IANS-CVoter Survey: Indians don’t rate NGOs very highly on environmental issues

New Delhi:  There is a perception in mainstream as well as fringe media that civil society organisations, better known as NGOs have been doing remarkably good work in protecting the environment in India. They are juxtaposed against a seemingly callous government that doesn’t do much to protect the environment as it focuses on development and infrastructure.

However, a nationwide survey conducted by CVoter on behalf of IANS revealed that most Indians do not share this perception. The CVoter survey asked a small set of questions to ordinary Indians cutting across educational, socio economic and ethnic backgrounds.

In fact, the survey reveals that Indians rated the performance of NGOs and the government as more or less equal. While 21 per cent of the respondents felt that NGOs were doing “much good work” on environment, close to 20 per cent of the respondents stated that they were “very satisfied” with the performance of the government in terms of protecting the environment.

There were widespread differences across categories of respondents. While more than 75 per cent of Christians were of the opinion that NGOs were doing much good work in saving the environment, less than 20 per cent of scheduled tribes shared the same opinion.

Similarly, while 16.4 per cent of opposition supporters were very satisfied with the performance of the government, about 25.4 per cent of NDA supporters shared the same opinion. But there was some consensus too among the respondents. While 19 per cent of the respondents in urban India stated they were totally dissatisfied with the performance of the government, about 15 per cent of respondents in rural India shared the same opinion.

Similarly, while 11.4 per cent of respondents in urban India were convinced that NGOs did not do any good work at all on the issue, 11 per cent of respondents in rural India shared the same sentiments. These revelations shatter many myths that have been built around the work being done by scores of NGOs dedicated to the cause of protecting the environment.

–IANS