Why in the News?

The Teesta dam breach and Himachal floods highlight the urgent need to evaluate development projects based on their environmental impact, especially in fragile mountain regions.

What are the underlying issues in the cities of IHR? 

1. Inadequate Planning Models: Planning institutions in the IHR often use models from the plains, which are ill-suited to the region’s unique conditions, leading to ineffective implementation and failures.
2. Human Resource Deficit: City governments in the IHR face a severe shortage of human resources, with staffing levels falling short by nearly 75%, hampering effective urban management.
3. Uncontrolled Urban Expansion: Cities are expanding into village peripheries, encroaching on common lands and natural resources, as seen in Srinagar, where built-up areas increased by 75.58% from 2000 to 2020, while water bodies shrank by 25%.
4. Environmental Strain: Urbanization, high-intensity tourism, and unsustainable infrastructure development are exacerbating environmental pressures in the IHR, further worsened by changing precipitation patterns and rising temperatures.
5. Financial Constraints: The IHR cities lack the capacity to generate capital for infrastructure needs, highlighting the need for the Finance Commission to address urban financing in this region, given the high costs and absence of industrial corridors.

What can be done?

1. Every town needs to be mapped, with layers identifying vulnerabilities from geological and hydrological perspectives. The planning process should involve locals and follow a bottom-up approach.
2. Consultant-driven urban planning processes should be shelved for Himalayan towns, with the urban design based on climate resilience.
3. Current intergovernmental transfers from the centre to urban local bodies constitute a mere 0.5% of GDP. This should be increased to at least 1% of GDP.
4. Himalayan towns must engage in wider conversations about sustainability, with the focus on urban futures being through robust, eco-centric planning processes involving public participation.

Mains PYQ:

Q How can the mountain ecosystem be restored from the negative impact of development initiatives and tourism?  (UPSC IAS/2019)

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