Time to learn from Joshimath

Shouldn’t compensatory afforestation be in the same area in the Himalayas which is affected by the project?

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The Joshimath crisis in Uttarakhand gained attention just as the New Year started, as residents staged a protest to raise concerns about the spreading of cracks in houses due to land subsidence. Land subsidence in Joshimath has now spread to affect over 1,000 buildings, besides roads, power assets, temples, and Army infrastructure.

Even as there is much anguish on what caused the most recent subsidence, the debacle at Joshimath is a severe warning to our no-holds barred development model. This article raises some questions on what could be suitable development policies in light of environmental considerations in such fragile geographies.

URBAN PlANNiNG 

Can we develop master plans and credible EIAs (environmental impact assessments) for urban areas in mountains like Joshimath, Gangtok, Darjeeling, Mussoorie, Leh, and Nainital? Just as the SC has asked the managers of national parks to permit tourists based on an upper cap; a proxy for carrying capacity. Civic bodies would sanction new construction for tourism based on dynamic caps, which can move up with infrastructure improvements.

DAMS 

We learn that in the Indian Himalayas, some 10,000 glaciers are receding at a rate of 100 to 200 feet per decade. The runoff can form glacial lakes which can then burst their banks dramatically, leading to downstream destruction.