17/09/2025
An Urgent Open Letter to the Hon’ble Chief Minister on Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Development in the Chenab Valley.
Honourable Shri Omar Abdullah and respected members of the Government of Jammu & Kashmir,
I write to you as an academic, driven not only by professional concern but also by a personal responsibility toward this land. The Chenab Valley has long been renowned for its natural beauty, with forests that once seemed endless, slopes dotted with wildflowers, and villages marked by warm hospitality. I grew up among these mountains, observing the seasonal rhythms that shaped their landscapes. Today, however, when I travel through the valley, I no longer see the towns along the mountain edges and the river basin merely as living places; I see them as tombs in waiting, as if the river, silent and patient, is observing the fragile settlements along its banks, eager to swallow them as nature’s punishment for our failure to live in harmony with these mountains. There is a significant and growing ecological burden on fragile ecosystems, brought about by human actions, which demands sustainable planning.
The once narrow mountain roads were widened in the name of public convenience, speed, and safety, and countless trees were cut as slopes were carved open, with debris often dumped into the Chenab. Yet accidents and landslides remain frequent, and the region is regularly cut off from the rest of the state for days. The problems these broader roads were meant to solve persist, while new risks, destabilized slopes, soil erosion, and greater vulnerability to floods, have emerged. Reckless driving, poorly maintained vehicles, lax enforcement, and decisions taken without adequate oversight exacerbate these hazards. Expanding roads and cutting trees without a clear long-term plan, thorough study of environmental impact, or visible reforestation has provided only the illusion of a solution; the mountains remain as barren as ever, raising questions about where the funds for replantation have gone over the years. With every fresh cut, the slopes grow darker and more unstable, black scars spreading across their flanks, and the threat of catastrophic collapse becomes increasingly real. In an era of rising global temperatures, fragile Himalayan ecosystems, and a growing number of dams, such quick fixes risk creating far greater dangers for generations to come.
Anyone traveling these roads can see how fragile the hills have become. Landslides interrupt journeys at multiple points, and slopes once held firm by forests are now bare and exposed. Even a brief spell of heavy rain or a sudden tremor could send entire neighborhoods sliding toward the Chenab. The possibility of homes and lives being swept away is no longer hypothetical; it is an imminent, growing risk.
Scientific evidence reinforces these concerns. The Himalayas are warming faster than the global average, and glaciers retreat each year, feeding more than three hundred swelling glacial lakes that can burst without warning. Intensifying rain and cloudbursts strike with increasing frequency and unpredictability. Dams in this earthquake-prone zone further heighten risk, as reservoir weight can trigger tremors, while overtopping or breaches have caused disasters in other Himalayan states. Recent floods in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand, where rivers rose overnight, sweeping away bridges, towns, and lives, serve as a stark warning of what could occur here. These realities call for urgent reflection on how we plan, construct, and safeguard the future of these valleys for generations to come.
Deforestation, hill cutting, and unplanned construction in the Chenab Valley have eroded the mountains’ natural resilience, transforming once-manageable hazards into large-scale disasters. The devastating August 2025 flash flood in Chositi village starkly illustrates the consequences of these practices. UN agencies and scientific bodies have repeatedly highlighted that unchecked land-use changes, such as road-building, slope blasting, and dumping construction debris into rivers, significantly increase the risks of flash floods, landslides, and ecosystem collapse.
The UN Environment Programme(UNEP) and other disaster agencies report that the Himalayas are warming at nearly twice the global rate, intensifying rainfall extremes and accelerating glacial melt. UNEP notes that halting deforestation alone could prevent up to four gigatonnes of global emissions annually, while also stabilizing soils, halting landslide cascades, and reducing flash flood magnitudes. Similarly, the Asia-Pacific Disaster Report and ICIMOD emphasize that degraded land cover has removed vital natural barriers, placing over 241 million people at elevated risk. Scientific evidence clearly links environmental degradation to disaster outcomes. Without tree roots to bind soils and with hillsides cut for infrastructure, slopes collapse during heavy rains, generating rapid debris flows and landslides. The Kishtwar disaster mirrors many other Himalayan incidents in recent years, all worsened by development that disregards ecological limits. Expansive hydropower, road, and tunnel projects executed without comprehensive environmental oversight further expose communities to hazards, a process the United Nations calls “risk creation.
UN-backed frameworks stress the urgent need for climate-oriented, sustainable policies in Himalayan region and the same holds true for the Chenab Valley. These include halting deforestation, restoring degraded slopes, enforcing robust environmental impact assessments, and implementing early warning systems with real-time satellite monitoring. Community disaster preparedness, buffer zones, and regional cross-border coordination, such as through the Hindu Kush Himalaya Disaster Risk Reduction Hub, are essential because flash floods and landslides do not respect political boundaries.
The Chenab Valley today represents a region on the brink. Every tree felled and every slope blasted erodes natural defenses, increasing the likelihood of disasters like the Chositi flood. Scientific evidence and UN guidance make it clear that all development must be ecologically informed and climate-resilient. Only by integrating environmental protection, inclusive planning, and region-wide scientific collaboration can the cycle of increasingly severe disasters be prevented.
Compared to many other states, Jammu & Kashmir benefits from leadership that is highly educated, young, dynamic, and forward-looking. Your understanding of pressing scientific and environmental challenges, including climate change, deforestation, and disaster risk, aligns closely with the aspirations of youth and future generations. Recently, I was in Kerala at the invitation of the Government of Kerala's Kerala Institute of Local Administration - KILA for the Kerala Urban Conclave 2025. This important event brought together policymakers, urban planners, and experts to deliberate on urban development, climate change, and the need for meticulous planning. Kerala’s proactive approach is evident in the launch of the nation’s first comprehensive urban policy, outlining a 25-year vision for sustainable, climate-resilient urban development, including over 300 actionable recommendations such as establishing Metropolitan Planning Committees, promoting green infrastructure, and integrating climate resilience into urban planning. While you could not attend in person, your esteemed colleague Shri. Tanvir Sadiq represented you on the panel and spoke exceptionally well, with his presentation widely praised and covered by The Hindu.
The Chenab region and other mountainous areas continue to face escalating environmental risks, including unregulated construction, slope destabilization, and insufficient disaster preparedness. Urgent and sustained action is required, and I strongly urge the initiation of dialogues and consultations that bring together climate scientists, disaster management experts, ecologists, local authorities, and community representatives. Such collaboration ensures that policy decisions are both evidence-based and grounded in local realities. Development projects, including roads, dams, and tunnels, should undergo cumulative, basin-wide environmental impact assessments that account for climate, seismic, and ecological sensitivities, going beyond isolated project-level EIAs to prevent amplification of disaster risks. Simultaneously, land-use and deforestation controls must be rigorously enforced, with strict limits on hill-cutting, tree felling, and construction in ecologically sensitive or landslide-prone zones, accompanied by robust monitoring and penalties for violations.
Equally important is the creation of a Chenab Valley-specific Disaster Risk Index integrating climate, seismic, hydrological, and socio-economic vulnerabilities to guide scientific planning and equitable resource allocation. Early warning systems and real-time monitoring using automated sensors, weather stations, and satellite-based technologies should track glacial lakes, rainfall, rivers, and slopes, providing timely alerts to authorities and communities. Large-scale ecosystem restoration, including afforestation, riverbank stabilization, wetland revival, and protection of native vegetation, must be pursued through ecosystem-based adaptation and community forestry strategies. Building codes need revision to ensure earthquake-proof, flood-resistant, and landslide-resilient infrastructure. Traditional knowledge and community participation should be actively integrated into hazard mapping, disaster response, and land management, strengthening local governance and Panchayat-level capacity. Transparency and data sharing through public portals, mainstreaming climate adaptation into all sectoral planning, and coordinated multi-agency risk management, including collaboration with academia and international organizations, are crucial steps to build a resilient Chenab Valley.
By bringing together experts, local communities, and policymakers, and by grounding decisions in science and careful planning, Jammu & Kashmir can turn the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation into opportunities for resilience and growth. With thoughtful, forward-looking leadership, practical policy measures, and active community engagement, the Chenab Valley can be made safer, its ecosystems restored, and its people better prepared for the future. There is hope that through dialogue, collaboration, and decisive action, we can build a sustainable and resilient region that protects both livelihoods and the natural beauty of these mountains for generations to come. Thank You.
Sincerely,
Mirza Jahanzeb Beg
Head, Centre for Advanced Behavioral Policy, Innovation and Leadership (CABPIL), KI.
Ass. Prof., Psychology.
KCLAS, KI, Coimbatore, TN, India.
(Poster Generated through AI, Image, Photo Credit: Illustration: R. Rajesh, The Hindu)
