Earthquake warning sensors to be increased to 500 in Uttarakhand: Govt

Uttarakhand govt tells Assembly 169 earthquake sensors have been installed under EEWS and plans to expand the network to 500 under the National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Programme

The state government on Thursday informed the assembly that 169 sensors have been installed across the state under the Earthquake Early Warning System (EEWS) to detect earthquakes and issue early alerts.

Uttarakhand plans to increase earthquake sensors to 500 under NERMP

However, due to the state’s difficult terrain and the remote location of several sensors, power outages sometimes cause temporary signal disruptions, resulting in some sensors going offline, the government said on the fourth day of the budget session in Gairsain.

Replying to Qazi Nizamuddin on whether there was any alternative power supply arrangement to keep these sensors operational, parliamentary affairs minister Subodh Uniyal said, “The alternative power supply arrangement is everywhere. At present, 128 sensors are operational, while 41 are non-functional. They keep getting repaired, so the number of working sensors keeps increasing or decreasing.”

In a written reply, the government said a technical team from Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee continuously works to address these issues.

“An amount of ₹115 crore was incurred to install these sensors,” Uniyal said.

The government further said it plans to increase the number of sensors to 500 under the National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Programme (NERMP).

“Under the National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Programme (NERMP), the state government plans to increase the number of sensors to 500. These will be installed on a priority basis in major fault thrust zones such as the Himalayan Frontal Thrust (HFT), Main Boundary Thrust (MBT) and Main Central Thrust (MCT), as well as other sensitive areas including the Uttarakhand–Nepal border and the Himachal Pradesh–Uttarakhand border,” the government said.

According to the government reply, exact locations of the sensors will be finalised following geological surveys after the project receives approval.

Replying to a query by Pritam Singh, Uniyal said the project to install additional sensors has been proposed. “An amount of ₹153.44 crore is estimated to be incurred on the project, with funding in a 90:10 ratio,” he said.

Uttarakhand has been included in Earthquake Zone 6 as per Indian Standard IS 1893:2025, indicating high seismic vulnerability, according to officials.

In February, the Government of Uttarakhand constituted a 14-member panel to amend construction laws following the reclassification of the state into a higher earthquake risk category.

Disaster management secretary Vinod Kumar Suman said the state government’s aim is not limited to amending regulations but to foster a broader culture of safe construction.