SC takes note of landslides, flash floods; issues notice to Centre, NHAI, NDMA

Citing videos of floating timber logs in Himachal, the Supreme Court observed that, prima facie, it appeared that there had been an illegal felling of trees.

The Supreme Court on Thursday took note of the devastating landslides and floods in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and sought responses from the central government, NDMA and the state governments.

The Supreme Court has also issued notices to seek response from the state governments of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Punjab. (File Image)

A top court bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran noted that it saw videos of timber logs floating in the floodwaters in Himachal Pradesh, news agency PTI reported.

“We have seen unprecedented landslides and floods in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. From the media reports it is noticed that in the flood a huge number of wood was flowing along. Prima facie it appears that there has been illegal felling of trees. Thus issue notice to respondents,” the CJI said.

The apex court was responding to a plea alleging that illegal tree felling was the main cause of such disasters. The matter has been listed for a hearing after two weeks.

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the National Highway Authorities of India (NHAI).

The governments of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Punjab were also sent notices.

CJI Gavai also told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that this was a serious matter.

“Please take note of this. It appears to be a serious issue. A large number of wooden logs are seen to be falling around… it shows illegal felling of trees. We have seen pictures of Punjab. Entire fields and crops are inundated…Development has to be balanced with mitigating measures,” the CJI said.

Mehta responded that he would speak to the Secretary of the environment ministry on the same to get in touch with the respective chief secretaries.

The plea, filed by Anamika Rana, has sought framing of an action plan and a special investigation team (SIT) inquiry into the reasons for landslides and flash floods, besides the measures to ensure that such disasters do not occur again.

“The Central and state governments, in spite of having dedicated Disaster Authorities, have no plan in place to prevent or mitigate the losses due to these disasters whose frequency has increased alarmingly of late,” it stated.

The petition also sought the constitution of an independent expert committee to carry out geological, geo-technical or environmental/ecological investigation into all road/highway projects where landslides have occurred. It requested that the panel also assess the causes of floods and flash floods in rivers, rivulets, water courses, and channels in the Himalayan states, especially Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir.

Rain in Himachal Pradesh

Himachal Pradesh continues to face the wrath of rain fury as the death toll in the Sundernagar landslide in Mandi rose to seven. Meanwhile, two people were feared dead after two houses collapsed in the Kullu district.

At least two women died and 15 passengers were injured after rolling boulders fell on a private bus they were travelling in near Kalimitti in Shimla's Kumarsein area.

State chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the Chamba administration to immediately evacuate stranded Manimahesh Yatra pilgrims, asking them to coordinate with the Air Force to deploy around six MI-17 helicopters for help.

Meanwhile, authorities ordered the closure of all schools and colleges till September 7 as a precautionary measure. All the police units in the states have also been asked to step up their readiness for rescue, relief and traffic management.

Jammu and Kashmir rain

The yatra to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi shrine remained suspended for the tenth consecutive day on Thursday due to persistent inclement weather conditions in Reasi district's Katra.

Jammu and Kashmir has been battered by torrential rainfall over the past few days and has faced damages caused by cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides.

The central government deputed an inter-ministerial team to pay detailed ground visits to the flood-hit Jammu region in the next four days and assess the actual scale of losses and damages incurred by it.

The announcement was made at a high-level meeting chaired by Jammu Divisional Commissioner Ramesh Kumar, and the inter-ministerial team head and National Disaster Management Authority of India Joint Secretary Col Kirti Pratap Singh on Wednesday night.

"Over the next four days, the inter-ministerial team will conduct detailed on-ground visits to the affected areas to assess the actual scale of losses and damages in the districts of Jammu division. It shall then submit a detailed report to the Government of India," a government spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, Kashmir has remained cut off from the rest of the country as the all-weather Jammu-Srinagar Highway, along with many other roads, remained closed for traffic.

Highways and inter-regional roads have been closed since August 26, resulting in more than 3,500 vehicles being stuck at various places from Kathua to Kashmir. Officials said that with the closure of the Jammu-Srinagar highway, Mughal Road, Jammu-Poonch highway, Sinthan-Anantnag Road and Batote-Doda-Kishtwar highway, all surface connectivity to Kashmir has been cut off.

Several rivers and water bodies, including the Chenab and Jhelum, are flowing in spate due to persistent rainfall across the Union Territory.

Punjab floods

So far, 37 people have lost their lives due to heavy rainfall and the flood situation in Punjab.

The state government has released ₹71 crore as an immediate relief and rehabilitation measure as rescue operations continue on a war footing in the state.

All schools, colleges and universities have also been ordered to remain shut till September 7.

The Bhakra dam is around one foot short of its maximum capacity of 1,680 feet, the Rupnagar administration said while issuing an alert on Thursday. It urged people near the Sutlej river to shift to safer places.

Ravi and Beas rivers are also flowing in spate in the state.

(with ANI, PTI inputs)