“Without a healthy environment, we cannot end poverty or build prosperity. We all have a role to play in protecting our only home: we can use less plastic, drive less, waste less food, and teach each other to care.” – Secretary-General, António Guterres
Jammu and Kashmir is an erstwhile state situated in the Indian Himalayan region. This Indian Himalayan region is a habitat of several species with a fragile ecosystem and is also abundant in natural resources. This region is called the water tower and is the source of plentiful water springs. For the past few years, the area has been under anthropogenic strain like population explosion, unplanned urbanization, the high pace of unsuitable construction in the region, and unrestricted tourist flow. This all results in ample environmental degradation reported in the region. Along with this, the negative impact of climate change is reported by many studies done by National and international scholars. This negative impact of climate change is showing results in the form of water storage, in the region many natural springs have dried. Besides this, the natural disasters in the form of floods, (such as in Leh in 2010, Kedarnath in 2013, and Kashmir in September 2014) landslides, soil erosion, forest fires, raise a wild animal and human conflict.
Recognizing the above increased environmental concerns and understanding that the Himalayas are vital for the Ecological protection of the country, the Government of India showed the gravitation to safeguard the matchless but highly fragile Himalayan ecosystem. The National Mission on Himalayan Studies (NMHS), a Central Sector Grant-in-aid Scheme, hence, targets to provide much-needed focus, through a holistic understanding of the systems components and their linkages, in addressing the key concerns associated with conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in Indian Himalayan Region (http://nmhs.org.in/Overview.php retrieved 18-05- 2022).
Jammu and Kashmir and Environmental Degradation J&K has been considered a paradise on earth and is also called the biomass of the state of India. The biodiversity of the rich area of J&K happens to be one of the 26 hotspots in India with high endemicity (J&K ENVIS, 2022).
Keeping all these environmental concerns in mind, we the people of Jammu and Kashmir should come out from our sleep and should collectively work to protect our natural environment. Otherwise, if we remain under the veil of ignorance, the time is not far when we will face a natural disaster. Due to the subsequent spells of misgovernance in the erstwhile state and insurgency, the preservation of the environment was not on the policy plan. Hence, very minor attention was paid to the protection of the environment in the erstwhile state. It is very true due to this insurgency; a lot of forest cover was diminished. People in the rebellion years predominantly in the 90s emptied tons of forests and in this way, the forest blanket was much reduced in Kashmir. Because of the conflict, all the institutions were paralyzed and the employees of the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department who were given the obligation to safeguard the green gold were considerable times targeted by the insurgents. Due to all this, the erstwhile Jammu and Kashmir were not able to work on the protection of the environment as extensively as other Himalayan states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand did in this domain.
Besides this, the political entropy that started after the arrest of Sheik Mohammad Abdullah in 1953 in the erstwhile state had negatively affected the welfare measures. Some developmental reforms were carried out during Gulam Mohammad Baskshi’s period in sectors like education, health, and some fresh critical departments were instituted despite all these developments the environmental domain stayed untouched. This apathy by the erstwhile state policymakers towards the environment at that time could be due to a lack of consciousness about the value of the environment in the development process. The knowledge about the significance of the environment was first emphasized by the Stockholm Conference in 1972. Accordingly, the meaning of development was revised at the global level. And leaders and policymakers included the environmental
perspective in the policymaking.
Consequently, cycles of misgovernance in the post-Dogra period, political apathy by the erstwhile state governments, corruption, and conflict. These all factors lead to environmental degradation in Jammu and Kashmir. The study “The Governance Deficit in Kashmir (1947-90)” noted the well-known Dal Lake, has contracted from 24 square kilometers to about 1 square kilometer without comprehending its worthwhile significance to Kashmir’s environment and the tourism industry, consecutive governments acted as apathetic spectators till more than half of the Dal was altered into habitations and cultivated lands. Apart from this a bulky figure of plots allotted to leading businesspersons to build hotels and commercial businesses on the banks of Dal Lake (Wani Aijaz Ashraf, 2011 The Governance Deficit in Kashmir (1947-90).
Contemporary Issues
Even today, the people of the valley show a negative attitude towards the environment. There is inadequate cognition of the significance of the environment at the grassroots level. The environmental problem was first glimpsed in the towns and cities, but now it has posed peril in the villages as well. During the survey of south Kashmir Anantnag Villages, it was reported that even in the villages, waste management has become a rising concern. Once beautiful streams with crystal clear water are now converted into plastic dumping grounds that not only negatively affect agricultural cultivation like paddy but the aquatic organisms as well. During the observation, it was seen the villagers throw this garbage on villages; roadsides and banks of the water streams. Apart from this, the conversion of paddy land into construction is also going at high velocity and this has long-term negative implications. One more thing that was seen is that people associated with agriculture and the apple industry use an abundance of chemical fertilizers and insecticides and less priority is given to organic manure. In all this process blind imitation is followed rather than scientific procedure. There is no institutional apparatus at the village level that can check the activities. These unscientific activities contribute directly or indirectly to the environmental degradation in these villages. This intense
environmental menace has started to display its results in distinct shades like we see the drinking water shortage is growing day by day. The environmentalists acknowledge that Kashmir is witnessing the pessimistic effect of climate change. Strangely, the people of the Valley are using air conditioners. We notice this in many Mosques situated in villages.
Way Forward
Green Panchayats are the alternative to tackle the environmental degradation in the rural areas of the Valley. These Green Panchayats should operate cleanly on the environmental matters in their jurisdiction through a participatory approach. These Green Panchayats should be directly watched by collectors of every district. It is not necessary to have one Green Panchayat in a single village, but in every block, there should be at least five Green Panchayats depending on the population and land area of the particular
block and the high risk areas should be given attention.
The central domains in which these Green Panchayats should function areas:
Water resource management.
Perform mass awareness and programmes.
Create Green youth clubs to assist the green Panchayats in implementing their work.
Create green infrastructure at the village level.
Management of waste at the village level.
Plantation drives in the Village.
Make mandatory water harvesting in the buildings.
Develop Green Panchayat environmental health impact analyses.
Mode of action
Water Resource Management: under this domain, the Green Panchayats should first map all the natural springs if present, then look at their state. Apart from this these green Panchayats should keep their gaze on all the streams that are falling in their jurisdiction, and take all the efforts along with the local green club to rejuvenate these water sources and water streams. On the violation, by anybody, there must be a strict penalty system. Conduct Mass Awareness Programmes: These green Panchayats should disseminate green education in their jurisdiction. In this programme these Panchayats can engage the school students, University or college pass-outs with environmental science specialization.
Create Green Youth Clubs To Assist The Green Panchayats In Enforcing Their Work
The green Panchayats should establish a green youth club that will help and aid in the projects related to the conservation of the environment at the grassroots level. Development of Green Infrastructure at the Village Level: these green Panchayats should create a green infrastructure with the help of local participation. This will help in reaching the sustainable development goals very easily Management of Waste at the Village Level: The problem of waste has also shown a menacing raise in the villages. At present, there is no instrument to address this problem in rural areas. The villagers throw their plastic waste in the streams or on the sides of the roads. This roadside waste sometimes becomes trouble for the school children and the women because of the presence of stray dogs on these sites. And also becomes the spring of numerous communicable diseases in the area. Thus, this is a critical issue that needs to be addressed and for this, these Green Panchayats are a good option. Make Mandatory Water Harvesting In The Buildings: These green Panchayats should be made mandatory after passing the resolution in the Green Sabha that a water harvesting system should be mandatory for every new building constructed in its catchment area. And if anyone infringes this he must be fined as confined by the Green Sabha.
Develop Panchayat Environmental Health Impact Analyses
These green Panchayats should conduct studies at their Panchayat level to evaluate the health of the environment. This will aid in making the database and Green Panchayat index, which in turn will be valuable from the policy perspective. Revenue of the Green Panchayats: The central government or state government should make a distinct budget titled Green Panchayat Environmental budget for these institutions. Apart from this, these Green Panchayats should organize their revenue by equipping the waste management service to the residents of the village villages. For the accountability of the green budget, the government should conduct a green audit after every six months for effective implementation and accountability.
Author can be mailed at farooqmajeed19@gmail.com (Views expressed are authors’ own)
