(a) whether the Ministry has taken steps to construct earth quake resistant buildings with the help of various agencies to reduce the losses due to earthquake ;
(b) if so, the details thereof, and the time by which these measures are likely to be finalized; and
(c) if not, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND
MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES
(DR. HARSH VARDHAN)
(a) to (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *101 REGARDING EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT BUILDINGS TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, 28TH JUNE, 2019.
(a)-(c) Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has the mandate of monitoring Earthquake monitoring in the Country. National Centre for Seismology (NCS), under Ministry of Earth Sciences, is mandated to operate and maintain a national seismological network to monitor earthquake activity in and around the country. The Centre disseminates information about the earthquake parameters to all user agencies and the disaster management authorities in the least possible time, mostly less than 5 minutes.
Guidelines have also been published by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) etc. for the design and construction of earthquake resistant structures to minimize the loss of life and damage to property caused by earthquakes. These guidelines are in wide circulation amongst the public and the administrative authorities responsible for the design and construction of earthquake resistant structures in earthquake prone areas.
Even though, the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is not responsible for policy issues related to construction of earthquake resistant buildings, efforts were made by the ministry for Seismic hazard Microzonation of major cities like Delhi and Kolkata. Copies of these reports have also been provided to stakeholders of concerned State and Central Government authorities to help in design of earthquake resistant structure, land use and urban planning. Seismic Microzonation of few other areas like Sikkim, Guwahati, and Bengaluru etc. has also been completed in project mode. Microzonation of four more cities (Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore and Mangalore) has been taken up by the Ministry recently.