Himalayan blunders that are ravaging the Himalayas (GS Paper 3, Environment)
Context:
- Today, the repeated tragedies of bridges, roads and buildings being swept by raging rivers in the hill States of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, epitomise a flawed developmental paradigm institutionalised in an eco-fragile region.
- Blocked roads after a landslide at Chamoli and sinking in Joshimath in Uttarakhand, road caving in Chamba in Himachal, accidents on the Char Dham routes, and deaths on the all-weather road are reports that have become everyday news from Uttarakhand.
Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna:
- In 2016, the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, a massive infrastructure project of 900 kilometre of road widening to double-laning with a paved shoulder (DLPS) design of 12m was implemented in the Garhwal region and a short stretch of Kumaon in Uttarakhand.
- The project has claimed lakhs of trees and acres of forest land, many human and animal lives, and also the fertile topsoil of the fragile Himalaya. The tons of muck generated have choked water sources.
- By law, a project of more than 100 km needs environmental clearance. But ambitious projects for tourism and plans that are the result of election agendas are time bound. All laws of land are bypassed.
- In this case, this massive project was broken up into 53 small projects, each less than 100 km long, thus by-passing environmental impact assessment (EIA) requirements.
Eco-sensitive zones:
- The dense forests around Chamba, Agrakhal Maletha, Shivpuri, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Agustmuni, Karnaprayag and Kund (all Uttarakhand) and other such lush green sites are vanishing. Amid the rapacious nature of the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, only one pristine patch, i.e., the Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone (BESZ), remains.
- BESZ has the only natural free flow that is left of the Ganga river and was declared a protected site in December 2012 under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
- This stretch of approximately 100 km could not be touched by the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna project without an approved zonal master plan (ZMP) and a detailed EIA.
- To facilitate the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna, the ZMP was given hasty approval, negating the directions of even the Supreme Court of India. The mandatory and detailed EIA was not done.
- Thus, thousands of deodar trees and kilometres of pristine mountain slopes face grave danger due to the same devastative DLPS road width.
Violation by Ministry of Road Transport:
- By widening hill roads to DLPS alignment, the Ministry of Road Transport is only contradicting its own notification.
- The Supreme Court itself took cognisance of this contradiction in civil appeal when a Bench headed by Justice R. Nariman reprimanded the Ministry and directed implementation of its own notification “prospectively and retrospectively” in September 2020.
- But the government produced the reason of “national security”. Eventually, a Bench headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud in December 2021 permitted the government to do whatever it desired. No questions were asked.
Contradictory questions:
- Why did the Defence Ministry which wanted a two-lane seven metre width road in the first place, change its requirement to one of DLPS road-width standard?
- Why is double lane road-width sufficient in the border areas while a so-called feeder road which is 80 km away from the border in the BESZ region being widened to DLPS standard?
- How is a vulnerable road-width design that leads to unstable mountain slopes suitable for a strategic road? Why did the Road Transport Ministry suggest a double laned road-width for BESZ but change its stance two months later?
- Why is a BESZ road widening project being allowed without a mandatory EIA?
- Why was the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna project implemented with DLPS road-width when its own circular suggested otherwise?
- When the Chardham Mahamarg Vikas Pariyojna was announced, only the core reason of “faster” movement of vehicular traffic was stated. Why and when was this project changed to one of strategic importance?
Carrying capacities:
- Before the monsoons, the Uttarakhand government increased the carrying capacity of all the Char Dhams while the carrying capacity for the Gangotri shrine (i.e., BESZ) was increased to 9,000 passenger carrying units per day even though the BESZ notification calls for a “regulation of vehicular traffic”.
- The Chardham shrines of Uttarakhand are already overburdened, their carrying capacities have been increased ignoring all scientific rationale to blindly boost the tourism sector and perhaps to justify the excessively road widening that the government is pursuing in the most vulnerable section of Himalaya.
- However, after the recent warning signals by nature, the State governments of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh propose a reassessment of carrying capacity.
- The Supreme Court too is setting a committee for the same, but the larger question is whether the recommendations will be implemented or not.
Saving the Gangotri:
- One of the most challenging issues for the Ganga’s rejuvenation is conservation of the Gangotri glacier, which is also the fastest receding glacier.
- With an increase in vehicular movement and episodes of forest fires, black carbon deposits (carbon plus soot) are rising on the glacier, escalating its melting.
- A Standing Committee report of March 2023 on water resources says, “Black carbon absorbs more light and emits infra-red radiation that increases the temperature. Therefore, an increase in black carbon in the high Himalaya contributes to the faster melting of glaciers.” Imagine the heating rod-like effect of a 12m wide tarred road in the vicinity of this glacier.
Way Forward:
- In the persistent debate of environment versus development of the hills, there is a very simple solution to all the chronic and acute problems that the hills face; regulation. In BESZ, the upgradation of roads to an intermediate road width, that will have minimal environmental impact, is the only possible and sustainable solution.
- If reducing a few metres of road width helps ensure the conservation of the only pristine stretch of the Ganga and protection of the Himalaya, then governmenr must make sincere efforts to amend the plan.
- Most importantly, no development can be sustained if it ends up destroying the main lifeline for millions of people and future generations.
