DEHRADUN: To expedite economic recovery following pandemic-hit fiscals that plunged the country into a technical recession and create more informal sector jobs to help those at the bottom of the economic ladder, the central government quite expectantly gave a major push to infrastructural projects in the Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.
However, this increased focus on infrastructure development is bound to have an impact on the green cover of the 11 Himalayan states, according to environmentalists in Uttarakhand. Talking to TOI, they expressed their disappointment with the government for not announcing a 'green bonus' -- a proposed budgetary provision for the Himalayan states in lieu of the ecological services provided by them.
Ravi Chopra, who headed the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee for the all-weather Char Dham Road project and also prepared the 2013 Kedarnath tragedy report, said, “We need to preserve our forests and to this end, Himalayan states should be encouraged with a green bonus.” He added that residents of the Himalayan states have been demanding this green bonus for long but the incumbent government has been indifferent to the threats posed by climate change. “Unfortunately, this is a government focused only on infrastructure and in this area, infrastructural development cannot take place without disturbing the environment.”
Echoing a similar viewpoint, Kumaon-based historian and Padma Shri awardee, Shekhar Pathak, said, “Despite “double-engine” governments in most of the Himalayan states, our demand for a green bonus has been put on the back-burner. This fund is crucial to compensate for the ecological and social destruction caused by several infrastructure projects in the hills. There is an urgent need to realise that forests are the only carbon sinks and we need to protect them. The Himalayan states are already witnessing increased instances of natural calamities like floods,” said Pathak.
Besides a lack of political will, the “failure” of scientists and government officials in communicating the need for a green bonus has also contributed to the central government overlooking the demand, say activists. “Infrastructural development comes at the expense of the environment and socio-cultural loss in the Himalayas. Apart from the green cover, we lose our mountain civilisation as well. Green bonus would help us save the Himalayan landscape,” added Pathak.
Notably, the 11 Himalayan states are home to almost 36% of India's total biodiversity and have one-third of the total forest cover of the country.
