‘Ladakh Situation Symbolic of Larger Environmental and Social Crisis in Himalaya’: Leading Activists
New Delhi: Condemning the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk and calling for his immediate release, members of the People for Himalaya campaign said that the situation unfolding in Ladakh was a sign of a “larger crisis” — both environmental and social — across the Himalaya. The numerous floods and landslides occurring during this year’s monsoon across several places in the mountain range have further shown that there is a crisis of development and governance, they added at a press conference in New Delhi on September 29.
Members of the campaign also called for a high-level judicial inquiry into the violence that occurred at Leh on September 24.
‘Conduct high-level judicial inquiry’
The People For Himalaya (PFH), founded in 2024, is a collective campaign for climate and disaster justice across the mountain states. Four members of the campaign addressed the press conference at Delhi on Monday: Sajjad Kargili, of the Kargil Democratic Alliance (Ladakh), Atul Sati of Uttarakhand’s Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, Manshi Asher, cofounder of the Himdhara Collective and Anmol Ohri of the Climate Front Jammu.
They condemned the arrest of climate activist Sonam Wangchuk under the National Security Act and called for his immediate release at a press conference in New Delhi today (September 29). Calling the arrest “an assault on democratic rights and freedom of dissent”, they also said that such acts were a “blatant attempt to silence the voices of the people of Ladakh” for raising concerns about their constitutional rights, livelihoods and the environment. Wangchuk was arrested on September 26, after the Ministry of Home Affairs claimed that he had instigated the people of Ladakh through “provocative speeches”.
“Our protest was always peaceful,” Kargili said at the press conference. “However the government tried to divert this and detained several people including Sonam Wangchuk. Wangchuk is currently in jail under the draconian NSA…this kind of treatment of a sensitive region like Ladakh is creating a further sense of insecurity and alienation.”
The members including Kargili made several demands, one of which included a high-level judicial inquiry into the violence at Leh on September 24, in which four people died and over 80 were injured. The use of “excessive force” by opening fire on people gathered at the peaceful protest at Leh was “an act of brutality against unarmed citizens”, they said, and that it “demanded accountability at the highest level”.
The PFH also called for the resignation of the Lieutenant Governor and Director General of Police of Ladakh, the immediate release of Sonam Wangchuk and all arrested leaders, and the withdrawal of all charges.
The PFH also added that it was in “full support” of the four-point agenda put forward by the people of Ladakh and led by the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance. The agenda includes a demand for statehood for Ladakh and protection under the Sixth Schedule.
A larger crisis
At the press conference, the members also said that the current situation in Ladakh was a sign of a “larger crisis unfolding across the Himalayan region”. Not just Ladakh, but the entire span of the Himalaya is witnessing “widespread environmental and social vulnerabilities”, they said. For instance, the monsoon this year caused numerous floods and landslides in Uttarkashi, Mandi, Kishtwar, Joshimath, Dharali, Siang, Ladakh and Sikkim. These events cannot be dismissed as just natural and climate disasters but represent “the compounded impact of climate change interacting with poor governance and policy making centred on reckless models of extractive development leading in the form of rapid and massive commercial tourism, unregulated infrastructure expansion, and deforestation”, they said in a press note.
Though scientists, civil society groups and communities had been raising concerns and issuing warnings, governments and regulatory institutions have “consistently failed to heed these warnings”, and instead prioritised “short-sighted projects that increase risks rather than reduce them”.
Authorities had also diluted numerous environmental safeguards like the environmental impact assessment (EIA) mechanisms and granted permits for projects such as four-lane highway expansions, railways, ropeways, and tunnels are the key factors. The Char Dham road project, for instance, is a perfect example of this which has “endangered mountain communities in the name of development”, the PFH said.
Need for immediate corrective measures
Such a development trajectory is “unsustainable” and calls for “immediate corrective measures are needed to prevent further devastation”, the members said. At the press conference, they raised several demands from governments and authorities.
First, that authorities develop a stronger disaster response system, which also includes fair rehabilitation under the Disaster Management Act (2005).
Secondly, that the union government guarantees its support during extreme weather events and that it also ensure safe resettlement policies for communities impacted by floods and those in unsafe and vulnerable zones. The campaign also called for special provisions under the Forest Conservation Act 1980 to allow this rehabilitation.
Third, that authorities implement the Dam Safety Act (2022) across all Himalayan states, restructuring key regulatory institutions such as the Central Water Commission, Pollution Control Boards, and State Disaster Authorities, and ensure penal action against violators of safety and environmental norms. The PFH also said that with such accountability for infrastructure projects, the government should also stop destructive mega-projects such as large dams, railway corridors, and mega solar parks in fragile mountain zones. Legally, the new provisions to permit these that came with the Forest Conservation Act (2023) amendments must be removed, the members urged.
Fourth, the campaign called for decentralised decision-making, including proper implementation of the Forest Rights Act (2006), and making the free, prior, and informed consent of Gram Sabhas mandatory for all developmental projects.
This article went live on September twenty-ninth, two thousand twenty five, at twenty-one minutes past five in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
