North By Northwest: The Eco-Fragile Himalayan Zone

While India's bid to increase hydropower generation and augment tunnel construction in the Himalayan states presents some benefits, they have significant environmental, socio-economic and political repercussions.

An analysis of the main problems, potential solutions and strategies to ensure sustainable development in these sensitive regions reveals the extent of ecological damage, socio-economic discontent and adverse long-term consequences it has resulted in.

Deforestation, large-scale topographical alterations and deep horizontal excavations — needed to widen existing roads and build new ones — destabilise mountain slopes. For example, the widening of roads in Himachal Pradesh under the Bharatmala Project has been linked to an increased number of landslides.

A study by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) indicates that over 40 per cent of landslides in Himachal Pradesh are directly linked to human activities, including road construction and deforestation.

Cast Away By Infrastructure

The construction of highways such as the Srinagar-Leh Highway and Manali-Leh Highway has led to massive deforestation. Establishing forward military bases in Ladakh has resulted in habitat fragmentation and displacement of wildlife, particularly in protected areas like Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary.

Building roads and bases in heavily forested areas, such as the Dachigam National Park in Jammu and Kashmir, threatens biodiversity. The construction of roads like the Durbuk-Shyok-DBO road has disrupted the Changthang plateau's wetlands, crucial for migratory birds.

Both the tunnels inaugurated by the Narendra Modi government amid much fanfare are problematic. In Himachal Pradesh, the Atal Tunnel faced criticism for groundwater depletion during construction, affecting local springs vital for irrigation and drinking water.

The strategic tunnel of Zoji La in Ladakh, while enhancing year-round connectivity, has involved large-scale blasting, raising concerns about geological stability of rock layers and sediments of what constitutes the world’s youngest fold mountains.

Heavy construction also alters soil structure, with concrete reducing its permeability and increasing the volume of water runoffs, exacerbating the possibilities of floods and landslides. During the monsoon of 2023, heavy rainfall combined with deforested slopes to cause massive landslides, claiming well over 300 lives in Shimla and Mandi districts of Himachal Pradesh.

Uncontrolled urban expansion, neglect of traditional building techniques, accompanied by rampant deforestation has been a catastrophe. The floods of 2014 were exacerbated by unregulated urbanisation and construction along riverbanks, reducing the Jhelum River’s floodplains.

Even the famed Dal Lake of Srinagar has not been spared. Construction activities and encroachment have contributed to eutrophication — a process by which a water body gets suddenly enriched with nutrients, leading to excessive growth of harmful algae and plants, which destroy marine and other life — and much worsened water quality.

The authorities’ push to attract tourists has brought in other problems too. Shimla nowadays produces nearly 100 metric tons of waste daily during peak tourist season, of which 40 per cent is non-biodegradable, leading to landfill overflows.

A study by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) revealed a 300 per cent increase in plastic waste in Leh over the past decade due to tourism. In winters, the amount of waste goes drastically down.

Tourism Trail, Hydel Run-Off

Water in the mountains is an extremely precious resource and locals use it very sparingly. A single tourist in Leh uses 75 litres of water a day, significantly higher than the 30 litres per capita availability for locals.

The situation is the same for Shimla, Manali, Srinagar and other hill stations. During peak seasons, hotels and homestays all over the Himalayan tourist hotspots have to depend on water tankers, which bring river water to the properties at exorbitant prices.

Mining for construction materials have brought its own share of problems to the region. A 2019 study by Indian Institute of Remote Sensing revealed that uncontrolled quarrying in Himachal’s Solan and Kangra led to groundwater depletion of up to 15 per cent, affecting over 50,000 farmers who rely on wells for irrigation.

The River Ravi in Chamba district has experienced heavy siltation due to illegal stone mining, threatening aquatic biodiversity. Wildlife experts have repeatedly pointed out as to how mining near Leh has disrupted the habitats of rare species like the snow leopard and Himalayan ibex, thus undermining conservation efforts.

Mining runoff often pollutes streams and rivers, affecting aquatic ecosystems. For instance, stone mining in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, has been linked to siltation in the Beas River. Mining activities, particularly near Leh and Kargil, has affected groundwater recharge, aggravating water scarcity in these water-scarce areas. Stone-crushing operations along Chenab and Ravi in Himachal Pradesh have increased sediment load, impacting aquatic habitats. 

In J&K, the construction of the Kishanganga Hydroelectric Project displaced many villages along with their inhabitants and disrupted agricultural practices and caused immense ecological damages. It led to widespread local protests.

The Parbati Hydroelectric Project (Himachal Pradesh) also witnessed widespread local opposition over compensation and ecological concerns, leading to repeated stalling of the project.

Development projects all over the region have faced resistance from local communities. In Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh, residents protested against hydropower projects and stone crushing citing landslides and disruption of traditional livelihoods. In 2021, over 1,500 villagers protested against the Jangi-Thopan Hydropower Project there, citing landslides and damage to apple orchards, their primary livelihood source.

Even the sparsely populated Zanskar Valley of Ladakh saw locals oppose mining activities that threatened grazing pastures critical for their livestock. 

Thus, we can see that large-scale projects often displace people from agriculture and pastoralism and that locals also feel it leads to cultural erosion in the form of dilution of local traditions and lifestyles. Influx of migrants from other parts of the country also contribute to their insecurities. These problems are quite similar to those in the other Himalayan regions of India.

Turning Back The Clock

The solutions are also, therefore, not unique. Conducting mandatory Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) before project approval is a must and local expertise and opinion need to be factored into planning. Small-scale projects providing local employment need to be prioritised, projects which do not involve extensive deforestation, major tampering of topographic features and altering natural slopes and drainage patterns.

The local community should be placed in the centre of it all and their concerns should be addressed in a rational and non-violent manner. The number of tourists and vehicles must be capped so as to not overburden existing infrastructure while augmenting waste water management systems and solid waste dispersal mechanisms.

Without independent regulatory bodies monitoring ongoing projects and penalties for violators of environmental laws and regulations, no measure will succeed.

While infrastructure development in Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh is crucial for socio-economic growth and national security, it must be balanced with ecological preservation and community welfare.

Adopting sustainable practices and respecting the region's fragile ecosystem will ensure that the development activities benefit both current and future generations. By addressing the specific challenges outlined in this analysis, these Himalayan regions can set an example of how to achieve development without compromising the fragile ecology of this unique region.

This is the third and last part of a series on Himalayan ecology. You can read Part 1 (on Uttarakhand) and Part 2 (on the Northeast) here.

(The writer is a sustainability and local culture advocate who has worked in senior editorial roles across Indian and foreign media. He is also the author of the novel General Firebrand And His Red Atlas. Views are personal)