Development destabilizes India's Himalayan region

As India boosts its infrastructure development in the Himalayan region, many ongoing construction projects are putting pressure on the fragile ecosystem. DW traveled to Uttarakhand, where communities are paying a high price.

India's National Green Tribunal, which handles environmental issues, has strict laws on housing density and multi-story building construction, and in 2019 the Supreme Court imposed a complete ban on tree felling for development projects in forest areas of Himachal Pradesh. Despite this, illicit hill leveling and destruction of forest areas remain commonplace.

"The law is very good in India on paper — the problem is with the enforcement of it," says environmental lawyer Deven Khanna, appointed by the High Court of Shimla, the state capital, in 2018 to investigate environmental violations in the region. The number of structures in Dharamshala which are built in violation of building laws is, he says, "mind boggling."

Home to the Tibetan government-in-exile and a popular destination for pilgrims and foreign tourists, Dharamshala has experienced substantial urban growth in the last few decades, with the population more than doubling between 2011 and 2015.

In Bhagsu, a village popular with tourists in Upper Dharamshala, illegal building extensions constructed by hotel owners over the top of a stream obstructed the high flow of water during the flash flood this summer. With nowhere to go, the water burst out onto the main street, washing away cars and causing substantial damage to shops and houses. The illegal encroachments were demolished on the orders of state officials in the days following.

"The problem is starker in a place like Dharamshala, because it is a tourist place and there is a lot of opportunity to earn money from land, from buildings," Khanna explains. "People are okay with the risks, because they are thinking about the money."

Disillusioned with the inaction of local officials and the lack of resolution from the High Court case, Khanna now believes that long-term solutions lie with technology. He has advocated for the use of aerial drones and satellite mapping to monitor tree coverage and illegal felling.