Home Secy calls for early warnings, monitoring
New Delhi, Sept 3: The Centre has asked Himalayan states and Jammu and Kashmir to expedite implementation of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) mitigation projects sanctioned in 2024 and strengthen preventive preparedness against rising risks from glacial lake outbursts and snow avalanches.
The directive was issued by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan during a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday to review disaster preparedness in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
Senior officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, National Disaster Management Authority, Central Water Commission, India Meteorological Department and Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment also attended the meeting.
Mohan stressed the need for continuous and proactive monitoring of vulnerable glacial lakes and avalanche-prone areas, particularly during periods of heightened risk, and called for timely action on warnings to prevent loss of life and property.
The states and the Union Territory presented their preparedness and mitigation measures, including monitoring of vulnerable glacial lakes, strengthening early warning systems, improving last-mile dissemination of alerts, mapping flow paths, preparing communities and positioning response resources in vulnerable areas.
The Home Secretary directed the states and UT to regularly review their preparedness plans, identify gaps in early warning and evacuation arrangements and take corrective measures ahead of any extreme event.
He stressed that disaster preparedness should move beyond response-oriented measures towards risk-informed planning, preventive mitigation and community-level preparedness.
The meeting also focused on identifying high-risk locations, monitoring snow-covered areas, ensuring timely dissemination of alerts and improving evacuation and response mechanisms.
Mohan called for closer coordination between state agencies, district administrations and scientific and technical institutions so that warnings are translated into prompt action on the ground.
The Centre said continued inter-agency coordination and regular sharing of risk information would be critical to strengthening early warning and response systems across vulnerable Himalayan areas.
The review comes as the Himalayan region faces growing concerns over the risks associated with unstable glacial lakes and avalanches, making timely monitoring, preventive mitigation and local-level preparedness crucial to reducing the impact of extreme events.
