The snowfall has been unexpectedly less in higher reaches of Garhwal and Kumaon during the spell. With neither enough snow nor a drop of rain the forest fires raging in some pine and mixed forests have been felt uncontrolled. Forest fires in the post-fall months are more damaging for the flora than in summer. The lack of snow and rain is a cause of concern not only for botanist and conservationists but also for hydrologists. It could lead to a further shrinking of glaciers, thus endangering the perennial sources of water for the entire plains of northern India.

Due to the long dry spell and freezing temperature in the Kashmir valley over past few weeks, water in the Jhelum has touched a record low in past 54 years. The valley is already reeling under shortage of power supply and, is further possess to heavy decline in power production from various hydel projects due to decline in the water level in all water bodies.

Mysterious forest fires are ravaging conifer forests throughout the Kashmir valley threatening the loss of some rare plant species and animal in the region forever. The locals admit that timber smugglers, in tandem with forest officials, are setting the fires to destroy traces of mass deforestation, however, according to official sources, the fires occurring are the result of an exceptionally dry spell hitting the Valley. Though the Centre had launched its ‘Forest Fire control Methods’ under the Eighth Plan, they are yet to be implemented in the Valley, which has the biggest forest cover.

The Centre proposes to set up a technology mission for integrated development of horticulture in the north-eastern states comprising Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim. The proposed technology mission will aim at improving production and productivity of horticultural crops and ensure sustained growth through effective linkages between production, research, extension, post-harvest management and marketing.

The large-scale illegal mining and quarrying under political protection in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh creating environmental imbalances. During last five years the water level of a number of khads, which are major source of over 200 water supply schemes has gone down and a number of water sources has already dried up due to reckless and unscientific mining. It is estimated that the state government is losing a revenue of Rs. 35 crore every year from the district alone.

Insecurity haunts wildlife in Himachal Pradesh with new cement plants and hydroelectric projects eating up the forest area in the state. Wildlife sanctuaries are one by one falling prey to such development projects which are being constructed by influential business houses. About 52% of the forest area in the state is undermarcated and the authorities have no assessment of encroachments. It is estimated that forest area of over 25,000 hectares was under encroachments.

The Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation had floated bonds to raise financial resources for which the government had approved a proposal for carrying out green felling. The Supreme Court’s decision making the Centrre’s approval of forest working plans mandatory, has upset the State’s plan of carrying out green felling.

Twenty villages in the Bakan, Bassu and Samra areas of interior Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh have started sinking because of illegal state mining effecting about 18,000 population in the region. As the only source of earning, the local resident were forced to engaged in quarrying, while the authorities were hesitant to take action against the culprits because of their political patronage. ‘Save Himalaya’, a social organisation set up by Mr. Rattan Chand is fighting the lone battle by educating and campaigning the local about the disaster, that the mining would bring for them.

The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that the Tehri dam was safe and did not need 3-D non-linear seismic tests. The government said the National Committee on Seismic Design Parameters (NCSDP) had termed the recommendation for such test as conservative and concluded that the dam was safe enough to withstand the maximum credible earthquake (MCE).

The 100-years-old picturesque hill station of Darjeeling in the sub-Himalayan West Bengal stands out as a mute witness to the havoc wrought in by an increasing tourist flow. Over last five years, more than 300 hotels have sprung up in and around Darjeeling. The reckless construction activities have lead to drying up water springs, disappearing forest stretches besides massive soil erosion and landslides. Promotion of the concept of eco-tourism in the Himalayan region is considered significant in that it would go a long wary in preserving the natural beauty of this mountain region.

The Himachal Pradesh Government’s decision to allow the collection and export of leaves of Himalayan yew, which is being exploited by pharmaceutical companies to manufacture medicines for treating cancer, has proved fatal for endangered species. Over the past three years, thousands of yew trees have dried up in various parts of the state and the natural regeneration of this slow-growing species is poor. While scientists at G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development have used tissue culture methods to produce saplings, replenishing the depleted reserves in the high altitude areas is difficult.

Environmentalist warned that the Nepali Government’s proposal to allow a state-run body to fell trees in the Terai belt would deplete the Himalayan Kingdom’s forest cover and spell doom for the bordering Indian states. Due to dwindling forest cover in the Terai, two Indian states Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have experienced devastation floods and silting problems over the past few years.

According to a survey conducted by Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, about 30% of the sheesham plantation have been completely damaged in the state. The study has suggested that to prevent the fungi from spreading, healthy trees should be isolated and affected ones uprooted.

The Sang Martam Tea Growers’s Co-operative Society has earmarked about 1000 acres of wasteland for growing ‘Rumtek tea’ with an estimated production of two lakh kilos per year. To augment tea cultivation in Sikkim, a cooperative society has produced 700 acres of land in the East Sikkim district. The memorandum of understanding signed with Makalbair Tea Estate, has agreed to set up a tea processing plant at Sang Martam by investing over Rs. 2.17 crores with 50% equity.

A massive earthquake of 6.8 on the Richter scale struck Chamoli causing at least 100 casualties and about collapsing 170 houses, according to the initial report. It was the second time in eight years the Himalayan region of northern Uttar Pradesh had been hit by a severe earthquakes. At least 1600 people were killed in Uttarkashi, 1991 when an earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale hit the hilly.

Tea was the most important agro-based industry in the State with a production of six million kg per annum and about 6000 hectare of land were under tea cultivation. The production was severely hamstrung in Tripura this year following unprecedented drought. According to Tea Association of India, the drought would push the production of annual crop by 20-25%.

The government of Arunachal Pradesh has decided to work out an agreement with the North East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) to construct the 600 megawatt Kameng hydel power project. Participating in the discussion on 1999-2000 fiscal budget, the Chief Minister said reports on many other hydel projects would be prepared, which provide ample opportunities for the people to improve their standard of living.

The 6.8 magnitude earthquake that rocked a wide sweep of area across the northern part of the India claimed over 100 lives in Chamoli, left the controversial Tehri dam structure unaffected. Conflicting views on the structural safety of the Tehri dam and hydro power project to high magnitude earthquakes have been expressed by scientists. Seismologists at the Indian Meteorological Department said the damage was low perhaps because the foci of the earthquake was 30 km deep inside the earth, in contrast, the Uttarkashi one occurred in 1991, around 12 km deep.

The seismicity in the Himalayan region has increased, as in the past eight years the region has experienced two earthquakes with a magnitude over 6.5 on the Richter scale. In seismically active areas, a quaked measuring more than 6.5 may occur once in 20 years, according to the scientist of Indian Meteorological Department(IMD). The IMD admits that the north and north-eastern movement of the Indian plate at the rate of about 5 cm per year and its collision with the Eurasian plate, which is relatively stationary, makes the Himalayan region quake-prone.

Despite its new-found tag of ‘the second rubber capital of India’, a recent study into the impact of rubber plantation reveals its telling effect on the state’s fragile ecology. The report says the plantation may lead to an ecological and socio-economic disaster in the tiny state by destroying the top soils and causing deforestation that may end up causing desertification. However, the Tripura government pins a lot of hope on the state’s rubber cultivation, the World Bank also supports projects to raise new plantations.

With the mercury shooting up abnormally in the first half of April, conditions have become similar to the one prevalent in June when summer is at its peak. The pine forest, prone to fires because of highly combustible nature along with the failure of the forest department to take necessary preventive measures has aggravated the problem. Though the department has released Rs. 1 crore for marking fire lines, controlled burning and other preventive measures, these are not carried out by the field staff in the right earnest.

The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN) in Dehradun has developed a technology to make coal out of ‘chir’ leaves which cover the floor of forest in the Garhwal hills. According the chairman of GMVN, the technology would not only prevent forest fires by removing these leaves from the forests but would also create employment opportunities and resolve the problem of non-availability of fuel for villagers.

The Ganga is running black in the hills and its discharge has unseasonably increased. The fussures opened by the earthquake are pouring out dark soil into streams that flow into it. The sky too is black with forest fire smoke and ash filament floating in the air. The Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, blistering hot winds howl throughout the day, even at heights over 6,000 feet, noon-temperature crosses 35 degree Celsius. All vegetation has turned into tinder, as it has not rained for more than six months. Because of the thick acrid smoke filling the air, the respiratory diseases, eye, and stomach ailments had increased tremendously.

A wintering site of the black necked crane, a globally endangered species has been found in the Zemingthang valley of Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh. Earlier the cranes also wintered in Apatani valley of Subansiri district of the state, but they vanished in 1960s due to the development of large townships. The environmentalist pointed out an interesting observation, that all the wintering and breeding sites of these cranes happned to be located in few localities of Tibet and Ladakh, where Buddhism is the practicing religion. This probably indicates that religion can play an important role in wildlife conservation.

Inadequate rainfall during last winter and early onset of summer this year have resulted in about 200 forest fires in Himachal Pradesh. According to State’s forest minister, out of 35,407 km² forest area in the state, 8,267 km² were prone to fire incidents. A six-year project called ‘modern forest control methods’ under a Centrally sponsored schemes is yet to be implemented due to insufficient grant from the ministry.

Faced with the task of evacuation for the proposed Rajaji National Park near Dehradun, the park authorities are in confrontation with the ‘van gujjars’. Gujjars, the nomadic tribes inhabited in the area are not agreed to shift to the rehabilitation sites at Pathri and Gandhikhata in the neighboring Hardwar district. After having failed to force the dwellers to leave the forests, the authorities are believed to project them as poachers and timber smugglers.

In a blatant violation of the Supreme Court order, banning felling of trees, the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) felled silver firs in the heart of Singalia National Park, which was discovered and seized by the forest department in a raid. The park which is the highest in the state, is habitat of the endangered red panda and also the home of the ‘daphne-munal’ - a rare breed of pheasant. This is not the first time that the DGHC has shown scant disregard for natural environment.

The eastern districts of Nagaland are facing environmental degradation as ‘miscreants’ join hands with jhum cultivators spelling doom for the lush green forests area. According to official sources, the green almost destroyed in adjoining districts of Mon, Tuensang, and Meluri subdivision of Phek district. The rivers and streams had dried up this year causing acute drinking water shortage in various parts of Mon and Tuensang. The Supreme Court’s ban on timber felling has not helped the situation as commercial exploitation during the past few years have adversely affected the tropical and sub-tropical rain forests in the foothills.

Inspite of several protest marches demanding expeditious action against the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi Sanstha for felling 1,700 teak and sal trees on the land recently purchased by it, the guilty are yet to be punished. Though the forest department had lodged an FIR a month ago and claimed to be carrying out an investigation under the Tree Protection Act, no arrests have been made so far.

The sifting cultivation by slash and burning of forests in hills, popularly know as jhumming, is being practiced by the tribals of North Cachar Hills in Assam. With the fast increasing population in hills, more and more new villages are coming up by clearing and destroying forest cover, thereby jhum area getting extended. This age-old system of cultivation not only causes soil erosion and landslides, but also deforestation threatening the environment, flora and fauna - even the very base of the hills. Until now, crores of rupees had already been spent in the name of integrated jhum control and development programme but the practice of jhum cultivation has not yet been controlled.

Every monsoon, young girls plant seedlings in a fallow area with the consent of the village head and the Mahila Mangal Dal, a women’s welfare organisation. The planting is very organised, run by a group christened ‘Maitee’ (girl’s parents home), when the saplings become full-grown trees, they are named after the girl who planted them. The Maitee’s unique tree-planting custom finds mention even in most wedding cards. The unique social custom, started as late as 1994 at Gwaldam, is now spreading to other villages, raising hopes of a greener Garhwal.