Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has assured Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna that the Central Government will seriously consider the apprehensions of the State regarding the formation of eco-sensitive zone in the Bhagirathi valley in Uttarakhand.
The PM gave this assurance to a delegation of public representatives from the State which called upon him in the national capital to request the Government of India to cancel the December 2012 notification declaring an area of 4179.59 sq km covering the entire watershed around 100 km stretch of Bhagirathi from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi as an Eco-Sensitive Zone under the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
Bahuguna told Singh at the Parliament House that after the final notification, the State Cabinet deliberated on its impact on the development of the economically backward border area, concluding that it would hamper the region's development. He requested the formation of a high-powered committee of variousministries like Defence, Home, Water Resources, MoEF, Power and NDMA to take a relook at this notification. The PM assured Bahuguna that appropriate action would be taken on his request.
The CM said that the draft notification was published on July 1, 2011. “Since the common man of the area was highly agitated against any such declaration, the State Assembly passed a resolution requesting the Central Government to stop any such declaration of eco-sensitive zone. My predecessor had written to the minister concerned in August 2011. I had also written of this matter to the Minister of State for Environment and Forest on in December last year to which there has been no response. The final notification was not available on the web till April 8, 2013; otherwise the State Government would have responded earlier. The draft notification was finalised in spite of serious objections of the State Government,” he said.
Bahuguna pointed out that while the draft notification indicated declaration of about 100 metres on either side of Bhagirathi River which out to be around 40 sq km at best, the final notification covers the entire watershed of an area of 4179.59 sq km.
“It is surprising that a hundred-fold enhancement was introduced without following the due procedure of consultation with us. Again in the draft notification, only hydro electric projects beyond 25 MW were sought to be prohibited whereas in the final notification all hydro electric power projects have been prohibited which has serious implication for the economy of Uttarakhand,” said Bahuguna.
The Chief Minister said that under the final notification, even trekking activities and vehicular traffic are sought to be regulated. “The rural economy depends on the Char-Dham yatra and Gangotri is an integral part of this Yatra. Restricting the flow of pilgrims on the Char-Dham yatra route especially, Gangotri in the garb of eco-sensitive zone would affect Uttarakhand's economy and hurt sentiments of crores of devotees.”
He further said that the declared eco-sensitive zone is next to the Chinese border and the notification regulates even the defence infrastructure which will compromise national security especially in the present scenario. The delegation which met the PM comprised MP and Union minister Harish Rawat, MP Satpal Maharaj, State Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat, Gangotri MA VS Sajwan and chief secretary Subhash Kumar. later, Bahuguna also met the Environment and Forests Minister Jayanthi Natarajan.