DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand High Court on Monday directed the state government to determine carrying capacity of tourist destinations of the state which lie in a biodiversity sensitive zone, such as 'Auli'.
The court also ordered to constitute an 'Expert Committee' within four weeks which will examine whether there is a need to identify biodiversity heritage sites in Uttarakhand.
The division bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Ramesh Chand Khulbe, observing that the government was in grave error in giving nod to this mega event without having any kind of assessment of garbage which would be generated due to the event, states, "It (Government) failed to have any checks for the collateral damage caused by the event to the environment."
The directions came while hearing a public interest litigation opposing grand wedding of sons of Gupta brothers- Ajay Gupta and Atul Gupta in Auli bugyals in Chamoli district at altitude of 12,000 feet. The wedding cost which was solemnized in June 2019 was estimated over Rs 200 Crore.
Bugyals are grasslands at high altitude of ecological value. The judgement was reserved on March 6, 2020 which was pronounced on July 27, 2020.
Remarking that the first question which comes to the mind is as to why would anyone want to hold a wedding at such a huge scale, on a remote mountain top, the court was surprised to state, "More importantly why at all was this permission granted, for holding this grand wedding!"
The bench observing that this had never been done in the past said that Auli is after all a sports and adventure destination with snow covered gentle slopes suitable for skiing said in the order, "By the time, the wedding ceremonies were over, pollution as is evident, was caused due to the week long wedding ceremonies and events."
The court further added that it is necessary that the government limits its activities in Auli only in the field of sports and adventure tourism, and not to venture in any other activities which are not compatible with the principles of 'Sustainable Tourism'.
Underlining the fact that the court has no intention to discourage tourism in Uttarakhand, the court added in the judgement that the state government must remember that tourism should not be seen merely as a development activity or as a revenue earning sector. "Tourism means 'sustainable tourism'. We can afford to ignore this principle only at the cost of our environment. We should keep high mountain terrains in their pristine glory and beauty," said the bench.
Quoting an Allahabad high court ruling which said that the 'Bugyals: belong to the people, the bench stated, "Nature has tailored it. It is not for man to erode the sanctity of this area. It must be returned to nature to provide for whom it was meant; the sheep, the shepherd, the wild flowers, the micro-orgams and the plant and insect life below the turf and in the shrubs at that altitude."
Mentioning an African proverb "The earth is not ours, it's a treasure we hold in trust for future generations", the court asserted that we require to conserve and protect our biological resources.
"India is one of the 12 Mega diversity rich countries in the world. Himalaya mountains is one of the main repository of the Biodiversity wealth of the country, and 'Auli' lies in a sub-alpine region of Himalayas, in the catchment area of Dhauli Ganga basin. The importance of 'Auli' and its surrounding areas has to be seen primarily from this aspect. 'Auli' can never be viewed as an exotic tourist destination or a wedding destination," remarked the court.
Recalling the fact that India is a signatory to the United Nations' convention on biological diversity (commonly known as Rio de Janerio convention of 1992-93) which emphasised firstly the conservation of biological diversity and secondly, sustainable use of its component and thirdly fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arriving out of the use of biological resources, knowledge and the matters connected therewith, the court observed, "There is a no law against holding a wedding ceremony at 'Auli'. But there is definitely a law against environment pollution. There is also a law, presently enforced in the State of Uttarakhand, which mandates the State to conserve and protect its biodiversity and make it more sustainable."
The bench in the judgement also added that any event, activity, plan or scheme which violates these provisions comes in conflict with the law.
The court remarking that while developing tourism sector, the environmental aspect and the social and aesthetic needs of the people, where these tourism centres are to be developed, has to be taken into account, further said, "For alpine and sub alpine meadows, which are rich in biological diversity such as 'Auli', which is in close proximity and periphery of 'Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve', the Government should have been more circumspect before giving its approval for this mega wedding."
Slimming the government by stating that there has been no previous planning, scheme or even a standard procedure with the government to hold an event of this nature in an eco-sensitive area, the bench added that the event left a long trail of waste and garbage, which is 32.6 tonnes and ut of this 15.41 is non-biodegradable waste.
"This is the result of just one single event at 'Auli'. In case such events are permitted by the State in future, what level of garbages and waste will that result is not difficult to imagine. We say this as we are also aware that there are no scientific mechanisms available at 'Auli' or nearly in Chamoli district, which has the capacity to recycle this large quantity of waste. There is also no mechanism in place to prevent water and air pollution which result as a consequence of the kind of activity, we are presently dealing with," the court said.
Taking reference from a Handy Booklet11 (which is a user’s manual on CBD Guidelines), the court mentioned its foreword written by Jochen Flashbarth, who is an environmentalist.
He writes, "Tourism is like fire: you can cook your food with it, but if you are not careful, it could also burn your house down! Or to put it another way: tourism offers opportunities for economic, social and ecological development, but only if the risks involved are not overlooked."