In Sikkim, Arunachal, ecology is the governance challenge

Both states have a history of landslides and floods, which have been exacerbated in recent years due to climate crisis and policies insensitive to topography

In Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, parties in government have been voted back to office with enhanced mandates. In Sikkim, the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM) has near-swept the elections. The main Opposition, the Sikkim Democratic Front of Pawan Chamling, has won just one seat: Chamling had an uninterrupted run as chief minister for a quarter century before the SKM ousted his party in 2019. In Arunachal Pradesh, the BJP, which won 10 seats unopposed, has won a comfortable majority. The pattern is that Arunachal Pradesh prefers to vote for the party in office at the Centre while the ruling regime in Gangtok tends to ally with the government in Delhi.

Gurudongmar, Sikkim: Gurudongmar Lake is one of the highest lakes in the world, located at an altitude of 17,800 feet in North Sikkim. The lake is named after Guru Padmasambhava and is considered sacred by both Buddhists and Sikhs. Surrounded by snow-capped mountains, including the majestic Kanchenjunga, the lake offers stunning views of the Himalayan landscape. The clear blue waters of the lake are a sight to behold, reflecting the beauty of the surrounding peaks. (Unsplash)

Though the two states are insignificant in the larger political matrix, they are important because of their sensitive geography and location: China looms large in both the Himalayan states. As border states, physical infrastructure in both has received adequate upgrades in recent years. However, the main challenge for the incoming government in Gangtok and Itanagar will be to reconcile aspirations of development and ecological concerns.

Both states have a history of landslides and floods, which have been exacerbated in recent years due to the climate crisis and government policies insensitive to local topography. For instance, both see an economic opportunity in promoting hydropower through big dams despite warnings from ecologists. In October last year, a glacial lake outburst in the upper reaches of the Teesta led to the destruction of the Teesta III dam – at least 40 people died and floods devastated towns such as Chumthang. Around the same time, a landslide threatened the under-construction Lower Subansiri project in Arunachal Pradesh. Clearly, the large projects mooted in the Teesta basin (Sikkim) and on the Subansiri, Dibang and Lohit (Arunachal Pradesh), all tributaries of the Brahmaputra, need reevaluation.

Gangtok and Itanagar, pioneers in pushing progressive environment policies (ban on plastic, for instance), will now need to address this contradiction of promoting big dams while aware of the precarity of their ecology in the face of the climate crisis.