Palampur, Nov 24: Rapid urbanisation in Palampur is posing a mounting threat to the town’s historic green belt and landscape, residents and experts have warned, pointing to large-scale felling of trees and unchecked construction across the region. The Himalayan town, once developed by British planters into a tea stronghold, has recorded a sharp decline in the number of deodars planted nearly 175 years ago.
Locals say deforestation has accelerated in and around newly developed residential colonies, where concrete structures have overtaken traditional estates. Municipal officials and environmental bodies, including the Forest Department, have been criticised for failing to slow the decline. “Indiscriminate human activities have brought us to the brink of environmental chaos,” retired Engineer-in-Chief Jatinder Katoch said, noting that Palampur’s population was approaching 60,000 and projected to rise to 70,000 within five years.
The town, celebrated both as the ‘Tea Capital’ of north India and as the home of military heroes such as Major Som Nath Sharma and Captain Vikram Batra, was shaped by British botanists who introduced tea bushes here in 1849. Palampur’s connection to Kangra tea dates to the pre-1905 earthquake era, when European plantation owners centred operations there.
Residents say the biggest loss is to the deodar heritage—trees that have dried, uprooted or disappeared in busy civic pockets including the PWD Rest House, MC Office, Rotary Bhawan, the old bus stand area and the SDM Office compound. Over 200 have vanished in the last decade alone, according to local estimates.
Katoch said scientific and community expertise must drive restoration efforts. “Scientists, engineers, senior politicians and civil servants settled in this city should contribute their expertise to the sustainable development of Palampur,” he said, noting that public-private partnerships could support long-term solutions.
Despite festive tree-planting drives held every year during Van Mahotsav, environmentalists say saplings rarely survive due to lack of after-care. Many warn that unless urgent action is taken, Palampur—nestled beneath the Dhauladhar range and prized for its serenity—risks losing its ecological character.
