Environment peril in Himachal’s Koksar under NGT scrutiny, notices to Centre, State

Himachalscape bureau Published: February 8, 2024 | Updated: February 8, 2024 3 minutes read

Old photo clicked in May 2023 used for indicative purpose only. Photo by: Vishal Sarin

Environment peril in Himachal’s Koksar under NGT scrutiny, notices to Centre, State

Shimla, Feb 8,

Environment peril in Himachal’s Koksar had drawn scrutiny by National Green tribunal who have issued notices to Centre, State. Intervening on the desecration of Koksar, the coldest area of Lahaul & Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, on, Wednesday, the NGT sought responses from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change and the Himachal Pradesh government, while also issuing Notices to the CPCB, the Himachal Pradesh Department of Environment, the Himachal Pradesh Pollution Control Board, the Deputy Commissioner, Lahaul & Spiti and the Village Panchayat, Koksar.

A Bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr. A. Senthil Vel took note of the massive environmental violations arising out of the non-compliance of the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 in Koksar, an extremely eco-sensitive area, situated at an altitude of 5484 m (17992.13 ft), in District Lahaul & Spiti on the Leh-Manali Highway in Himachal Pradesh, which remains completely frozen for more than 7 months in a year. The area is situated just 19 km from the Rohtang Pass.

The Petition moved by a organisation ‘Friends’, contended that despite being an extremely eco-sensitive region, Koksar has been mindlessly converted into a tourist point, over the years, witnessing massive, uncontrolled volume of tourists, every single day. Almost every visitor/tourist visiting Manali heads to Koksar, situated hardly 42 km therefrom.

The tourists are being taken and allowed entry beyond the Taxi Stand to Koksar without any checks. As a consequence, tourists carry eatables in non-biodegradable wafers, plastic water bottles, soft drinks, tobacco/pan masala wafers and virtually almost everything, all packaged in non-biodegradable materials, the petition averred, adding that the littering and waste dumping caused by visitors/tourists to Koksar is polluting the pristine streams and water channels therein and is causing irreparable harm to the extremely fragile ecology of the Koksar area.

The said illegal dumping of the waste is in breach of the directions passed by the Supreme Court, in Almitra H. Patel Vs Union of India & Ors. as well as the Orders passed in Municipal Council, Ratlam Vs. Vardhichand and B.L. Wadhera Vs. Union of India & Ors. The illegal dumping, non-disposal, non-segregation and non-processing of the wastes persists in Koksar, notwithstanding the directions passed by this Tribunal in O.A. No. 606/2018 (In Respect of State of Himachal Pradesh), In Re: Compliance of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and other environmental issues.

Also read: Environmental Crisis in Lahaul, as tourist footfall leads to Garbage and Plastic waste overflow

The dumping of waste and the over-tourism, is directly upsetting the highly fragile ecology and endangering the very existence of the para-glacier and the surrounding glaciers such as Rohtang, the petition said.

Akash Vashishtha, Advocate and Counsel for the Petitioner, submitted that Koksar, for most parts of the year, experiences below-freezing temperatures, much like Siachen and was extremely rich in Alpine biodiversity.

“Uncontrolled and unregulated volume of tourists are made to enter Koksar every single day, because of which massive littering and illegal, unchecked dumping of wastes take place in Koksar. There is no waste disposal, no segregation and no processing of wastes, as required by the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016,” Mr. Vashishtha, told the court.

“Eleven months after the tribunal’s orders to the state to strictly monitor the situation , bridge the gaps in solid waste generation and treatment at the earliest, and execute restoration plans in in a time-bound manner, without further delay, no measures, whatsoever, seem to have been taken on the ground,” Vashishtha argued.

The court has fixed the matter for 03.04.2024 for next hearing.

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