Bhagirathi eco zone panel seeks report on ski chair lift project in Uttarkashi
DEHRADUN : Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone (BESZ) monitoring committee has sought a detailed report on the proposed ski chair lift project in Dayara Bugyyal (meadow) in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand, officials said.
The committee has sought details about the tourist carrying capacity of the Bugyal, project components and constructions to be carried out, among others.
The project has been proposed in the Bhagirathi eco-sensitive zone which covers an area of 4,179 sq kms in the Himalayas. The approval for the project was on the agenda of the monitoring committee meeting held here on Monday evening under the chairmanship of chief secretary SS Sandhu.
Uttarkashi district magistrate Mayur Dixit, who is the member secretary of the monitoring committee, said it was decided at the meeting that Dayara ropeway project needs to be studied properly by seeking more details from the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. “After the project details are studied, the decision on the approval for this project will be taken in the next meeting,” he said.
Dixit said the issues discussed at the meeting included conservation initiatives that need to be taken and disaster management practices to be adopted. “We also discussed that environmental impact study of all the projects in the zone has to be conducted,” he said. “Also, from the disaster management point of view, we allowed the removal of the debris that gets collected in the river areas following floods”, he said
Dayara Bugyal is situated on the gentle slopes of a high ridge at an altitude varying between 3200 m and 3800 m, with dense oak and coniferous forests surrounding the project area.
The zonal master plan of BESZ was approved in July last year by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEF&CC) for expediting the execution of the Char Dham road project, among other things.
The notification for BESZ from Gaumukh to Uttarkashi, covering an area of 4179.59 sq kms, was issued by MoEF&CC in December 2012. The notification was subsequently amended in April 2018.
Meanwhile, Hemant Dhyani, a resident of BESZ and member of the Supreme Court-appointed high-powered committee (HPC) on the Char Dham road project, has written to the state chief secretary, alleging violation and non-compliance of BESZ notification
Dhyani said in his letter that in February this year, Uttarkashi DM permitted someone from outside the state to buy 0.659 hectare agriculture land in BESZ for construction of a resort, which is based on misleading information that distance of river Bhagirathi is about 100 metre north of this land. “I have attached photos in the letter which show that the entire land is just adjacent to the active flood plain of river Bhagirathi.”
Dhyani alleged that the land use was also changed to facilitate the construction through a letter issued by the district administration in May this year. “It is not only in gross violation of BESZ notification but also violates the by-laws of the state itself which prohibit construction close to the river flood plain,” he said.
“If such activities can be done even inside the BESZ, what would be the condition in the rest of the hilly areas of the state? In this context, it is worth mentioning the demand for a strong land law (bhu-kanoon) against such abuse of land-use change,” the letter states.
Dhyani has urged the monitoring committee to cancel landuse change permission given in February, carry out environmental impact assessment (EIA) as per the standard procedure set by MoEF&CC for the activities of land-use change in case of village road construction, solid waste management site or any other similar activities and disqualify all such commercial complexes in close proximity of water streams or rivers.