SHIMLA, July 20— Amid relentless rainfall, floods, cloudbursts and landslides that continue to batter Himachal Pradesh, the Union Government has constituted a multi-sectoral central team to investigate the increasing frequency and severity of natural disasters in the state.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Sunday, ordered the formation of the expert group, which will examine the underlying causes of Himachal’s growing vulnerability to extreme weather events. The panel will include specialists from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) Roorkee, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) Pune, geologists, and scientists from IIT-Indore.
The move comes even as a separate inter-ministerial central team (IMCT) is currently on the ground in Himachal Pradesh for an on-the-spot damage assessment. The IMCT arrived in the state on July 18 and will continue its evaluation till July 21, covering the worst-hit areas impacted by the 2024 South-West monsoon.
Flooding, flash floods, and recurring cloudbursts have caused widespread devastation in several districts. The Himachal Pradesh government had earlier sought immediate central assistance, following which Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu met Shah in New Delhi and requested a relief package.
Responding to the request, the Union Government had approved a recovery and reconstruction package worth ₹2,006.40 crore for 2023, specifically to support areas hit by disasters like floods and landslides. A first instalment of ₹451.44 crore from this package was released on July 7.
Additionally, under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), the Centre had released its share of ₹198.80 crore to Himachal Pradesh on June 18, aimed at supporting immediate relief operations.
To bolster on-ground rescue and recovery efforts, 13 teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) have been deployed across the state. The Union Government has also extended logistical support, including deployment of Army and Air Force personnel, to assist in evacuations and emergency supply missions.
The new multi-disciplinary probe will focus on identifying structural vulnerabilities, studying changing weather patterns, and recommending long-term mitigation strategies. Experts suggest that a combination of unregulated construction, topographical sensitivity, and changing rainfall intensity may be contributing to the repeated natural disasters in the state.
The findings from the central team are expected to guide future urban planning, disaster preparedness and ecological conservation strategies across the Himalayan belt.
