Hyderabad is at crossroads. A city rooted in history, it is raring to attain the title of being India's information technology capital. From being a congested old city with very high population density, it wants to become an industrial monolith with a surging economy. If only things were this simple. The quality of life will not improve in direct proportion with economic growth if the environmental conditions are not looked after.

Tishya Chatterjee, member secretary of the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (appcb), says industry and automobiles are the major causes of air pollution in the city. "About 60 per cent of the air pollution load in the city of Hyderabad is due to vehicles. The remaining 40 per cent is due to industry and other sources,' says J Ramarao of the Society for Preservation of Environment and Quality of Life (speql), an ngo.