Huge tourism development project in Himachal

capt_mahajan

A huge tourism project has just taken another step forward in Himachal.

I have mixed views on this. While it will generate local jobs, it will certainly mar the mountains, like so many such projects usually do.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...60,curpg-1.cms

greenchutney

echo that thought as well. there is a huge land grab going on everywhere. it was depressing to witness this first hand on the outskirts of bombay. entire villages, 1000's of acres being bought by private enterprises. agricultural land it says in the survey, though thats being twisted left and right..ways around the laws..builders, developers circling like hungry vultures~ ...some of these guys are also offering to relocate and rebuild villages..to get those strategic locations closer to infrastructure or other investments....yeah...its not expensive to redo mud huts...is it.. mmmmmmmm

development is required, hopefully conservation and the environment is kept in mind. thats all one can hope for.

OtherBeaumont

this project is the beginning of the end for what is left of the upper kullu regions...the construction of these massive dev projects themselves will disrupt and pollute the region for decades.

ski village with swisslike lifts delivering traffic to 7000ft in 30 mins in addition to the 6000 ft alltidude already = 13,000 in 30 minutes there better be good medical services at the lift summit.
local industries of blue synthetic fur coats and rubber boots will suffer )) but knowing those roadside rental stalls they will start renting blue 02 masks/tanks..

capt_mahajan

thing is, entire villages have their menfolk working outside himachal (as far as delhi) for their entire working lives because there are hardly any opportunities there.

same in uttaranchal.

if we were to ask those villageres, what would they say? hence my ambivalence.

OtherBeaumont

yes of course the men will prosper and hopefully locals will have a say in the planning for the recreation (demolition) of the valley and its villages... after completion what then retraining construction workers into certified ski instructors... many will still seek work in Delhi because there can be just so many minimum wage maintenence/service workers..plus the standards of living will force what low income is left out.. making way for more bollywood condos..
i live in quebec we had a lovely tradional ski village at the base of a nice mountain...the mountain and village where purchased by banff alberta/colorado developers (asian backed)now whats in place is comparable to a disneyland for the rich mostly New Yorkers....mont temblant now has international airport..for the wealthy with leer jets....no commuters flights...unless chartered
lots of jobs..but funny thing most of the good ones are filled with workers from Montreal...the shit cleaners tend to be locals
today many complain about the over development taking place in Manali...it wont be long before Macdonalds opens in the MALL maybe they will change the gold to saffron arches.
bottomline it should be up to the local population whether these projets pass..

arunchs

As far as I understand, locals oppose the project. It is such a huge project that it will completely ruin the environment. Because there is so much money involoved, they even managed to get Himachal gov to amend some laws to make provisions for the project. All the environmental issues coming up with the project have been hushed up..

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capt_mahajan

otherbeaumont, agree about the minimum wage stuff.
also, government compensation for local land in india for such projects tends to be low compensation and is usually squandered away in pretty quick time, leaving the locals not only penniless, but also without any land or proper means of sustenance.

i have always wondered why the government doesnt compensate at market rates and makes it a condition that, say, a percentage of the compensation be kept in government or such bonds (presently yielding 8 percent)for, say, 10 years. that would be some security, and the ten year or somesuch time would be a cooling off period.

johnrxx99

After looking at the article, the development sounds terrible, and I'm a former surveyor! There are enough tourist areas and, with thoughtful expansion, all the governments ambitions could be catered for.

Wilderness is what will be valuable in the forseeable future and for India to damage that for short term gain is very stupid.

capt_mahajan

rapid urbanisation, specially in areas around delhi has already changed the climate, driven farmers to destitution and sometimes suicide, and degraded the environment. besides planting eyesores where there used to be green.

with recent figures on this urbanisation, i have no doubt we will dig a deeper hole shortly.