Uttarakhand@25: Reflecting on a Fragile Mountain State’s Environmental Journey

By Editorial Team, Uttarakhand@25 Blog Series

{The Uttarakhand@25 Blog Series is an initiative led by the SDC Foundation, in collaboration with SCLHR and TA}

On 9 November 2000, Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, fulfilling the long-standing dream of a hill state envisioned to bring governance closer to its people and foster development suited to its fragile mountain ecology. As the state turns 25 this year, it stands at a crucial crossroads — between progress and peril, promise and precocity, and potential and pitfalls.

To revisit Uttarakhand’s environmental trajectory is to ask, what has the state learned and forgotten in its journey? How have climate change, infrastructure choices, governance gaps, and local practices shaped outcomes? And most importantly, how can we turn that reflection into better choices over the next 25 years?

From the early 2000s to today, Uttarakhand’s environment has been shaped by a series of overlapping pressures. One of the most noticeable trends is the steep rise in natural disasters, claiming several innocent lives and destroying human property and infrastructure.

According to an ISRO landslide atlas, between 1988 and 2022, Uttarakhand experienced over 11,219 landslides, making it one of India’s most landslide-prone states. More recently, data up to 2023 recorded 12,319 incidents of slope failures across the state, indicating a stark acceleration from 216 in 2018 to over 1,100 in 2023. In the monsoon of 2024 alone, within just 17 days, 1,521 landslides were reported; by season’s end, the total had crossed 1,813. The human toll is perceptible between 2015 and 2024, with over 316 deaths being attributed to landslides across the state.

These disasters are not mere acts of nature but highlight the deeper and systemic problem of unscientific development by humans – deforestation, rampant road construction, expansion of tunnels and other big infrastructure projects like rail and hydro projects, and massive tourism influx. This has placed the mountain system under severe stress, leading to catastrophic events and even amplifying their impact on local communities.

The shadow of Kedarnath, 2013, looms large in the collective memory of the hills. That catastrophic event, a mix of extreme rainfall, glacial ruptures, and valley congestion, is often invoked as the moment Uttarakhand’s ecological vulnerabilities became national and international headlines.

The Chamoli disaster of 7 February 2021 is one more such turning point. What began as a rock-ice avalanche near Ronti Peak cascaded into the Rishiganga, Dhauliganga, and Alaknanda valleys, sweeping away two hydropower projects, bridges, and settlements. Over 200 people died, with many remaining missing. The collapse unleashed tens of millions of cubic meters of debris and destroyed the under-construction Tapovan Vishnugad project (520 MW) and the Rishiganga plant. In the aftermath, more than 600 houses in nearby Joshimath developed severe cracks, leading to officials having to evacuate entire zones of the town. The disaster rekindled debates over the suitability of locating large hydropower and infrastructure projects in such fragile mountain valleys.

In the midst of all of the above; urban and hill towns like Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haldwani, Nainital, and Mussoorie struggle with water shortages, traffic congestion, and pressure on green spaces. Rural zones, especially in high-altitude belts, face outmigration, land abandonment, and a weakening of traditional livelihoods, in part pushed by environmental uncertainty.

While the state has taken some steps since the start of the disasters, lessons from the Kedarnath disaster still echo in later events. Not to forget the brutal monsoon of 2025, which caused severe damage in Dharali, Tharali, Dehradun's Sahastradhara, and Chamoli. Such repeated events are reminders that the Himalayas no longer offer much warning before tipping.

Still, it’s not just a story of mere loss. Some initiatives and ideas offer glimpses of what might be possible. Uttarakhand adopted a State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC), attempting to integrate ecological perspectives into sectors like forestry, glacial science, water, agriculture and disaster planning (though implementation and monitoring remain uneven). Local efforts in spring rejuvenation, watershed restoration, agroforestry, and regenerative practices are gaining ground in scattered pockets.

The formation of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) in the aftermath of the 2013 Kedarnath disaster has led to the formation of a specialized, well-trained, and dedicated force for disaster management and emergency response in the Himalayan state. There exist concerns to address and reform the larger issues impacting not only SDRF, but several other government departments and agencies responsible for disaster management in Uttarakhand on issues relating to lack of manpower, funding, and access to technology while conducting rescue operations. On a positive note, researchers have also begun exploring nature-based economy concepts like the Gross Environment Product (GEP) model to value natural assets and the costs of degradation.

What the Uttarakhand@25 series aims to do is open a space for reflection, dialogue, and possibility. Over the coming weeks, the series will bring voices from the hills; students, researchers, grassroots activists, and community members will be sharing essays, field reports, narratives, and photo essays. We plan deep dives into themes such as disaster management and climate adaptation, health impacts, community stories behind the climate crisis, sustainable urbanization, pilgrimage and ecological limits, governance gaps, and the role of citizens in climate action.

The intention is not just to document what has gone wrong, but to bring together ideas, practices, and proposals for how Uttarakhand might steer a more resilient, equitable, and ecological future.

Uttarakhand’s 25 years have shown us that mountain development cannot be a replay of the development structure followed in the plains. The hills demand humility, local wisdom, ecological limits, and adaptive imagination.

As we launch this series, we hope that reflection gives way to responsibility, so that these narratives from the past become maps for a more resilient future in the Himalayas.

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The series is curated by an editorial team led by Anoop & Rishabh (SDC Foundation), with Kanha, Visakha, Gautam and Alind from SCLHR and the team at The Analysis.