Himachal’s Environmental Blind Spots

It would appear that Himachal’s first-time Chief Minister, Mr. Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, has made a fairly good start to his innings, which is just about six months old. He has kept the old guards and family dynasts in good humour, implemented some of the campaign promises, rolled back a few BJP decisions and has initiated steps to augment the state’s revenues, reeling from a debt of more than Rs. 70000 crores. But I must confess that I am sorely disappointed with his government in one important respect- he has turned a blind eye to the progressive ruin and destruction of the state’s natural environment, and is following in the disastrous footsteps of his predecessors. And that has to be a cause for worry and concern.

Indian politicians, across parties, have mastered what V.S.Naipaul in his book AREA OF DARKNESS terms “the art of non-seeing.” And in this respect at least Mr. Sukhu is no different from his brethren- he refuses to see the writing on the mountain walls- the loss of forest cover, the rapid melting of glaciers (a recent ICIMODE report says that 80% of Himalayan glaciers would have vanished by 2100), the risk of flooding by bursting of glacial lakes(GLOF), the rampant over-construction and over-tourism that is not only devastating the landscape but also posing an imminent danger to the state’s citizens. He has learnt no lessons from Uttarkashi, and continues to pursue the same disastrous policies of previous governments. He has spouted a lot of rhetoric about making Himachal a “green state” (whatever that means) and becoming “carbon neutral” but none of this has translated into any policy decision or action on the ground. One had hoped that he would fashion a new paradigm of environment friendly and sustainable “development” but that hope is gradually turning to despair. Let me focus on just three major areas to prove my point, areas which I had mentioned in an earlier blog – HIMACHAL NEEDS A NEW GREEN AGENDA-NOW dated 13th January, 2023), which I had posted when he was elected.

The biggest disaster in the making is the recently notified Shimla Development Plan 2041 (SDP41). This astounding piece of bureaucratic ignorance and apathy is a death warrant for Shimla and thousands of its residents, living as they do in a seismic zone 4 area. It permits construction in hitherto prohibited areas- the core and heritage zones; it allows five floors in the non-core areas where currently only 2+1 floors are allowed; it will, after more than twenty years of strict prohibition, enable people (read builders and hoteliers) to construct in the only remaining green lungs of Shimla- the 400 hectares of forests comprising the Green Belt of the town. The stated objective of the SDP 41 is to TRIPLE- yes, TRIPLE- the town’s population (from two lakhs in the 2011 census to six lakhs by 2040). A town which even now cannot provide parking for residents and tourists, where it takes 30 minutes to move two kilometers; a town which suffers an acute shortage of water every year; a town where dead bodies have to be carried over rooftops in certain areas because the lanes are not wide enough to permit it; a town which once was a pedestrian’s delight but where you now walk at your own risk; a town where there are 20000 irregular buildings already since no govt. has mustered the political will to take action against them.

Each and every one of these provisions have been incorporated against the advice of the government’s own expert committees and objective town planners. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) had struck down this SDP41in 2018; the state High Court too quashed it a couple of years later, dismissing the state’s appeal. The previous BJP government had the filed an appeal in the Supreme Court which this May passed a strange order: without going into the merits of the case, or reasons on the basis of which both the NGT and HC had struck down the SDP41, it allowed the government to notify the new Plan but said that the government would not act upon it for a month thereafter! To be sure, the state govt. may not act upon it just yet, but you can be sure that the builders have already started acting on it. We are gradually becoming inured to puzzling orders from the apex court but this particular one surely has to take the cake, if not the bakery. Why not maintain status quo till the case is finally decided on merits? Has the court forgotten Uttarkashi so soon?

One had expected that the new state govt. would withdraw the state’s appeal in the Supreme Court, and respect and abide by the decisions of the NGT and the High Court, especially now that no elections are due for the next five years. But it is apparent that the pressure from the builders’ lobby is even now as strong and irresistible as it was with the previous govt. and Mr. Sukhu has not been able to withstand it. Some day the residents of Shimla will pay for this in blood, broken bones and shattered dreams, but who cares as long as the EVMs churn out the right numbers?

The second issue that concerns the state’s environment is the reckless obsession with building and widening roads, without any care for the fragile terrain or the large scale displacement of people it causes. As many as 69 National Highway projects have been approved, of which 5 are four-lane highways, including Shimla-Mataur, Pathankot-Mandi. Kiratpur-Manali and Parwanoo-Shimla. These may be good news for Mr. Gadkari’s annual targets, or for the coffers of politicians and engineers, but they are the last things Himachal needs. Four laning in mountainous terrain is enormously destructive, causing deforestation and landslides for years: the Parwanoo-Shimla NH was declared completed in 2021 after five years’ delay, but landslides continue even today, closing down two lanes for months. It is no coincidence that this particular NH and the Manali one were the worst effected by the torrential rains in the last half of June this year, stranding thousands of commuters and tourists for as long as 24 hours at a stretch. This happens every year, but the govt. goes on adding more such projects every year. It should give up this four laning madness and concentrate only on PMGSY and District rural roads: the latter are needed, the former are not.

Even otherwise, mountains don’t need four lane highways which may be suited for the plains. They increase vehicular traffic exponentially ( Shimla police records show that vehicles entering Shimla this year have gone up by 25%), causing pollution, traffic jams and clogging the towns where there is just no space to park so many vehicles. Shimla has parking for only 6000 vehicles, but as many as 15000-20000 arrive from outside every day during season time (these are in addition to the 100,000 or so locally registered vehicles!). The result ? Shimla police have said that 60000 vehicles are unauthorisedly parked on the roads, and it takes an average of 90 minutes to go from one end of the town to the other, a distance of barely 7 kms. Things are exactly the same in Manali, Dharamsala, Solan, Palampur, Kasauli. 10000 vehicles cross the Atal tunnel every day, all tourists! It is simply not feasible to construct supporting infrastructure for these numbers in this kind of terrain. We should be discouraging more vehicles entering the state; four laning of highways will only encourage more and more vehicles to crowd the roads and cities, making them unlivable. One expected that the new Chief Minister would roll back this madness but instead he has requested the Centre for more such roads!

The ambitiously christened Mandi International Airport is another instance where the Chief Minister has disappointed. There is no need for this quixotic project: all three existing airports in the state do not function to even 50% of their capacity, so why build another one? Especially when the environmental and social costs are enormous, in terms of felling of thousands of trees, concretising hundreds of acres, diversion of streams and displacement of a thousand farming families. Even the financial costs are staggering- Rs. 5220 crores- for a state which has a debt overburden of Rs. 80000 crores and finds it difficult to pay salaries and pensions on time. Any objective cost-benefit analysis would result in this project being thrown into the dustbin. (A more detailed analysis of this project can be found in my blog MANDI AIRPORT IS HIMACHAL’S OWN CENTRAL VISTA DISASTER, dated 22nd October, 2021 at <https://avayshukla.blogspot.com/2021/10/mandi-airport-is-himachals-own-central.html>. But Mr. Sukhu is going ahead with this project on all four cylinders.

Sadly, these instances prove only the obvious- that the environment does not concern the Indian politician, no matter which party he belongs to. It does not appear to concern the voter either or the various Whatsapp groups and so it can be milked for profit every time. And it’s we, the people, who are to blame for we do not call them out, are content with short term benefits, lack a vision for the future generations, and do not make this precious natural heritage an election issue. We forget that we have not inherited the natural environment from our ancestors, we have taken it as a loan from our children, and have to return it to them. We are defaulting on this loan on a massive scale.

Avay Shukla

The author retired from the IAS in December 2010. A keen environmentalist and trekker he has published a book on high altitude trekking in the Himachal Himalayas: THE TRAILS LESS TRAVELLED. His second book- SPECTRE OF CHOOR DHAR is a collection of short stories based in Himachal and was published in July 2019. His third book was released in August 2020: POLYTICKS, DEMOCKRAZY AND MUMBO JUMBO is a compilation of satirical and humorous articles on the state of our nation. His fourth book was published on 6th July 2021. Titled INDIA: THE WASTED YEARS , the book is a chronicle of missed opportunities in the last nine years. Shukla’s fifth book – THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER’S DOG AND OTHER COLLEAGUES- was released on 12th September 2023. It portrays the lighter side of life in the IAS and in Himachal. He writes for various publications and websites on the environment, governance and social issues. He divides his time between Delhi and his cottage in a small village above Shimla. He blogs at http://avayshukla.blogspot.in/