Lok Sabha polls: Over 60 environmental groups demand ban on mega infrastructure projects in Himalayas
9 months, 1 week ago

Lok Sabha polls: Over 60 environmental groups demand ban on mega infrastructure projects in Himalayas

The Hindu  

More than 60 environmental and social organisations in the country have demanded a complete ban on all mega infrastructure projects, such as those related to the railways, dams, hydro projects and four-lane highways in the Himalayas, and have urged for referendums and public consultations to be made compulsory for all development projects. The organisations, jointly leading the "People for Himalaya" campaign, issued a five-point charter of demand for all political parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls during an online press conference. They called for a complete moratorium on all mega infrastructure projects, including those related to the railways, dams, hydro projects, tunneling, transmission lines and four-lane highways, along with a comprehensive multidisciplinary review of the impacts of the existing projects. Opinion | A hydro onslaught the Himalayas cannot take Anmol Ohri from the Climate Front Jammu warned that mindless pilgrim tourism, road construction in glacial regions and riverfront development projects will increase the risk of floods in the region.

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History of this topic

Public Support for Mega Infrastructure Projects in Maharashtra: A Turning Tide
2 months, 1 week ago

Public Support for Mega Infrastructure Projects in Maharashtra: A Turning Tide

The Hindu  

The article discusses the political significance of mega infrastructure projects in Maharashtra, with a focus on the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). The projects, including Metro Rail, Coastal Highway, and road widening, are seen as a way to woo voters in the MMR zone and the State's urban pockets. While these projects are lauded by some, others argue that they are …

Halt all mega infra projects in Hills, demand activists
9 months, 1 week ago

Halt all mega infra projects in Hills, demand activists

New Indian Express  

CHANDIGARH: Civil society organisations have launched a campaign demanding a moratorium on all mega infrastructure projects in the high Himalayas. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, who recently concluded his 21-day fast in Ladakh demanding its statehood, said, “A top-down model of development and governance cannot work for the region which has its unique topography, culture and lifestyle.’’ The demand charter states …

Moulding the Himalayas needs caution
1 year, 1 month ago

Moulding the Himalayas needs caution

The Hindu  

As the efforts to evacuate 41 workers trapped in a tunnel near Silkyara in the Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand are weeks away from fruition, the infrastructure development trajectory in the Himalayas comes under serious clouds — once again. The Char Dham Project, all-weather roads, being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India in Uttarakhand, linking the four religious pilgrimages …

Activists oppose Centre’s nod to select hydropower projects in Uttarakhand
3 years, 4 months ago

Activists oppose Centre’s nod to select hydropower projects in Uttarakhand

The Hindu  

A group of environmentalists, historians, geologists and intellectuals have petitioned the Union Environment Ministry to recant its endorsement of seven hydroelectric power projects in Uttarakhand. The signatories include Kunwar Rewati Raman Singh, MP, Rajya Sabha; Justice Giridhar Malviya, Chancellor, Benares Hindu University, Ravi Chopra, chairman, Supreme Court-appointed expert body on impacts of hydro projects, Shashi Shekhar, ex-Secretary, Water Resources Ministry …

A fine line: The Hindu Editorial on development and conservation
3 years, 4 months ago

A fine line: The Hindu Editorial on development and conservation

The Hindu  

The need for infrastructure development in the Himalayan region rubs up against the environmental and ecological challenges that they pose. The Uttarakhand government has for decades envisaged hydroelectric projects as the way forward to power the State, premised on the region’s undulating topography. There have been divisions even within various Central ministries: the Water Resources Ministry, which manages the NMCG, …

Explained | Why are hydropower projects in the Himalayas risky?
3 years, 4 months ago

Explained | Why are hydropower projects in the Himalayas risky?

The Hindu  

The Environment Ministry, in an affidavit placed in the Supreme Court earlier this month, has disclosed that it has permitted seven hydroelectric power projects, which are reportedly in advanced stages of construction, to go ahead. The Das committee recommended all six projects with design modifications to some, and this gives lie to the Environment Ministry’s current stance. Following the break …

Hydropower projects are wreaking havoc in the Himalayas
3 years, 9 months ago

Hydropower projects are wreaking havoc in the Himalayas

Al Jazeera  

On February 7, a Himalayan glacier broke and caused a flash flood in the North Indian state of Uttarakhand. “It shows that nature will strike back if we disregard the ecological limits of fragile regions like the Himalayas through reckless dam building and other infrastructure development.” After the 2013 flash flood, the Supreme Court of India also mandated a national …

No link between Char Dham road-widening project in Uttarakhand and flash floods, govt. says in SC
3 years, 10 months ago

No link between Char Dham road-widening project in Uttarakhand and flash floods, govt. says in SC

The Hindu  

The government on Wednesday denied in the Supreme Court any link between the Char Dham road-widening project in Uttarakhand and the recent flash floods in the Rishi Ganga valley, which claimed many lives and damaged the Tapovan hydro project. The 899-km-long Char Dham highway project connects four shrines of Gangotri, Yamunotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath in Garhwal Himalayas The project is …

Uttarakhand Tragedy: Unscientific Cutting of Himalayan Soil Causing Disasters, Says Former GSI Official
3 years, 10 months ago

Uttarakhand Tragedy: Unscientific Cutting of Himalayan Soil Causing Disasters, Says Former GSI Official

News 18  

Unscientific cutting of Himalayan soil by infrastructure projects is disrupting the fragile ecology of the region and causing disasters, warned a former official of the Geological Survey of India on Tuesday. Former additional director general of GSI Tribhuwan Singh Pangti, who was associated with the now demolished Rishiganga hydroelectric project for initial two years as a geologist, said the hydroelectric …

11 anti-flood projects stalled by Nepal, CM Adityanath tells PM Modi
4 years, 5 months ago

11 anti-flood projects stalled by Nepal, CM Adityanath tells PM Modi

The Hindu  

Eleven new flood prevention projects worth ₹53.64 crore could not be executed before the current flood season on the Indo-Nepal border as the neighbouring country did not provide permission for implementation in its geographical area due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Uttar Pradesh government said on Monday. The statement comes as 582 villages in 19-20 districts of the State remained …

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