GS Paper I 2019 · Q15
15 marks · 250 words Geophysical phenomena & changing features X-Ray · Core #27How can the mountain ecosystem be restored from the negative impact of development initiatives and tourism ?
Approach · directive: “how”
What it asks · Explain the damage that roads, dams, construction and mass tourism do to mountain ecosystems and give a workable restoration strategy that is ecological, regulatory and community-based.
It asks 2 things — answer each
- Identify the negative impacts of development initiatives and tourism on the mountain ecosystem
- Explain how the ecosystem can be restored: planning to carrying capacity, ecological repair, regulated tourism, governance, community leadership and resilience
Open with · Young, steep and seismically active, the Himalaya are being reshaped by roads, hydropower, construction and mass tourism, as Kedarnath (2013) and Joshimath's subsidence (2023) showed.
Cover
- Damage: road cutting and muck dumping destabilise slopes; building over recharge zones dries springs.
- Tourism beyond carrying capacity brings waste, sewage, traffic and hotel sprawl.
- Plan to carrying capacity: ESZ Tourism Master Plans based on carrying-capacity studies; hill-specific building norms.
- Revive springs and slopes: springshed management, recharge, native planting and bioengineering on road cuts.
- Govern better: cumulative impact assessment and NMSHE research and monitoring.
- Communities lead: van panchayats and the Chipko tradition of women protecting forests.
- Resilience: early warning, hazard-safe siting and relocation from unsafe zones.
Close with · Mountains are India's water towers; development and tourism must fit what slopes, springs and communities can bear.
Add value (verified)
- NITI Aayog's 2018 working-group report records the reported drying of half of the more than three million perennial springs in the Indian Himalayan Region, making spring revival a concrete restoration priority.Report of Working Group I: Inventory and Revival of Springs in the Himalayas for Water Security - NITI Aayog (2018) ↗“It is reported that half of the more than three million perennial springs in IHR States have either already dried up or become seasonal, resulting in acute water shortages across thousands of Himalayan villages”
- Joshimath: a high-level review of building damage and land subsidence was held on 8 January 2023.High-level review on Joshimath — PIB, Prime Minister's Office ↗“Dr P K Mishra held a high-level review of building damage and land subsidence in Joshimath today 8 th January 2023”
- A Rs 1,658.17 crore recovery and reconstruction plan for Joshimath was approved, prepared with NDMA's technical agencies.Recovery and Reconstruction plan for Joshimath — PIB, Ministry of Home Affairs ↗“approves the Recovery and Reconstruction (R&R) plan of Rs. 1658.17 crore for Joshimath”
- MoEFCC (March 2023): ESZ notifications mandate a Tourism Master Plan based on a carrying-capacity study; 92 ESZs notified in the 13 IHR States.Eco-sensitive zones in the Himalayan region — PIB, MoEFCC ↗“mandates preparation of the Tourism Master Plan forming part of Zonal Master Plan on the basis of the Carrying Capacity study of the concerned ESZ. In so far as the 13 States of Indian Himalayan Region are concerned, 2 ESAs and 92 ESZs have been already notified”
- The Union Cabinet approved the NMSHE mission document in February 2014, under the NAPCC.Approval for the National Mission for Sustaining Himalayan Ecosystem — PIB, Cabinet ↗“The Union Cabinet today approved the Mission document on the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem (NMSHE)”
Question: UPSC's CS (Main) 2019, GS Paper I — paper ↗. Approach: Minimalist IAS, checked 16 Oct 2026 (how we verify) — UPSC publishes no model answers. ·
Model answer· 329words · Minimalist IAS
Young, steep and seismically active, the Himalaya are being reshaped by roads, hydropower, construction and mass tourism. The 2013 Kedarnath disaster and, since then, land subsidence in Joshimath in January 2023 showed how such pressure turns natural hazards into disasters.
Damage from development and tourism
- Road cutting and blasting
- unstable slopes
- landslides and debris
- choked streams and dried springs
- Slopes: cutting, tunnelling and muck dumping destabilise hillsides, and buildings spread onto landslide-prone land.
- Water base: NITI Aayog's working group (2018) reported that half of the Himalayan region's three million-plus perennial springs had dried or turned seasonal.
- Tourism pressure: visitors beyond carrying capacity bring plastic, sewage, traffic and hotel sprawl.
- Cumulative risk: dams and roads crowded into one valley multiply hazards; in 2013, a glacial burst and landslides destroyed the area around Kedarnath temple.
Restoring the mountain ecosystem
- Plan to carrying capacity: eco-sensitive zone rules require a Tourism Master Plan based on a carrying-capacity study; 92 ESZs were notified by March 2023 across the 13 Himalayan States.
- Revive springs: springshed mapping, recharge trenches, check dams and native planting to bring back springs and streams.
- Repair slopes: bioengineering with native grasses and shrubs on road cuts, safe muck disposal and slope drainage.
- Regulate tourism: permits, visitor caps, waste and plastic control, and village homestays that keep income local.
- Govern by evidence: cumulative impact assessment before clearing projects, and the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, approved in 2014 under the National Action Plan on Climate Change, for research and monitoring.
- Let communities lead: Uttarakhand's community-run van panchayats raise saplings and guard forests, in the tradition of Chipko, where women hugged trees to stop felling.
- Build resilience: early warning for floods and glacial bursts, hazard-safe siting and relocation from unsafe zones, as in Joshimath's NDMA-guided recovery plan.
Mountains are India's water towers; restoration succeeds only when roads, dams and tourism are fitted to what slopes, springs and mountain communities can bear, and when those communities hold the pen on local plans.
Prepared by Minimalist IAS to the answer standard of Shivam Singh (mentor, 7 years) · facts checked against official sources (how we verify) · updated 16 Oct 2026. UPSC publishes no model answers: compare your structure and coverage with this, then write your own.
