Shimla, Sep 27 (IANS) Delegating power to grant permission for removal of muck to the District Disaster Management Authorities, Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena on Saturday directed to identify suitable muck dumping sites, with focus on the districts most severely affected by natural disasters of 2023 and 2025.

He emphasised that the districts of Mandi, Kullu, Chamba and Shimla should be accorded the top priority. The Chief Secretary also instructed the Public Works Department (PWD) Secretary to coordinate with departments such like Forest, Jal Shakti and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to ensure effective planning and implementation.

He said 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.

The meeting laid special emphasis on reviewing and confirming the action taken reports on various directions issued during previous 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 of 2021.

The Chief Secretary said the state 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, 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 utilisation 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.

–IANS

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