Eco-concerns to save mountains

The mountains, rivers, streams and forests of Himachal Pradesh have been bearing the brunt of industrial development for some time now.

The mountains, rivers, streams and forests of Himachal Pradesh have been bearing the brunt of industrial development for some time now. Despite that industrialisation leading to ecological degradation have largely gone unnoticed in the state. In 2003-04, the Supreme Court fined the Himachal government for its inability to save the ecology along the Beas river. Earlier too, the court had cracked its whip to stop illegal diversion of the course of river Beas by Span Resorts, owned by Union Minister Kamal Nath.

Early this year, the High Court, once again, took suo-moto cognizance of The Indian Express report on growing industrial pollution seriously affecting the environment in Baddi-Brotiwala industrial belt. In absence of an effective institutionalised mechanism to check environmental degradations, these cases are the only ones which can attract public attention and compel the government to act firmly.

The state, too, cannot overlook these critical issues for long, especially after a sudden spurt in industrial activities and most importantly when nearly Rs 22,000 crore have been invested in new industrial projects in the past four years. The government seems to have woken-up to the cause to deal with new challenges on the environmental front. As a first step to create an institutionalised mechanism, HP has decided to set up a new department of environment, pollution control and science and technology. The Cabinet, at a special meeting held a fortnight back, approved the proposal. CM Virbhadra Singh said: 8220;Himachal is a state with fragile ecology, green forests and valleys. We have an added responsibility to preserve the natural resources and strike a balance between development and environmental concerns. The new department will act as a watch-dog.8221;

Some of the areas of concern in HP, which often has been raised by environmentalists, are mining activities and boring of tunnels for large hydel projects. Though, a HC ban on illegal mining in Sirmaur, bordering Musoorie hills, has saved this belt from ecological destruction, the new threat was mining along the river-beds in the mid-hills and Kangra region. More than 2,000 water sources, including drinking water supply schemes, have already dried up as result of mining.

In the hydel sector too, the private power producers are facing public ire for serious violations. More than a dozen small hydro power companies, executing projects in Kangra and Chamba districts, are facing stiff opposition from villagers fearing threat to their traditional sources of water.