Box MS-056 Box 1

Observations on Alakananda, Joshimath and Chipko Movement and personal letter containing greetings, updates and pleasantries. Includes an undated letter regarding thoughts and reflections on Chipko Movement, which names important leaders like Chandi Prasad Bhatt.

Personal letters - greetings, updates and pleasantries. Contains a draft of the final letter.

Series of letters regarding extending the boundaries of the National Park at Darjeeling, extended comments on a proposal for the High Altitude National Park on Singalila Range. Includes a report on Deforestation in the Eastern Himalayas. A reappraisal of the proposed national park on the Singalila Range, and draft of comments from Virendra Kumar. Also includes a copy of response from Virendra Kumar on the subject of setting up of National Parks.

Regarding setting up a national level centre for plant taxonomy and floristics, funding opportunities for projects, group for studying Himalayan agriculture, Investigations on High Altitude Plants etc. Includes a proposal for establishment of Genetic Garden in Western Himalayas and a personal letter containing greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Regarding setting up a national level centre for plant taxonomy and floristics, funding opportunities for projects, group for studying Himalayan agriculture, Investigations on High Altitude Plants etc. Includes a proposal for establishment of Genetic Garden in Western Himalayas and a personal letter containing greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Mentions setting up of the Valley of Flowers National Park, rice terraces in Nagaland. Mentions building an International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, and personal letters containing greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Includes a workshop on Establishment of a Genetic Resources Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, possible sources for funding, and a congratulatory letter forwarded from Norman Borlaug.

Regarding accepting the invitation to participate in the Multi-Scientific Study Team by the Indian National Science Academy and nominating Dr. Virendra Kumar as a member in the study.

Regarding amendments to "Briefing-cum-discussion on Alakananda Flash Floods", communicating dates and venue of the Mutli-scientific study teams, break of the sub teams within the Multi-scientific study team which are accompanied by draft minutes of the meeting. Also contains draft of a letter from Virendra Kumar to BK Nayar regarding study team meeting.

Regarding the tour programme of the Multi-scientific study team on Alakananda Flash Floods. Also contains the tour programme.

Handwritten notes on flash floods, topographical locations, occurences and geological factors. Also contains a hand-drawn map of the Alakananda water shed region.

Printed notes on factors that contributed to the Alakananda flash floods, with focus on the role of deforestation.

Handwritten notes on Kwari Khal. Contains a hand-drawn map of the Alaknanda.

Accompanied by a letter from Rao, PV (Assistant Secretary at Indian National Science Academy). The attached document includes criteria for selection of catastrophic floods, the universal procedure of the preparation of a report on flash floods, and a specimen table of data.

The report highlights geological and geomorphological aspects, landslides and their causes and hydrological and meterological aspects of the Alakananda flash floods. It is undersigned by Mithal, RS (Professor and Head of Department of Geology and Geophysics at University of Roorkee)

Letters regarding appointment of Virendra Kumar as the head of committee to assess deforestation in Joshimath and correspondence regarding impact assessment of deforestation near the Reni village and the logistical details.

Draft of a letter and the final copy of the letter that elaborates on the watershed of Alakananda, programme of the Committee on Deforestation in Joshimath, report of the Committee on felling of trees in Reni Village, requests from the committee for a soil conservation expert.

Includes letters on: appointment of HN Mathur as soil conservation expert to the committee, updates on administrative timelines and dates for committee meetings, assessment report by HN Mathur sent to Virendra Kumar for comments, on deadline for submitting report of the committee's observations and recommendations.

Regarding biosystematics and access to species like- Epilobium, Circaea, Ludwigia.

Invitation from the IUCN to come on board as the Indian Sub-continent Plant Specialist Group of Species Survival Comission, and details about the appointment.

Personal letter - greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Invitation to a workshop organised by NIHERST on behalf of Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

Regarding Discretionary Grant of the Vice-President of India.

Regarding a detailed taxonomic project concerning floristic and monographic researches on Indian plants.

Personal letter - greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Letters in English regarding Chipko Andolan, meetings for interview with Virendra Kumar and other leaders of the movement like CP Bhatt. Letter in Hindi is a personal letter with greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Offering congratulations on setting up the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain and Hill Environment at Delhi University.

In Hindi, regarding instability in the Alakananda watershed region.

Regarding comments on the programmes on environment in the Sixth Five Year Plan Document and an invitation to a meeting of the officers from the Environment Division. Also includes a copy of the Sixth Fiver Year Plan Programmes on Environment.

Invitation to a seminar on Role of Women in Community Forestry at the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun.

Regarding establishment of Institute for Himalayan Ecology and Development.

Regarding Indian Subcontinent Specialist Plant Group of IUCN Plant Conservation Project.

Updates regarding ongoing involvement in the Gujarat Harappan site and the building of a Seed Atlas for the Gujarat State.

Regarding information on Rosea gigantea.

Possibly from Ashok Dilwali- on environmental problems, mining. Includes a personal letter containing greetings, updates and pleasantries.

In Hindi.

Personal letter - greetings, updates and pleasantries.

Signed by unknown- updates regarding the work of PAHAR.

Regarding Joshimath deforestation and soil erosion. Includes letters in Hindi.

Includes letters addressed to Virendra Kumar -- regarding deciding on deadlines, assumption of the chairmanship of the Chipko committee, coordination of scheduling meetings and dates.

Letter to Virendra Kumar asking to request Indian Photo Interpretation Institute to provide aerial photographs of the Kwari Khal Range. Also enlisted are the reasons as to how this will compliment the better tracking of rainfall, soil erosion and temporary lake formation.

Extension of the date and duration of the working of the Committee on Chipko to 31 October 1976.

Letters to Chann Singh Soundal and Deputy Director General of the ICAR for the appointment of H N Mathur as the scientist to evaluate soil erosion on the Committee on Chipko.

Letters to Virendra Kumar and Chann Singh Soundal that intimate them about HN Mathur's appoint to the sub-committee.

Letter in Hindi.

Series of telegrams regarding felling of trees in Joshimath and the meetings of subsequent committees organised to decide on tree felling.

In Hindi- A pamphlet that draws attention to the issues of Chipko and deforestation.

Photograph of a signboard in Hindi that translates as- Save forests, a new symbol Chipko Movement.

In Hindi- a published booklet by Sunderlal Bahuguna that addresses the story of Chipko as one of saving the mankind and forest community.

Possibly CP Bhatt based on signatureArguments against the development projects in the Alakananda and Dhauli Ganga watershed area and highlighting the unsustainibility of the development projects in the Himalayan and particularly Joshimath region.

Include the following- agencies involved in deforestation, loss of cultivated crop, 6th Five Year Plan, details of government officials and their designations and other observations.

In Hindi.

Documents the movements for improvement of forests, historical efforts, new issues and challenges as well as recommendations. It also includes Virendra Kumar's personal handwritten reflections on the back of the final page.

Identifies 3 aspects of forest movement, decentralisation and involvement of local government in foresy upkeep and conservation, and suggests the incorporation of a body to specifically look at issues of the forests at the local body and its composition.

Handwritten notes with village headmen and members of the district board, includes details on people's grievances and demands.

Printed notes that highlight how Chipko seeks to conserve forests and elaborates on practices like resin extraction and the economic aspect of it.

Enlists the decisions taken by UP forest and district officials with local villagers including themes like ownership of land, period of lease (99 years), transfer of land, range of favourable tree species. Also delves into other aspects of the region like cattle rearing practices, and impact assessment of the loss caused by flash floods etc.

Handwritten notes that trace the Chipko Movement and events and measures that followed the Chipko movement.

Handwritten notes that are prefaced by the names of committee members and details action plan, historical conditions leading up to Chipko, forest policy, and geological conditions and factors involved.

Handwritten notes that trace the history of the factors leading up to degradation of land and forests, talking points and address to the committtee members.

Accompanied by a letter from Mathur, HN (Plant Scientist at ICAR) dated 20 December 1974. The report contains observations made by HN Mathur as appointed to the Sub-Committee on 'Chipko Andolan'.

Accompanied by a letter from Lal, Bhure (District Magistrate, Chamoli) dated 20 July 1976. Report covers the formation of the committee, casues of unstability, remedial measures, curative measures for engineering works in the region, and calculations of potential expenditure of the PWD.

Hardbound, manuscript of the PhD thesis submitted to Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Mountain & Hill Environment, University of Delhi and Department of Botany, Zakir Husain Delhi College, University of Delhi. This thesis uses Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies of Rhododendrons. It constructs the paleo-history and pleistocene glaciation in Eurasia- Northern Hemisphere region to study the diversification and taxonomic diversity in Rhododendrons.