Uttarakhand: Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone monitoring committee meeting will be held thrice a month, Chief Secretary gave these strict instructions to the officers
Chief Secretary Radha Raturi, while giving instructions to hold a meeting of the monitoring committee of Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone every three months, has said that while maintaining a balance between ecology and economy, construction work should be done as per the environmental standards set under Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone and action should be ensured in cases of violation of standards.
In the Bhagirathi valley of Uttarkashi district, from Uttarkashi to Gangotri, about 100 km. in length and about four thousand square km. Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone has been declared. 88 villages fall within its ambit. A meeting of the monitoring committee of Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone was held today and discussions were held regarding granting permission for various development plans and other activities proposed under this area and compliance with the standards notified for the zone.
While presiding over the meeting, Chief Secretary Radha Raturi said that clear provisions should be made in the DPR to ensure compliance with the set environmental standards in the construction of roads within the eco-sensitive zone and a field investigation should also be conducted by a reputed organization like GSI. The Chief Secretary said that to promptly monitor the cases related to the zone, the monitoring committee meeting will now be held every third month and consideration will also be given to nominating a department to take action related to this or to assigning this responsibility to the District Development Authority. The Chief Secretary said that keeping in view the interests and development of the local people as well as the convenience of a large number of devotees coming on the Chardham Yatra, many development works are necessary to be done in this area, hence action should be taken by complying with the set rules and standards and maintaining a better balance with the environment. While giving instructions to take effective action in cases of violation of rules and standards, the Chief Secretary said that all the non-government members of the committee should also be informed about this and these members should also be made to inspect the proposed project sites. The Chief Secretary said that the main function of the monitoring committee is to monitor compliance with the rules and standards set for the zone. Therefore, the concerned department should ensure compliance of the rules along with issuing the relevant permissions.
In the meeting, District Magistrate Uttarkashi Dr. Meherban Singh Bisht gave detailed information about the notification of Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone, its compliance and current status and presented the proposed development works and other activities under the zone for the consideration and approval of the committee.
The District Magistrate said that it is necessary to implement projects related to expansion and development of basic facilities in the villages situated since centuries within the scope of Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone. He said that pilgrimage and tourism are the main source of livelihood of this area and every year lakhs of pilgrims and tourists come to this area. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the required infrastructure facilities in this area while complying with the standards related to environment and all other prescribed rules and allow works related to home-stay, hotels etc. The District Magistrate also proposed to give responsibility to the District Development Authority for permission and regulatory actions for the notified works under the zone. The District Magistrate said that many measures are being taken in this area for environmental protection. A plant of modern technology has been established for solid waste management in Gangotri Dham. In the meeting, it was agreed to start operating this plant soon.
In the meeting, a proposal was made to give permission to nine roads proposed for rural areas in Bhagirathi Eco Sensitive Zone. While agreeing to give approval to these proposals on the condition of complying with environmental standards, it was said that the necessary provisions for this will be necessarily included in the DPR of the roads and they will also be tested by organizations like GSI. After discussion on five small hydropower projects proposed in the zone area, it was agreed to take further action on two new projects of two megawatt capacity and reconsider three ongoing projects. In the meeting, along with the proposal of the Postal Department regarding filling of Ganga water from Gangotri Dham, two hotel units proposed under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Policy and the matter of land use change under Section 143 of the ZLR Act were also presented for consideration.
Non-official members Hem Pandey, Mallika Bhanot, Shanti Parmar along with officials of various departments and organizations based in the state headquarters in Dehradun and Uttarkashi also participated in this meeting held in hybrid mode.
