Development at the cost of ecology will prove unsustainable, warn experts at AU Dialogue
Shimla, Aug 25
The growing pressure on the carrying capacity of Himachal Pradesh’s popular tourist destinations, the decline in agricultural land, the poor survival rate of plantation drives, and the diversion of forests and other natural areas for roads, airports and commercial projects came under close scrutiny at an Amar Ujala Samvad held in Shimla.
The dialogue brought together individuals with experience in administration, urban planning and public policy. They expressed serious concern over the rapidly changing ecological landscape of the Himalayan state and called for a fundamental reassessment of the development model being pursued in the region.
Among the prominent participants were former IAS officer B.M. Nanta, former HAS officer D.K. Manta, and former Deputy Mayor of Shimla and NITI Aayog member Tekinder Singh Panwar, among others.
The participants cautioned that Himachal Pradesh cannot continue to apply a development model designed for the plains to a fragile Himalayan ecosystem. They emphasised that the carrying capacity of land, water sources, forests, roads and tourist destinations must form the basis of all major development decisions.
Tourist hotspots have crossed their saturation point
Former IAS officer B.M. Nanta expressed particular concern over the increasing pressure on Himachal Pradesh’s tourist resorts and popular destinations. He said several tourist hotspots had already reached, and in some cases exceeded, their ecological carrying capacity.
With tourist numbers rising sharply during peak seasons, the pressure is evident not only on roads and civic infrastructure but also on forests and natural areas. Tourists, he noted, are increasingly leaving plastic bottles, food packaging and other waste in forests and along vulnerable stretches outside urban settlements.
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The problem, he said, cannot be addressed merely by expanding tourist infrastructure. Once a destination exceeds its ecological threshold, further construction can intensify waste generation, water stress, traffic congestion and damage to the surrounding ecosystem.
Only a fraction of the state’s forest land has actual forest cover
Former HAS officer D.K. Manta, who presented a data-driven assessment of Himachal Pradesh’s ecological challenges, pointed out that the state has a total geographical area of approximately 55,673 sq km. Of this, nearly 37,948 sq km, or 68.16 per cent, is recorded as forest land under the official classification.
However, the actual tree and forest canopy covers only around 15,580 sq km, approximately 28 per cent, while cultivated land accounts for roughly 6,207 sq km, or about 11 per cent, according to figures discussed during the dialogue.
Manta cautioned that the classification of land as forest does not necessarily mean that it has forest cover or performs the ecological functions of a healthy forest.
He said the state’s limited agricultural land was under increasing pressure as arable areas were being diverted for highways, four-laning projects, airports, development centres, commercial complexes and other infrastructure.
“When only around 11 per cent of the geographical area is available as cultivated land, its indiscriminate conversion has serious implications for food security as well as the rural economy,” was the central concern emerging from his presentation.
Plantation targets need survival audits, not just plantation figures
Manta also questioned the manner in which plantation drives are evaluated. He stressed that the success of afforestation cannot be measured solely by the number of saplings planted during Van Mahotsav or annual plantation campaigns.
He called for survival audits of plantations, particularly in areas around towns and suburbs where plantations are repeatedly undertaken at the same locations because earlier efforts have failed.
Poor post-plantation care, inadequate monitoring, unsuitable species selection and a lack of accountability, he said, can reduce plantation programmes to statistical exercises rather than meaningful ecological restoration.
The state is seeking to increase its forest and green cover, but Manta emphasised that adding plantation figures to government records would not address climate and ecological concerns unless the saplings survive and develop into healthy vegetation.
Development plans must not treat every barren patch as construction land
Former Shimla Deputy Mayor Tekinder Singh Panwar argued that urban expansion in the hills must be guided by ecological considerations rather than by the availability of vacant or barren-looking land.
He expressed concern over the tendency to utilise virtually every available patch of land for construction under urban development plans, stating that “bare land” should not automatically be treated as land available for construction.
Panwar called for scientific assessments of the carrying capacity of individual land parcels and strict enforcement of land-use provisions based on sectoral planning.
He said hill towns required a fundamentally different development model because they were vulnerable to landslides, land subsidence, drainage problems and other geological hazards.
New cities should generate less waste
Panwar also stressed the need to redesign urban settlements so that they generate less organic and solid waste and have more effective systems for waste treatment and resource recovery.
He advocated greater participation by local communities in urban planning and argued that excessive bureaucratic intervention should give way to more people-oriented urban governance.
The participants also discussed the need to integrate climate resilience, waste management, water security and slope stability into the planning of new urban settlements, rather than treating these issues as afterthoughts.
Four-laning cannot be left solely to construction agencies
The planning of highways and four-laning projects also came under criticism. Panwar said the design and execution of major road projects in the Himalayas should be subject to robust independent planning and audit mechanisms.
He argued that construction agencies should not be the sole authorities determining how highways are designed in fragile mountain terrain. There should be zero tolerance for deviations from approved environmental and geological safeguards, he maintained.
Panwar also suggested that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) should establish a specialised Himalayan division capable of understanding the distinctive geological and ecological conditions of mountain states.
From “development versus environment” to ecological development
Ecological limits must respected and river systems retain their natural flow
R.L. Justa, a hydro engineer, emphasised the need to balance tourism, environmental protection and hydropower development in Himachal Pradesh. He stated that hydropower projects should not be planned solely on the basis of power-generation potential, but must also account for the fragility of the Himalayan environment and the carrying capacity of rivers and surrounding ecosystems.
Justa recommended that projects not be permitted at elevations above 7,000 feet and called for restrictions on large-scale hydropower development in ecologically sensitive areas. He further emphasised the importance of maintaining at least 20 per cent of river and stream flows as ecological flow to preserve the natural character of rivers and protect aquatic ecosystems from the adverse impacts of hydropower generation.
His intervention underscored the need to balance Himachal Pradesh’s demand for clean hydropower with the protection of its rivers, forests and fragile mountain ecology.
The central message emerging from the dialogue was that Himachal Pradesh cannot afford to view environmental protection and development as competing objectives.
The speakers called for development based on carrying capacity, land-use discipline, ecological sensitivity and long-term sustainability. They warned that roads, buildings and tourism infrastructure created without regard for the limits of the Himalayan ecosystem could ultimately undermine the very economy on which the state depends.
The discussion also highlighted that climate change has made conventional approaches to development even more hazardous. Increasing extreme weather events, landslides, pressure on water resources, forest degradation and unplanned urbanisation are interconnected challenges and therefore require an integrated response.
The participants stressed that the true measure of development in Himachal Pradesh should no longer be the number of roads constructed, buildings approved or tourists accommodated, but whether the state can preserve its forests, agricultural land, water sources and ecological stability for future generations.
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