House panel reviews preparedness to tackle floods

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources has started several aspects of the country’s flood management system, including preparedness to tackle floods, including flash floods, cloudbursts, glacier outbursts and avalanches.

The committee, headed by BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal, held its first meeting on the issue on Tuesday.

According to sources, the panel wanted to know from officials — of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) — about lessons learnt from the 2013 Uttarakhand disaster. “The members asked the officials what lessons have been learned from the 2013 Uttarakhand disaster and how has it helped in the recent Chamoli disaster,” said a source.

Officials of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) also attended the meeting, sources said. The NDRF officials informed the committee that a separate battalion to deal with natural disasters in hilly areas is set to be deputed in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The committee is also examining “flood management in the country including international water treaties in the field of water resource management/flood control with particular reference to the treaty/agreement entered into with Nepal, China, Pakistan and Bhutan”.