Ravaging Floods causing havoc in Himachal – A result of Faulty Model of Development: Tikender Singh Panwar

Demanding ‘Commission of Inquiry’ Former deputy mayor, of Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikender Singh Panwar, said that it is a faulty unsustainable model of Development of the state which is responsible for the ravaging floods that have caused havoc and loss of life and property in the state.

Seeking COI by a retired judge of Supreme Court CPM leader who is currently working with a number of hill towns to build them on sustainable development said in a letter written to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday. 

“During the previous week at the time of rain havoc, state Political leadership including government and executive was indeed very active in mitigating the challenges and helping people but it also needs a COI to be headed by a retired supreme court judge, preferably someone who hails from Himachal Pradesh.

Former Dy Mayor observed that the present Congress government is making a departure from the previous ones; ensuring a vyavastha parivartan (Systemic change) but it must built the process to have people at the core of the entire planning process.

He said that the loss to the assets in the state and the people was not just because of some isolated tranche of climate change and higher precipitation caused such colossal damage but according to him, it is also because of the systemic policy framework and failure of the planning institutions and departments in embarking a path of development alien to the mountain etiquettes, aesthetics, and realities.

“The COI could go into details of the reasons for such failures in the developmental trajectory, including hydropower, tourism, construction of four-lane and two-lane highways, etc.” Mr Panwar who has also worked with the municipality of Ladhakh claimed.

He said that the slogan ‘vyavastha parivartan’ should be aligned with public concern and it is also an opportunity to go back to the people and make them important stakeholders in framing the reasons for such systemic failures.

CPM leader apprised the Chief Minister that it was mainly due to deviation from old sustainable models of development that exist in the past to switch over to the present one that the state have to go through tragic days.

He said that in the early 70s sustainable model of development was visualized by the founder of the state and first chief minister Dr Y S Parmar but after following it for a period of about 20 years.

He said that the state made a departure from visionary and sustainable development since the mid-90s in the liberalization period it was following a contrarily new unsustainable development that overlooks the mountain etiquettes, aesthetics, and realities.

“The liberalization period model has brought nightmares to the state. Not just in the economic sphere, one could witness in the ecological, environmental, and geographical spheres as well. The current model is untenable and therefore your slogan of systemic change is quite appropriate.

It is the time to bring in a major disruption in the planning models and renew the developmental trajectory for a brighter, resilient, secure future for our people and the state, he demanded.