In the wake of the colossal damage Himachal Pradesh faced due to the recent monsoon fury, the state government has planned to associate with academic and research institutions to prepare a report on the landslides and assist in adopting scientific mitigation measures for landslide and land subsidence across the state.

These academic and research institutions are from within and outside the state, including Himachal Pradesh University, NIT-Hamirpur, Central University Himachal Pradesh, Information and Technology (IIT) Mandi, Geological Survey of India, Chandigarh, WIGH, Dehradun and CSIR-CBRI, Roorkee.

Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena said that the state government had constituted a committee to carry out causative analysis of the landslide and land subsidence incidents causing widespread damage in the capital town.

The academic and research institutions will carry out preliminary geological investigations at 10-15 most vulnerable sites in the respective districts assigned to them and will submit a report to the state government along with some suggestive mitigations measures, he added.

These institutions based on the preliminary findings will also suggest some prominent and vulnerable locations which can be taken up for further detailed investigation taking geological, geotechnical and geophysical parameters into consideration for proper scientific management of the landslides in the state, said the Chief Secretary.

The institutions have been involved in the various districts and will submit the report to the state government within a time frame of 2-3 months along with suggestions for prominence, which can be taken up for further detailed investigations, he added.

The state of Himachal Pradesh is environmentally fragile and ecologically vulnerable to the occurrence of natural hazards emanating from the effects of climatological variations.

With the state experiencing the fury of nature in various forms, like cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides, earthquakes, snow avalanches, droughts every year and the recent monsoon season especially in the month of July and August having caused widespread damage across the state, has raised serious concerns.