Does Himachal have disaster mitigation plan ready for this monsoon?

Ravinder Sood

Palampur, June 16

After last year’s flash floods resulting in massive devastation in the state, several organisations, NGOs, environmental groups and public bodies had raised the demand for the setting up a ‘Disaster Mitigation Action Plan’ before the onset of monsoons this year to cope with the natural disasters that have become a recurring phenomenon.

The lukewarm attitude and irresponsible behaviour of the official machinery and their failure to enforce environment laws have been major roadblocks in turning the action plan onto a reality.

The TCP Act, labour laws, and environmental laws are held to ransom by construction companies and industrial houses to make fast buck. Despite the fact that Himachal falls in seismic zone (V), the ban on high-rise buildings is being flouted not only by the public but government agencies also. Moreover, the government and law-enforcing agencies have their hands tied waiting for the orders of the courts to come into action.

Unfortunately, like Uttarakhand, the state has put environment protection laws at the lowest rung and allowed power companies and cement plants to play havoc with Nature. Unless and until the environmental laws are not followed strictly the tragedies are bound to repeat in Himachal.

The fragile natural ecosystem of the state has received a major blow over the years with the exploitation of 22000 MW hydro electrical potential in the state, 2000 thousand million tons of limestone being quarried for cement plants and construction of major four-lane projects in the state. Most parts of Mandi, Kinnaur, Kullu, Shimla and Chamba districts have become prone to large scale landslides and flash floods because of reckless cutting of hills, blasting of rocks and deforestation to make way for power projects.

It may be recalled that Himachal falls among the first five disaster prone states of the country vis-a-vis natural hazards like earthquakes, flash floods triggered by cloudbursts, landslides, avalanches and forest fires.

In the devastating monsoon in 2023, over 500 human lives were lost and property worth Rs 10,000 crore was damaged or washed away. The loss of livestock, natural wealth including forest cover (trees) and fertile soil accounts for over Rs 1800 crore.

In the last ten years, over forty major cloudbursts and flash floods were reported from different parts of the state in which over 4,000 human lives were lost, and property worth Rs 25,000 crore was damaged or got washed away.

The disaster of the intensity and magnitude as last year must force the state to rethink and evolve a strategy to combat the aftermath of natural disasters and put a well-devised disaster mitigation plan (fully functional at the grassroots level) into the action wherever the need arises.