Close on the heels of the subsidence episode in Joshimath, Uttarakhand in which many houses have developed wide gaps, endangering the lives of citizens, the Union government has informed the Parliament that many parts of the Himalayas are unstable and may lead to subsidence, as per a Times of India report.
It was last week that the government made these remarks in the Rajya Sabha. The Ministry of Earth Sciences filed a written reply in this regard but remained mum on the rampant construction activities in the region. It said, “geology of many locations in the Himalayan region is unstable and dynamic, and environment clearance is mandatory before any major construction project is taken up”.
Thus, while there is no blanket ban on construction, local bodies can impose restrictions and take calls based on the hazard it might pose.
“As per information provided by the Uttarakhand government, Joshimath is located on a thick cover of very old landslides material. Large boulders of gneiss and fragments of basic schist rocks are observed to be embedded in a grey-coloured silty sandy matrix. The region has been witnessing gradual subsidence. This was also reported by a committee set up under Mahesh Chandra Mishra in 1976,” minister of Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh, was quoted saying.
The publication notes that the minister was mum on the issue of steps taken by the government to implement the Mishra Committee. Additionally, it stated that he merely stated that all construction activities have been stopped in the entire Joshimath area.
“The situation is continuously monitored on a 24x7 basis in the state and central governments. Further, the central and state governments are working in close coordination with all the agencies concerned to mitigate the effect of land subsidence in the Joshimath area,” the minister was quoted further.
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