India needs to raise its voice against destructive projects in the Himalayas

Disasters in Dharali (Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand), Chashoti (Kishtwar, Jammu & Kashmir), and then Tharali (Chamoli, Uttarakhand) have disrupted the lives of local people. The Seraj Valley, Kullu, Mandi, and several other areas in Himachal Pradesh have been facing continuous disasters, including this year, for several years now. In Sikkim, the Teesta Basin was affected by floods again this year, following the devastating floods of 2023 caused by glacial lake outbursts. These disasters in the sensitive Himalayan region have been exacerbated by unplanned and uncontrolled development projects and global climate change, both increasing their scale and impact. The frequency of disasters during the monsoon season in the Himalayan region is steadily increasing, with the impact increasing annually.

2013 emerged as a significant turning point in the recent disaster history and understanding of the western Himalayas. The Kedarnath tragedy in June 2013 in Uttarakhand not only affected Kedarnath but also led to severe flooding in the Badrinath region and the river systems of the Himalayan region, including the Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh. Since the Kedarnath disaster, the frequency of disasters has increased annually. Looking at just the first four years of this decade, in Himachal Pradesh alone, 476 people died and there was a loss of Rs 1,151 crore due to disasters during the 2021 monsoon season. In 2022, there were 276 deaths and a loss of Rs 939 crore, in 2023, 441 deaths and a loss of Rs 12,000 crore, and in 2024, 174 deaths and a loss of Rs 1,613 crore. In Uttarakhand, the economic loss due to this year’s disasters alone has reached Rs 5,000 crore by August, the highest since the Kedarnath disaster, while in Himachal Pradesh, the economic loss has reached Rs 13,000 crore. In the three months of June, July, and August, 327 people were killed in Himachal Pradesh, 77 in Uttarakhand, and 132 in Jammu and Kashmir. These figures indicate the severity of the disasters.

Warnings from geologists  

While these disasters have brought the Himalayan environment into mainstream discourse, the fact remains that beyond the initial media coverage, there is very little discussion about the long-term causes of these disasters, the unplanned, uncontrolled, and unscientific implementation of development projects in sensitive Himalayan regions, and criminal negligence in enforcing environmental regulations. This lack of discussion means that the public does not understand the interconnectedness of corporate capital, development projects, and disasters. Scientists and environmentalists warn the public and governments about these losses every year; however, their warnings are ignored.

Geologist S P Sati says, “Climate change is a major cause of these recurring disasters, but it is not the only cause. The devastation caused by the combination of road widening, hydropower, and railway projects in the Himalayan region is evident today. These projects access sensitive areas through tunnels dug into the fragile Himalayan terrain, which has multiplied the devastation. This destruction in the Himalayan region will not stop here; it will worsen in the future. We have warned the government repeatedly, but it continues to promote this destructive model of development. We need to revisit the files of this development model that causes such severe environmental damage.”

On July 28, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan stated, “If things continue as they are, the day is not far when the entire state of Himachal Pradesh will disappear from the map of the country.” The Supreme Court’s scathing remarks have once again exposed not only the administrative negligence and haphazard development activities responsible for the increasing number of disasters in Himachal Pradesh but also the government’s apathy towards climate change.

Environmentally sensitive planning

Focusing on the “inherent vulnerability” of the Himalayas and portraying Himalayan “disasters” as purely “natural” or “climate change-induced” events tend to limit the understanding of these disasters to mere random occurrences. However, both natural and human factors are responsible for all such events. There is no separate sensitive model for development projects in the Himalayan region. Roads are being widened haphazardly, as in the plains. While Ravi Chopra, the former chairman of the High-Powered Committee constituted by the Supreme Court for the Char Dham project, and an environmentalist, suggested maintaining the road width at 5.5 metres in this project, taking into account the fragile Himalayan terrain and sensitive ecosystem, this suggestion was not accepted.

Atul Sati, the coordinator of the Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said, “We never learn from disasters. After the Kedarnath disaster of 2013, we thought we would understand the sensitivity of the Himalayas, but we are seeing that reconstruction in Kedarnath is even more disastrous. Three-four-storey hotels are currently being built at such high altitudes. Helicopter services operate haphazardly, similarly to taxi services. The government is implementing projects in these areas without any understanding of the Himalayan region, similar to projects implemented in the plains. When Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, a riverfront was built in Ahmedabad, another was built in Varanasi, and yet another is being built in Kedarnath. The holy town is at an altitude of over 11,000 feet, while Varanasi is at 264 feet and Ahmedabad at only 174 feet. These were all Prime Minister Modi’s dream projects. However, the same type of riverfront is being built in all of these places. Now, a similar riverfront and corridor are being built in Badrinath Dham at 10,000 feet. Despite our protests, a helipad is being built at Hemkund Sahib, which is at an altitude of 16,000 feet. Considering the sensitivity of the Himalayas, our elders believed that in the high Himalayan meadows, one should not wear footwear, colorful clothes, or make loud noises. In Kedarnath, worship is performed with a conch shell, but according to ancient beliefs, conch shells are not used in Badrinath. However, today, large machines have reached these high Himalayan areas, destroying everything daily. Four-storey hotels and houses are built in Badrinath and Kedarnath. The government has shown the number of tourists in these areas to be an achievement. The Nanda Devi peak may be a place for foreigners to climb, but in our beliefs, Nanda Devi is a symbol of our faith; she is like a mother to us, therefore we want to ensure its protection. We have been continuously protesting these development projects in the Himalayan region, but the government is not listening. Every day, it approves of new projects that further destroy the Himalayas. All of this is being done for the benefit of a few capitalists, while we, the people of the Himalayas, are suffering the consequences of these projects, often at the cost of our lives.”  

Adverse effects

Currently, many projects in the Himalayan region are being undertaken with corporate interests in mind. Environmental regulations are often disregarded during the implementation of these projects, and their consequences are now evident. These projects not only destroy the local ecosystem but also exacerbate hazards such as landslides and floods. Governments often weaken environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to benefit corporations, resulting in long-term damages. In Uttarakhand, the Char Dham project, aimed at improving roads to the four pilgrimage sites (Kedarnath, Badrinath, Yamunotri, and Gangotri), involves an 889-kilometre road widening project. This project, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship initiatives, should have undergone an appropriate EIA, but it was arbitrarily divided into 53 smaller projects to circumvent this requirement. This project caused a devastating increase in landslides and other disasters in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. Before this project, there were only to 5-6 landslide-prone areas between Rishikesh and Badrinath; however, according to the National Highway Authority of India, there are 46 such vulnerable locations. Geologists and environmentalists have repeatedly expressed concerns with the government regarding this project.

Government and project developers often claim that the negative impacts of such projects are limited to the construction period and pose no threat afterward. However, experience with hydropower projects in the Himalayas over the past two decades shows that altering river flow leads to significant changes in the river’s natural flood-carrying capacity and sediment-handling ability, making floods more devastating, especially in the valleys downstream of dams. As the primary objective of these projects is power generation, the failure to release water from the tunnels in a timely manner and the failure to open gates at the right time often exacerbates the impact of disasters, as seen in the Kedarnath floods of 2013, the Rishiganga disaster of 2021, and the 2023 floods in Himachal Pradesh. A similar experience is seen with the Rishikesh-Karnprayag railway project, where cracks appeared in houses along the entire route of the railway tunnel, forcing people to leave their homes.

An electoral issue

In the Himalayan region, environmental issues and disasters are critical factors affecting the lives and livelihoods of local people. However, issues such as environmental protection and disaster management do not receive priority in election manifestos. Such manifestos are crucial for political parties as they serve as a platform to connect with the public. All political parties strive to include issues that directly affect people in their manifestos. While political parties in the Himalayan region promote corporate-driven projects in the name of development, they often fail to formulate concrete policies for environmental protection and local community safety. If voters prioritise environmental issues when casting their votes, governments will be compelled to focus on environment-centric projects rather than on corporate interests. Addressing disasters in the Himalayan region is only possible if they become a major political issue. In the 1970s, several countries saw the emergence of political parties that focused on environmental issues, which brought these issues to the forefront of public discourse. The same approach is needed today in the Himalayan region to ensure that environmental issues receive sustained attention, raise public awareness, and lead to the development and implementation of effective policies.

Before constructing large projects (hydropower, highways, tourism infrastructure, etc.), a disaster impact assessment of the affected area should be conducted. Planned drainage systems are needed for houses and offices in villages, towns, and cities, with special attention paid to water drainage. Construction activities should be restricted to small streams and river systems that are important for natural drainage. Action should be taken against any type of debris dumped into rivers.

The Himalayan region is severely impacted by climate change, with the rapid melting of glaciers. The melting of glaciers is not just a problem for the Himalayan region; it is also a problem for the entire country. Therefore, when destructive projects are implemented in the Himalayan region, the entire nation needs to raise its voice. The Himalayas have been fulfilling our needs for centuries, but neither the Himalayas nor we ourselves should accept our greed as an excuse for such action. 

Shiwani Pandey is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University of Delhi, with expertise in environmental politics, forest management, and forest rights

Views expressed are the author’s own and don’t necessarily reflect those of Down To Earth