Government: Joshimath subsidence was flagged in 1976

New Delhi, February 2

The government on Thursday acknowledged in Parliament that gradual subsidence in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath was flagged in 1976 by the Mahesh Chandra Mishra committee, which suggested that heavy construction should be permitted after evaluating the ground situation.

“As per information provided by Uttarakhand, Joshimath is located on a thick cover of very old landslides material. Large boulders of gneiss and fragments of basic schist rocks are embedded in grey-coloured silty sand matrix. The region has been witnessing gradual subsidence. This was also reported by a committee set up under Shri Mahesh Chandra Mishra in 1976,” Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh said.

He said the Mishra report advocated that heavy construction in the area should be allowed only after examining the load-bearing capacity of the ground. “Environment clearance is mandatory before any major construction project is taken up,” the minister added.