Editorial. Himalayan deluge

Large swathes of north and north-western India — Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Rajasthan — are in the grip of flood fury. The July rainfall in many of these regions has been the highest in 40 years. Alerts have been issued for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, where very heavy rain is expected over the next few days. It would be hard for any region in the world to survive such a battering. Besides, the Himalayas are ecologically fragile with their loose rock formation, steep slopes and snow cover.

The IMD has said that this deluge is a result of an ‘interaction’ of the South West monsoon and western disturbances. A similar event is linked to the Uttarakhand floods of a decade ago. Such has been the rain in North India that a 10 per cent all-India deficiency in the end of June has turned into a 2 per cent excess at present — led by a 59 per cent excess over north west India.

However, there can be no getting away from the fact that unplanned development in the hills has led to the sort of catastrophic consequences that are in view today — as they have indeed been in other parts of India in recent years, be it Kerala (Wayanad), Karnataka (Kodagu) or Uttarakhand. In Uttarakhand and HP, the monsoons have turned truly menacing in recent years owing to the rising frequency of extreme climate events and, what’s worse, the lack of preparedness to deal with them. While the fast flowing mountain rivers, which are in spate now, carry a lot of silt debris anyway, it does not help at all that construction debris too finds its way into these rivers — and this is not dredged out. Resorts and houses have been built close to the river banks and on the path of storm water drains, with little regard for town planning or plain common sense. In the case of Shimla — where the water is not potable now because of the debris in it caused by excessive rain — a committee set up by National Green Tribunal has made some pertinent suggestions. It bemoaned construction on steep slopes in a region prone to landslides and earthquakes, and expansion into green areas. Yet, a new Development Plan (DP 41) for the city disregards these aspects.

It is hoped that governments wake up to the dangers of unplanned construction, be it hotels, houses or large development projects. While HP and Uttaranchal are suited to hydel projects, these should be built with due sensitivity to the topography, and with strict regulations in place. The same holds true for making of or widening roads in these States. A serious thought needs to be given to tourism overkill. Finally, some sort of zoning for habitations and commercial activity, of the sort suggested for the Western Ghats by the Madhav Gadgil panel, and later the Kasturirangan panel, needs to be implemented for the Himalayas. It is unfortunate that Kerala has not acted on this count. Such neglect results in huge human and economic costs.