Incensed at blatant encroachment near Rispana river, Doon residents set to move NGT

DEHRADUN: A number of city residents, incensed at the blatant encroachment by slum dwellers and builders who have started construction work in the ecologically-fragile Rispana valley on the outskirts of Dehradun, are planning to approach the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for redressal. The Rispana river which starts from Mussoorie and merges into the Ganga accounts for almost 70 per cent of the water requirement of the city.
Elaborating on the reasons why the Rispana valley should be kept free from builders and encroachment, heritage activist and anthropologist Lokesh Ohri told TOI, “A number of slums have sprung up along the river. Their sewage is being dumped directly into the river resulting in what was once a beautiful stream turning into nothing more than a sewer in many places. Also, the Rispana valley has a lot of heritage value as it was the old caravan route to go to Mussoorie, Tehri and areas beyond that before the highway came up. It has the historical Kelaghat temple which had paintings from the Garhwal school as well as other significant pieces of heritage like the waterworks designed by British engineer Proby Cautley who is best known for conceiving and building the Ganga canal.”
He added that during a recent walk in the valley, he was surprised to see that builders had constructed a bridge to connect the area with Sahastradhara which is seeing a real estate boom. “Natural springs have also been blocked due to the ongoing construction. This is spelling doom for the river and the valley. Therefore, we have decided to act and request the NGT to intervene so that this important green patch of Dehradun can be preserved,” Ohri said.
Reenu Paul of the Rajpur Community Initiative added that “the redistribution of riverfront land was being done by a few politically powerful people who have termed it riverfront development.” “We are going to protest against it and have also started making people aware about the issue to garner public support for the rejuvenation of the river.”
Florence Pandhi, co-ordinator of the Citizens’ Action Group and secretary of the Friends of the Doon society agreed that it was the right time to move NGT as “the state government is flouting the norms of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority by planning to give ownership rights to slum dwellers on river banks and allowing construction.” “Rispana, Bindal and Suswa have been listed as perennial rivers and protected under byelaws which can not be diverted or blocked and the only activity which is permitted is forestry on their banks. The people living near the banks can not be given land rights and have to be rehabilitated to safety,” she told TOI.
Environmentalist Ravi Chopra though added that before talking about river rejuvenation, satisfactory rehabilitation of slum dwellers “in a sensitive manner is necessary.” “These people can not be just shifted to flats somewhere. They have a system of transport, education, work etc, hence all these aspects should be kept in mind before displacing them.”