India's new policy puts roads ahead of wildlife concerns

A fortnight after Prakash Javadekar was sworn in as India’s minister for environment, forests, and climate change on 26 May, he announced a new policy. Any defence-related project within 62 miles (100 km) of the border with China will get environmental approval fast. Five states – Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, and Arunachal Pradesh – will have the power of veto. Officials from the ministry of defence complain that 3,728 miles of roads linking outposts and camps to main roads have been stuck for want of environmental clearances. Javadekar’s new policy aims to avoid these delays compromising India’s military capability. The current state of roads is so bad it takes over an hour to travel a kilometre in some places. One army commandant quipped that should the Chinese invade India, the poor roads would slow their advance. Across the border, China’s well-developed infrastructure including airbases and an extensive network of railways and roads makes the Indian defence establishment nervous and envious. The militaries of these Asian super powers had a face-off as recently as April 2013 in Jammu and Kashmir. There current system causes delays at every stage. Even after getting clearances, a six-mile road through Hemis national park, Jammu and Kashmir, is proceeding at a snail’s pace for the past decade. Although villagers and local administration want it desperately, the national park authorities use wildlife laws to stall it. Without any work, the migrant workers living in camps inside the protected area are suspected of poaching wild animals. Not all delays are the result of the regulatory bodies’ dithering. Often, applicants don’t provide adequate or accurate information. In some cases, the states provide faulty supporting documents. So it’s unfair to blame the environment ministry alone for delays. And the military doesn’t move fast even when there is nothing stalling its projects. The widening of the Rohtang Pass on the main Leh-Manali highway, Himachal Pradesh, has been underway for six years. Although less than six-mile long, it remains periodically impassable. Shilpa Chohan, a partner at Indian Environment Law Offices, and a supreme court advocate, says: “Before giving blanket approval for projects such as border roads, the ministry should first assess the reasons for delays in the environment clearance process and address the basic systemic causes. If clearances are given through a policy framework rather than a case-by-case basis, they overlook the regulatory framework and the basic philosophy behind carrying out environment impact assessment.” This new policy sets a precedent for every other department to demand blanket approvals. On 6 July, Javadekar announced environmental clearances for public purpose infrastructure would also be speeded up. For whom were the laws and regulatory mechanisms legislated then? Within 62 miles of the Chinese border, there are about 60 national parks and sanctuaries. Many of the proposed roads cut through forests such as Gangotri national park in Uttarakhand, Khanchendzonga national park and biosphere reserve in Sikkim, and Dibang wildlife sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. This entire Himalayan area is a biodiversity hotspot, one of only 34 in the world, and home to animals and birds such as musk deer, Mishmi takins, and Sclater’s monal pheasants. And the most charismatic of them all is the snow leopard. Yash Veer Bhatnagar, a wildlife biologist from Nature Conservation Foundation, says: Snow leopards range far beyond protected forests, and most of their habitat occurs along the border with China and Pakistan. The armed forces are an important constituent in the conservation of the species. If any activities drastically harm nature, alternatives have to be sought in a timely manner. For example, a slight realignment of roads in Hanle area, Jammu and Kashmir, could have completely avoided the small and only known population of Tibetan gazelle there. In attempting to boost its military capability and cut through bureaucratic red tape, India shouldn’t lose sight of its ecological imperatives. • Janaki Lenin is a freelance journalist living in India