HIMALAYAN GUARDIAN     Wednesday June 26 – July 2, 2013  

Take part in electoral process, PM tells JK

Hurriyat Conference has called for poll boycott

Srinagar, June 25: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today asked people of Jammu and Kashmir to participate more in the electoral process for a better future for the youth, saying that elections reflect true aspirations and hopes.

"Elections express the aspirations and hopes of the people in the true sense. I appeal to the people to participate in this process so that we can together ensure a better future for our younger generations," he said after inaugurating the 850 MW Rattle power project here.

The Prime Minister's remarks come in the wake of recent opposition by separatists to people's participation in the elections due next year.

The hardline Hurriyat Conference led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani has called for a boycott of the elections. While Lok Sabha elections are scheduled next year, the Assembly polls in the state are to be held towards the end of 2014.

Singh, accompanied by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, landed in Udhampur today and then flew by helicopter to Kishtwar where they addressed a rally after inaugurating a Hydel power project across the Chenab river.

A day after the militant strike in Srinagar left eight soldiers dead, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the entire country is standing united against terrorists and they will not succeed in their designs.

"I want to pay my tributes to the soldiers who laid down their lives while fighting the terrorists," Singh said in his speech after inaugurating 850 MW Rattle power project here along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi.

China praises Nepal for crackdown on Tibetan "separatists”

Kathmandu, June 25: Terming its relations with Nepal as "exemplary", China on Monday praised its southern neighbour for its crackdown on Tibetan "separatist forces".

The China-Nepal relationship is an "example of relationship between big and small countries based on mutual coexistence and mutual treatment", Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a media briefing here today.

She was responding to a question on the two-day visit of China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi to Kathmandu beginning today, PTI reported.

State Councillor is China's highest ranking diplomat, a post akin to National Security Advisor.

Yang will arrive in Kathmandu after completing his visit to Myanmar.

"The sound and steady relationship between our two countries not only serves them but also regional peace, stability and development," Hua said.

Hua also praised Nepal for the crackdown on Tibetan refugees by barring all activities in support of the Dalai Lama.

"The government of Nepal is upholding the One-China policy and always recognises Tibet as an inalienable part of the Chinese territory and does not allow any force to carry out anti-China separatist activities on the land of Nepal," she said.

"We highly commend it and we also hope and believe that Nepal will continue to honour this commitment," she said.

Shigatse-Kathmandu rail link by 2013 end

Kathmandu, June 25: The Tibet railway is expected to connect Kathmandu with Shigatse later this year. Losang Samten, chief of the Tibet Autonomous Region government, informed in Beijing that the Lhasa-Shigatse railway will be completed ahead of schedule and the railway will become operational at the beginning of 2014.

Speaking at the ongoing Chinese National Congress on Tuesday, Losang Samten informed that the project, considered a very ambitious and strategic one for China, is going to see completion soon.

“I hope the Lhasa-Shigatse railway will be completed by the end of this year [2013] and will come into operation at the start of 2014,” said Losang, speaking in course of the Natonal Congress meeting, Republica reported.

The 253 kilometer Lhasa-Shigatse railway is a very ambitious project under China´s 12th five-year plan, which commenced in 2011. The project, started in September 2010, aims to see completion by 2015, at a cost of 2.1 billion US dollars.

The railway will reach Shigate, the second largest city of Tibet, passing through the 90-kilometer gorge of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) river and it is expected to boost tourism and business in those areas. Tibet attracted 11 million tourists last year, generating revenue worth 2.1 billion dollars.

The Lhasa-Shigatse railway is the first-leg expansion of the Qinghai-Tibet railway, which is to connect Tibet with the Chinese capital.

Beijing plans to link Kerung, a business hub near Rasuwagadhi in Nepal, with Shigatse, which is connected with Nepal, India and Bhutan.

Another branch of the railway to Nyanchi, south-east of Lhasa, will reach the Indian border. The main purpose of the railway is to develop relations with South Asia. China is already connected to South-East Asia by rail.

According to Hu Siseng, South and South-East Asia director of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, China plans a rail and road network from south-eastern Yunan province to the border areas of the western province of Xinjiang by 2020.

“We plan to connect neighboring countries including Nepal after constructing railways to the border areas,” said Hu, indicating some amendments to a previous plan. He said the railway will connected with Nepal after expanding the road network.

Hu claimed that India will also be attracted by the strategic aspects of these developments in physical contact between Nepal and China within the next few years. He commented that this will impact hugely on relations between China and South Asia.

“Field studies show that there is not so much difficulty technically and physically in connecting Kathmandu by rail,” added Hu, indicting that China would not be deterred by the difficulties of Himalayan geography.

 After Uttarakhand, will Arunachal & Sikkim be next?

By SOUMIK DUTTA

India’s northern state of Uttarakhand is struggling in the aftermath of flash floods which caused massive destruction of life and property. At last count, over 500 have died.

The tragedy has also turned the spotlight on the unmitigated construction activity in the environmentally sensitive hill areas, notably the vast number of hydel power projects.

India’s federal auditor, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG), in a report submitted four years ago warned Uttarakhand as well as the Central Government of potential hazards arising from the 42 hydropower projects in the state as well as some 200 under construction.

But Uttarakhand is not alone. India’s earthquake-sensitive, north-eastern hill states like Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim are also seeing a frenzied construction of new power plants.

Most of this capacity is meant to serve consumers elsewhere because the states are already meeting most of their own demand. This report does not delve into the environmental assessment impact of these additional power plants. And yet, the scale of projects planned and underway is staggering.

For instance, the Arunachal Pradesh Government had, as of March 2013, signed memorandum of agreements (MOAs) for 153 hydel projects adding up to a whopping 43,118 MW.  This is almost 19% of India’s total installed capacity of 225,133 MW! The good news perhaps is that most of these projects are yet to take off.

Sikkim as per the latest list submitted recently by the Government in High Court, has 26 live hydro power projects with a total revised capacity of 4190.50 MW. This included 570 MW commissioned by NHPC and an additional 730 MW by the public sector National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) under construction.

The large number of power projects on the runway does not in itself mean that an Uttarakhand-like disaster will strike but warnings have been sounded for a while, mostly by locals. There have been a fair amount of media reports on Arunachal’s `hydel gate’ too but fewer have focussed on the potential environmental hazards. Arunachal for instance lies in Seismic Zone V, or very ‘high damage risk zone’.

In contrast to the massive line-up, current power demand in the two states stands at just 589 MW for Arunachal Pradesh and 409 MW for Sikkim. Incidentally, total installed capacity in the north east of India is 2,885 MW while peak demand is 1,899 MW. Actual demand met stands at 1,718 MW right now, leaving a deficit of 9.5% (181MW).

Teesta hydro power project in North SikkimAdd caption

Arunachal Pradesh currently generates around 44o MW of power. Of this, 35.19 MW comes from 63 micro/mini/small hydro electric plants (HEPs) while 405 MW comes from a single power project, run by the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), a public sector unit.

Projects worth another 690 MW are under construction. The NEEPCO is building one 600 MW plant while the state government is building 72 mini projects with a combined output of 91.9 MW.

Sikkim generates around 610 MW of electricity; of this 40.70 MW comes from the state government while the balance 570 MW comes from the NHPC. There are approximately 10 projects at various levels of construction in Sikkim which would potentially add 1,000 MW capacity. Projects include Gati’s 97 MW project and Jorethang’s 97MW. Assuming a cost of Rs 7 crore per MW, the total cost of these projects would be at least Rs 7,000 crore.

There is concern that these ambitious plans might be good to meet energy deficits but dangerous environmentally. While this report is not delving into environmental assessment issues, it’s interesting to note that many projects have gone to developers with no prior experience. A fact pointed out in recent media reports as well.  They include Gati, a cargo & logistics firm, Athena Energy Ventures, which has had some construction experience but one leg of the trail ends up at the door of a finance company – Karvy Financial Services. Similarly,  Dans Energy was a finance company before it also joined the energy race in the north-east state.

Second, it is alleged that the Environment Impact Analysis (EIA) studies prepared have lacked vital inputs like seismological data and geological formation studies. Moreover, huge tracts of forest lands have been diverted for non-forest use, involving felling of thousands of trees. In Himachal Pradesh, to use a concurrent example, 78 square kilometres of forest were engulfed by hydroprojects. The compensatory afforestation programme by project developers is often faulty and inadequate.

It is also felt that the environmental issues are not getting the attention they deserve from the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). For instance, the ministry has set the minimum distance between two dams at 1 km; reason being that the 1 km distance is the bare minimum between dams on the same river or tributary needed to preserve aquatic life.

There are charges of developers manipulating river flow data, discharge of water data, flouting norms on deposition of muck from drilling and blasting as well as felling of trees and not fulfilling the compensatory plantation. There have been wide scale protests across the Himalayas against these practices. In Sikkim, organisations like the Sikkim Bhutia Lepcha Apex Committee (Siblac) and the Affected Citizens of Teesta have been protesting the hydro power projects.

Anti-Teesta hydel project protesters of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) during an indefinite hunger strike in Gangtok (file pix)

The CAG in a report on the power projects, said:  “The terms of the High Powered Committee-endorsed hydro power policy are loaded in favour of the IPPs (Independent Power Producers).  Sikkim charged an absurdly low upfront premium of Rs 10,000 per MW of installed capacity towards non-refundable processing fee while states like Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal and Uttarakhand were demanding and getting huge up-front premiums from private hydropower developers.

So, why are the states going hell for leather in setting up these projects, despite the potential environmental hazards? Revenue from power seems to be a key consideration. Arunachal, for instance, has collected substantial sums as processing fee and upfront premium from the project developers. There have been multiple reports of corruption as well.

And there are other concerns. Questions are being raised about the state’s authority in giving away land for any project. In Arunachal, all land rights are with the tribal communities. The same applies to Sikkim, under article 371F, as most of the land is tribal land with no right to purchase, sell or lease being vested with non-tribals.

As this report started by saying, projects signed up do not mean executed. As it turned out. Most  Arunachal projects were signed off between 2006 and 2009, a boom period of sorts. This trend is similar to excesses in other resource-led industries like coal, in the same period. Be that as it may, the Uttarakhand disaster should surely serve as a strong warning sign to any environmentally sensitive infrastructure projects, particularly in the virgin hill states of India. (India Spend)

China may be easing up on Tibet

By TSERING NAMGYAL

In an abrupt and unexpected reversal of policy, Chinese government officials have told monks in some Tibetan areas that they are now free to “worship” the Dalai Lama as a “religious leader.” The new policy document—prefixed with the word “experiment”—also asked that the monks now refrain from “criticizing the Dalai Lama,” and “stop using such labels as a wolf in a monk’s robe,” a common pejorative hurled against the Tibetan spiritual leader by Beijing.

“As a religious person, from now on you should respect and follow His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama,” the document continued, “but in terms of politics you are not allowed to do so. Politics and religion should go separate ways.”

The announcement was reportedly made during a conference held on June 14 at a so-called Qinghai Provincial Buddhist School where a new party secretary was appointed. It was attended by high-ranking ethnic Tibetan and Chinese officials, according to the Tibetan language website Khabda.org, which reported the news.

Analysts say that the Chinese government might have been forced to rethink its strategy on Tibet following more than 100 self-immolations that have occurred inside the special administrative region since 2009.

“If that document is genuine, then they are trying to diffuse the pressure of the self-immolations,” said Thierry Dodin, director of the Tibet Information Service, TibetInfoNet in London.

The new policy is to be first implemented as an “experiment,” according to the report. Dibyesh Anand, Tibet specialist and associate professor at Westminster University in London, sees no evidence of a major shift and says that this can be best explained as an experiment at the local level.

When the Communist Party of China (CCP) initiates a new or major policy change, they usually prefix it with the word “experimental,” which means that if it works they would apply it nationwide, if it fails would be dropped from party’s policy. China is slated to announce a new policy in August.

Some believe the new policy is a public relations offensive in the wake of much criticism toward the Chinese regime from the outside world, especially human rights organizations in the aftermath of the series of self-immolations.

“No criticism of Dalai Lama is more to do with smarter public relations propaganda … rather than a genuine effort at reconciliation,” Anand said.

However, a similar announcement was also reportedly made lifting the ban on the displaying of the Dalai Lama’s pictures in homes and monasteries around the town of Dram near the Tibet-Nepal border, triggering hopes that China might be interested in easing its control on religious practice on a much wider scale.

Beijing’s policy change might also be aimed to send a signal to the outside world that the new leadership is interested in changing its policy toward the Tibetan spiritual leader, said one leading Tibetan scholar. “It is an indication of change,” said the scholar, who did not want to be named.

Making it even more interesting is that the news comes on the eve of China’s forthcoming tour of Tibet by foreign journalists.

Recently, a few other articles have raised speculation that there might be an olive branch in the offing from Beijing authorities to the Tibetan leadership in exile.

In an interview with Hong Kong-based Asia Weekly, Jin Wei, a director of ethnic and religious affairs at the Central Party School at Beijing think tank Central Party School, also suggested that China’s policy in Tibet may not be working.

She called for restarting negotiations with the Dalai Lama’s representatives and has proposed that the Dalai Lama might even be invited onto Chinese soil, Hong Kong and Macau as well discussing the issue of reincarnation with the Dalai Lama himself.

Tibet watchers believe that it is best to adopt a wait-and-see approach if the China government matches their words with actions.

“If she really is transmitting a message, then we should take note of it and wait and see first because what they say does not matter, you have to see what they actually do on the ground,” Dodin said.

Given China’s hard-line policy, Tibetans have demonstrated a mixed response to the news, ranging from guarded optimism to outright skepticism.

Since 2009, as many as 119 Tibetans living under China’s rule have set themselves on fire demanding freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama from exile. 102 of the self-immolators died in agony while the condition of more than 10 remains unknown.

(Tsering Namgyal, a journalist based in New York, is the author of a new biography of the 17th Karmapa Ogyen Trinley Dorje published last month by Hay House, India. He is also the author of a recently published novel, The Tibetan Suitcase – Asia Sentinel)

Businessmen have invaded our hills and mountains

Today Darjeeling looks like Solan, Solan like Kausali, Mussoorie like Ghaziabad. The long arm of Indian commerce has invaded every unique setting, and left a trail of devastation in its wake.

Once while designing a hotel in the mountains of Uttarakhand, I had proposed using local pine for constructing the building. But the builder scoffed at the choice. "Arrey bhai, don't you understand", he said, "the cost of felling a pine is the same as a deodar". The value of a two-hundred year old deodar forest could be seen only in commercial terms by a man of business.

Forest resources were cheap, readily available and often difficult to quantify. Today, the nexus between builder, politician, bureaucrat and forest official has left large swathes of mountainsides empty of tree cover. All across Uttarakhand large scale transfers of land are taking place. Whole mountains are bought by Mumbai and Delhi businessmen, who then sell luxury villas around Almora, Ranikhet, Mossourie and Nainital. Some builders find it more lucrative to build nine-ten storied apartments, then sell them off through agents in Delhi and Lucknow. High rises of two and three-bedroom flats used only in the summer, lie in squalid heaps, all along what were once pristine mountain settings - monsoon stained and empty for most of the year.

In the past 30 years, the continual expansion of the population deeper into the hills has already left a passive trail of devastation - tourist hotels some as high as six-eight storey perch on cliffs, empty summer houses of the Delhi rich; an expanding road network on unstable hillsides, commercial activity along new tourist routes, loss of tree cover, expansion of agriculture into forests, and a rain of garbage along hillsides. It is a wonder that environmental disasters don't happen more often. The river's force within minutes can alter the topography of an area, as it did along the Kedarnath Gangotri belt last week. A sudden deluge engulfed religious sites at Kedarnath, Govindghat and Pandukeshwar, the tragedy occurring at peak tourist season, leaving hundreds dead, washing away cars and people.

Certainly, there is no doubting the ferocity of the flood, but then why was a 3,000-capacity car parking on the river at Govindghat allowed to be built? Why were structures around the Kedarnath shrine constructed without embankments? Given that the state Disaster Management Authority has formulated no plan, guidelines or regulations, why were hotels and private houses allowed to be constructed on the flood plain?

Tourism has to a great part contributed to the excessive and unchecked development around shrines. Most religious places are littered with make-shift shops, hotels, sarais and dhabas that come up as temporary shelters for quick commerce, but because of their endorsement by local religious authorities, become 'regularized'. The ramshackle and putrid air of many religious sites is in part due to the laxity of local government who refuse to interfere in matters of religion. If indeed states are serious about 'ecotourism', there needs to be a restrictive strategy that limits tourist numbers, creates more equitable public modes of transport and creates clearly defined precincts for food and lodging.

Moreover, a recognition of the merits of hill topography needs to be carefully factored into any form of building legislation. The development of a pedestrian lakefront in Nainital, guides for construction on ridges in Shimla and Mussorie, stringent controls on building material and roof types in Kumaon and Garwal - all require individual consideration. Today Darjeeling looks like Solan, Solan like Kausali, Mussoorie like Ghaziabad. The long arm of Indian commerce has reduced every unique setting into a suiting ad. Land, building, wall space, air rights, sidewalks, everything is on sale. (The Times of India)

Sikkim tops suicide chart in country

Gangtok, June 25: Sikkim has topped the suicide chart amongst the Indian states, according to a report of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded per one lakh population for 2010-12, which has been widely accepted as a standard yardstick.

According to NCRB reports, Sikkim reported 181 suicides in 2012 with 0.1 percentage share of the total number of suicides in the country, which is 1,35,445, The Statesman reported.

The population of Sikkim as per the latest census is 622,000. The all India rate of suicides was 11.2 per cent during 2010-12.

Pondicherry reported the highest rate of suicides (36.8 per cent) followed by Sikkim at 29.1 per cent.

Sikkim topped the chart in 2010 with 45.5 per cent, against the national rate of 11.4 per cent. In 2011, the state ranked third with 30.3 per cent.

As many as 40 people committed suicide due to illness whereas 120 people committed suicide by hanging in 2012. The rate of suicide was highest in the 15-29 years age group.

GNLF to renew 6^th schedule demand from July

Darjeeling, June 25: The Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) is likely to re-emerge in the hills from next month. Its chief Subash Ghising has already asked his supporters to renew the party’s demand on 6^th schedule status for Darjeeling from next month.

"July will be the launch month of our renewed movement. Our leader Mr. Ghising has already given his directives in this regard to all levels of our party. This movement will give hills a true path in the direction of development," said N Lama, Convener of GNLF, Kurseong Sub Divn., The Economic Times reported.

The 6^th schedule status, specially designed for NE region, gives special financial and administrative power to the places of tribal dominance. It was first raised by. Ghising during 2006.

"As I told much earlier, so long Gorkhaland does not come, VIth schedule is the answer for Darjeeling," said Ghising earlier.

Implementation of 6th schedule in Darjeeling needed constitution amendment but before the amendment could finally take place Ghising was driven out of the hills by the Gorkha Janamukti Morchca(GJM), his rival group.

A day-long peace puja was held by various Bhutia-Lepcha organizations at the historic site of Kabi-Lungtsok in North Sikkim yesterday (June 24). The empty chairs are meant for the 12 Bhutia-Lepcha MLAs and 1 Sangha MLA, who failed to attend the puja. The minority indigenous communities are against construction at the sacred site by the State Government. The leaders of the two communities – Thekongtek and Khye-Bumsa – swore eternal blood-brotherhood at this sacred and historic site in the 13^th century. This historic pact led to the formation of the Namgyal Dynasty in Sikkim in 1642 when Chogyal Phuntsog Namgyal, a descendant of Khye-Bumsa, was crowned the first Chogyal (king) of Sikkim in Yuksam, West Sikkim.

Take lessons from U’khand tragedy: Akhil Gogoi

Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti  President Akhil Gogoi

Guwahati, June 25: The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) on Sunday warned that Assam and the other States of the North East were sitting on a time bomb of disasters due to dams in Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan and called upon Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to learn a lesson from the Uttarakhand disaster that was magnified mainly due to man-made reasons.

Addressing mediapersons here, Akhil Gogoi, president of KMSS said that if steps are not taken right now, the Uttarakhand tragedy would be repeated in Assam and the North East on a bigger magnitude.

“Faulty infrastructure development, house construction, haphazard road construction, construction of a large number of dams involving heavy blasting, tunneling and excavation, dumping of muck and debris in the river magnified the disaster in Uttarakhand that started with a natural event,” said Akhil pointing out that the proposed hydropower dams in Arunachal Pradesh without any cumulative and downstream impact studies will trigger unimaginable destruction in Assam that falls under the Eastern Himalayas and has a more fragile ecology than the Western Himalayas under which Uttarakhand comes, The Assam Tribune reported.

“Will the Government of Assam wake up after seeing what has happened in Uttarakhand?” questioned Akhil stressing that an appropriate development policy for the Eastern Himalayas and the Brahmaputra plains needs to be evolved with consent of all citizens.

 “The large number of dams (during construction and after commissioning) will only increase the downstream impact including magnifying floods and other risks during natural disasters. Clearly Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Manipur are sitting on a time bomb of disasters,” warned Akhil, calling upon the people of the State to unite and force the policy-makers to act in the interest of the State and public and not the big corporate houses and industrialists who are concerned about their hydropower projects only and least bothered about the environmental hazards and safety of the people.

“We demand a complete moratorium on existing and proposed dam building in the Himalayas,” said Akhil.

The Meghalaya government has allotted a 120-acre plot on which work is under way for a state-of-the-art academic-cum-residential campus.

Arunachal CM urges MLAs to donate 1 month's salary to Uttarakhand victims

Arunachal Pradesh CM Nabam Tuki (left)

Itanagar, June 25: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister NabamTuki has requested all Congress legislators of the state to deposit one month's salary to the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, which would be contributed for relief and rehabilitation of victims of Uttarakhand floods.

More than 500 people have reportedly died so far in one of the worst natural disasters in recent times in Uttarakhand. Nearly 14,000 people are believed to be missing and another 60,000 are stranded.

AICC president Sonia Gandhi has directed all Congress MPs and legislators to contribute to the fund being generated for relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the disaster.

In a circular issued on Saturday, Tuki has appealed to all Congress legislators of the state to contribute their one month's salary for the purpose on or before June 26, officials said.

He also appealed to all conscious citizens, irrespective of party affiliations, to donate to the fund and assured that proper receipt would be given against all contributions, which would be exempted from income tax regulations.

"Our friends in Uttarakhand are in dire need of help. Let us lend them a helping hand to rebuild their lives," he said in an appeal.

Contributions in cash, cheque or demand draft may be deposited or drawn in favour of the Chief Minister's Relief Fund, which would then be transferred to the fund being generated countrywide.

While praying to God to give strength to the family members of those who have lost their lives in the devastation, Tuki extended solidarity on behalf of the people of Arunachal Pradesh with their compatriots in Uttarakhand.

Manipur govt to take over Royal Palace for preservation as historical monument

Imphal, June 25: In spite of strong reaction from the titular King of Manipur and the Sana Konung Kanba Lup over the move, the State Cabinet has decided to take over Sana Konung (Royal Palace) and develop it as a landmark historical monument of the State.

Announcing this to media after the Cabinet meeting here on Saturday, a  spokesperson of the government said the Cabinet has decided to take over the Royal Palace so that it can be developed into a landmark historical monument to the whole to know that Manipur was once princely kingdom, e-pao reported.

Accordingly, the Cabinet has decided to dismantle all the unruly constructions in and around the palace and to confiscate the entire private households which were once part of the Royal Palace.

The temples of Pakhangba, Yumjao Lairembi and Lainingthou Nongsaba which were once a part and parcel of the Royal Palace would also be renovated.

A house for the titular King of Manipur would be constructed by the State Government just near the Royal Palace soon after taking over the palace by the State.

Even though the Royal Palace would be confiscated by the State, the customary rights of the king would remain undisturbed.