Aug 07 2014 : The Economic Times (Delhi)
COMMITTEE TO ASSESS PUNE LANDSLIDES - Was It Deforestation?
URMI GOSWAMI
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NEW DELHI
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The government plans to assess if deforestation and reckless construction contributed to the devastating landslide Malin landslide that flattened 45 villages and killed 151 people in the Pune district.It will set up a three-member committee to study the causes of the disaster.
Environment minister Prakash Javadekar has assured the local Shiv Sena MP Shivaji Patil that the central government will send a team to “see and study“ the causes of the landslide.
Sources said that the ministry is expected to constitute the team on Thursday, and is likely to comprise two experts and a government official.
“We will be sending a team (to the site) to see and study whether environmental factors (also caused the land slide,“ Javadekar assured Patil. The minister also said that the state government has been asked to submit a report on the last week's landslide that claimed 151 lives besides and flattened about 45 villages, virtually wiping some of them off the map. The state government's report will also look into the role of environmental factors in the tragedy.
Javadekar, who hails from the Pune district, said given his familiarity with the area, he was aware of certain environmental conditions that contributed to the landslide. According to the Madhav Gadgil panel report, the road and windmill construction in the area have led to high levels of erosion and construction have contributed to the rising threat of landslides in the area.The report doesn't specifically refer to Malin, instead focuses on nearby and surrounding area.
Environment minister Prakash Javadekar has assured the local Shiv Sena MP Shivaji Patil that the central government will send a team to “see and study“ the causes of the landslide.
Sources said that the ministry is expected to constitute the team on Thursday, and is likely to comprise two experts and a government official.
“We will be sending a team (to the site) to see and study whether environmental factors (also caused the land slide,“ Javadekar assured Patil. The minister also said that the state government has been asked to submit a report on the last week's landslide that claimed 151 lives besides and flattened about 45 villages, virtually wiping some of them off the map. The state government's report will also look into the role of environmental factors in the tragedy.
Javadekar, who hails from the Pune district, said given his familiarity with the area, he was aware of certain environmental conditions that contributed to the landslide. According to the Madhav Gadgil panel report, the road and windmill construction in the area have led to high levels of erosion and construction have contributed to the rising threat of landslides in the area.The report doesn't specifically refer to Malin, instead focuses on nearby and surrounding area.
