Himachal weather: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday (August 23) said that Rs 165.22 crore has been released to all the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and the line departments in the state for the restoration works.
The Chief Minister said that Rs 74 crore had been released to the Jal Shakti Department for restoration and maintenance of water supply schemes, Rs 14.50 crore has been allocated to the Public Works Department (PWD) for undertaking the repair of damaged roads and bridges.
Apart from this, Rs 3.70 crore, Rs 2 crore each have been released to HPSEBL, Horticulture and Agriculture Departments respectively for providing immediate relief.
Further, Rs 63.07 crore had been allocated to all the Deputy Commissioners for providing relief to the affected families for undertaking repair works. Besides, Rs 4.95 crore has also been released to Deputy Commissioners Kangra, Solan and Shimla for repair and construction of damaged houses.
Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu directed the Deputy Commissioners and line departments to speed up the repair of damaged schemes and provide immediate relief to the affected families. He said that there would be no paucity of funds for undertaking repair and maintenance of damaged works and providing relief to the affected.
He said that the state government was working round the clock to ensure the safety of life and properties. The Chief Minister also appealed to the people to remain vigilant in view of the heavy rainfall forecast in the next 48 hours. He also expressed grief over the death of six persons in Mandi and Shimla districts due to rain-related incidents during the last 12 hours.
HP stops operation of stone crushers in Beas River basins:
The Himachal Pradesh government has also decided to immediately stop the operations of all stone crushers on both perennial and non-perennial rivulets of the Beas River basin and its tributaries until further orders, said CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu yesterday.
According to the Chief Minister, the decision has been taken considering the alarming transformation of the ecosystem during the current monsoon rains that wreaked havoc downstream in the Beas river basin and its tributaries in Kullu, Mandi Kangra and Hamirpur districts besides Chakki rivulet in the district of Kangra.
The decision has been taken to ensure the safety of human settlements and infrastructure, to preserve the fragile ecology and environment of the state. However, the lease of legal mining has not been cancelled.
CM further said that the existing captive and temporary stone crushers shall not come under the purview of this order. He said that directions had been given to the Department of Environment, Science and Technology and Climate Change to convene a high-level expert consultation meet inviting experts from IITs, NITs, R&D Institutions, and Universities, to identify the factors which formed such a disastrous position.
The Chief Minister said that the department will also conduct a comprehensive scientific study by constituting a Multi Sectoral Expert Committee to evaluate the cumulative impact of unscientific and illegal mining activities and also assess to redefine distance limits as based on the findings, thereby allowing more effective regulation and management of such operations to preserve the environment in River system and to avoid any such anthropogenic induced disasters in the state.
(With agencies inputs)
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