In democracy, the elected governments are expected to put far -reaching development with vision keeping in mind all aspects. In contrast, the leaders are only concerned about the vote bank. For this, it is common to ignore the devastating effects of the environment along with playing with people’s lives for the benefits of immediate development policies. This is the reason why the Supreme Court has stunned the Himachal government. The court said that if the activities that do not stop uncontrolled development and environmental damage were not stopped, one day the entire Himachal may disappear from the map. This comment comes at a time when concerns about the changing environment in Himachal are increasing and indiscriminate trees are being cut in the name of development.
The next day of this strict comment of the Supreme Court, the mountain collapsed once again near a hydro power project site near Hallung in Chamoli district in Chamoli, Uttarakhand. 8 workers of the company were injured in this accident. There were about 300 laborers at the site at the time of the accident. Around 70 laborers were working on where landslides took place. Despite such accidents, the governments of the Himalayan region have not learned any lesson. The story of ruin is being written in the name of development in these states. A bench of Supreme Court Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan said that the aim of governments should not be increased but to save the environment, especially in such sensitive areas. The court made this comment while dismissing the petition of a hotel company. The company was against the June 2025 notification in which the new private construction was banned by declaring Himachal’s Shri Tara Mata Hill as a green area. The bench said that the situation in Himachal Pradesh is getting worse. This year too, hundreds of people were killed in floods and landslides and thousands of houses were destroyed. It is clear that nature is angry with human activities. The court further said that it is wrong to blame only nature. The sliding of mountains in Himachal, landslides on the streets, falling houses and road collapsing are the result of humans tampering.
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The court questioned hydro projects like Bhakra and Nathpa Jhakri, saying that without correct geopolitics and environmental studies, these projects are weakening the mountains. The aquatic life in the rivers is ending due to lack of minimum water flow. Today the Sutlej river has become like a drain. The court made it clear that if strict steps are not taken in time, then the existence of Himachal may be in danger. Significantly, in the last one century, the average temperature in Himachal Pradesh has increased by 1.6 degrees Celsius. This is a clear indication of climate change, due to the increase in temperature in the number of disasters in Himachal Pradesh, there is an increase in the intensity and frequency of rain, causing disasters such as floods and landslides. Five districts of Himachal (Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra, Kullu, Mandi) fall into a highly sensitive area for earthquakes. Earthquakes and continuous rains weaken the mountains, increasing the incidence of landslides. About 58.36 percent of the land in Himachal is in danger of acute soil erosion. The soil flows due to heavy rains, which reduces the stability of the mountains and increases the risk of landslides. Glaciers are melting rapidly in Himachal. This increases the water level in the rivers, which increases the risk of flooding. Unplanned-scientific development works in Himachal have further promoted disasters.
Experts say that the government and developers are ignoring environmental influences. There are 174 small and big hydropower projects in Himachal, which generate 11,209 MW of electricity. The mountains are cut for these projects. The flow of rivers is interrupted. In the year 2023, Malana, Sainz and Parvati projects suffered heavy losses in Kullu and Sainz Valley. Incidents of slip and landslides in rain are common due to road construction in Mandi, Kullu and Shimla. Multi -storey buildings are being built in cities like Shimla, which ignore environmental warnings. In Himachal, the forests are being cut and made for electricity projects, roads and tourism.
From 1980 to 2014, 90 percent of the forests in Kinnaur were transferred to non-forest activities, causing damage to biodiversity and soil stability. Millions of tourists visit Himachal every year, especially in areas like Kullu, Manali and Shimla. This increases the pressure on the environment. The mountains are cut for hotels, resols and other construction works. There is no proper management of waste. This pollutes water sources and rivers. A flood -like situation is created. The number and intensity of disasters in Himachal has increased in the last few years. In the year 2021, 476 people died and a loss of about Rs 1151 crore. In the year 2022, 276 people died and loss of Rs 939 crore, 404 people died in the year 2023 and a loss of Rs 12000 crore. Similarly, in 2024 last year, 358 people died, 1004 houses damaged, and 7088 animal loss and 18 cloudburst incidents damaged 14 hydropower projects. More or less such disastrous conditions are from Uttarakhand. This year too, 25 people have died in natural disasters since June 1 in Uttarakhand due to rain. In Uttarakhand, rivers often come in spate due to heavy rains, causing floods and landslides. The floods in the Mandakini river in the Kedarnath disaster of 2013 caused extensive destruction. In the year 2021, there were 17 major cloudburst incidents in Uttarakhand. Due to which 34 people died and 106 houses were buried. Surprisingly, the governments of these two states have not learned any lesson from these natural disasters. In both states, the names of development are continuing adverse environmental activities. It is evident that the eyes of the leaders are limited to the vote bank only, if the lives and property of the people were careful, then the situation of both the states would not have been so bad.
– Yogendra Yogi