Explainer: Declared 'disaster-prone', Joshimath reignites development versus environment debate

Vibha Sharma

Chandigarh, January 11

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on January 16 a plea seeking the court’s intervention to declare the crisis in Joshimath a national disaster, refusing to list for urgent hearing saying that everything important should not come to it directly.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is personally monitoring the situation, officials add.

But this is not the first time the matter reached the court.

BJP’s Uma Bharti on Sunday said she had moved the Supreme Court in 2017 against the NTPC project, saying that the project would create “irreversible loss”.

“Then the Reni Gaon incident happened. I said at that time that this indicates that Joshimath will also face the same disaster. Then I was told that the PMO blasted the officers there, that it was sensitive regarding the issue….there are minutes of the PMO meeting where officers were slammed. Then Joshimath was not sinking,” the firebrand saffron leader was quoted as saying.

“Policymakers in Delhi have given a new name to such projects which can be done fast—low hanging fruit, fruits which can be eaten fast. I am scared that these policymakers will eat Uttarakhand one day”, she also said

Subsidence not confined to Joshimath

The subsidence issue appears to be not only confined to Joshimath.

A study by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing suggests that Joshimath and surrounding areas have been sinking at the rate of 6.5 cm or 2.5 inch per year. Satellite images show the spread is not limited to the Joshimath town. The residents of Bahuguna Nagar in Karnaprayag have also raised a red flag regarding cracks appearing in some homes over the past few month, according to reports

Joshimath residents, meanwhile, are protesting against the demolitions in the town declared “disaster-prone” by the government.

Protests gained steam ahead of demolition of two precariously-placed hotels on Tuesday with locals blaming the NTPC Tapovan project for aggravating the situation.

But are the NTPC, and other development projects, are the only reason behind the mess in the subsidence-hit Joshimath?

The town known as the gateway to destinations like Badrinath, Auli, the Valley of Flowers and the Hemkunt Sahib also has over 50 hotels, reports suggest

While many environmentalists are blaming wide-scale development activities like the all-weather Char Dham road and the NTPC project for “shaking the base” of Joshimath, experts say one also cannot overlook local development activities due to increasing economic activities in the region.

Haphazard construction on fragile mountain terrains caused erosion of topsoil, and local streams changing their course. Unplanned developmental activities and absence of the assessment of the carrying capacity of the ground and ongoing developmental works added, adversely affecting ecologically fragile and tectonically active region

In fact, the debate—development/economy versus environment—is a pattern that normally follows any disaster in ecologically-sensitive region, only to be forgotten when the issue subsides

Joshimath first reported cracks in 1971, following which measures like conservation of existing trees and plantation of more trees and ensuring that the rocks/boulders on which the town is located are not disturbed were suggested but “never followed completely”

The town is sinking because of anthropogenic activities, increased tourist footfall, economic activities and population, they say.

Meanwhile, the construction of the tunnels for hydropower projects through blasting, creating local earthquake tremors.

Joshimath (or Jyotirmath as it is also known) in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand is known as a gateway to several important climbing expeditions, trekking trails and pilgrimages in the Himalayas, enjoying a booming economy based on that aspect.

Located close to the Indo-Tibetan Border, Joshimath also has strategic significance. The Joshimath Cantonment is the permanent station of the Garhwal Scouts.