Water Woes

The successful launch of ISRO’s LVM-3, marking the start of the journey of Chandrayan 3, was rightly greeted with great pride by all Indians. The long commute to the Moon gives us a month before we hold our collective breath again (as we did for Chandrayan 2, four years ago) when the lander attempts to gently touch down on the Moon before disgorging the wandering rover.   

Amidst the excitement, we failed to note the reiteration ‒ highlighted by the recent floods across North India ‒ of another great technological achievement: the apparent ability to construct complete buildings – some even multi-story – overnight. For proof of this miracle, one needs to but note the number of unauthorised and illegal structures. These must necessarily have sprung up overnight since no agency or official ever saw them being constructed: clear evidence of the ability to complete construction at warp speed. Surely, an achievement matching that of ISRO! 

Images of flooded cities are now becoming as common as the yearly (and, sadly, routine) ones of floods in Assam or Bihar. In Delhi, lakhs went through harrowing times while leaders were busy finger-pointing and the endless number of agencies involved were blaming each other. Few – not even the media – highlighted a major cause: the massive encroachment on the flood plains of the Yamuna. Much of it has already been usurped – not just by illegal slums, but also by a massive temple and a large residential complex, both dating back over a decade. Construction was permitted, ignoring protests. Despite the floods, we continue to defy science and nature: there are apparently proposals to use the flood plains for new bus and train depots. 

This year, once again, there were horrifying images of landslides, rock-fall and devasting floods in Himachal and Uttarakhand. Scientists have warned for decades that the geology of these parts is fragile. Yet unthinking construction of roads and dams has continued, cutting thousands of trees, flattening hillslopes, and removing rocks. Only extreme Luddites will question the need for infrastructure; however, this has to be within the limits set by carrying capacity and environmental safety. Can these areas take more – and haphazard ‒ construction of dams, roads, hotels and homes? 

 Of course, tourists and pilgrims need facilities, but how many such visitors can these hillside towns sustain? Do they really need four-lane highways, whose construction multiplies the risk of landslides and floods? Can the fragile geology sustain the hill, rock, and tree cutting involved?  Again, environmentalists were overruled and the ultimate argument of “security needs” put paid to any arguments, even in courts, for some of the vanity-political projects. Yet, one wonders how many troops, tanks, and guns – or pilgrims ‒ can be transported when the road itself is washed away. 

Fractured roads and floods don’t promote the economy, nor does human suffering contribute to development. Policymakers need to reset their approach. Meanwhile, corporations might consider funding researchers and think tanks that study such environmental issues. This may fulfill better their corporate responsibility (and use of CSR funds) than one more health project or a cheque to PM CARES.   

*The author loves to think in tongue-in-cheek ways, with no maliciousness or offence intended. At other times, he is a public policy analyst and author. His latest book is Decisive Decade: India 2030 Gazelle or Hippo (Rupa, 2021).