Joshimath sinking: Updated disaster plan need of the hour
The NDMA report also pointed to inadequate prevention and mitigation measures for hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) during the construction stage.
The land subsidence incident in Joshimath may have been caused by rampant infrastructure development and the climate crisis, but it is also happening in a state whose disaster management strategy has several gaps, according to a 2021 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) report.
That report came after the agency studied the causes of and response to a February 2021 flash flood in Chamoli district, in which 204 people were killed and 13 villages were affected.
The disaster management (DM) plan of Chamoli, the NDMA said in that report, “was last prepared and updated in 2020 but didn’t adequately consider the potential disaster risks from the glaciated area”.
The flash flood was caused by a glacier lake flooding over, and exacerbated by river diversion work carried out for the Rishi Ganga hydropower project.
The report added that “the dynamics of the risks with the changing climatic conditions, environmental modifications, and developmental interventions are not well considered in the disaster management plans of the state.”
It added: “There is a need to update the DM plan for the district as per NDMA National Disaster Management Plan (2019) and other guidelines of NDMA. Also, to prepare the DM plan and Emergency Action Plan (EAP) of small and big HEPs in the Himalayan and other mountain regions.”
“The local community should be taken into account while updating/revising the current DM plan,” the report said.
The NDMA report also pointed to inadequate prevention and mitigation measures for hydroelectric power projects (HEPs) during the construction stage.
“During the field visit and interactions with disaster management authorities and project authorities, it has been learned that though prevention and mitigation measures at HEP sites do exist, they have not been implemented. The major HEPs have an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) which is implemented when the project becomes operational. But usually, there are no preparedness measures during the construction stage. No mock drills have been carried out as per directions and guidance provided,” it added.
A significant portion of the casualties in the 2021 incident were associated with a work-in-progress HEP at Tapovan.
The report called for more mock drill exercises without fail, in which the army, Indo Tibet Border Police (ITBP) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) should be included. The report also called for Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of every HEP, while asserting that “development project (s) to be done in consideration of ecological sensitivity of the region and its future consequences”.
The apex disaster management authority stated in its findings that there was “no functional early warning system” in the region.
“It is very important to establish a monitoring, early warning, and alert system for the potential disaster risks in the area so that the people in the affected area can be informed timely through scientifically validated and credible forecasting models by the concerned nodal agencies and the DM authorities. There was no functional early warning and alert system for the specific event which took place on 7th February 2021.”
“Further, it has been learnt in an unconfirmed way that these issues were not considered in the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for these major projects. As per the discussions and interactions with the concerned stakeholders, it has been pointed out that there is a need for establishing a monitoring and early warning system for hazards in the vicinity of all affected areas and project sites, right from planning to the implementation and operation stages,” the report added.
It also recommended that no houses, religious places or other buildings and infrastructural projects be allowed near the High Flood Level (HFL).
Another key recommendation in the report was the creation of a State Institute of Disaster Management (SIDM) in Uttarakhand.
“The Uttarakhand Himalayas are geo-tectonically fragile young mountain systems and prone to different types of hazards such as landslides, earthquakes, flash floods, cloud bursts, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), Landslide Lake Outburst Flood (LLOF), etc. This institute will identify and study the probable risks and hazards that exist in the state in a technically and scientific manner in coordination with existing disaster management authority (Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority) and other scientific and training institutions such as Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Uttarakhand Space Application Centre (USAC), Administrative Training Institutes (ATI’s), etc,” the report said.
Former secretary of Union ministry of earth sciences, Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, said development should be done in the area but not at the cost of environmental degradation.
“This area (Chamoli) is very delicate and vulnerable to disasters. It definitely needs development but not at the cost of environmental degradation. That is most important. We have to follow a strategy so that the environment is not harmed and development reaches everywhere,” Rajeevan said.
