locally based upon, using expertise, labor and materials available in the local market, but efforts to import substitution are also required to train local workers. India's diverse economy encompasses traditional village farming, modern agriculture, handicrafts, a wide range of modern industries and multitude of services are the major sources of economic growth and it constitutes an essential engine for economic development being the major measure of economic impact on heritage conservation, entailing jobs for household income; center city revitalization; heritage tourism; property values and small business incubation. This paper studies the relationship between heritage and environment and how both have a strong impact on economic growth and development. Heritage helps to increase employment generation, creation of world-class infrastructure, and augmentation of the sale of local handicrafts and promotion of tourism and related economic activity, flourishing trade and commerce of both inside and outside the country and creating multilateral relations in international level.