As Ladakh witnesses both spiritual fervour over the exposition of holy Buddha relics and political anticipation ahead of talks with the Centre on statehood and Sixth Schedule safeguards on May 22, its new lieutenant governor has launched an ecological push. Vinai Kumar Saxena has begun measures aimed at tackling water scarcity and increasing the region’s sparse green cover.
Project Him Sarovar
“Water shortage is a major issue here, and the green cover is as low as 0.4 per cent,” Saxena said during a media interaction, on the sidelines of the holy Buddha relics exposition, last week.
To address water scarcity, the administration has launched Project Him Sarovar, under which 50 artificial ponds are being developed, two of them already complete. Of these, 30 are reportedly planned in Leh and 20 in Kargil, together expected to cover around 25% of Ladakh’s villages.
“These ponds will store glacial water,” Saxena said. “Currently, we are not able to utilise more than 1 per cent of it. The rest goes to waste and flows into another country,” he added, referring to Pakistan.
“Once water reaches these villages, agriculture will kick-start, and so will greening. And once greenery increases, the oxygen problem, one of the biggest issues here, will also improve,” he added.
The plantation push
And to increase Ladakh’s sparse green cover, Saxena is focusing on planting both native and non-native species, on an experimental basis.
“Since I took over in March, more than 7,000 saplings of various species have been planted, including local ones such as apricot, apple and willow,” he said.
He added that species brought from Delhi, including gulmohar, peepul, neem and bamboo, have also been planted on an experimental basis.
But in Ladakh’s harsh cold desert landscape, with water scarce, air thin and soil rocky, growing vegetation is far more complex than simply planting saplings. Survival rates can be low, while irrigation often becomes essential, adding pressure on already stressed water resources.
Still, the LG has expressed confidence, such as in bamboo, which he said, “requires less water and emits over 30 per cent more oxygen than other species, which is the requirement of the region.”
That claim, however, can vary by species. A wide variety of bamboo requires significant water during their establishment phase, typically the first one to three years, before becoming relatively drought tolerant.
And while green is often equated with ecological health, Ladakh’s brown, rugged terrain sustains its own biodiversity. The region is reportedly home to more than 1,000 species of flora and fauna, including medicinal herbs used in Sowa Rigpa, the traditional healing system of the Himalayas. The plains species, Saxena said, are being grown only on a trial basis. “If we succeed, we’ll definitely go further.”