NGOs Challenge Govt’s “Violent Development Model”
Mandi November 16:
As Himachal battles recurring cloudbursts, landslides and flash floods, more than a dozen people’s organisations convened in Mandi here confront the government over what they called reckless and unscientific development.
Their central question: Why is the state fast-tracking mega projects while thousands of disaster-hit families remain landless and abandoned?
At the two-day meeting held in this Temple town, activists issued sharp, specific warnings to the government and the agencies executing high-risk projects across the Himalayas.
Women’s rights activist Chandrakanta said the recent disasters in Himachal are not natural phenomena but the direct outcome of the state’s “imbalanced and destructive development model.”
Guman Singh from Himalaya Niti Abhiyan criticised the Bilaspur–Leh rail line and the Leh transmission line, saying these projects “threaten the Beas valley and destabilise the entire state’s ecology.”
He demanded that the government “stop pushing a violent development agenda and prioritise mountain communities.”
From Lahaul-Spiti, Ajey of Save Lahaul-Spiti attacked the investment policies that dilute land laws under the guise of “Ease of Doing Business.”
He warned that the proposal to amend Section 118 “endangers the rights of the entire state.”
Speaking on the connection between community commons and rising disasters, Prakash Bhandari of Himdhara Environment Collective said, “If we want to protect our homes and farms, we must first safeguard forests, grasslands, rivers and streams. Disasters start where community lands are damaged and exploited.”
Veteran activist Shyam Singh urged the government to “withhold approval for any project that lacks informed consent from local people and panchayats,” adding that sidelining communities “only increases vulnerability.”
Representing the Loktantrik Rashtranirman Abhiyan, Ashok Somal pointed out that 67% of Himachal’s land falls under forest area, leaving thousands of families displaced since 2023 without rehabilitation.
He said the government has “failed to identify adequate non-forest land,” and without amendments to central forest laws, “rehabilitation at scale is impossible.”
Padma Shri Nek Ram Sharma pressed for urgent changes in Himachal’s mountain economy. “Agriculture and horticulture must adapt to climate change. Local communities must manage community resources if they want a secure future.”
Will the Government Act—or Ignore These Warnings?
Despite repeated alerts from experts and disaster survivors, government agencies show no signs of re-evaluating mega projects slicing through Himachal’s fragile slopes. With political pressure to show rapid infrastructure progress, officials appear determined to push ahead—risking further damage to an already unstable landscape.
As organisations including Ekal Nari Shakti Sangathan, Himalaya Niti Abhiyan, Himdhara Environment Group, Save Lahaul-Spiti and others unite to demand a safer Himachal, the question remains:
Will the government step back and review its approach, or continue building at the cost of lives, livelihoods and fragile ecosystems?
#SaveHimalayas #PeopleBeforeProjects #ClimateJustice #RebuildHimachal