India on Foot

This is what the western media says:

“India has always been a difficult place to do business – excessive bureaucracy, endemic corruption and poor infrastructure are the most common problems – but now it seems Hindu gods must be added to the list. Plans for what would have been India’s first international ski resort in the Himalayan foothills have come unstuck after a group of Hindu gods ruled that it was environmentally unsound.”

The communities of villages in Kullu and environement action groups in Himachal Pradesh have been opposing the Himalayan Ski Village project in Kullu since 2005.

This is what they say:

Likely impacts of the Project -

1. Ecological and environmental concerns – links to community access to natural resources and livelihoods.
2. Cultural and Spiritual Concerns.
3. Issues of procedure, transparency, rights of communities & lack of information in the public domain.

Based on the facts mentioned below, this 300 million dollar project which could indeed be the most ecologically harmful project executed in Himachal till date (excluding the construction of dams). 

1. A considerable area under consideration for construction falls under temperate forests of Cedar, Fir, Rhododendron, Birch and alpine grasslands. Construction on these slopes will not only lead to ecological disturbance but can also initiate landslides. These Alpine medows are home to many medicinal plants and wildlife like the Monal Pheasant, Goral, Musk Deer and EVEN SOME SNOW LEOPARDS.

2. Ski toruism is increasingly coming under regulatory scanner in Europe and America. A recent publication by The Guardian: The final call; in search of the true cost we pay for our Holidays by Leo hickman provides evidence of the extremely disturbing trends of winter tourism.

3. In a city which is overburdened by the water, land and electricity demands of the tourist population, this project involves the construction of 166 acres (approx.) of Apartments, hotels, entertainment and shopping complexes, etc; and cafes in Himachal and that too upstream of Kullu where a project of such magnitude cannot be executed without large scale deforestation. 

4. Tourism and related construction activities are likely to cause soil erosion, slope destablization, flooding and landslides.

5. Deforestation of hill slopes will impact the livelihood of thousands of villagers who depend upon these slopes for their livelihood including fodder, fuelwood, grazing and herbs.

6. The 2 nallahs which this project is likely to tap are the source of drinking and irrigation water for downstream villages.

7. Creation of flat surfaces for construction and formation of ski slopes will not only lead to slow disappearance of springs which feed the rivers in the region but will also lead to reduced water entering the soil leading to slope instability and landslides.

8. The DPR of the Project is not available to the Stakeholders.

9. The project requires 1200 KLD (Kilo Litre/day) water (equivalent to water consumed by approx. 8,000 people in a day) and 22MW power; which is nearly 10 times the average use. One wonders if this project in itself might initiate the need for yet another dam in Himachal. 

10. The Project gives rights to the Company and its invitees water rights in the project area, including tapping of unused nallas/ground water and for building retention ponds for snow making and supply to resort village.

11. To those who care about the forests and ecology of Himachal, this project is certainly not good news as it would bring 6,000 acres of pristine forests under tourist influence. 

12. And to top it all Acrylic would be used to create artificial snow which is known to pollute water sources. This will impact not only Himachalis but also the people in the plains because the main rivers in North India originate in the Himalayas. 

13. In terms of land, the project would impact the hinterland of 60 villages which depend on these slopes for fodder, herd grazing and fuel; thereby, impacting nearly 39,000 Himachalis.

14. Water and power required to create artificial snow will severely impact local irrigation and needs of local population and though the local NGOs have opposed it since the very beginning, not much seems to have impacted the Environmental Clearance panel for the project which is still considering the matter. 

15. The Project provides exemption to owners of Ski Village to sell land to Non Himachalis (something which is not permitted anywhere else in the State).

We express deep concern over the Ski village project which is currently under study for environmental clearance and request that such a project be banned from disturbing the peace and equilibrium of the Himalayan State.

And, this is what the promoters of the project say:

“Set new social and environmental standards for 21^st century responsible tourism.”

“Build prosperity through sustainable tourism in the Himalaya.”

“No industrial or tourism project in India has ever submitted themselves to such a rigorous environmental study, which we have undertaken for setting up the proposed ski village project in the heights of Manali ”.

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