The Chamoli tragedy brings back the memory of the June 2013 Kedarnath flash floods in Mandakini river from melting of the Chorabari glacier and resulted in death of nearly 5,000people. These tragic events show that more than ever, we need a development strategy for the Himalayas that takes into account the vulnerability of the region and the need for environment protection. There is no doubt that the fragile Himalayan ecosystem needs economic growth. But this development cannot come at the cost of environment. A different development strategy is required that is based on sustainable use of the region’s important resources for development and local livelihood security.

Fragile Ecosystem Himalayan mountain range is stretched over an area of 741,706 sq. km. It is home for rivers like Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra that flows through India, China, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. In northern India the Ganges basin provides irrigation for Privatisation Leads to Disaster in Chamoli156,300 hectares of agricultural land. The water that flows from high glaciers and mountains is a rich source for generation of hydel electricity.

This resource has to be discussed, both in terms of its opportunities and also that of destruction, a threat to its ecology and economy. Currently, there is a mad rush to build run-of-the-river projects and dams across the region. The four countries, including India, Pakistan, Nepal and China of the Hindukush Himalayan region have a hydroelectric potential of 334 GW. All Himalayan states are awarding hydroelectric project s to private companies at a break neck speed—Uttarakhand on the Ganga basin alone has identified projects adding up to nearly10,000 mw of power and plans for 70-odd ventures.

Power generation is a huge source of revenue generation for the state, but it comes at the cost of destroying lives, livelihood, and an entire ecosystem. Himalayas is a major biodiversity hotspot in the world. One can reveal some data like Himalayas are home for 10,000 plant, 300 animals, 977 bird and 269 fish species. Of which due to excessive human intervention, deforestation and diversion of rivers,31.6 percent plants, 12percent animals, 33 percent fresh water fish and15 percent bird species have already disappeared from the planet earth.

Despite growing climate threats, rush in large-scale privatisation of natural resources like rivers as part of neoliberal reforms leading to a hydropower boom from 2000, with public rivers contracted out to private investors with government financial support and tax breaks. As part of implementation of neoliberal economic policies, community assets and resources like rivers are converted to commodities and gifted away cheaply to crony capitalists for construction of hydel power projects. Under India’s 2008 hydropower policy, developers had offered concessions to private companies that insulated them from risk and helped them maximize profit.

During the last decade Uttarakhand government had given approval to the construction of over a dozen hydroelectric projects (HEPs) mostly in private sector. The state also has 17 major HEPs — including the one involving India’s tallest dam in Tehri on the Bhagirathi, Maneri Bhali HEP (Stage I and II), Chilla HEP, and Chibro HEP. In neighboring Himalayan state Himachal Pradesh government also recently signed MoUs for five megaprojects in Lahaul, home to over 100 glaciers, including Himachal’s largest glacier Bada Shigri, with SJVNL and NTPC. Nearly 16 mega hydel projects are proposed for the Chenab basin, which has a highly sensitive and fragile ecosystem, in Lahaul and Pangi valley with combined power generation of over 5,000MW.

The Chipko movement or Chipko Andolan, was a nonviolent social and ecological movement by rural villagers. Started in 1973 in Dehradun district of erstwhile united UP, and now Uttarakhand), spread fast throughout Indian Himalayas. Women protested commercial logging and deforestation by hugging the trees. Throughout the 1980s many protests were focused against construction of the Tehri dam. Various peoples’ struggles including Chipko andolan resulted in enactment of forest conservation act 1980 and 2006 forest rights act endowing rights to tribal people as the custodians of forests.

Not heeding to expert opinions Scientists and experts strongly believe that over-exploitation of rivers and rampant damming for hydroelectric projects (HEPs) could be one of the big factors responsible for the Chamoli disaster. The Char Dham committee was not alone in its view on hydro projects in the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. Also an expert committee of the Supreme Court on the 2013 Kedarnath deluge had also warned the authorities not to construct any hydropower plant in the upper Himalayas. The Kedarnath expert committee had warned about the excessive exploitation of vulnerable regions and the need tore-study and re-evaluate the Hydel energy projects (HEPs) of Uttarakhand. The report also objected to HEPs at an altitude of over 2000 metres. It stated that the ‘river-bed profile’ across the major HEPs of Uttarakhand has changed significantly, suggesting the possibility of disasters in future.

“Not heeding to all warnings of the experts, rampant construction was carried out in the sensitive zones even after the 2013 Kedarnath and now the present Chamoli deluges. Notably, two dozen hydropower plants of Uttarakhand were rejected by the Supreme Court after the expert panel report,” said Hemant Dhyani, member of the Char Dham committee.

Surprisingly despite the governments much advertised success in the Union government’s recent achievement in provision of 100 percent electrification of all villages in Tehri region only 50 per cent are electrified. History shows that construction of large dams apart from serious damage to local ecosystem uproot local population and affect their livelihoods. As there is a problem in electrification of remote mountainous regions, small hydropower projects (below 25 MW) are preferable without damaging the local eco systems.

The floods in Uttarakhand were exacerbated because of poor quality construction of hydropower projects by inexperienced private players. These projects must be reviewed or if need be scrapped. The policy for water-based energy in the Himalayan eco system needs to be carefully balanced so that growth does not come at the cost of the environment and livelihood security of local population. (IPA Service)