Why Centre’s flood assessment teams formed weeks after disaster

More than a month after floods and cloudbursts battered Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, and more recently Punjab and Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), the Centre on August 31 constituted Inter-Ministerial Central Teams (IMCTs) to assess the damage caused by the calamities.

Officials said the teams would reach Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh within 48 hours, while their visits to Punjab and J&K are expected later this week.

Questions have been raised about the delay in forming these teams when extensive damage had already occurred weeks earlier. Experts, however, explained that IMCTs are tasked with conducting post-disaster need assessments (PDNA), which can only be carried out once conditions stabilise and access routes reopen. “With roads gradually being cleared in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, this is the right time for such assessments. The teams will move to J&K and Punjab later, as many areas there are still inundated,” a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) official said.

During the peak of the disaster, several regions had remained inaccessible. Even district authorities could not reach Dharali in Uttarkashi after the village was inundated by the Kheerganga river following an August 5 cloudburst. “The teams could not have been deployed earlier, as all major routes were blocked,” said an official involved in ongoing relief work.

The IMCTs will consult local and state authorities, make on-the-spot assessments of the damage and relief efforts, and submit their findings to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Based on these reports, the Centre will finalise guidelines and funding support for relief and rehabilitation.

Each team will be led by a senior officer of Joint Secretary rank from the MHA or NDMA, and will include representatives from the ministries of Expenditure, Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Jal Shakti, Power, Road Transport & Highways and Rural Development.

Cloudbursts are among the most destructive natural disasters in the Indian Himalayas, unleashing torrents of rain across limited areas in minutes. According to the India Meteorological Department, a cloudburst involves rainfall exceeding 100 mm an hour over 20-30 sq km, accompanied by strong winds and lightning.