Adopting a governance lens to address urban risks in the Uttarakhand Himalayas: The case of Almora, India

Abstract

The Indian Himalayan State of Uttarakhand is experiencing population growth and undergoing the process of urbanization. This is happening in a region predisposed to multiple natural hazards and exposed to climate change extremes. The urban development process unfolding under these circumstances is largely unplanned and unregulated and has overwhelmed the municipal capacity to address it. Existing research has largely adopted a hazard-based approach towards addressing the issue, recommending stricter developmental codes and infrastructure-based solutions to the problem. This paper approaches the issue from a governance perspective and explores options to complement existing capacity for municipal risk governance. It does so by examining the process of urban development and the actors involved in addressing risk. The research draws from a single case study in the rapidly growing town of Almora in the Uttarakhand Himalayas. It employs a mixed methods approach comprising of document review, 24 key informant interviews and a survey of 150 household. Results indicate that the municipality is severely constrained in its capacity to address risk in the built form. In lieu, 93% of surveyed households rely on the knowledge and expertise of private building professionals. However, building professionals in Almora are largely informal and are neither trained nor accountable to address risk. The paper concludes that while risk governance presents a viable alternative towards addressing the problem of risk in a resource stressed environment, it needs to be contextualized to consolidate informal building professional and acknowledge their risk knowledge and practices.