High-rise structures threat to Kasauli

Ambika Sharma

The quaint cantonment town  of Kasauli, which was established  as a British colony nearly 150 years ago, is gasping for breath as the civic amenities have failed to keep pace with the burgeoning tourist influx as well as the local population.

The pine-whipped air, so typical of the hills, is no longer what it used to be and there is a  perceptible rise in temperature, as the green cover around the town is declining woefully due to crass commercialisation. Being a cantonment town, there are restrictions on new constructions within the town, though a plethora of high-rise structures have come up all round the town in the entire Kasauli Planning Area (KPA).

Spread over 263 hectare, Kasauli was planned to house a population of less than 1,000 in 1842 and this mark was crossed way back in 1945. According to the 2011 Census, the town’s population has  touched 3,885 while in the peak tourist season, from May to July, it  registers nearly a three-fold increase with nearly 800 to 1,500 tourist vehicles entering the town. The town  has  barely adequate space to park 400 vehicles and at least half of these are parked along the roads at earmarked slots. An effort to develop a multi-level parking to accommodate 300 vehicles at the bus stand is awaiting a nod  from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which had banned new constructions in the area in 2017.

Phenomenal growth has been witnessed in the KPA in the past three decades due to the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir and disturbance in Punjab. Scores of high-rise hotels , guest houses and flats have come up in the area, in neglect of the environmental impact, as thousands of trees have been axed.

As many as  72 hotels have come up in the precincts of Kasauli in the KPA in the past about two decades. They are the only source of employment for the local youth. These contributed Rs 2.60 crore to the state exchequer by way of luxury tax.

Rocky Chimney, president of the Kasauli Hoteliers Association, said since the average occupancy of the majority of hotels was about 60 per cent annually, more hotels were not required in the area. He added that the average stay of a tourist in Kasauli was barely one night, as the place offered little recreational activity.

With virtually nil expansion of the civic amenities in the recent years , the roads are bursting at the seams. The need to upgrade the Parwanoo-Kasauli and Dharampur-Kasauli roads as well as construct a bypass at Garkhal have been proposed in the  development plan of 2009, but the successive governments have failed to pay due attention to this area. The worst affected is the Kasauli-Dharampur road where construction of palatial resorts has caused immense damage to various culverts  as well as the road structure and even the parapet has been encroached upon to construct boundary walls by private builders.

Linear constructions have cropped up along the roads on both sides, thus restricting their expansion. Though, according to the norms of the Town and Country Planning Department, constructions above the road height were not permissible, as they obstructed the view of the valley, this norm has been observed more in the breach.

The area is bereft of a sewage treatment plant, which has become an environmental concern. The  feasibility to set up a sewage treatment plant in Kasauli is being explored, but given the high quantum of water it will utilise, its further progress has been stopped till an additional source of water could be arranged, confirmed Junior Engineer, Cantonment Board, Satish Kumar. He added that the town received 2 lakh litres of water on a daily basis, though the requirement was nearly double of that quantity and in the peak summer, the residents were supplied water on alternate days.

Superintending Engineer, Irrigation and Public Health Department,  Sanjeev Kaul, however, said an ambitious Kalujhinda  lift-water scheme worth Rs 23.22 crore had been conceptualised and it has been sent to the Planning Department for funding. This will address the water shortage plaguing Kasauli and its precincts.  

The quality of air has deteriorated, as there was open burning of waste due to lack of waste disposal plants and the dust emanating from scores of construction sites on all roads leading to Kasauli. The summer temperature has surged in the recent years, recall old-timers, as hotels now use air-conditioners.

The  scarce water is barely enough to meet the requirements of a burgeoning population, as no new scheme has been conceived  since the past several decades. In the absence of mapping of groundwater, it was being exploited commercially. 

There are nearly 72 hotels in the KPA, and the manner in which unauthorised constructions have been detected in at least 13 such ventures, speaks volumes about lack of regulation.

According to a study conducted by the Town and Country Planning Department, the hotels use coal in the ovens and the unauthorised use of diesel-run generator sets resulted in deterioration of the air quality. The hotels are either bereft of  waste-treatment plants or the installed plants were under capacity.

Expressing concern over the unbridled construction of hotels and resorts in the area, an expert committee constituted by the  NGT undertook the first study of its carrying capacity.  It has made key recommendations, which include not to extend any retention policy in the area given its fragile ecology, as perceived gaps in physical and environmental services  vis-à-vis current requirements had come to light.

The study dwells on revisiting the Development Plan  by incorporating environmental concerns with specific timelines to augment water, parking and waste-disposal mechanism. 

Adopting  the seismic factor while designing buildings  has also been recommended, as this area falls under seismic IV zone. Restricting the slope angle for construction at 35 degree for slopes covered with soil and 45 degree for slopes covered with rocks has also been recommended apart from widening the roads. Undertaking measures to restore the biodiversity, which has faced the worst degradation in recent years has been specially recommended.

Politicians have failed to give due attention to the area in the past several decades and even the basic issue of road expansion has never been seriously considered. Member of Parliament, Shimla, Virender Kashyap, while agreeing that expansion of roads was the need of the hour said, “The issue of carving out a bypass at Garkhal has failed to materialise due to private land holdings, but  efforts would be made to chalk out some solution, as the roads faced immense volume of traffic.”

While expansion of civic amenities was the need of the hour, it remains to be seen how soon the woes of the KPA can be addressed given the slack approach of the successive governments.