Ladakh, Leh areas to be developed as carbon-neutral

NEWDELHI:PRIME Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Ladakh, Leh and Kargil region will be developed as a carbon neutral region. A 7,500 MW solar park is also under construction in Ladakh for electricity and infrastructure development in the region, the PM said.

In his Independence Day address, the Prime Minister said, “As Sikkim has made its mark as an Organic State in the northeast, Ladakh, Leh and Kargil can also create their own niche as a Carbon Neutral unit. Indian government has joined hands with the locals of the region to create a new model of development as per their own requirements. India has shown that the march towards development is possible by balancing the environment. Today, India is inspiring the entire world with its vision of one world, one sun and one grid, particularly in the field of solar energy.” A clean air programme will be taken up on a mission mode in 100 cities, the PM added.

While the concept of carbon neutral villages has been considered in the past, and some villages in Kerala and Manipur have even adopted it, the Ladakh, Leh and Kargil region will be the first large area to be carbon neutral.

“It is heartening to hear an environmentally conscious Independence Day speech .... The Ladakh region is a natural carbon sink and making it carbon neutral will pave the way for many other regions in India to embark on this carbon neutrality journey. It will be now interesting to see how this announcement is operationalised... ,” said Karan Mangotra, associate director and climate finance expert at The Energy and Resources Institute.