Joshimath-Judicial responses to the eye opener for Himalayan development model

Abstract

Chamoli district, the birthplace of Chipko movement and modern lessons of SIstainability is now a witness to a disturbing saga, perhaps because we overlooked the lessons of Chipko movement. The district administration is constrained to demolish hotels, damaged houses etc. People are being evacuated and relocated, many pets and cattle are being left unattended. Nearly 700 houses in Joshimath have developed cracks in last six weeks. Since October 2021, the town has witnessed that more than 700 houses have got cracks on the ceilings, walls, and floors. To add fuel to fire, the ISRO in its report stated that Joshimath sank 5.4 cm in the time frame from December 27. 2022, to January 8, 2023