Disaster Management Secretary Dr Ranjit Kumar Sinha reported on January 30 that an Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan chaired a high-level committee meeting on relief, rehabilitation and other ongoing work in Joshimath in the aftermath of the landslide and subsidence.
This committee was informed at the meeting that the District Magistrate, Chamoli, has presented three options for the rehabilitation and displacement of the affected people in Joshimath.
Under the first option, the one-time settlement will be made by providing financial assistance to affected homeowners. As compensation for the damage suffered by the affected land or building, the payment of the land and building will be made in accordance with the prescribed rules through a one-time settlement. Before making the full payment, the affected person’s land or building must be registered in favor of the state government.
Under the second option, land up to a maximum area of 100 square meters will be provided to the owners of the affected land for the construction of houses in connection with the affected land and compensation will be provided for the affected building. In the case of more than 100 square meters of land, the affected owners will be paid for the rest of the land in accordance with the regulations. Before making full payment to the owners of affected land or buildings and before allocating land up to a maximum area of 100 square meters for housing construction, the land or building registration of the person affected by the disaster must be made to favor of the state government
Under the third option, a building will be built on the land up to the maximum area of 75 square meters in the identified place for the rehabilitation of those affected. If the appraisal of the affected residential building or land is greater than the accommodation being provided, then the remaining amount will be paid to the affected party.
Before allocating the construction tax on the land up to the maximum area of 75 square meters in relation to the building on the affected land, the registration of the land or building affected by the disaster in question must be carried out in favor of the state government.
The meeting also recommended that the options go before the state cabinet. The Disaster Management secretary said that only after the final report of the ongoing survey being conducted by various technical institutions regarding the disaster-affected area in Joshimath is received, it will become clear which area will be permanently displaced.
Once the report is received, the consent of the affected families will be obtained. After that, PIU will take steps for permanent rehabilitation at the local level. Only after receiving the final report from the technical institutes, a decision will also be made on the works related to the mitigation of area stabilization, foot erosion, drainage plan, etc.
The committee also directed that electricity and water bills be waived for six months at business establishments affected by the disaster. Locals residing in areas deemed “unsafe zones” have been moved to safer locations in recent weeks. On January 24, new cracks were observed along the Badrinath highway in the Chamoli district.
Earlier, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami assured the public that the Char Dham Yatra pilgrimage will proceed safely. He stressed that there should be no doubt in people’s minds about Joshimath, which serves as the gateway to Badrinath. Dhami claimed that 70 percent of the people in Joshimath live their lives normally and the roads to nearby Badrinath and Auli are fully open. He added that the administration ensures that the Char Dham yatra is carried out without any interruptions and that the safety of the pilgrims is of paramount importance.