New Delhi: The Parvat Manthan conclave, held in the capital, here laid bare the grim financial state of Himalayan municipalities as an unchecked influx of tourists and shrinking state grants choke their resources.

 Experts urged state and Central governments to act “religiously” on critical recommendations to avert a full-blown water and waste management crisis in the hills.

The municipalities have lost sources of their revenue like octroi and due to population growth and influx of tourists, the infrastructure has been pushed to brink, they said. 

Crippled by Fund Cuts and Tax Denial

Arvind Mehta, former member of the 15th Finance Commission, delivered a scathing critique of state governments for failing to appoint and heed recommendations of the State Finance Commissions (SFC).

"The 74th Constitutional Amendment mandates timely devolution of taxes to municipalities, yet states drag their feet. Without their rightful share of GST revenue or alternate resources, hill municipalities are barely scraping by," he said.

Mehta suggested leveraging municipal properties under PPP mode to generate non-revenue resources, but emphasized the urgency of regular SFC submissions and swift implementation of their recommendations.

Tourists and Trash: An Unmanageable Tide

Tikender Singh Panwar, former deputy mayor of Shimla, painted a grim picture of Himalayan towns reeling under water stress. "Water production in hill towns like Shimla is exorbitantly costly due to high-altitude pumping and climate change-driven shortages”. 

The experts said the Hotels, hospitals, and military establishments must adopt strict water use efficiency measures, including greywater recycling. 

They demanded the Himachal government enforce stringent regulations on bulk water users, emphasizing the rising cost of pumping and purifying water in the mountains.

Shimla Mayor Surender Chauhan echoed these concerns, highlighting the burgeoning waste problem. "Tourists flood our towns, bringing plastic and leaving trash. Our infrastructure is overwhelmed”. 

The state must enforce no-plastic zones and invest in recycling plants. Parking chaos and traffic jams only add to the mess," he lamented. 
Chauhan advocated for a special Himalayan fund from the central government to tackle tourism-induced challenges.

A Call for Justice to Himalayan States

The conclave concluded with remarks from the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI) President, Mr. Ramesh Negi. "The entire nation benefits from the Himalayas — be it water, tourism, or natural resources. But it's time for the country to pay back. We need investments to protect both the mountains and their people," he said.

Solutions on the Table

Experts rallied behind specific, actionable solutions:
1.    Timely SFC Reports and Implementation: Ensure municipalities get their due share of state tax revenues.
2.    Special Tourism Infrastructure Grants: A Himalayan development fund by the central government to tackle unique challenges.
3.    Water Use Efficiency Norms: Enforce strict measures on bulk users to curb wastage.
4.    Municipal Share in GST: Restore and guarantee revenue streams post-octroi abolition.
5.    Plastic-Free Zones: Enforce bans and establish recycling initiatives in tourist hotspots.

The conclave concluded with a consensus: without financial and regulatory interventions, hill municipalities will remain trapped in a vicious cycle of debt and degradation. The time to act is now.