Himachal monsoon: Debris dumping worsened flooding in Manali, Mandi
Apart from illegal mining, construction and deforestation, the recent destruction was due to debris dumping along river banks by builders and companies as they went about executing road widening, tunneling and hydel projects.
The recent flash floods and landslides that caused large-scale destruction in Himachal Pradesh, particularly in Kullu and Mandi districts, was the fallout of natural and manmade factors.
Kullu and Mandi districts were the epicentre of the catastrophe from July 8 to 11 as unprecedented high precipitation led to the raging Beas river and its tributaries damaging infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, houses and vehicles. A substantial portion of the Chandigarh-Manali four-lane project was washed away, leaving more than 70,000 people stranded, who were evacuated in an operation spanning four days. Forty-two people died in the disaster, while many are still missing.
According to chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the state government has the loss to infrastructure is already around ₹5,300 crore but the amount is projected to cross ₹8,000 crore as assessment is underway.
While the state government focuses on relief and rehabilitation, geologists say that apart from illegal mining, construction and deforestation, a major reason behind the widespread destruction was debris dumping along river banks by builders and companies executing road widening, tunneling and hydropower projects.
Construction debris choking rivers
Ambrish Kumar Mahajan, the dean, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Central University of Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, says muck, consisting of dirt, trees and boulders, obstructs the natural flow of the river.
“When flooding occurs, the debris flows with the water and due to its high density, this waste has the strength to damage and uproot whatever comes in its way,” says Mahajan.
Secondly, the muck narrows down the course of the river, while its bed rises. When the water level increases, the obstructed path leads to rivers flowing sideways and breaching embankments, causing more damage. This is what happened in Manali.
Mahajan says the natural course of the Beas and its tributaries has been blocked at several places due to dumping of construction debris.
The illegal construction and encroachment on the riverbed, which geologists have been warning against, has aggravated the problem.
Dams are primarily meant for flood control but hydel project authorities let them fill to the maximum for power generation and when there is a flood and the dam can’t handle the pressure, the gates are opened, flooding areas downstream.
The damage in Mandi was due to the opening of the Pandoh Dam gates by the Bhakra Beas Management Board, he says.
“When there is heavy rain in the catchment area, it takes water some time to reach the dam. So, if the gates are opened early, there would be minimal damage,” says Manshi Asher, a Palampur-based climate activist.
Lack of dumping space in hills
Lakhs of tonnes of muck is generated while executing a bid project. There is a scientific method to dump muck but due to the topography, hills don’t have enough space. Private land is scarce, about 10% of the total geographical area, so people don’t sell it, while forest land too is not an alternative. The only option left is the degraded forest land that is generally the riverside.
Any river or stream has a determined course but it keeps changing direction of flow. When this course is narrowed, the debris will flow with water and cause destruction. “Rivers in the hills can’t handle so much muck. Even if it is legal and scientific dumping, there is no space because the scale of muck generated is so high,” she says.
A Mandi resident, Rajesh Sharma, says that the muck dumped by companies executing the Kiratpur-Manali four-lane work has choked the Beas at many places and between Mandi and Manali besides Bilaspur, which led to the river changing its course and washing away stretches of the highway.
NHAI swings into action after HC rap
When the monsoon began in the third week of June, the Himachal Pradesh high court pulled up the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for “irresponsible conduct” of its officials, who failed to control contractors from dumping muck into forests and rivers.
The court was hearing a petition by four-lane Visthapit and Prabhavit Samiti in which the petitioner had sought action against illegal dumping of muck in forests.
While the NHAI failed to provide details of the steps taken to address the problem, the court suo motu impleaded the Union of India, through the ministry of environment and forests and ministry of transport, as parties to the petition.
On June 28, the NHAI’s regional officer, Abdul Basit, convened a meeting involving all contractors, team leaders of supervising consultants and project directors of NHAI Mandi, Shimla, Palampur and Hamirpur to address the issue of illegal dumping.
Basit warned the contractors that besides the penalties, their bill payment will be withheld if guilty of illegal dumping.
He asked the contractors to remove the illegally dumped material from the sites and contribute to environmental conservation by undertaking tree plantation and establishing rainwater harvesting systems.
Changes at planning stage
Asher says the problem is big but not that complex. “The simple solution is to make changes at the planning level on what type of construction should be carried out in a particular place. The environment impact assessment (EIA) study and carrying capacity study must be thorough, scientific and solid. But that is not happening. In some projects, these studies are not even carried out,” she says.
The solution, she says, is multipronged. The planning will have to be solid, the site selection and EIA, carrying capacity study and the monitoring is important.
She says environmental clearances should not be diluted, particularly in mountains. “The local government too pushes for exemption in clearances due to revenue generation pressure, thus the problem is also economic,” says Asher.
So, the solution lies at different levels and requires a policy change.
When contacted, Himachal public works department minister Vikramaditya Singh said debris dumping had created small islands in rivers. “I had been to ground zero and met the affected people, who complained of debris dumping and illegal mining in the river. There are earmarked dumping sites but the problem is far bigger,” he says, adding “The government will work out a strategy to curb the practice.”
