For Uttarakhand, ‘Climate Change’ somehow seems to be a heavy
term derived out of a thesaurus. While entire set of nations and international
forums are banging their heads to mitigate the imminent irreversible risks that
climate change has posed on humans, Uttarakhand still has its own pace of
lopsided actions, reactions, counter-actions or no action.
2013 Uttarakhand tragedy was not enough for us to understand
the drastic effects, where we lost everything within minutes. Our ability to
forecast issues whether critical or long-term, our preparedness to resolve
issues, our intent to bring matters into the Plan Do Check Act (PDCA) cycle,
our sense of observing and learning from others’ mistakes or excellence and the
innate moral responsibility towards our own children and grand-children today
are all put to test.
The ban on any type of mining in Uttarakhand by the Hon’ble
High Court of Uttarakhand has brought this matter to the fore-front. It’s not
that mining in Uttarakhand had gone illegal within 10 days of new govt
formation based on which the Hon’ble High Court had to take this pioneering
step to set this in order. During the tenure of last government, illegal mining
and its cartelization in the state had reached its zenith or nadir, whatever it
may suit, when ‘illegal mining mafia’ started physical and weapon led assaults
on the departmental teams that led to serious injuries and even fatal
casualties. As a result, lowly paid employee already sustaining in penury could
not react against the ‘muscle-power’, which in turn escalated the already
gung-ho spirit of the cartels.
Recently, when the Maori tribe in New Zealand after 140 years
of legal battle, won its bid to pronounce Whanganui river as their ‘living
ancestor’ we also woke up to the cause and pronounced our revered rivers Ganga
and Yamuna as ‘living entities’. As a
follow-up to save the ‘living-entities’, the ban on mining in Uttarakhand has
opened up a Pandora’s Box of issues relating to Revenue and Employment within
the state and a lot of noise is being heard across the forums that have taken a
direct hit.
However, in the entire conundrum, one pertinent issue of
grass-root level has been neglected out rightly. State PWD has informed that due
to Non-availability of Raw or Processed Stone Aggregate, 120 proposed roads in
the Kumaun region itself will be affected and it seems that these roads may not
see the light of the day soon, at least by the preparedness standards of the state
PWD and other road development agencies of Uttarakhand.
Keeping in view the drastic effects of processes involved in conventional
technology of road construction, many sustainable technologies have been
developed in the western part of the globe, which have been proven far more
effective and sustainable when it comes to combating climate change and providing
quality roads in considerably lesser time. The respective regulatory bodies, after
conducting detailed tests have accredited such technologies to be incorporated
in Indian conditions also. Despite statutory certifications & guidelines by
Indian Road Congress (IRC), Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) and Ministry
of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), PWD and allied agencies of many states
like Uttarakhand have not been able to upgrade themselves to the rising demand
of ‘sustainable development’ across the globe.
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| A set of sophisticated cold miller operating on a new road stretch |
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| A Road being constructed without the Stone Aggregate in NE with a New German Technology accredited by Indian Road Conress (IRC) |
Non-availability of Stone Aggregate impacts a road project
considerably since the ‘pavement/base’ attracts usage of stone aggregate and
due to the non-availability of it in the vicinity leads to carriage from
far-flung areas/rivers and/or stone crushers. While the PWD and allied agencies
of the state, in its scheduled rates for a locality have a fixed cost pertinent
to that area, the fact of non-availability of material has many a times not
been incorporated while preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR). As a
result the ‘proposed/budgeted cost’ of the project in many cases becomes impractical
v/s the ‘actual cost’ of that road project. The matter becomes more critical,
when the department has not been able to upgrade itself on the nuances of DPR
preparation and the ‘consultant’ provides a cost that is completely impractical
to construct a road in any typical terrain.
In numerous cases, it has also been observed and
accepted by the state agencies that the DPR consultant did not even carry the
‘Soil Testing’, which happens to be a mandatory step before conceiving a project
and preparing the DPR.
Link attached Para 6 (viii) and Para 6(ix): http://pmgsy.nic.in/MEC_UT_09.01.14.pdf
In various instances, an erroneous DPR can delay a
critical road project for almost 4 yrs as has happened in Uttarakhand for a
road connecting the proposed capital town of Garsain through a hamlet to the
mainstream market on Ramnagar-Delhi axis.
To hide behind the errors, the state bodies than create a
negative environment against an approved sustainable new technology, to be
costly, against the erroneous cost derived (without adhering to the standard
operating procedures (SOPs) and missing on to a critical aspect of ‘soil testing’),
that too after a lapse of considerable time ranging between 3-4 years.
Another critical issue that holds up the project beyond
imagination is its funding pattern. In case the project has been sanctioned and
funded by a central agency like Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna
(PMGSY)/National Rural Roads Development Agency (NRRDA), the actual fault lines
appear so wide that the local populace may wait for another 1-2 years to see a
road in their area that grossly defeats the vision of these bodies. On each
amendment to the DPR, the state body like Uttarakhand Rural Road Development
Agency (URRDA) while accepting its fault has to seek permission from the NRRDA practically
on each and every aspect like a. Cost Escalation and b. Usage of any other
sustainable technology. The fun time begins when NRRDA from its cocoon without
understanding the local dynamics that led to an erroneous DPR floats
correspondence out of its purview.
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| Stone Aggregate Quarrying and Crushing has created havoc for the Environment in recent years |
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| Hot Mix Plants over its Life Cycle conisderably add-on to the Carbon Foot Print of the Projects and the Location |
In many instances the entire matter also becomes amusingly
frustrating when logic defying discussions of ill-informed technocrats also
lead to project appreciation from scratch. While all the other states due to its
progressive policy making and adopting ‘aggregate-less pavement’ technologies are
aggressively increasing their road network, Uttarakhand PWD and other allied
agencies still seem to come out of its slumber and match up to the imminent
requirements of ‘New India’ and an economically prosperous Uttarakhand.
It may well be a possibility that the state bodies also intend to be governed by the Hon'ble High Court to include environment-friendly smart technologies in road construction that would save considerable time to the tax-payers of the state.
However, the question remains whether Uttarakhand really intends to
become a Tech Friendly state, required, due to its geographical constraints or the same indomitable
‘highlander spirit’ of our decision makers will govern us to walk 4-5 days
across ridges, jungles and ravines to reach our destinations. Somehow, it seems
a herculean task for them to understand that effective roads only provide
economic and strategic security to a nation and to a Himalayan State like
Uttarakhand that borders an itchy adversary, it becomes imminent like
yesterday.
