- The environmentalists have consistently raised concerns about the unbridled developmental works undertaken by successive governments on the foothills of the Himalayan mountains for long. Yes, we are aware that as the population grows and the aspirational society seeks at-par infrastructure in line with the overall developments, ecologically sensitive hills are generally overlooked whilst undertaking works despite facing resistance from the local population and environmentalists. The governments are sandwiched between the devil and the deepsea is understandable since the elected representatives are duty-bound to ensure their constituents are provided with every feasible infrastructure and amenities.
PC: Remote Lands
- The moot point to ponder over here is how to strike a balance between necessary development works and the fragile environment. No easy answers here. It is an extremely arduous task for government authorities to strike a semblance of balance. As reported extensively, Uttarakhand’s Joshimath is in the news highlighting this classic conflict. Amid protests over deepening cracks in houses in Joshimath recently, the district administration has halted road and power plant construction works in the town’s vicinity. There’s little doubt that aggressive construction in recent decades has brought the ancient town to this pass.
- Multi-storeyed buildings, blasting hills for a thermal power project tunnel, and road building to accommodate more traffic have aggravated the condition of a town, already standing on weak foundations. Did the concerned citizens/agencies raise a red flag over the years? Indeed, they did. Note that from 1976 to 2022, multiple government committees sounded dire warnings to stop heavy construction activities, but all went unheeded. The Garhwal division is among India’s most vulnerable regions. The 2013 Uttarakhand floods, and last year’s Chamoli disaster caused by a rock and ice avalanche that killed 200 people in Joshimath’s vicinity and damaged two hydel projects, foretell the devastation that the next Himalayan flood could wreak.
PC: Jillian Garrigues
- Nonetheless, signals emanating from both state and central governments suggest that big-ticket highway and power projects, already underway for a decade or so, will continue. The frequent cave-ins and landslides marring these projects require changes in the development strategy before it is too late. Worryingly, even the quality of environmental impact assessment done to clear projects is sometimes in doubt. For instance, Manipur’s government decided to revisit the Imphal-Jiribam rail link’s environmental impact assessment after a landslide during construction killed 60 persons in June last year.
- While Railways blamed shifting cultivation, others point fingers at extensive tunnelling through a landslide-prone zone. With ambitious timelines to meet, adequate assessment of landslide risks or proper preliminary structural engineering works to stabilize subsequent constructions suffer. The need of the hour is to take tough-eco-friendly measures even at the cost of economic growth and job creation. However, the dangers of a huge ecological disaster are real. Thus, for administrators in hilly and coastal regions, these are tough but necessary calls to make.
