CAG pulls up Ukhand for shoddy handling of 2013 disaster

The CAG has pulled up the Uttarakhand government for lack of preparedness to deal with the effects of the 2013 natural disaster saying the delay in response by state machinery was one of the major factors which added to the magnitude of the tragedy which killed around 4000 people including chardham pilgrims.
In its audit report tabled in the state assembly during its just concluded two-day session, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has cited various factors which aggravatedthe disaster of June 2013.
Non-implementation of recommendations of an expert committee on glaciers, absence of a policy to regulate use of explosives for infrastructuredevelopment works in the fragile Himalayan region and non-implementation of the Centre's directives for safe disposal of muck generated by excavationsin the course of construction activities were some of the factors.

It also puts the state government in the dock for its weaknesses in terms of preparedness for dealing with the calamity caused by torrential rains of unseen magnitude on June 16-17, 2013.
It said state machinery as well as district administration could not respond effectively, on account of poor weather and lack of preparedness to mitigate widespread loss of human lives.
"The State Disaster Management Authority was virtually non-functional and not able to put in place the disaster management plan prior to June 2013 disaster. The Emergency Operation Centres both at the state and district levels were running without adequate manpower, equipment and essential communication networks," the report said.

The District Disaster Management Authorities could not activate the envisaged command system, which would have taken care of search, rescue and relief operations in the aftermath of the disaster, it said, adding the line departments had not developed mitigation plans and standard operating procedures for effective response mechanism.

Non-identification of safe relief camp sites also put lives of the affected people at risk during the disaster.
The state government did not have any mechanism in place to register the Char Dham pilgrims which created a lot of confusion over the number of how many of them had died and how many had gone missing.

The auditor also pulled up district authorities for their alleged failure to maintain adequate stock of rations and medicines at the time of the tragedy.