Experts call for sustainable development, heritage preservation as INTACH event ends in Doon

Dehradun: At a two-day seminar titled ‘Safeguarding Heritage: Building a Culture of Sustainability with Development', organised by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Uttarakhand chapter at Doon Library, experts, planners, and conservationists came together to deliberate on sustainable urban growth, heritage conservation, and disaster preparedness in the context of Uttarakhand's capital and other Himalayan towns.
In the keynote session on Saturday, transport planner and operator Amit Singh Bagel highlighted the imbalance in urban infrastructure, stating that only 8% of Dehradun's right of way is allocated for pedestrians. "We must rethink urban mobility to safeguard the city's identity from the unchecked growth of vehicular traffic. Policies must be designed with the end user in mind, not around a car-centric future," he said, calling for evidence-based planning and integration of transport networks.
Regional transport officer Shailesh Tiwari said that sustainable urban change cannot be achieved through enforcement alone. "The root problem isn't just the increasing number of vehicles—it's behavioural. Japan has more vehicles per capita than India, yet its disciplined citizenry prevents traffic chaos. Without similar societal change, we cannot expect real transformation," he said.
In a parallel session, architect and urban designer Prof Tapan K Chakravarty spoke about the significance of Uttarakhand's vernacular architecture. He described it as a "living repository of environmental wisdom and cultural heritage," built using local materials and techniques uniquely adapted to seismic zones.
The seminar also included sessions on sustainable tourism, water conservation, migration, and the economic valuation of forests. Environmental economist Prof Madhu Verma, in the opening session, stressed the importance of integrating natural capital accounting into policy frameworks. "We need robust mechanisms to value forests economically. Only then can conservation be incentivised effectively," she said.
In a panel on sustainable town planning, experts emphasized the urgency of incorporating disaster resilience into urban design, especially in light of recent earthquakes in Myanmar and Thailand. "Uttarakhand lies in seismic zones IV and V. Disaster preparedness must be hardwired into our planning processes," said Sanjay Bhargava, regional chief of HUDCO. He urged local authorities to leverage institutions like IIT Roorkee, the Geological Survey of India, and the Wadia Institute for scientific inputs.
Dr K Ramesh, a scientist at the Wildlife Institute of India, and Dr Vineet Gehlaut, director of the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, highlighted the need for immediate transition to sustainable building materials and ecologically sound development models. "Sustainability is not about planting trees; it's about protecting what already exists. The time for action is now," said Gehlaut.
The seminar concluded with a call for civic agencies to move beyond policy papers and implement existing urban planning guidelines on the ground, to ensure Dehradun and other towns in Uttarakhand grow smartly, sustainably, and with their ecological and cultural roots intact.