Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena has directed the concerned authorities to identify suitable muck dumping sites across the State, with special focus on the districts most severely affected by the natural disasters of 2023 and 2025. He emphasized that the districts of Mandi, Kullu, Chamba and Shimla should be accorded top priority.
The Chief Secretary also instructed the Secretary, PWD, to coordinate closely with departments such as Forest, Jal Shakti and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure effective planning and implementation. He informed that, henceforth, the power to grant permission for muck removal has been delegated to the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs), which was earlier exercised at the State level.
The Chief Secretary was presiding over the 26th meeting of the State Executive Committee (SEC), constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, here today. The meeting laid special emphasis on reviewing and confirming the action taken reports on various directions issued during previous SEC meetings.
The Committee also discussed the establishment of early warning systems by the specified dam authorities, in accordance with the 2015 guidelines and the provisions of the Dam Safety Act, 2021. The Chief Secretary informed that Himachal Pradesh has 30 major dams, of which 25 have been completed and five are under construction.
The meeting also deliberated on the preliminary project report under the National Landslide Risk Mitigation Programme (NLRMP) amounting to Rs. 139 crore, which will be submitted to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Additionally, the preliminary project report under the mitigation scheme for Forest Fire Risk Management (MSFFRM) through the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), worth Rs. 8.16 crore, was taken up for ex-post facto approval of the SEC.
The Committee also considered the ex-post facto approval for the utilization of SDRF/NDRF funds amounting to Rs. 78.76 lakh for the removal of 46,988 cubic meters of debris from public places in Mandi district. A proposal for the establishment of a State Disaster Response Reserve (SDRR) on the lines of the National Disaster Response Reserve (NDRR) was also discussed and approved during the meeting.
The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary Kamlesh Kumar Pant, Secretary PWD Abhishek Jain, Secretary RD&PR Rajesh Sharma, and Special Secretary and Director, SDMA D.C. Rana, among other senior officers.