Editorial. Rain-ravaged HP needs another development model

An environmental catastrophe has unfolded this monsoon in the tiny hill State of Himachal Pradesh. There have been over 300 deaths, damage to property worth over ₹10,000 crore, disruption of water, electricity supplies and about 560 major arterial and rural roads blocked by landslides, cloudbursts and floods. Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu has urged the Centre to declare it a national calamity. “We have not seen such rain in the last 50 years,” he said.

While climate change is considered to be a factor in the quantum of rain and cloudbursts witnessed this monsoon, the State government, over the decades, must take the blame for promoting an ecologically disastrous development model. Unplanned growth has led to the fragile mountains being saturated with haphazard construction of hotels, guest houses and residential complexes. The lower Shivalik region is similarly reeling with ill-planned industrial growth in towns like Baddi in Solan district and Kala Amb in Sirmaur district which increasingly resemble urban slums. The State Government has refused to heed warnings, such as the one from the National Green Tribunal on November 16, 2017, which had flagged Shimla’s vulnerability to natural disasters on account of uncontrolled construction. The NGT had put a complete ban on any new construction — residential, institutional and commercial — in Shimla’s core green and forest areas, besides restricting the height of buildings and recommending demolition of unauthorised structures. But in an apparent violation of the NGT order, the State Government has notified the new draft Shimla Development Plan – “Vision 2041” allowing construction in 17 green belts with certain restrictions.

The State’s focus on unsustainable tourism has led to some urban centres bursting at the seams, while remote regions remain under-developed and are subject to en masse out-migration. A region like Lahaul and Spiti, with tourism potential, remains under-developed and is undergoing a decline in its population. In contrast, Shimla district has close to a million inhabitants with a decadal growth of nearly 13 per cent.

The State’s founders had a different vision for its development when it was carved out of Punjab in 1971. The State’s first Chief Minister Yashwant Singh Parmar, envisioned developing the State as a hub of horticulture, allied activities in rural areas and home-grown tourism, with advanced rural infrastructure tailored to its unique ecology and topography. He set up horticulture universities for research and developed institutions such as HP Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation to provide post-harvest facilities to fruit growers and provide them the best returns for their produce. This monsoon should persuade the State’s planners to mould Himachal in the vision of its founders. The Centre needs to step in urgently to help the State back on its feet. An immediate halt to aggressive real estate and tourism is called for — with a focus on sustainable development instead.

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