Introduction 

India’s plastic waste problem is not as huge as that of the western world but if we do not wake up to this alarmingly ever-growing problem now, it would soon drown us under its weight. As per CSE analysis 79% of the plastics made in the world enters our land, water and environment as waste and some of it also enters our bodies through food chain. Pandemic of 2020 has only made the matter worse.

We have Plastic Waste Management Rules made under Environment Protection Act. We are talking about Extended Producers Liability to deal with the menace.

I just wanted to pick up a district and understand the existing system for plastic waste management and see how it works. I chose to start from the hill state of Himachal Pradesh and decided to study district Kullu.

Kullu District at a Glace

Kullu district is located higher up in the mountains in the eastern part of central Himachal Pradesh and is bordered by districts of Lahaul and Spiti in North and East, Kinnaur in the South East, Shimla in the South, Mandi in the South and South-West and Kangra district in the North West. The area of the district is 5,503 Sq.kms. as per Survey of India which remained unchanged since its creation in 1963 (1) . The altitude in the district varies from 1089 metres to 6632 metres from above mean sea level.

The district has four sub-divisions at Kullu, Manali, Banjar and Anni and five development blocks at Nagar, Kullu, Banjar, Anni and Nirmand. The district has six Tehsils and two sub tehsils. It has two Municipal Councils of Kullu and Manali, has 204 Gram Panchayats, 326 villages and a census town at Shamshi (2). District has four Nagar Panchayats including two new Nagar panchayats that have been created by a cabinet decision held on October 28, 2020.

District Environment Plan

District Kullu has a district environment plan which was made to comply with the orders of Hon’ble NGT on 15.07.2019 in OA no 710/2017 titled Shailesh Singh Vs Sheela Hospital and Trauma Centre Shahjahanpur and also in pursuance of orders dated 26.09.2019 in OA no 360 of 2018 titled Shree Nath Sharma Vs UOI and others.

Deputy Commissioner is the chairperson of the district environment committee and the representative of the SPCB is the member secretary. The plan is lengthy but sketchy, it does mention action to be taken to mitigate different types of pollution and the agency responsible for the proposed action but does not elaborate on how that action can be taken and the time frame with in which the same has to be done. There is no mention of consequences if the said action is not taken and also no mention of allocation of financial resources for the proposed actions.

The district environment plan does not mention either the quantum or the constitution of the waste being generated in the district. The plan is also silent about the need to ascertain the same. The district environment plan aims to manage waste without actually having a clear idea about what kind of waste and how much waste is being generated in the district. The management plan envisages action points to deal with different kinds of waste but leaves entirely to the imagination as to how does it plan to create infrastructure or facility without having a clear estimate of waste that facility or infrastructure would be required to handle. The appropriateness of infrastructure to be created for waste management, the technology to be used especially in case of Waste to Energy plant, the facilities for waste management to be created would entirely depend upon the nature and type of waste being generated. The plan however goes on to enumerate different action points without taking cognizance of the quantum or composition of the waste in the district. It looks like a box ticking approach in pursuance of the orders of the Hon’ble NGT orders but lacks in-depth understanding of the waste being generated in the district. The district administration seems to be doing work on this front but unfortunately they seem unaware of the gravity of the situation and also unfortunately the urgency with which waste management in the mountains should be done seems lacking. This is being said after meeting and discussing the issue of waste management especially the plastic waste with various government officials in the district responsible for waste management.

Ground truthing of certain claims made in the district environment plan reveal gaps in reality and what is being claimed in outcomes. Public participation and behavioral change have been mentioned as two main factors if the environment plan of the district has to succeed but no mention of the administration’s plans to achieve the same has been made. Ironically, the plan very complacently claims that the environment status in the district is safe (3).

Plastic Waste Management(PWM) Plan in the District

Under the section of Plastic Waste Management plan there is no mention of the existing quantum of plastic waste being generated in the district. The awareness and information about the composition of plastic waste is clearly absent. It is a bit difficult to understand that a management plan for plastic waste is being made without any knowledge of both quantum and composition of  plastic waste being generated in the district. It being a major tourist attraction there must be a significant variation in plastic waste generation in peak tourist season and lean season.

The document mentions following action points as showing positive outcome in the ULBs in the district

Following actions have to be improved or to be included in the action plan for PWM

PWM In Rural Areas

In rural area of the district there are no plastic waste collection centers and in areas where there are home stays and hotels it is causing a huge hazard for the environment.

Regular rag pickers are collecting plastic from people and they just pick recyclable plastic which can be sold and fetches them a livelihood.

Action Plan for PWM

Following is the action plan for Plastic waste management given in the District Environment plan of District Kullu (4)

The plan mentions the purpose of action that it intends to take through an identified agency for PWM. It is silent about the creation of necessary linkages with industry, how much quantum of plastic waste can be disposed of or reused and also the time frame within which such actions are to taken.

I have visited the only Waste to Energy (WTE) Plant in the district located at Rangri in Manali and have documented the status of this facility in detail both visually and by interviewing people working over there. The WTE plant does not generate energy as incinerator and other necessary machinery for the same are still not installed at the site. The site is producing RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel) and some of it is being sent to the cement plants in the state who are under an obligation to use RDF up to 1% as a part of their fuel mix. This arrangement works on an adhoc basis and this is an observation that is being made on the regularity of dispatch of RDF to cement plants.

RDF is also supposed to be used for road construction but it has not been used for this so far. The environmental consequences of using RDF for road construction in terms of leachate is still being debated is a different question that needs to be addressed at the policy level.

The intent of this write up was to see how well we are prepared to deal with our waste especially plastic waste and the district was chosen randomly. On paper and in pursuance of court orders it seems we are doing a lot of work but we still have to go a very long way if we are serious about managing our waste in a scientific, safe and a sustainable manner. The environment plan discussed above shows clearly the manner in which this issue is being dealt with as of now.

Footnotes:

• https://www.censusindia.gov.in/2011census/dchb/0204_PART_B_DCHB_KULLU.pdf
• https://censusindia.gov.in/2011-prov-results/paper2/data_files/kerala/13-concept-34.pdf
  Census Town is defined as a town which has a minimum population of 5000, at least 75% of main male working population is engaged in non-agricultural pursuits and has a density population of at least 400 per square kilo meters.
• https://hpkullu.nic.in/document/district-environment-plan/
• Ibid

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Archana Vaidya is a Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Environment Law consultant and an advocate. She is an Oxford Gurukul Chevening Fellow and was one of the founding partners of IELO, a law firm. She has co-authored books and writes on various issues related to natural resource management and environment law.

By: Archana Vaidya

COVID pandemic induced work from home has afforded a hitherto unknown flexibility to a  certain section of society who can work from anywhere as long as they have access to a fast  speed internet connection. We as a family also took advantage of an otherwise gloomy  situation and relocated from the cooped-up life of an apartment in a metropolitan city to the  pristine mountains of Himachal Pradesh (HP) for an extended period of time.  

The very thought of misty mountains and fresh crisp air rejuvenates smoke stung city eyes  and pollution filled city lungs. There is absolutely no comparison in the quality of life that one  enjoys in the mountains to the one available in a city, where all the amenities on offer are  negated by pollution, congestion and chaos. However, this time since we got to stay in the  mountains for a relatively long period, we faced the grim reality of life there as well.  

HP provides water to both the Indus and Ganges basin and is home to five major river basins  i.e. Sutlej, Ravi, Beas, Chenab and Yamuna, besides many more small tributaries and water  channels. The state produces excess hydro power and sells electricity to neighbouring states.  It sounds absolutely reasonable to expect that in a water and electricity surplus state, there  would be ample daily water supply and no power cuts at all, except of course when the  weather would act up and a fault occurred in the supply line due to accidents. To my dismay,  the village where we were staying, which is located in Kullu district, only got water every  alternate day. I could not make my peace with the fact that in Delhi, with its high-density  population and no water source of its own, we get water supply daily while here in the hills, which are the source of water for many other states, people were not getting a daily supply.  There were also frequent power cuts, or load shedding or local fault as the complaint office  would like you to believe, without any notice. This is something that people living in  metropolitan cities thankfully do not have to deal with anymore and so are not used to it.  During our twelve weeks stay in the hills, we realised that we had to keep our gadgets always  fully charged because the power could go off anytime and there would be no guarantee of it  being restored within any certain time frame.  

To my amazement people living in these areas are completely adjusted to such outages and  an alternate day water supply. They just don’t complain and even when the electricity would  go on a perfectly sunny morning without any obvious reason, people would patiently wait till  10 a.m. when the officials would report to work and wouldn’t particularly bother to try  register a complaint if it happened post 5 pm in the evening. There is absolutely no  expectation of good governance. People behave as if the water and electricity supplies are  something that we need to be grateful for and also as if we, the consumers, do not pay for  these services. I was quite taken aback when I figured that well to do, educated, resourceful people also do not behave and conduct themselves like citizens of a free, democratic country.  To me they seemed to behave like subjects of the government and I felt as if we still hadn’t  completed the transition from being a country ruled by a foreign power to a country ruled by  our elected representatives, who we choose ourselves and can throw out of power if they did  not deliver. To my exasperation, people seem to be resigned to their fate and do not feel any  anger or frustration; no one feels that it is their right and they can take to task the people  responsible for providing these services. According to them, these were bigger and not local  level issues, which obviously could not be solved at the village level and also since no one  responded so there was no point complaining. 

While we were happily driving towards the hills thinking of a clean, quiet village, my husband  who belongs and goes there very often, was warning us against getting super excited. He  knew well that though we were getting out of a hell hole for sure, we were not headed to any  pristine untouched mountain village. I knew the village would have its own challenges and  was willing to embrace them but air pollution was the last thing I had on my mind. I had  anticipated that there would not be any system for waste collection, but here I was wrong. It  was heartening to see a service, though still in its infancy, for door to door garbage collection  which claimed to collect garbage on a daily basis though was somewhat erratic. Lots of people in the village apparently did not avail of this service, I assume primarily due to monthly  payment of Rs 200. When I walked around the village to see how clean the village was, I felt  sad and angry at the indifference, ignorance and callousness of the people as there were  garbage heaps all around. Water streams and local water channels were clogged with all kinds  of waste. These streams are snow fed and used for irrigation and water for cattle, still people  seemed unperturbed. 

I figured that most of the collected waste, after recyclable plastic was taken out, was  transported straight to Rangari, a village near Manali, where the district had its only waste to  energy plant (WTE) and also a landfill right at the bank of river Beas. The WTE plant does not,  as of today, generate energy as the incinerator and other necessary machinery required for  generation are still not installed at the site. The site is producing RDF (Refuse Derived Fuel)  and some of it is being sent to cement plants in the state which are under an obligation to  use up to 1% RDF as a part of their fuel mix. This arrangement works on an ad-hoc basis as  there does not seem to be any regular dispatch of RDF to cement plants. RDF is also  supposed to be used for road construction but this hasn’t happened so far. The environmental  consequences of using RDF for road construction in terms of leachate is still being debated,  which is a separate question that needs to be addressed at the policy level. The fact that the  landfill was at the bank of the river was in absolute violation of the existing legal mandate in  this regard. 

WTE Plant at Rangri Near Manali town and Beas River 

Let’s now come to the problem of air pollution in the village, sounds incredible, right? We had  a flour mill about 200 meters downhill from where we lived and we were absolutely  dumbstruck to see white plumes of pollutants come out from this mill every day in the  afternoon. There were days when our parked cars were covered in fine white dust when we  woke up in the morning. We just couldn’t believe that we had to deal with Respiratory  Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) in this village also. We were told that was happening  unabatedly, with impunity, for many years despite complaints from local residents. The  matter had to be taken up with the State Pollution Control Board authorities. It is still not  resolved but I believe certain amends are being made by the owners of the Mill on the  prodding of the authorities and I intend to pursue this matter till an efficacious solution is  found. I wonder how and why in the first place a flour mill was given permission to be set up  in the middle of a village and why was it not anticipated that it could be a cause of serious air  pollution to the ever growing population of this ever growing village.

White dust cloud can be seen 

While we were driving towards our village I was appalled by the construction activity  happening all around on our way, especially once we reached the mountains in HP. To me, it  seemed that the mountains were being mercilessly massacred in the name of development.  Every few kilometres there would be a stone crusher mauling the mountains and producing  stones for more construction. I have had the good fortune of travelling a bit around the world  and have seen how people/governments in the west have maintained their mountains and  how they have still preserved the narrow roads of erstwhile eras to preserve the ecology and  the integrity of their environment. Here we want four lane roads going everywhere without  having any care about the carrying capacity of the mountains which are being ripped apart  and hollowed out at every possible place. The image that I had in my mind from not very long  ago was completely shattered and I started to feel like a helpless, mute spectator to the  process of annihilation of our mountains being carried out in the name of development and  prosperity.  

To my disappointment the village where we have a house now resembles a bustling Kasbah which is bursting at the seams and is spreading like a wild poisonous ivy in all possible  directions. The market of the village, which is on the national highway, resembles a by lane of Karol Bagh or any old city market where buildings are made on top of each other,  essentially on every and any available space. This unplanned, unregulated construction has largely happened in the last few years and has changed the face of the village beyond  recognition. 

We as a nation talk of planning, development, sustainable environment friendly growth and  here we are losing out on an immense opportunity where we could ensure that at least our  villages and small towns, which are witnessing unprecedented developmental activities and  construction, don’t face the same fate as our cities. Alas, they are going down the same path  and the authorities might wake up only when there would be nothing left to plan or regulate.  I wonder how laws are implemented and who is responsible for ensuring that they are  implemented, because as per the mandate of the existing laws there has to be some space  left between the road (depending upon whether it is a national highway or a state highway)  and where construction can start on the side of the road. Why are concerned authorities not  alert when such construction starts to happen and why don’t they hold people accountable  for such unpardonable lapses? It was quite disconcerting to see that numerous gargantuan  buildings were coming up on the sides of the national highway without attracting anyone’s  concern or attention. Absolutely no one is bothered about setbacks, access to the building,  areas to be left for common use etc. while constructing such humongous buildings.  Agricultural land is getting sold every day and the same being converted into plots of smallest  possible sizes and sold for making unregulated, unplanned buildings. There is absolutely no  distinction between residential and commercial areas as it is a village and there is no  requirement of a minimum area on which a building can be erected. Forget about land use  planning, if we could somehow manage and regulate this catastrophe of haphazard  construction from happening, it would be a great achievement. 

There is a gram panchayat in the village and one wonders whether it would have the  wherewithal in terms of vision and manpower to deal with the problems that this so-called village is facing. I am afraid that most people in the village don’t even understand the direction  that they are headed in and are very happy as long as there is development happening around  them; unfortunately this is the only template of development that they might be familiar with.  To have shops, big buildings like in a city, a mall if possible, big brand showrooms is what  development is thought to be all about. Sure, it does generate employment but what kind of  employment, for how many people and for how long is something no one thinks about.  Unplanned construction is happening relentlessly without any care for anything except  maximization of individual profit because it is a village and falls out of the jurisdiction of the  planning authorities’ mandate. By the time the village becomes an urban area and recognized  as one by the system and thus comes under the radar of urban planning there would be  nothing left to plan except managing the chaos.  

For short term gains long term well-being of the area is being compromised unbeknown to  most living there. We need better equipped , more accountable schools and health facilities  which deliver quality education and health services to all, reliable and regular electricity and  water supply, clean air, sustainable environment friendly development and other government  services appropriate for a largely agrarian economy e.g. agriculture, horticulture extension  facilities etc., so that we create better opportunities for the young to be able to covet for a  better life. 

I am sure this is not just the story of this one village, it is the story of many villages in Himachal  Pradesh and in India as well. The point that I am trying to make is that why do we first allow  the problems to not only develop and fester and then try to manage the problem or find a  solution. Why can’t we envisage that since we are a developing country and are in the phase  of growing very fast, we need to regulate our growth for it to be sustainable and useful for  everyone.  

We know that out of the 121 crore Indians, 83.3 crores live in rural areas while 37.7 crore live in urban areas (as per the Census of 2011) and we still do not feel the need to bring rural  areas under some kind of regulation or planning so that we can stop haphazard construction  activity in the name of development. Some states like West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu  apparently do have some rules but I have no idea about their implementation and efficacy. 

I always used to wonder in the realm of ground water management as to why do we wait for  a certain zone to become critical before the law kicks in and regulation starts to happen for ground water extraction. This kind of management sounds counterintuitive and has produced  disastrous results in terms of most of the country designated as critical areas due to the overexploitation of groundwater. Why don’t we apply regulatory tools for judicious use of water  in the first place and regulate groundwater abstraction for public good. The same story to  my mind is being unfolding as far as unregulated, unplanned construction activity is  happening in rural villages which are outside the planning areas. The authorities should wake  up before the situation becomes critical and nothing much except mitigation can be done.

Archana Vaidya is a Natural Resource Management (NRM) and Environment Law consultant and an advocate. She is an Oxford Gurukul Chevening Fellow and was one of the founding partners of IELO, a law firm. She has co-authored books and writes on various issues related to natural resource management and environment law.

It’s the season for the rare, slightly bitter flower-vegetable with a sweet aftertaste. Locals make a beeline in front of vendors selling it in Gangtok. And, there’s a recipe too.

By: Satyadeep Chhetri

Gangtok, Sikkim.

Twenty-six-year old Shreya Upreti lived in Pune for nine years before returning to her home state of Sikkim recently. One thing she missed in Pune, known to be a gourmand’s paradise, is nakima, an edible flower with medicinal properties. Last week, she ate her first nakima in a long time, and the very first spoonful brought back a lot of food memories, she told Gaon Connection.

“The first time my mother made it for me, I was eighteen. I hated it. It was awfully bitter, and my mother kept getting me to eat it, insisting it was good for health, and high in protein and Vitamin C. After the third or fourth time, I think I fell in love,” she laughed.

Today, nakima is her favourite flower-vegetable.

So, what is nakima that gets people all nostalgic and warm?

In September and October, the air in Gangtok, the capital city of Sikkim located 1,650 metres above sea level, is slightly nippy and humid. The monsoon is waning — rain lashes down occasionally and temperatures dip to about 18 degrees Centigrade or less. This is not the regular tourist season, and locals get to enjoy their city and its peace and quiet. The weather is also perfect for the growth of nakima, a rare, slightly bitter flower-vegetable.

Come mid-September, and nakima flowers burst forth from plants that grow from rhizomes. The plants grow to a height of two-and-a-half feet and the flowers are found closer to the base. Ideally, this plant grows in a temperate forest at an altitude of 4,000 feet above mean sea level  and above.

Nakima is also popular in Nepal and Bhutan; in the latter, it is often cooked with meat. Research shows that besides being easy-to-cultivate, this plant also has high nutritive (protein and fibre) and therapeutic values, and has the potential to be more popular among end-users.

A study at the Department of Horticulture, Sikkim University, Gangtok, in 2014-15 collected inflorescence from all four districts of Sikkim — East, West, North and South — to see how it ranks on fat, fibre, protein, sugar, Vitamin C, etc. The idea was that knowing its full nutritional profile would help increase production and marketing “in and outside the State of Sikkim”.

Right now, not many people outside of Gangtok know about nakima. Even those living in nearby towns like Kalimpong, Siliguri and Darjeeling and the other sister states of the North East are not really aware of this rare treat, which people willingly pay a huge price for.

This year, the initial crop hit the market in the first week of September with a sale price of Rs 600 a kilogramme (kg). By now, those living in Sikkim, which is India’s first fully organic state since January 2016, know to identify organic produce from hybrid, just by seeing texture, judging weight and checking for the natural fragrance of any produce. Ironically, nakima calls for none of these attributes; you just have to spot it. It does not have any unique aroma or colour; it is just green-purple inflorescence, and looks like asparagus shoots.  Where the magic happens is when one begins to cook it. Blanching removes bitterness and lends a deep purple colour to the flower. The texture of the final output is like something squishy.

Sometime in early October, 1997, nearly a quarter of a century ago, I got introduced to nakima when a family in West Sikkim decided to visit relatives living in Gangtok. As tradition dictated, they brought along some soft fresh churrpi (Himalayan cheese made by curdling curd with citrus juice) — a hardened variety made from yak’s milk goes by the same name too — farm fresh vegetables and a bunch of light green and violet flowers that looked like asparagus shoots — Nakima, the bearer announced, with a smile.

That evening, the family tasted a delicious vegetable that has lost much of its bitterness and taken on a lovely sweet aftertaste, and which paired wonderfully well with warm rice. This was followed by a visit to the Sunday haat at Lal Bazaar, the local vegetable market — these days, the huge Kanchenjunga Complex is where all vegetables are sold. The shopkeepers wondered about the sudden interest in a deeply traditional ingredient used in small pockets of Sikkim. “It grows in the wild and is a pain to harvest. Also, there’s no demand for it here,” informed an old woman at the market. Another insisted it was the food of the underprivileged, and that people would not pay for it.

From 1997 to 2020, a lot has changed. Nakima is sold at a fortune now. Nakima farmer Ashok Limboo from West Sikkim said they waited for the flower to bloom earlier so that they could make more money from selling it. The first flush of inflorescence fetches around Rs 600 a kg in the retail market in the first few weeks, before simmering down to Rs 200 to Rs 300 a kg by October. By the first week of November, nakima is a happy memory and a fond hope for the next year. 

Once grown in the wild, these plants have now been domesticated and grow at an altitude of almost 1,200 metres to 1,500 metres above the mean sea level. Collecting the nakima adds to the cost — people have to head into thick forest and pluck the flowers off the base of the plant. The demand for naturally grown nakima is another reason for the steep prices. While nakima is now grown commercially to supply the burgeoning demand, it tastes best when plucked in the wild and cooked when still fresh.

Google ‘nakima’ and you’ll find videos of people walking through green patches to harvest the flower and then cook it either plain or with meat.

Many farmers in the adjoining hills have taken up nakima farming for its high-economic value. It is also said to help maintain blood pressure, though a definitive study has not been conducted.  My middle-aged sister calls it the ‘amrut’ (nectar) of the monsoon when the only vegetables one has access to are varieties of gourd and squash (chayote). It is only with the onset of winter that regular vegetables are back in the market in Gangtok.

Nakima flower-vegetable recipe

Wash and clean the florets and slice the stacks vertically. 

Blanch in  hot water and drain the water. Some prefer retaining this nutrient-rich water for cooking.

Add mustard oil to the kadhai and fry juliennes of onion till translucent. Add diced  garlic and tomato with half a teaspoon of turmeric powder and salt (You could add green chillies or red hot Himalayan cherry peppers too).

The blanched nakima is added to this and cooked till the oil separates. You could either eat this plain or jazz it up with pork or even churrpi and radish.

The next time you are in Sikkim around the onset of winter season, do ask your local host or hotel to prepare this dish. It will mark a departure from binging on momos, which are lovely, but overshadow the other culinary gems of Sikkim.

Satyadeep S Chhetri is associate professor with Sikkim Government College. He is an avid quizzer and a science communicator. He is also the governing body member of two non-profits — ECOSS and SAATHI-Sikkim.

Ladakh is often called an “Arid desert” as it falls in “rain shadow zone”. The main sources of irrigation are perennial rivers with fairly large drainage basins and streams originating from higher contours in funnel shaped valleys with drainage basins/ catchments confined within spurs. While gravity canals taking off from rivers irrigate moderate to low lying land along river valleys, small water channels known as “khul” in revenue parlance taking off from streams irrigate land on higher contours in valley settlements.

Till recent past, Ladakh used to be pollution free and heavy to moderate snowfall through winter ensured availability of water for irrigation as also recharge aquifers and replenish glaciers. Life thus sustained through millennia till global warming due to rapid industrialization and local pollution due to emissions from fossil fuel had a profound effect on the fragile ecosystem of Ladakh leading to receding of snowline, depleting glaciers and drying up of springs. Although the effects are all round, some hard evidence of glaciers receding/ shrinking at an alarming rate would make planners sit up & take notice:

1. World famous Nun Glacier at Parkachik in Suru valley, Kargil abutting left bank of river Suru have receded by around 500 mtrs and also shrunk in expanse, thus exposing the debris underneath as is evident from Plate -1.
2. Drung-Drung glacier at watershed of Penzila in vicinity of Kargil-Zanaskar road have receded by at least a km and shrunk in expanse forming a glacial lake and exposing glacial debris as is evident from Plate
   
   
   
   Similarly, glaciers feeding tributaries to river Suru have also receded considerably.
3. Situation of glacial melting in Leh is more alarming.“Stok khangri” glaciers famous among mountaineers have almost disappeared.
4. Khardongla at around 18300ft altitude on Leh-Nubra road, where a bridge was laid over a glacier crevasse on Northern side to cross over till a decade ago, is bereft of any glacier and a dusty road at 18000ft is a sign of “coming events cast their shadow before”. At Changla on Leh-Durbuk road, at almost similar altitude to Khardongla, the road passes through glacial debris of what was once under glacier.
5. A recent study by Kashmir University’s Geo Informatics Dept. revealed that glaciers in J&K are melting at an alarming rate. According to the study, Zanaskar range is losing thickness @ 117 cm per year followed by Ladakh range @ 46 cm per year. Evidently, over the years the snow line has receded considerably, which is a cause of alarm and hence “A Clarion call”.

Meteorological data reveal that rate & spread of snowfall have decreased over the years and average temperature have increased accelerating rate of melting, thus causing gradual depletion & shrinking of glaciers. It also had a profound effect on recharging of underground aquifers, which is noticeable from gradual decrease in flow of streams and springs.

A recent report on “Assessment of climate change over Indian region” by Union Ministry Of Earth Sciences have concluded that Hindukush Himalayas has warmed @ 0.2 degree per decade during last 70 years, leading to decline in snow cover & glaciers.

Signs of springs drying up are evident from recent social media posts by concerned citizens. A resident of Gompa village in upper Leh posted a picture of dried up “Spang” (a lush green patch fed by spring), where animals graze & wanted to know the cause. Indian Express recently published an article on village Kulum near Upshi in Leh district, where villagers, unable to carry out traditional agrarian practices due to drying up of spring, were forced to abandon village due to water scarcity in 2012. They returned only when “Ice Stupa’s” were built to conserve winter flow in shape of ice, providing much needed water at time of sowing. The Article goes on to warn that with increasing average temperature and shrinking glaciers, several villages in Ladakh have imminent danger of turning into ghost towns.

In Leh District scarcity of water for irrigation in near future are likely to be felt mainly in Leh town & villages on higher contours (Pho) located along southern foothills of Khardongla-Changla axis from village Shara to village Umla and beyond. In Kargil district, villages lying between river Indus and Wakha nallah dependent on seasonal snow including Soth area, villages in upper Phokhar-Pho nallah and upper reaches of Kargil Town, to cite a few, face frequent draught when snowfall is less as glaciers feeding these streams have almost vanished. There may be many more villages facing similar situation of water scarcity in both Districts, which may have escaped my notice.

Mitigating measures:

Though there are many brilliant minds in Ladakh, who can suggest better solutions/ alternatives to mitigate adverse effect of global warming & climate change on the fragile ecology of Ladakh, yet I thought it my bounden duty to put forth some suggestions from an Engineers point of view for further discussion amongst all stake holders:-

1. Engage consulting Glaciologists & Hydrologists of International repute for in depth study of causes, measures to prevent further shrinkage & possible replenishment of glaciers. In Leh Town, study of effect of large number of tube wells at shallow depths drawing water from subterranean flow of Leh nallah & its effect on reduction in surface flow should be carried out through reputed hydrologists. As an interim measure, only deep tube wells drawing water below water table of Indus River should be allowed.
2. Survey, investigation & feasibility study of potential irrigation projects from perennial sources i.e. rivers for vulnerable villages through dedicated Engineering Divisions in both Districts. In order to bring additional area within command of proposed irrigation project, a combination of gravity canal, reservoir and lift by solar/ Hydro power or vice versa can be thought of to bring additional area under command at lower level to compensate for loss of cultivable land in higher reaches.
3. In Leh, some potential sites which come to my mind are:- a) A combination of gravity canal & lift by solar/ Hydro power taking off from Indus up steam of Igoo village upto Stakna Head works to cater to lower areas of Sakti & adjacent areas. b) A canal taking off from tail of Stakna Hydel project upto Choglamsar & beyond (This may require short tunnels, aqueducts& siphon) followed by lift across ridge to irrigate lower areas of Leh town. Similar potential sites downstream of Leh town on either side Indus River can be explored.
4. One of the many causes of depletion of glacier at Khardongla & Changla is due to emission from large volume of traffic plying round the year. The viability of providing a highway tunnel across these passes should be explored to reduce effects of carbon emission.
5. For villages high up in valleys- both in Leh & Kargil Districts, which remain outside command of proposed irrigation projects taking off water from rivers, the only hope apart from natural intervention would be the concept of artificial glaciers or “Ice Stupas”(Plate-3) conceptualized by SECMOL led by Magsaysay awardee Sh.Sonam Wangchuk, which have given hope to villages facing acute scarcity of water in both Leh & Kargil Districts. However, for this to succeed, UT Administration & LAHDC’s should approve it as “Water conservation project” in water deficit villages to be fully financed by Govt. under MGNREGS or any other scheme.
   
   
   
   
6. In water deficit areas of Kargil Snow check dams built in narrow portion of valley in past proved effective to retain snow avalanches, thus increasing the period of melting. These are gravity structures of dry stone masonry in crate wire mesh, which are flexible and easy to maintain. Such avalanche retaining structures can be thought of in valleys where moderate snowfall triggers avalanches.
7. In Kargil & Zanaskar, there are huge potential of new irrigation schemes on rivers zanaskar, Suru, Drass and its tributaries. All such potential sites should be surveyed for feasibility and a shelf of DPR’s is prepared for taking up as per priority. To bring land on higher contours under irrigation, a combination of gravity canal & lift irrigation by solar/ hydro power pumps can be explored.

Conclusion

History is replete with instances where civilizations have thrived on dependable irrigation system and also of civilizations, which perished only because of failed irrigation systems – be it natural or manmade. It is an irony that although Ladakh & particularly Leh District have vast tracks of barren land on either side of river Indus, yet only a fraction of this natural resource has been utilized for irrigation. One of the reasons for this could be economic prosperity, which tourism brought to the region in last three decades. However, the recent pandemic has proved how fragile this economic prosperity is. Also, with a large number of educated youth competing for a limited number of jobs, the prospect of employment to all appears bleak. Here, I’m reminded of an ancient Ladakhi proverb, “Mee boubs na saa hRthan”; roughly meaning – “draw sustenance from land, when other means is beyond endurance.” It is therefore incumbent on all stake holders to reflect and strive to harness sustainable livelihood from natural resources of “Water, land & sun”.

The upside of rise in temperature has increased the prospects of diversification in cultivation by way of organic cash crops like variety of vegetables & fruits. Coupled with mechanised farming & introduction of Atmospheric Controlled Storage, farming as a profession can be economically viable and is likely to attract educated youth. It is high time that UT administration, LAHDC’s Leh & Kargil, planners and civil society come together to make tangible efforts to address the long term effect of climate change on irrigation prospects and think of out of box solutions to not only protect the existing irrigated land, but also create additional potential of irrigable land. The additional resources made available to UT are best utilized to harness natural resources of Ladakh for sustainable development.

Er. Nazir Ahmad is Member (Hon) J&K Environment Impact Assessment Authority,
(Formerly State Information Commissioner/ Chief Engineer (Rtd) PWD J&K)

EPR initiatives so far have been few and far, and in no way keeping up with the levels of plastic pollution they cause  

By: Priyadarshinee Shrestha (WWF-India in Sikkim) & Roshan Rai (DLR -Prerna, Darjeeling)

Neatly stacked in trucks comprising layers of plastic — that’s how waste travels to the mountains. These are piles of of plastic bottles of fizzy drinks, multi-layered boxes of fruit drinks, shiny packets of chips, biscuits and instant noodle — puffed up in excess sugar and salt laden with fat and preservatives.

Biscuits sit pretty in trays and there are tiny sachets of personal and household care items — all of which ultimately end up littering our mountain landscapes endlessly.

More than 40 per cent of all plastics are made into single-use products in India. Companies are only creating trash with them, and that’s what we, as consumers, are ultimately paying for. This is the reason our landfills are exploding; our dumpsites are burning more than ever and our waterways are more choked with plastic pollution.

It is clear that the recycling and dustbin narrative to manage plastic waste is not sufficient. We live in the times of plastic crisis.

The flawed linear production system that has resulted in plastic pollution should ring alarm bells, but to the contrary, single-use products and use of unnecessary plastic packaging have only escalated over the years without question, and is projected to still rise.

For mountains already grappling with issues of climate change, it spells disaster and the scars of plastic pollution are already visible.

The Himalayan Cleanup (THC), an annual event organised by Integrated Mountain Initiative and Zero Waste Himalaya that takes place across the 12 Himalayan states on a single day, has revealed that plastics in the mountains has become all pervasive.

THC 2018 revealed that 97 per cent of the trash collected was plastic; the results in 2019 were also similar. This exponential rise in plastic use can lead to irreversible damage to mountain ecosystems.

If life in the mountains, the biodiversity and ecological values are to be conserved, the one-way flow of plastics into the mountains has got to be re-evaluated and reversed.

The much-awaited change in narrative on waste came through with the extended producer responsibility (EPR) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules of 2016, which sought to pin the responsibility of plastic waste on the producers. It even had a clause of phasing out MLP by 2018, which unfortunately got lobbied out in the amendment of 2018.

MLP collected during a cleanup drive in Darjeeling. Photo: Roshan Rai

It is a tool to make producer companies become conscious of the environmental consequences of their production systems and products, and push them to start cleaning up their act. Local authorities and communities on whom the sole responsibility for waste has rested so far also get additional support.

But so far, EPR initiatives of corporations have been few and far, and in no way are matching the levels of plastic pollution they cause.

EPR needs to respond to the plastic crisis by closing the tap on plastic pollution at source. It is now irrefutable that production systems have to be made responsible and sustainable through designing out of single use products and a rethink on material choices has to be expedited, which should be the vision of extended producer responsibility.

In its current form, the draft uniform framework put up for comments by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) seems more like an industry-led effort that is simply advancing the pay and pollute principle for companies.

A much-concerted effort is required to set true goals for EPR centered around sustainable production choices, and to get companies to align towards the fulfillment of this goal.

Low value, non-recyclable plastics that ultimately end up in the landfills should be disincentivised and companies should invest in looking at sustainable products and delivery systems.

Mountains carry their own burdens of managing waste. There are extra costs at every step of the process — from collection to recovery to transportation. Low volumes of recyclables that have to be aggregated from scattered locations do not make economic sense in the mountains, with the result that much of it is not recovered.

A large part of plastics flooding the mountains are also mostly of packaged food items that are non-recyclable in nature. While the widespread pollution caused by these plastics is visible to the eye, what is not seen or studied is the impact on food habits of mountain communities that have occurred over time.

The increasing challenges of empty calories and nutritional insecurity that these products are bringing into communities cannot be ignored.

The Uniform EPR framework, which is currently envisioned as geography neutral, disregards all socio-ecological specificities that mountain regions have. Without special attention given to mountain states vis-a-vis the extra costs of managing their waste, the EPR framework leaves them in a seriously disadvantageous position.

The plastic credits system proposed has only specifications for recycling targets for companies; geographical parameters are not set. With the existing challenges of plastic recovery due to access and volumes, mountains may not be a priority for companies, unless specifically mandated as a high focus area under the EPR Framework.

Moreover, allowing companies to draw credits for burning or ‘energy recovery’ of their plastic waste through waste-to-energy, plastic roads, etc, is a highly counterproductive process and simply not feasible for the mountains.

Plastic pollution in the mountains will not end anytime soon unless provisions in the EPR framework compel producers to look at mountains with a special lens. One that considers the socio-ecological fragility and ecosystem services that the mountains provide.

The waste that travels up the mountains by the truckloads also needs to find its way down the same path, or even better, still not produced at all.

Munsyari. In a normal year the month of May, in these parts of the state, is not much different from the preceding post summer months except the high-mountain dwellers readying themselves to migrate upwards, to their ancestral villagers. For the past couple of years the activities have somewhat been altered in the sense that the extraction of Keera-jari ( Cordyseps sinensis ) has added an altogether new source of rural livelihoods, never thought of earlier. This new economic activity has certainly changed the way our remotest villages, just nudging the snow-line, have begun to be perceived – high-land Eldorados ! The jury, as they say, is still out on whether this kind of human-pressure, which brings in not only a far larger number of up-land inhabitants to an hitherto pristine landscape, but even hired labourers engaged by the traders in these kinds of high-value ‘environmental- products ’. While very one strongly feels the need for a package of ‘good collection practices’ for such new high-mountain products, till date our Forest officials have progressed to a stage which has been termed ‘consultations on draft regulations’ ! One wonders at the sheer tenacity of our civil services who continue to practice, what may be termed, the strategy not to act till its back touches the proverbial Wall of crisis! Incidentally, the operating GO, as the existing Working Plan of the Pithoragarh Forest Division would show, was issued during the incumbency of this writer, way back in 2005 !

Lessons of Tourism Types

The state is yet to recover fully from the after-effects of the disastrous experience of Kedarnath tragedy of June 2013, in which officially more than 6,000 tourists sacrificed their lives and the un-accounted ones shall always be left to the imagination of the eye-witnesses or the experts. While the state government ought to be given full marks for the seriousness with which the affected site, region and the families, both insiders and incomers, were handled and consoled, several lessons are yet to be even properly analysed and transferred into the realm of policy-decisions e.g. regional development, road and regulation of tourism, of all kinds. One thing is certain, for some years to come, religious and summer-month tourism in the mountain regions, shall now always have a caution point, namely, the Kedarnath Experience, whatever it may mean to the recipients!

Treks of the Year or May Mayhems

One patently wrong lesson that seems to have been received by the official proponents of tourism in the state, the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board and its affiliates, the Kumaon and Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigams, KMVN and GMVN, in brief, is to somehow increase the flow of tourists to prove that the Kedarnath Effect is no more visible and Uttarakhand is ready to receive all incomers. This writer has already done one piece in the Garhwal Post, entitled Khalia Top: How Not to Develop Tourism. This is a major Wrong Lesson learned, post Kedarnath 2013, and there has to be a Case Study undertaken on two such Treks of the Year, organized by the Youth Hostel Association of India in active collaboration with our Tourism Development Board. The details of these two so called Treks of the Year, first at Dayara Bugyal in Garhwal and now, the Khalia Top, in Munsyari block, are under close scrutiny via the RTI route and shall soon be made public and taken up with the Organizers, their Governing Bodies as well as the authorities who should have responded quickly, as they were responsible and were expected to have responded, when officially intimated of the great damage these have caused to the highly fragile ecological landscape. The main lesson, in brief is- Uttarakhand does need to welcome all incoming visitors but NOT AT THE COST OF ITS FRAGILE ECOLOGY! More on it, when the Case Studies are completed.

Thank You K.S. Valdiya & Co

Then there are other kinds of tourism one has heard of. First, is what Robert Chambers called ‘Rural Tourism’, a variant of which we all were a witness to during our UP Hills days, when much planning went into taking the ‘Baba-logs’ on a trip to the Hills, to beat the sweltering heat in the plains on the one hand and justify touring in the ‘remote rural and hill regions’, on the other. Many careers were made and un-made depending on how the ‘accompanying family members’ of the officers touring the Hill districts rated the arrangements (‘bandobast’ of the old colonial days). Verily, of late, when Uttarakhand has started sharing its development trajectory with the other Hill States and the NE States, memories of these wistful ‘summer tours in Hills ‘ has been re-named as a kind of ‘internal colonialism’ by some observers ( Jack Ives and Bruno Misserli ), exercised by the mainland on the peripheral ‘mountain regions’. Many believe that not much has changed, even after 15 years of separation, when one finds district officials, even in the eight mountain districts hardly budging from their headquarters – leave aside our senior officers seated at Dehra Dun Secretariat. This writer tends to agree with this perception, when he finds district officials seen in newspapers, just before and after a VIP o VVTP visit only, hardly ever finding other occasion to meet the local people, or visiting remote mountain villages, on their own volition.

However, this period has encouraged a most welcome kind of tourism, which most of us who have voluntarily decided to stay-back in our ancestral moorings. Its healthiest version has been pioneered by one of our most distinguished scientist, Professor K.S. Valdiya. Prof Validya, for the last seven years or so has led execution of Science Extension project, which ensures he personally encouraging few of the most eminent scientists drawn from the country ( not necessarily those who hail from the state itself ) visiting some of the remotest educational institutions in the state, most located in the border districts of Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Uttar Kashi, and interact with the secondary school level children, through their easy-to-understand lectures and presentations, followed by counselling. On the 16^th May the students and teachers of Government Inter College Munsyari had a four sessions-long such an scientific workshop, consisting of highly interesting presentations on Himalayan Geology, Bio-Technology, Space Application and Chemistry, by Professors Valdiya, from  JLN Centre for Science Bangluru, BD Lakhchura, from Kumaon University, Kaman Singh Kathait from Lucknow and SS Valdiya from Ahmedabad. The students and teachers alike gained tremendously from this life-changing interface, for many of them. Later, there was a joint request from the participants to get so systematised that there are at least two rounds of these, every year. One wonders why such sessions with our younger generation, including the generation of teachers, cannot be organized, more frequently and in a more systematic manner! Hosted by UGVS, Gangolihat, the anchors or co-anchors could easily be our GICs and GGICs.

Tea and Tussar-silk

Going by the impression that this writer received from his friends circle that exists in most of the other mountain states of India, the month of May saw Uttarakhand hogging the nation’s attention, for all the wrong reasons! Many, old colleagues from his parent cadre of UP even reminded this writer that they had always believed that this was bound to happen –  only our politicians’ cadre outsmarted even the most cynical critic of the separation of the state from UP. Be that as it may, everyone expected ‘development’ to take a back-seat and going by the coverage that was hogged by all the phases of the unsavoury stages of the Uttarakhand Political Saga, superficially it seemed, that these critics of separation, indeed have had the proverbial last laugh. As this writer is also a strong votary of a independent and autonomous Uttarakhand state had occasion to celebrate introduction of cultivation of tea in these remote regions. As he himself had been in the forefront of its re-introduction in his Hill Secretary days, he was happy to be told by Desmond Brickbat of commencement of a 100 Nali tea-nursery in nearby Ranthi village, with an ultimate objective of covering 200 hectares or 10,000 nalis or organic tea, in the sloping Munsyari watershed. A big welcome to Organic Tea finally in Munsyari, success of which is almost as certain as the sun-rise behind Pancha-chuli peaks, tomorrow morning. This development alone is adequate enough to compensate the despondency that has been spread around by our die-hard politician friends. Today, Uttarakhand boasts of some 900 hectares alone of the best Darjeeling brand of Organic tea cultivation, not a small achievement, by any standard. To improve the sense of cheer brought about the commencement of tea-cultivation age in Munsyari, only the other day this writer came across a successful second year of Tussar – cultivation, by some 15 silk-rears, right in the middle of the Tiksen market, the hub-centre of the small city, which Munsyari is not ! Like Uttarakhand, the climate and biodiversity of the block is amenable for both kinds of sericulture, mulberry-based as well as non-mulberry, or Oak-kind. The discussion with these die-hard development enthusiasts has assured this writer that Uttarakhand still has a tremendous reservoir of die-hard believers, who will take Uttarakhand to its destiny, notwithstanding the deeds or mis-deeds of our political masters.

Kicking up Worldy Worries

This writer has just returned from a half-day long meeting of the Johar Club, a Sporting Club that only last year held the Diamond Jubilee Football Tournament, which was concluded by the local MLA, who also happens to be the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, Harish Rawat.  During the three-hour long discussions held in the Johar Club almost everything under the sun, sports-wise, was discussed, including a ten-year plan to take the sports activities forward in the region, except of course the ‘dirty-p   olitics’, as someone quipped. Where will this increasing cynicism about the political maturity and sagacity of our politicians, which everyone expected in a supposedly more civilized and educated state, take the state were the most dominant thoughts that occupied the thoughts of this writer, as he walked back towards his residence, returning from the Johar Club Tournament meeting ? May be, remaining most distant from the political hub-centre of the state, is not always disadvantageous or so it appears. All the day to day worldly worries seem to go up in the air, kicked up like a football during the ensuing Tournament. So, to the proceedings of the forthcoming 61^st edition of the Football Tournament, the residents of this remote region look forward to – and not towards the opaque proceedings of our going-muddier-by-the-day political wrestling bouts in which our proficient players seem to be fully engaged in.

• R. S. Tolia reflects on some developments that took place in May 2016 as seen from Munsyari and how our remote mountain regions look at the proceedings of comparatively more ‘developed’ regions of the state. His other writings can be accessed at rstolia.in.

Munsyari.  As the official ‘ Fire Season ’ crosses the half-way mark, with increasing number of both sites and affected area under forest-fires mounting unabated ultimately forcing Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar to come out in defence of on-going officials efforts, suggesting that the losses suffered in resultant reduced ‘carbon sink’ is unlikely to adversely affect the Indian commitment re-iterated recently on the Earth Day, and earlier at the Paris COP meet. Be that as it may, it is quite on the cards that this Fire-Season is going to be the most disastrous from the point of view of losses due to Forest-Fires, even since the state came on its very own ( 2000 – 2015 ), and this certainly calls for an in-depth examination and analysis of how Uttarakhand’s has improved its Forest-Fire management regime during this period ? The very first question that deserves to be examined is – are Forest –Fires something which is not only inevitable but bound to be further aggravated as our engagement with the phenomenon called ‘Climate Change’ enter a more critical phase ? Further, how far is the Forestry bureaucracy responsible for perpetuating some of ‘myths’ that one has been hearing, like ( i ) almost all fires in forests are man-made, only motives are varied ( Sanjay Gubbi ), ( ii ) Forests Rights Act, 2006 are a death-knell to Indian Forests ( Shyam Sunder & Parmeshwarappa ), ( iii ) Forest –fires are handiwork of Timber-mafia, and so on ?

Additional Issues Deserving Examination

This time over this deeper analysis must be undertaken in conjunction with several other added queries, some of these are clearly, ( i ) to what extent continuation of a few un-scientific, or at least scientifically untenable unilateral and ad-hoc policy decisions like ‘banning of all green -felling above 1,000 m asl‘ despite their proven untenability’ have contributed to the gravity of the disaster, ( ii ) how seriously forest-fires have been taken both at the State-level and at the district-level, as an integral and important ‘disaster risk reduction’ in our revised State Disaster Management Plan and, like all other disasters, are forest-fires taken as a joint –responsibility of the state disaster risk reduction architecture, than just a responsibility of the Forest Department alone, and ( iii ) to what extent peoples’ participation is ensured through a forest-fire preparedness exercise in close collaboration with now more than 12,000 Van Panchayats, long advocated as the principal players of any such protective measure ? Besides these, what follow-up action has really been taken up on the recommendations made by Uttarakhand –specific recommendations like the Khosla Committee that was constituted in the aftermath of the immediate past worst known Forest Fires in 1995 ?

A Major Failure of Forestry Discipline

“Acceptance of forest fires as a natural and unavoidable phenomenon”, claim Shyam Sunder and Parmeswarappa, two senior Indian Foresters in their recently published book, “ is one of the major failures of the forestry sector in India in the post colonial period ( Forest Conservation Concerns in India, Bishen Singh MP Singh, 2014, p. 205 ). Strongly countering the oft-repeated alibi, during the worst-times like the present one, they on the other hand aver that ‘one of the main reasons for the reservation of forests, commenced in 1860s, was to save the forests from fire !’ Brandis, the Father of Forestry in India, was indeed proud to assert, in his monumental description of Indian Forestry in the early years that “of the 47.5 million acres of reserved forests in British Indian Empire, including forest leased from native states, so less than 17 million acres of 36% were successfully protected from fire in 1895” ( Brandis 1897, p. 126 ). The author –duo informs, sadly enough, ‘today, our assessment is that barely 25% of the reserved forests escape the annual fires. Except for certain evergreen forests, no other forest type in India, is today free from threat of the annual forest fires.’ What has gone wrong and what are the measures that have been taken, particularly in context of the forest types that exist in out forest-predominant mountain States ? As this acceptance of blatant failures comes from two of the most senior foresters, produced by the Indian Forestry regime and administration, it is all the more serious an acknowledgement than what could have been flung at the entire forestry-sector from a non-forester or so called silvicultural scientist, or for that matter an ecologist. For various ICFRE institutions and the Forest Research Institute, as well as the Ministry of Environment & Forest & Climate Change ( MoEF&CC), this major failure calls for a comprehension review and reflection and major perceptional-shift.

Ranger’s Promotion was denied

Shyam Sunder recalling his own training days, 1950s, mentions how in those days ‘ a ranger’s promotion was denied if his range had serious forest fires, even though the majority of these were accidental. Thermometers were maintained in range offices to keep a watch on fire risk.  Once the critical temperature above which the risk of fire increases were reached, the staff was put on alert. But those were also the days when the staff at range and lower levels had the time to take care of natural forests, unlike at present. Pointing to the increased load of work, Shyam Sunder also notes, that during those the extent of annual plantation in a range was never more than 40 hectares, presently it could be more than ten times to this extent, in ten different sites. They were also free from having to attend meetings and from political interference.

While Shyam Sunder’s examples of Karnataka, or even of the damage from forest fires in higher altitudes of Western Ghats, above 1,000 meters, may not be very applicable to the Himalayan forest types, his comparisons with the Indonesian island of Kalimantan ( former Borneo ) in context of higher variability of climate temperature as well as precipitation, caused by global warming, may not be entirely out of place. We are also a witness to accidental fires, being caused this year due to extreme dry periods ( April 2016, to be more precise ), like peat fires of Kalimantan that may burn for months on end, threatening the health and livelihoods of local population and causing large scale regional haze. This burning also is releasing carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, contributing further to global warming. This year this regional haze, has been a significant feature, as now it’s almost more than a month that, right from Munsyari down-wards, right up to where one can see its just haze and haze, obstructing direct sun rays, and playing games with micro-temperatures. All one sees is a strange red-colour sun, with a naked eye, throughout the day ! Only the other day this writer, expecting a dry-sultry hot night, at a place like Thal ( usually unbearable during this time of the year ) rather quite bearable, if not entirely pleasant !

Lessons of Khosla Forest Fires Commission ( 1995 ) 

Last comparable forest fires that caused huge damage to property and lives occurred during the summer months of 1995. The summer of 1995 was very severe with fire engulfing vast forest areas of both Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Author Parmeswarappa was also a member of the Khosla Commission appointed by the Government of India – it toured Tehri, Garhwal and Himachal Pradesh extensively. The Commission in its report noted that ‘ ( i ) fires usually originate in the Civil and Soyam forests under the charg   e of the revenue department and forests administered by elected village bodies respectively, where no pre-emptive measures are adopted. These forests than spread to the large blocks of reserved forests, wherever contiguous; ( ii ) In the case of reserved forests, the negligence of resin tappers seemed to be responsible for initiating fires. Similarly ( iii ) negligence of pilgrims visiting shrines, ( iv ) farmers burning agriculture residues, and ( v ) in a  few cases incendiary fire also resulted in major fires.’

Chir Pine Forests and Ban on Green Felling

Sunder and Parmeshwarappa single out, case of Chir Pine forests, occurring in the zone between 2000 ft  and 4,000 ft altitudes, where “ ( vi ) unscientific Government policies banning felling in forests above 3,000 ft and ( vii ) prohibition of green felling all over, have resulted in crops of all ages, instead of distinct age groups earlier maintained though silvicultural management. Further, ( viii ) dearth of funds has also been mentioned that has prevented the earlier practice of running ground fires in winter months, ( ix ) ( which results now ) in accumulation of pine needles and in years when the summer is severe and relative humidity is low fanning strong winds, a ground fire ascends to crown and engulfs the entire forest, as Chir burns green. The Commission added an interesting phenomenon, then peculiar to Uttarakhand in 1995, when they also observed that ‘ in summer months, forest rest houses and vehicles are commandeered by the Deputy Commissioners of the districts to cater to the visiting dignitaries and their families, escaping from the heat of the plains’ !  Parmeswarappa also recounts comments made by two villagers, the first one was to the effect that ( x )  ‘ with no works being taken up in the forests, visits of forests officials to the forests has come down, and the second, ( xi ) during his childhood, the villagers used to feel that prevention and control of forest fires were their responsibilities while presently it is viewed as the sole problem of the forest department.’

A Totally Changes Scenario

Arguably, except the conditions caused by Climate Change i.e. higher variability of climate temperature and precipitation, twenty years down the line, particularly after the formation of Uttarakhand state in November, 2000, none of the conditions, as many as eleven in all, could be said to be either applicable or transferred to any other department, than Forest department itself, squarely. Let us quickly cover each of them cited above, for the benefit of a far more comprehensive examination of an inter-disciplinary Committee or Commission, after the current ‘Fire-Season’  is finally and truly over:

( i ) The scenario with respect to the so called Civil and Soyam Forest is far from applicable, as soon after the state was formed,  a two-pronged drive was mounted by the newly constituted Forest & RD Commissioner Branch, and most of the C&S forest area was converted into the Van Panchayats, their number between 2000 and 2010 more than doubled, from less than 5,000 to more than 12,000 Van Panchayats, covering almost every revenue village of mountainous districts; their Rules being changed more than twice, in 2001 and again 2006, bringing almost all kinds of stakeholders, reservations for SC/ST and Women and even landless, all section hitherto denied rights and privileges. No village institution could have been more inclusive and representative. Further, all Van Panchayats were brought under a full-fledged Principal Chief Conservator of Forests ( PCCF ), and various Rules enacted making forest-crimes more strict, amending Criminal Procedure Code ( Cr PC ), perhaps the only state giving the powers of confiscation of property used in committing any forest offence, allowing so called ’secret funds’ for securing inside-information ! Forest-Guards were made the Secretary to the related Van Panchayats, even eliciting severe criticism of those who wished these Van Panchayats to be strictly self-governing bodies ! Surely, if these Van Panchayats are ineffective, or not being involved in saving forests from forest –fires or any other illicit activity-the responsibility of their behaving in such a manner has to be explained by those who have been provide almost all controls, including their funding, utilization and motivation to undertake forest –conservation, including protection from forest fires,

( ii ) Besides, coverage of almost all non-reserved forests via the Van Panchayat, change of their administrative architecture, including bring Forest department itself, ending their hitherto ‘splendid isolation’ by bring them in far closer contact with various rural development sectors ( FRDC Branch ), addresses their most of the so-called problem of isolation-at least in Uttarakhand, since 2000,

( iii ) As regards the resources, today, if anything the Forest and Environment , suffers from the ‘problem of plenty’ rather than the deficit of funds, as mentioned by Parmeswarappa ( quoting two villagers), which should have resulted in far more visits, and hence closer contact with the villagers- a simple look at the several National Missions, as many as eight at the last count ( see the framework of SDGs at the NITI Aayog website ), makes it a mind-boggling number, add to this the resources frozen under what is known cumulatively as the CAMPA funds-the administration of the latter is also resting exclusively with the Forest officials,

( iv ) While all other reasons listed by Parmeshwarappa are quite internal to the Forest bureaucracy, it was again up to the Forest sector bureaucracy to get the problem of ‘Forest-fires’ effectively under the Disaster Management, now Forest Risk Reduction regime ( now the new Sendai Framework of DRR, 2006 ). It is entirely the exclusive responsibility of the Forest department officials to ensure that the sectoral Action Plan of the State Disaster Action Plan, covers all aspects related to forest-fires, including its relief and rehabilitation components, as it is the responsibility of each of the various sectoral departments like say irrigation, hydro-power, agriculture, water resources etc,

( v ) As regards the issues that are mounting up every day, namely, the Climate Change, ironically here also, it is the Ministry of Environment & Forests and Climate Change ( MoEF&CC ), which is the Nodal Ministry, and also the parent Ministry at the Centre, for the Forest department. How effectively is the State Action Plan on Climate Change being planned, approved and getting funded is again a sole and central responsibility of the Forest department, where this activity is squarely anchored, in almost every state.

Re-inventing the Forest Sector & Fixing Accountability

In a state like Uttarakhand, a mountainous and forest-endowed state, if any sector needs to be re-invented and made far more accountable, it is out and out Forest department and its various responsibilities. It severely suffers from a leadership failure, accountability –deficit, distancing from its major stake-holders – and this writer having seen both the 1995 Forest –fires, while he was the Director of UP Academy of Administration, where a score of diagnostic workshops and seminar were held, as far back as in 1995 and onwards, even though when Forest department did suffer from most of the difficulties cited by the Khosla Commission ( 1995 ). It does not need re-iteration that it was this early realization only, which led to not only re-structuring of the erstwhile APC organisation into FRDC Branch, the only one in the entire country, establishment of DMMC, campaigns that converted large Civil & Soyam areas into Van Panchayats, covering almost cent percentage all revenue villages, flow of substantial funds, via scores of projects ! What begs the question is – what is the new issue that has cropped up, which is not officially under the control and responsibility of this Department ? It is plain and simple –lack of accountability that comes from administrative and leadership failure –pure and simple. Shyam Sunder mentioned, withholding of Ranger’s promotion, as a solution. It has to be far more drastic – under the present circumstances, as Forest department has, what is called ‘ Its Back to the Wall’ – the Wall of Public Accountability ! No alibis are either acceptable or should be believed now.

• S. Tolia, the writer, as he watches hundreds of hectares of rich Uttarakhand endowment sacrificed to official apathy and indolence believes that it’s simply a case of many sided criminal negligence for which a clear accountability is long over-due.