ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS OF UNPLANNED URBANIZATION OF MOUNTAINOUS TERRAINS - A CASE-STUDY OF A HIMALAYAN TOWN

Unplanned and non-systematic construction activities including road an d building constructions have been a major cause of environmental degr adation in hilly terrains. Ill-conceived human urbanization over preci pitous and critically stable hill slopes developed on geologically wea k rock formations has often contributed to the instability of the slop es. The paper deals with the impacts of human encroachment on the frag ile ecological balance of Nainital, a famous hill resort of the Kumaun Himalaya, and discusses a scheme of mitigation measures to prevent fu rther degradation of the environmental stability of the region.