Dharamshala, Sep 18 (FN Agency) A non-governmental organisation Himalaya Niti Abhiyan has demanded that the recent natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh be declared a ‘National Disaster’. The Himalaya Niti Abhiyan has recommended that issues needing urgent redressal such as resettling those who have become homeless and whose livelihoods have been severely affected need to be prioritised and immediate action initiated by the central and state governments . With inputs from various civil society organisations, environmental activists, retired public servants and the scientific community which came together in a WhatsApp discussion group called “CRISIS” it further recommended that the issue of proper land siting for each type of land-use must be made an important agenda of the state’s future action plans.
It further recommended that the moratorium on large infrastructure projects – dams and hydropower projects, roads, and multi-storeyed buildings construction – must be strictly adhered to and their impacts studied. Traditional livelihood occupations and reimagined tourism programmes should be considered including active community management of forests based on the provisions of the Forest Rights Act, 2006 was also recommended. It further recommended that the widespread awareness and sensitisation of the decision-makers and communities must be undertaken on an ongoing basis. It finally recommended that the most crucially it is important to understand the mountain specificities and the nature of the Indian Himalayan Ecosystem to develop policies and implement development models that are in consonance with the environmental realities and people’s needs rather than racing towards an unsustainable economic model or competing with other countries whose geo-ecological conditions are widely different.