At the margins of Politics of Development

(Illustrated by Tanisha Negi)

हिंदी में पढ़े

A sinking Joshimath rings bells of alarm

What is home? The simplest and most appealing definition is "a safe place," a place where one can live freely, without fear of being attacked or without other external threats. But sadly, our safe havens were forcefully taken away from us. No, not by the ravages of war but by the deadly weapons of development. In an era ushered in by the rise of JCBs, we saw sophisticated pieces of machinery being deployed to ruthlessly drill and destroy the earth beneath our feet, knock down our life-sustaining trees and forests, and choke our cherished rivers.

On August 11, 2021, a major landslide occurred on NH5 near Nigulsari village in the district Kinnaur of Himachal Pradesh. As many as seven vehicles were buried under the landslide, 28 people were killed and 17 were injured. Buddhist Prayer flags known as ‘Darchod’ were later erected on the spot to guide the departed souls. Every time we pass by the location, my mother turns off the car stereo and chants “Kangkani” a Buddhist prayer recited for peace after death. For those who lost a loved one, the emotional scars have not yet healed.

But what is the ‘tragic milestone’ that the death toll or the number of injured or property damage needs to achieve in order to stir the consciences of government officials and policymakers? The sinking town of Joshimath managed to grab people’s attention only when the conditions became dire and more than 700 houses developed serious cracks. Are disasters mandatory to rethink the environmental impact of an unrestrained and unplanned development? And if there indeed is a number to mark the tragic milestone, Kinnaur a small administrative district with a population density of 13 people per square kilometre may always fall short of this number.

Similarities between Kinnaur and Joshimath

A pattern of similarity can be observed in how things have evolved in Joshimath as well as Kinnaur. Firstly the entering of resource-intensive and environmentally destructive market forces into the ecologically fragile regions.

The past few decades have seen bumper-to-bumper construction of Hydropower project construction in Kinnaur. Big and small, grand and minuscule different types of dams have been built on the ferocious rivers and blustering streams cutting through the mountains. According to a report by the standing committee of energy of the Ministry of Power (2018–19), Himachal Pradesh boasts of being the state with the most significant amount of Harnessed Power, which is about 1/4th of the total hydel energy production throughout India. Moreover, Kinnaur serves as the state's hydroelectric powerhouse. According to the List of projects generated by the Directorate of Energy of Himachal Pradesh, there are 22 hydropower projects in Kinnaur with a combined capacity of 5,178 MW out of a total capacity of 18,084 MW of all hydro projects in the state.

According to District Disaster Management Plan for Kinnaur, 2017 the unique Geo Climatic conditions of Kinnaur make it vulnerable to various kinds of natural disasters such as earthquakes, Landslides, various types of Floods and droughts. Furthermore many activities associated with Hydropower construction and maintenance such as the use of explosives for construction, unscientific mining, quarrying, and tunnelling techniques, the dumping of waste in valleys, etc. are noted to be primary causes to exacerbate natural disasters, in the fragile region.

Second, the environmental impact and expert opinion were overlooked in the quest to construct colossal development projects.

Himdhara’s 2019 report “Hidden cost of Hydropower” lists out harmful effects induced by hydropower projects. The whole of the Himalayan region is geologically active. What that means is that the Himalayan tectonic plate is constantly rising upwards. And the tension from the movement of the plate makes the surface brittle, fragile, and vulnerable to landslides and earthquakes. Himdhara’s report quotes the Geological Survey of India and the Disaster Management Cell of the Himachal government's Landslide Hazard Risk Assessment research, to highlight the risk factor. According to it, 97.42% of Himachal Pradesh's land area is at risk from landslides and at least 10 mega hydropower units are located in medium- and high-risk areas. An Article published in Scientific American points out that India and China remain secretive about their dam designs when it comes to public scrutiny. Rarely are independent engineers permitted to assess the stability of the structures and it is likely that these dams are not equipped to survive the strongest earthquakes that can strike the area. In such an event, reservoirs the size of lakes might overflow onto towns and cities downstream if any of the major dams were to fail.

And finally, the local stakeholders were always kept at the margins of these visions of development.

The fifth schedule of the Constitution designates Kinnaur as a tribal district having a majority of the tribal population. The existence of People is deeply intertwined with land and forests. The region experiences lengthy winter and brief agricultural seasons. More than 50% of the total land is covered by barren rocks and cold deserts. And 80% of the land is under the control of the forest department. The Government of India has in place the Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 commonly known as the Forest Rights Act (FRA) that recognises the land use rights and provides ownership to tribal people and other forest-dependent communities. However, Research published in EPW by Sujeet Kumar points out that the poor implementation of the FRA in Kinnaur has instead made it possible for the state to control the land, and undermine the rights of the people. For example, in the integrated Kashang Hydropower project, authorities in Lippa village issued a "no-objection" certificate to divert forest land for the project without first obtaining the certificate from the Gram Sabha of the concerned villages as mandated under FRA.

Questions of survival

Kinnaur is a historically important region located on the Hindustan Tibet route. An ancient trade route, referred by some as the "wool road," linked Tibet, Central Asia, and China from India. Due to its strategic location on the route, Kinnaur has a rich weaving tradition that dates back 5000 years. Being the gateway between India and Tibet, the region has a rich confluence of religious and cultural traditions. The region is also home to scenic valleys and beautiful treks. It produces high-quality dry fruits and apples that are known all over India and the world. Another marker of Kinnaur is the mighty Sutlej which is revered as ‘Zang-Tee’ in the native dialect. ‘Zang’ means gold and ‘tee’ means water. And ‘Zangtee’ is the name given respectably to the mighty river since old times. In the state of Himachal Pradesh, there are five river basins. Sutlej is the largest and fastest of the five.

It is unfortunate that this region with so much to offer to the world was solely developed for the purpose of Hydropower projects. One of the biggest concerns for the people of Kinnaur today is the ecological destruction and threats to their very survival brought on by numerous operations related to hydropower projects. And a sinking Joshimath rings bells of alarm, next it is our turn. Home is no longer safe.