By Simi Mehta, Amita Bhaduri
Aftermath of the Chamoli disaster 2021, it has become essential to not to alter the environment. The environmental change is taking lives and livelihoods of people which is compensated with the meager amount of financial aid. Headlines reported that 70 people have been dead and 139 are missing. State government promised to provide financial aid of Rs 4 lakh to family of deceased. The disasters in Uttarakhand dates back to 1990s and the series continues. Thirty years have not been enough for economic developers to prevent such massacres.
With this background, Center for Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Impact and Policy Research Institute (IMPRI), New Delhi, India Water Portal and Tarun Bharat Sangh, Alwar organized a panel discussion on Uttarakhand Flood Disaster 2.0: From Analysis to Action. The session was chaired by Rajender Singh, Chairman, Tarun Bharat Singh, Alwar and Waterman of India.
Chairman, Tarun Bharat Singh, Alwar, and Waterman of India.
“The Himalayan Rivers exist in steep slopes and seismic zones. The government has to tradeoff between promoting tourism or contemplating on the fact that the superfluous rivers should be favored back either as means of conservation or pilgrimage. Every river conservation policy should have incorporated the factors of climate change. Overexploitation of such rivers and natural resources at the source or origin will produce devastating results,” said Shri Rajender Singh.
Construction of dams and hydro-electric projects in these geologically sensitive areas involving steep slopes amounts to a huge economic loss. Such losses are mounted if the project cost and the ecological cost are also considered and can be as high as Rs 18 per unit. Comparatively, the usual cost per unit of solar energy is Rs 4. For decades, people have been protesting against the construction of such projects. However, the major reasons as stated by t