Draft Report of Expert Group on National Policy for Integrated Development in the Himalayas

Abstract

From time to time the issue of the development of the Himalayas in an holistic manner, have been agitating the minds of planners, policy makers and other right thinking people. The importance of the Himalayas in the Indian context can not be over emphasised. In fact these young mountains are the greatest gift of nature to India. They give stability and regularity to the Indian weather by bestowing the monsoons, perennial rivers, and fertile plains. But, mountains, practically everywhere in the world are faced with strange dilemma of diminishing quality of environment, impoverishing resources resulting into peoples' misery. This problem is more acute in the third world countries, where the pressure on natural resources has been increasing by leaps and bounds.