Staff Reporter
Panaji
Taking a serious note of the devastating landslides in Wayanad district of Kerala, the Sawant government on Friday decided to take several measures to prevent landslips and chose to rope in the National Disaster Management Authority to identify vulnerable areas and also develop techniques including the early warning system.
It was also decided to empower local talathis to check hill cutting in the areas of their jurisdictions.
The decisions were made at a high-level meeting of the state disaster management committee at Mantralaya, Porvorim, which was chaired by Chief Minister
Pramod Sawant.
“We have woken up after the massive landslides in Wayanad. We have decided to take up measures to avoid such a tragedy in the state. We are reviving our machinery for the purpose,” Sawant told reporters after the meeting, which was also attended by Revenue Minister Atanasio Monserrate, Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar Goel, and other senior officials.
The Chief Minister also said talathis will be made responsible for reporting illegal hill cutting in their respective areas,” he added.
Sawant said guidelines would be issued to the departments of revenue, forest, town and country planning, public works, panchayat and urban development not to allow constructions in no-development zones, eco-sensitive areas and other fragile locations.
The government has also decided to reactivate a two-year-old high-level committee to identify landslide prone areas.
Sawant said the state disaster management committee will be now upgraded and called as the State Disaster Management Authority. The upgraded body will have dedicated officers, who will work round the year.
The Chief Minister recalled that major landslides had occurred in 2022 in the forests of Satrem, Karanzol and Mauxi villages of Sattari taluka.
“The landslides were massive. They had covered one lakh square metre of the area.
“The committee which probed the incidents had concluded that the landslides occurred due to heavy rains and also because of the deforestation in the area,” he stated.
The Chief Minister said smaller landslides were reported in the last few years in the talukas of Bardez, Mormugao, Sattari, Bicholim, Pernem and Salcete.
“Hence the main focus would be on foothill areas. The committee has powers to immediately stop hill cutting, if the panel feels that the activity could pose dangers to the people living in the vicinity,” Sawant said.
Another committee comprising mamlatdars, zonal agriculture officers and range forest officers will also monitor the situation.
The Chief Minister said the guidelines would be issued to the departments of revenue, forest, town and country planning, public works, panchayat and urban development not to allow constructions in no-development zones, eco-sensitive areas and other fragile locations.
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