(a) whether according to the Geological Survey of India, roughly fifteen percent of the country`s land mass is prone to landslides;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to set up National Disaster Management team in the States which are prone to landslides;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the other steps taken by the Government to reduce the damage at the time of landslides through planning and disaster management?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)
(a) & (b): As per information received from the Geological Survey of India (GSI), 12.6% of land area of the country, i.e., about 0.42 million sq. km area (excluding snow covered area) is prone to landslide hazards.
(c) & (d): As per the National Disaster Management Policy 2009, the primary responsibility of disaster management rests with the States. The Central Government has constituted National Disaster Response Force for prompt to response to disaster. Presently, NDRF has ten battalions located at strategic locations in the country to support the State Government. Besides, the Geological Survey of India (GSI), the nodal agency for landslide in India, has set up their landslides division in landslide prone States of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and North Eastern Region for addressing the landslide related issues.
(e): The Parliament has already enacted the Disaster Management Act 2005, which provides the institutional framework to deal with disasters in India. The Act has brought in a paradigm shift from the `relief-centric` approach to a holistic approach that emphasises all the aspects of disaster management including mitigation, prevention, capacity building, advance warning, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction. National Disaster Management Authority has released detailed guidelines for management of landslides.
Besides, the GSI has taken following steps to reduce damages caused by landslides:
i. The GSI has constituted Geo Hazards Research and Management (GHRM) cell at Kolkata to address all technical issues on natural hazards, especially landslides.
ii. The GSI has launched ‘National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping’ (NLSM) in 2014 for the entire country by adopting modern technology such as GIS and remote sensing. The programme is likely to be completed by 2020 and will bring out a seamless landslide susceptibility map and landslide inventory database for the entire country.
iii.The GSI, in association with NDMA organised Regional Landslide Workshops in 2013-14 at Shimla, Shillong, and Welligton in Nilgiris for sensitizing local administration and generating awareness among stakeholder for proper landslide hazard management.