4 yrs after NGT order, 4 states assess their hill cities to strike balance between tourism & ecology

The increase in tourist influx due to easy access by roads built in the past few years has led to traffic jams, water shortage, and a rise in solid waste, among other unplanned developments in the hill cities. The situation has made the ‘carrying capacity’ assessment key to any further developments in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region and some hill stations in the southern states.

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Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, among others, are having the assessments done for major hill destinations.

The Uttarakhand government has already completed the assessment of six cities—Nainital, Mussoorie, Almora, Pauri, Champawat and Haldwani. The School of Planning and Architecture-Delhi (SPA-Delhi), which undertook the assessments, submitted its reports in the last week of December. The reports carry city-wise recommendations based on analyses of solid waste management, urban mobility, and water supply.

Manoj Pande, the programme director at the State Institute of Urban Development (SIUD) at Dr R.S. Tolia Uttarakhand Academy of Administration, told ThePrint, “SPA Delhi has mapped the challenges for each of the six cities and evaluated carrying capacities based on the level of urban services available, gathered data, and recommended measures for sustainable development. We are in the process of analysing the data and correlating it with the situation on the ground. The reports will be published in a conclave held next month.”

The cities were selected based on their tourist inflows. While Nainital and Mussoorie are popular tourist destinations, Almora and Pauri are traditional towns with a moderate floating population of tourists. Located on the foothills, Haldwani, often called the ‘Gateway to Kumaun’, is an important transit hub.

Urban development expert Dr P.S.N Rao, a professor at SPA Delhi who spearheaded the Uttarakhand study, said, “Carrying capacity assessment is crucial for planning infrastructure in hill cities to avert landslides, flash floods, water scarcity and other disasters.”

A NITI Aayog committee headed by Dr Rao provided the framework for assessing the ‘carrying capacity’. Formed in 2021 to prepare a spatial planning framework for hilly regions, the committee recommended a series of measures for the sustainable development of hill cities. It submitted its report, ‘Planning and Architectural Framework for Hill Area Development (PAHAD),’ in September 2023.

Sources said that after extensive stakeholder consultations with 15 states and Union territories, the NITI Aayog committee recommended that states conduct ‘carrying capacity’ assessments, delineate hill areas, revise building by-laws with strict regulatory mechanisms, and prepare a hilly areas development policy, among other measures.

ThePrint has reached NITI Aayog for a comment on the action taken on the expert committee report but is yet to receive a response.

Speaking to ThePrint, Rao said that it would not be possible to share information on the report but said, “Each hill city is unique. There can not be a one-size-fits-all solution to the urbanisation-related problems in these cities. ‘Carrying capacity’ assessments can help administrations plan infrastructure development.”

He added, “In popular tourist destinations, the biggest challenge is rampant construction activity due to growing demand for hotels/homestays. Increase in solid waste, water scarcity, and increasing traffic congestion are major challenges.”

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Tourism vs rampant construction

Tourism is the main source of livelihood for people in almost all hill cities and destinations. While the increase in tourists is helping strengthen the local economy, it puts undue stress on infrastructure in ecologically sensitive areas. Striking a balance is key to sustainability.

“The influx of tourists relies on the basic infrastructure for water supply, waste management, housing, etc.—designed for smaller and scattered populations. But it now struggles to keep up. Unplanned urbanisation thus is taking place to cater to the increasing demand, which raises environmental concerns,” said Debolina Kundu, the director incharge of the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

The Kerala and Tamil Nadu governments have already ordered their hill cities’ ‘carrying capacity’ assessments. While the Tamil Nadu government is conducting the study following a Madras High Court order, Kerala is doing it following the NGT’s order.

The Tamil Nadu government has roped in the Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-Madras) and the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore for the assessments of Kodaikanal and Ooty, respectively.

A senior official with the state government’s environment department said, “Currently, passes get issued to tourist vehicles entering the hill destinations. But there is no cap on the number of people visiting the place daily. The assessment will give an idea about the number of tourists the place can provide based on the water, parking, and other infrastructure.”

Dr. Sachin S. Gunthe, a professor of Earth System Science, Climate Change, and Environmental Engineering at the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras, is heading the study at Kodaikanal. He said that preliminary work has started.

“We are collecting necessary scientific data through field surveys and measurements. We plan to examine various interrelated factors such as biodiversity, available resources, and topography of the region. However, our efforts will be contextualised with a focus on supporting the livelihoods of the local population, given that tourism is a major source of income,” Gunthe, the head of the Centre for Atmospheric and Climate Sciences at IIT Madras, said.

The Kerala government plans to do a similar assessment of one hill destination each in Wayanad and Idukki. The state government has roped in the Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) to do the assessment, which is likely to start within a month or two, said a senior official.

Waste & parking concerns

One of the biggest challenges in hill cities is the rampant construction activity to meet the growing demand for hotels or homestays due to the high tourist influx. Buildings are coming up unplanned, as livelihood is largely dependent on tourism.

“In hills, there are limited flat areas where construction can be done. But, due to the increasing demand, we find people building on slopes. There is an urgent need to demarcate no-building zones and ensure strict enforcement. There are serious consequences of unplanned development in the hills,” Rao said.

Rampant construction activity has put a lot of pressure on existing resources such as water and solid waste management facilities, among others.

Urban development experts said there is a need to plan infrastructure development and look at ways to cap tourism activities beyond the city’s capacity.

“There is a need for cities to cap the number of tourists or vehicles entering the city. The states can make it mandatory for hotels to show adequate parking or create some facility to restrict the number of outstation vehicles. A good inter-state bus transport system can bring down dependence on personal vehicles,” said Rao.

As for solid waste management, state governments are attempting to streamline the collection, but processing the excess waste generated is a challenge.

Ravi Pandey, the nodal officer for solid waste management and superintendent engineer with the urban development department of the Uttarakhand government, said, “One of the biggest challenges in hill cities is solid waste management. In most popular hill destinations, such as Joshimath, the waste generated fluctuates between 700 kg and 3000 kg daily. In the entire state, the waste generated fluctuates between 1400 MT and 2000 MT.”

“Processing waste is a challenge. Waste-to-energy plants are not allowed in the hills. Composting is slow due to the low temperatures. Plastic and recyclable waste are transported from hills to plain areas for recycling, which adds to the cost of waste disposal. In some cases, the waste is transported nearly 200 km,” he added.

Pandey said that the state government has taken a series of measures to tackle the problem of solid waste, from asking tourists to carry their waste back to implementing a deposit refund system and a series of measures to discourage tourists from littering.

“In Kedarnath, the district administration has put a QR code on each bottle. People pay Rs 10 extra for a bottle of water. When they return it, the money is refunded. This way, we can keep the area clear and effectively process the waste,” he added.

(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)

Also Read: Uttarakhand’s ticking time bomb: Landslide lakes

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