{"id":281605,"date":"2026-04-23T00:24:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:54:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/?p=281605"},"modified":"2026-04-23T00:24:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T18:54:15","slug":"khandu-calls-for-balanced-approach-to-development-in-mountain-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/2026\/04\/23\/khandu-calls-for-balanced-approach-to-development-in-mountain-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Khandu calls for balanced approach to development in mountain states"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW DELHI, 22 Apr:<\/strong>\u00a0 Chief Minister Pema Khandu emphasised the need for a balanced approach to development in mountain states, highlighting that ecological preservation and economic progress must go hand in hand to ensure long-term sustainability.<\/p>\n

He said that the Himalayas are at a critical juncture today, where the need for development must be carefully balanced with ecological sensitivity.<\/p>\n

The chief minister was speaking at a programme, where C.P Kukreja Foundation for Design Excellence (CPKF) unveiled its white paper titled, “The Future of the Himalayas: Rethinking Development and Resilience” at the India International Centre, New Delhi, on 20 April.<\/p>\n

\u00a0“While local communities seek growth and opportunity, it is essential that we adopt a calibrated, middle-path approach that safeguards this fragile ecosystem,” Khandu said.<\/p>\n

He said just like complex challenges require a coordinated, multi-pronged strategy, development in the Himalayan region must be approached through an integrated framework, combining scientific assessment, responsible planning, sustainable infrastructure, community participation, and strong policy alignment.<\/p>\n

Khandu called upon institutions like NITI Aayog, policymakers, developers, and global stakeholders to work together in a mission-mode to embed long-term resilience and contextual understanding into every development decision.<\/p>\n

The white paper is the outcome of a multidisciplinary Himalayan Roundtable convened by the foundation, bringing together experts across governance, infrastructure, ecology, governance, engineering, and social science to address the increasing complexity of development challenges in the region.<\/p>\n

The publication underscores the urgent need to rethink prevailing development paradigms in the Himalayas. It highlights that the Indian Himalayan Region has witnessed a 15-20 percent rise in extreme rainfall events since the 1950s, accompanied by growing landslide risks and mounting stress on infrastructure systems.<\/p>\n

The paper identifies key structural gaps that continue to challenge Himalayan development. These include fragmented governance systems, under utilisation of scientific data, misalignment between engineering practices and terrain realities, and increasing pressures from tourism and rapid urbanisation.<\/p>\n

Key recommendations include transitioning from project-led interventions to system-level planning, aligning development strategies with watershed and basin-scale ecological processes, integrating scientific data into governance frameworks, and adopting terrain-responsive, context-specific infrastructure design.<\/p>\n

It also underscores the importance of recognising ecological carrying capacity as a critical, non-negotiable parameter.<\/p>\n

Importantly, the report reframes the Himalayas not as isolated geographies but as interconnected systems that directly impact nearly 1.3 to 1.5 billion people downstream across South Asia.<\/p>\n

Earlier, introducing the paper, CPKF director Dikshu C. Kukreja said, “Development in the Himalayas must move beyond fragmented, project-led approaches to a more systemic and context-sensitive framework. He said aligning infrastructure with terrain, data, and long-term resilience is no longer optional-it is essential.”<\/p>\n

“Through this white paper, we aim to bridge the gap between research and real-world implementation, and to catalyse a more resilient, context-sensitive and future-ready approach to Himalayan development,” he added.<\/p>\n

CPKF emphasised that addressing these challenges will require coordinated, cross-sectoral efforts anchored in data-driven governance, community-informed planning, and a long-term resilience lens rather than short-term gains.<\/p>\n

The document calls for a new Himalayan development framework-one that is grounded in ecological limits, responsive to cultural contexts, and supported by institutional coherence.<\/p>\n

An expert panel discussion on “Resilient and Sustainable Futures for the Himalayan Region” was also held on the sideline of the event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW DELHI, 22 Apr:\u00a0 Chief Minister Pema Khandu emphasised the need for a balanced approach to development in mountain states, highlighting that ecological preservation and economic progress must go hand in hand to ensure long-term sustainability. He said that the Himalayas are at a critical juncture today, where the need for development must be carefully […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-281605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-state-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281606,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281605\/revisions\/281606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}