Sinking Joshimath: A Concerning Challenge before the Supreme Court and Central Government

Sinking Joshimath:-

The Issue at Hand Joshimath, also known as Jyotirmath is a small town located in Uttarakhand has started sinking very quickly. More than 670 buildings of the town and even the roads have developed cracks as a result of the land subsidence. The sinking of land has caused such trauma to the local residents that they are now preferring to remain outdoors than inside their houses even in the chilling winter cold. The situation needs urgent attention and action to save the lives of the residents of Joshimath. Sinking Joshimath Why is Joshimath a Key Location? Joshimath is located on the NH-7 Highway and this makes this location an overnight halt spot for travelers going to Hemkund Sahib, Badrinath, the Valley of Flowers and Auli. The town comprising 20,000 residents is situated at a height of 1890 m and also serves as a starting location for many Himalayan treks. PIL Before the Supreme Court A PIL was filed before the highest legal authority of India, the Supreme Court by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati to take urgent action upon the situation at Joshimath. However, the bench which heard the matter, comprising CJI DY Chandrachud and PS Narasimha J. expressed that the Supreme Court cannot deal with all the important matters of the country. The Government and administrative authorities must also be made accountable for handling tough situations. With this opinion, the Supreme Court declined the plea for urgent hearing and scheduled 16th of January as the first date for hearing the matter. The PIL also seeks that the situation at Joshimath must be declared a “national disaster” so that the NDMA (National Disaster Management Authority) can actively act upon it. Sinking Joshimath-Sinking Joshimath-Sinking Joshimath-Sinking Joshimath Steps Being Taken by the Government on Ground

1. 68 families have been relocated to other locations for safety. The dislocated families will also be provided a monthly amount of Rs. 4000 from the State Government.
2. 1 team from NDRF and 4 teams from SDRF have been deployed at Joshimath.
3. Ajay Bhatt, the Minister of State for Defence of India has reached Joshimath today and is holding discussions with officials from the Army regarding the situation of Joshimath.
4. CBRI, Roorkee Team Deployed: This team will arrive at Joshimath today and mark out all the houses and buildings which are falling within the unsafe zone and need to be demolished quickly.
5. Demolition of Malari Inn Hotel Today: Two hotels in the same location of Joshimath have come extremely close to each other as a result of the sinking land. One of these hotels, that is Malari Inn, is being demolished today in order to prevent a larger mishap.
6. The whole town has been segregated into 3 parts: a. Completely Safe Zone, b. Buffer Zone and c. Danger Zone, by use of satellites.

Expert Views Manish Mehta, an expert from the Wadia Institute expressed that Joshimath is located upon “loose unconsolidated soil material” between two broad water passages (nallahs). He blamed large power projects such as the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan Vishnugad project and other heavy industrial establishments for the situation of Joshimath. Also, the Helang bypass is under construction to shorten the pathway to Badrinath and for the same, heavy vehicles were being used to blast small hills. Atul Sati, convener of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, has also expressed concerns about human activities which are destroying the natural environment of Joshimath.