‘Himachal highly disaster prone’: Government seeks Rs 5K cr for road, bridge maintenance

Tribune News Service

Pratibha Chauhan

Shimla, July 1

The government has sought additional Rs 5,000 crore from the Central Government for the maintenance of roads and bridges during disasters in the state and a separate disaster risk index (DRI) for hilly states considering their high vulnerability to natural catastrophes.

The Himachal Government, in a representation made to the 16th Finance Commission, has pointed out that a uniform DRI cannot be applied to hill states like Himachal, Sikkim, Uttarakhand and other Northeastern states as the risk index here is higher than in other parts of the country. The state government has questioned the criteria being adopted for fund allocation for disaster management and sought enhanced allocation keeping in view the high risk vulnerability of Himachal.

Vulnerable to 25 types of hazards

• In a submission to the 16th Finance Commission, the state has stated that a uniform disaster risk index (DRI) cannot be applied to all hill states
• The state has questioned the criteria for fund allocation and sought enhanced funds keeping in view its high risk vulnerability
• Himachal is vulnerable to 25 of the 33 types of hazards identified by a high-powered committee; the state is more vulnerable to landslides, earthquakes, avalanches, cloudbursts and floods due to glacial lake outburst

The state government has also sought Rs 5,000 crore over and above the routine grants for maintaining road connectivity, especially during disasters. The explanation given is that the lose strata of the relatively young Himalayas and frequent rainfall along with severe climatic conditions have increased the requirement of the maintenance of roads, bridges and other infrastructure.

It has been pointed out that Himachal is vulnerable to 25 of the 33 types of hazards identified by the high-powered committee constituted by the Union Government in 2005; the state it more vulnerable to landslides, earthquakes, avalanches, cloudbursts and floods due to glacial lake outburst.

“During the monsoons last year, Himachal witnessed unprecedented devastation as 500 lives were lost and damage to the tune of Rs 9,700 crore was caused. Besides, infrastructure and the tourism sector suffered extensive losses,” say officials.

The impact of climate change and global warming is also manifesting itself by way of the formation of more moraine dammed glacial lakes and supra glacial lakes, leading to a threat of lake bursting and floods. Most parts of Himachal fall in the high seismic zones IV and V, making many areas vulnerable to earthquakes. It has also been pointed out that as per GSI Landslide Susceptibility maps for Himachal, about 50 per cent of the total geographical area falls in the ‘high susceptible’ category.

Considering the high geological hazard vulnerability of Himachal, the 15th Finance Commission had recommended an allocation of Rs 250 crore to the state in 2021-26 period at the rate of Rs 50 crore per annum. This was done for managing landslides and seismic risk in the state. Himachal has urged the 16 Finance Commission to take a considerate view of the large-scale damage being caused due to disasters like landslides and cloudbursts and enhance this allocation from Rs 250 crore to Rs 1,250 crore.

Himachal is broadly divided into three belts of lower or outer Himalayas, middle Himalayas and higher or Great Himalayas, which are susceptible to different types of hazards depending on the lithology, soils and local climatic variations.

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