Shimla: Heavy rains have triggered landslides and flash floods across Himachal Pradesh, shutting down 358 roads, including key national highways. The Chandigarh–Manali NH was closed again after fresh landslides in Mandi, while vehicles were trapped in a flooded tunnel. Authorities urge travelers to avoid non-essential movement as yellow and orange alerts remain in place.
The Himachal Pradesh government is working on a three-tier policy to check haphazard construction near the banks of rivers and nallahs, as well as flash floods and landslide-prone areas, Town and Country Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani said on Saturday.
Safety norms and strict regulations would be brought to regulate the construction of houses in rural areas, the minister said.
Construction of buildings, bridges and other structures would require certification by a safety council, and their designs are as per norms set by the public works department, he told PTI Videos.
So far, about 112 people have died in rain-related incidents in the current monsoon season as cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides wreaked havoc, with losses of over Rs 1,900 crore to the state.
Two years back, 540 people died during the monsoon and losses were estimated to be over Rs 10,000 crore.
Dharmani asserted that climate change due to carbon emission was also a major cause of such disasters and added that carbon emission was quite less in the state as compared to other states, and hence should be compensated for taking steps to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change.
He said the powers of the Director, Town Planning Act have been delegated to commissioners and executive officers in urban local body areas.
In Special Area Development Authority (SADA), deputy commissioners and SDMs would have the responsibility, while panchayat secretaries would have the power in rural areas for enforcing regulations and compliance, the minister said.
Construction on plots bigger than 1,000 sqm area are already covered under the Town Planning Act, he said.
Dharmani said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu wants to make Himachal a “green state” by March 2026.
He said earthquake threats were a major cause of worry as Himachal Pradesh falls in a seismic zone and most of the private buildings don’t have quake-resistant features, adding that retrofittings are required for the safety of such buildings.
Himachal Pradesh falls in seismic zones IV and V and is highly vulnerable to earthquakes.
Cooperation of people was necessary for enforcing the safety norms for checking haphazard, unplanned and unsafe constructions and minimising the impact of climate change and natural disasters, he added.
