An

Assignment on

“Uttarakhand flood relief scam”

Mittal School of Business

Submitted to: submitted by:

Bhavyya Sharma chencho lhamo

School of law B com, Q2018

 Contents

TOPIC PAGE NO.

Introduction ………………………………………………………………………II

Uttarakhand flood relief scam…………………………………………………...III

I. Threat against government official………………………………IV-V

II. BJP protests against no CBI probe………………………………V

III. Latest news of Uttarakhand………………………………………VI-VIII

Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………IX

References …………………………………………………………………………X
 Introduction

The State of Uttarakhand, being part of the Himalayan region, is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. Natural
hazards, like earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, cloudbursts, hailstorms, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs),
flash floods, lightning, and forest fires, etc. have been a cause of major disasters in the State.

On 16 June 2013, the State suffered yet another mega disaster, one of the worst disasters in the living memory,
causing widespread damage and destruction, besides heavy casualties. The entire State was hit by very heavy
rainfall and flash floods.

FIGURE 1: THE INDIAN METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT IMAGE (17TH JUNE 2013) SUGGESTED HEAVY RAINFALL ON THE HIGHER
REACHES OF UTTARAKHAND.

Though all the thirteen districts of the State were hit, five districts, namely Bageshwar, Chamoli, Pithoragarh,
Rudraprayag and Uttarkashi were the worst affected. The disaster coincided with the peak tourist and pilgrimage
season, significantly enhancing the number of the casualties and adversely affecting the rescue and relief operations.

The deluge has washed away roads, bridges and other infrastructure. So far about 1000 deaths are reported and
many are still reported missing. In Kedarnath alone about 75,000 pilgrims had been stranded due to landslides and
flash floods.

In view of the devastating impact of the heavy rain fall in the state of Uttarakhand, Secretary General, Indian Red
Cross Society (IRCS) held a meeting on 18th June 2013 in his office with the senior officials from IRCS NHQ,
IFRC and ICRC.The Indian Red Cross Society (National Headquarters) mounted an immediate response to the
disaster by deploying relief and assessment teams to Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Rishikesh, Pithoragarh and Rudraprayag.
Shri Gulam Nabi Azad, Hon’ble Chairman, IRCS (The Minister of Health and Family Welfare) flagged off the
trucks carrying relief materials for the flood affected victims on 21st of June 2013.
Relief materials in the form of Nonfood items has been dispatched to the Uttarakhand state branch by road for
further distribution to the affected areas. Till date more than INR 2.2 crores worth of relief items has been sent.

Event: Uttarakhand flood relief scam

Case study

Uttarakhand on Wednesday sought Rs 13,800 crore from the Centre for reconstruction and relief work in the
flood-ravaged State at the first meeting of the Cabinet Committee on the issue and claimed to have got an
assurance from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard.

The Cabinet Committee discussed the issue of compensation and rehabilitation in the State with Chief Minister
Vijay Bahuguna saying that his Government has decided to declare the 5,400 people, who are still missing after
the flash flood tragedy, as presumed dead and give them compensation.

The missing people will, however, not been given death certificates. “About 5,400 people are still missing. Out of
these 924 are from the State. These are presumed to be dead and Rs 5 lakh cheque each will be given to their
family members. The Finance Minister said that the LIC should be asked to expedite their insurance claims as
was done during tsunami,” Bahuguna said.

The Committee chaired by the Prime Minister has senior ministers A. K. Antony, Sharad Pawar, P.
Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sushilkumar Shinde, Oscar Fernandes, Kapil Sibal, Girija Vyas, Jairam
Ramesh and Harish Rawat as members.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Bahuguna and National Disaster Management
Authority Vice-Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy are the permanent invitees.

The committee has been tasked with providing broad guidance to reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in
Uttarakhand, and take such decisions, as may be required. Singh has already announced Rs 1,000 crore for
disaster relief measures in flood-devastated parts of the State.

Bahuguna said that he got a “favourable response” from the Centre for the sanction of funds of Rs 13,800 crore
and that Singh assured all help will be provided to the State.

He said according to Singh and Chidambaram the Asian Development Bank and World Bank “will find ways and
means” for it. The State Government will give compensation to the “presumed dead” people by getting indemnity
bonds signed by their immediate family members.

Maintaining that there will be a need to relocate residents of 300 villages, washed away in the flood, Bahuguna
said his Government has demanded Rs 8,000 crore from the Centre for this. “Relocation will be done in a
scientific manner with the help of Geological Survey of India. State Government will provide degraded forest
land for this purpose. Government, corporates and PSUs, who want to adopt villages will be encouraged to do so.
The State Government will prepare a model for this,” he said.

Besides this, there is a demand of Rs 5,500 crore for rescue, relief and rehabilitation.Bahuguna said the Kedarnath
temple is safe and a team of Archaeological Survey of India and Geological Survey of India are there to assess.

He said that the State Government has called a meeting of the temple committee on August 2 to discuss resuming
worship.
Things haven’t gone as expected. Bureaucrats and government employees misusing the government budget during the
time of rescue and relief operations on June 2013 flash flood in Kedarnath valley in Garhwal Himalayas.

The Kedarnath valley region and other parts of Garhwal were struck by flash flood disaster. People needed help but
government officials were busy in merry making. It is unfortunate that a tragedy which killed thousands of people and
pilgrims, was turned into a picnic-like journey by officials and employees involved in relief aid work.

“Uttarakhand government had failed miserably in providing prompt rescue relief works at the flash flood-affected areas
of the state. Now this disclosure about misuse of disaster fund has come to light. But still, Chief Minister Harish
Rawat and the then Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna are trying to protect the culprits by way of their press
statements,” said Bal Raj.

RTI activist receives threats after obtaining information against Uttarakhand government officials

FIGURE 2

Forty-six-year-old Bhupinder Kumar is a familiar name in Uttarakhand. However, the RTI activist based in
Dehradun received life threats on phone after he found that state government officers misused funds meant for relief
during the 2013 floods.

The information that he obtained has shocked the public and also ruffled many a feather in corridors of power. The
bill obtained through RTI shows state government officers stayed in luxury hotels and relished butter chicken,
mutton and other delicacies at a time when stranded pilgrims were dying of hunger and cold. The RTI expos affected
his freedom. He saw fishy elements near his residence at odd hours. The activist now takes his daily evening walk
with a lot of discomfort and starts worrying if a family member is late in coming home.

Kumar said: "I received life threats on my mobile. Besides, I saw many suspicious elements roaming around near my
residence after news about the information, which I had collected through RTI, appeared in the media. I approached
the local police and they have provided me round-the-clock security. These days, I move out of my house after
taking extra precaution."

In the past, he used RTI to collect information about the fund that the police got for conducting cremation of
unclaimed dead bodies. He said: "I received information through RTI that the police receive Rs 500 per body for
cremation and many a time, cops have to spend the amount from their own pockets. Now, the Uttarakhand Police has
decided to hike the amount to Rs 5,000 per body. Similarly, I forced the state police to make provision for providing
food to policemen who have to take undertrials to court in course of duty."

The misuse of disaster relief fund has become a major political issue. The findings forced the Congress to go on the
back foot while BJP is demanding a CBI probe into the scam. Based on documents obtained by Kumar, the State
Information Commission has asked the Uttarakhand government to conduct a CBI probe into the matter.
 Official who unearthed scam in 2013 Uttarakhand floods relief work claims threat to life

Figure 3

Days after unearthing a multi-crore scam in the relief work done after 2013 Uttarakhand floods, the state information
commissioner Anil Kumar Sharma has claimed threats to his life. He has sought security from the Centre.

Sharma said he had earlier been given security for unearthing two other scams, but the security was withdrawn. It was
not reinstated despite repeated threats.

He now claims he has spotted what he calls some 'dubious people' close to his residence.

"I had got security because of vulnerability of my office and my role in blowing the lid off NRHM and Kumbh scams
earlier but it was withdrawn. I have lodged four FIRs following death threats since then but I am yet to receive
security," Sharma said.

BJP protests against no CBI probe

Figure 4

BJP workers held a protest against the Congress government in the state for ruling out a CBI probe into the alleged
bungling of funds meant for rehabilitation of victims of the 2013 flash floods. BJP leader says that the party will
continue to hold protest demonstrations like this till a probe by the apex investigating agency was ordered into the
scam.

So, Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat ordered chief secretary level to make an inquiry into alleged inflated and
forged bills submitted by state government officials during the relief work of 2013 floods.
Latest News Updates: 7 Dead, 170 Missing After Glacier outbreak in Uttarakhand
(Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has announced ₹ 4 lakh compensation for the family of those
killed.)

There was a glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) in uttarakhand recently. A massive glacial burst in Uttarakhand's
Chamoli district led to massive flooding and avalanche along the Alaknanda and Dhauliganga rivers on Sunday
morning.

What is glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF)?

A glacial lake outburst is a type of outburst flood that occurs when water dammed by a glacier or moraine is
released. In other words, it's an outburst that happens when a dam containing a glacial lake fails.

When and why a glacier breaks?

Failure can happen due to multiple reasons like erosion, the build-up of water pressure, an avalanche of snow or
rocks, and also an earthquake under the ice.

It can also happen if there is a massive displacement of water in the glacial area when a large portion of an adjacent
glacier collapses. Glacier lakes can vary in volume but are known to hold millions to hundreds of millions of cubic
meters of water. Failure to contain ice or glacial sediment can result in water being released for minutes, hours, or
even days.

A glacial outburst may occur due to several factors. According to experts, the direct causes of glacial lake outbursts
resulting in floods are heavy rainfall/snowmelt, earthquake, cascading process, long term dam degradation, and
rapid slope movement into the lake.

On Sunday morning, the incident of a GLOF took place in uttarakhand.

What triggered the floods?

According to a statement by Chamoli police, the Rishiganga Power Project was damaged after a breach of a glacier
in the Tapovan area and that triggered the flood.
Effects of flood

Figure 5

 The incident—a glacial lake outburst flood—took place on Sunday morning and most of the damage took
place in the few hours thereafter. Authorities are not expecting any further impact from this incident.
 The event has affected a small part of the very large state of Uttarakhand. The incident took place near
Raini in Chamoli district, towards the edge of the Nanda Devi National Park.
 Areas affected are 35km upstream from Joshimath. Access to Chamoli and Nanda Devi National Park has
been hit though rescue teams are working at restoring the road links.
 Dehradun, Rishikesh, Haridwar have not been affected by Sunday’s flash flood. Hotels and other facilities
are open and functional. Roads in these regions are also unaffected by Sunday’s incident.
 Rafting on the Ganga was temporarily suspended as a precaution. But water levels in the river at these
places did not rise as feared. The situation around Shivpuri, Rishikesh, Haridwar remains normal.
 Nainital, Mukteshwar, Almora, Ranikhet are not affected either. They are nowhere close to Raini or even
the Alaknanda River, which bore the brunt.
 The ski resort of Auli is also very far from the affected region. It remains accessible and operational.

How to tackle a glacial burst and how is India prepared

The NDMA guidelines say that risk reduction has to begin with identifying and mapping such lakes, taking
structural measures to prevent their sudden breach, and establishing mechanism to save lives and property in times
of a breach.

Potentially dangerous lakes can be identified based on field observations, records of past events, geomorphologic
and geotechnical characteristics of the lake/dam and surroundings, and other physical conditions.
NDMA has recommended use of Synthetic-Aperture Radar imagery to automatically detect changes in water bodies,
including new lake formations, during the monsoon months. It has said methods and protocols could also be
developed to allow remote monitoring of lake bodies from space.

To manage lakes structurally, the NDMA recommends reducing the volume of water with methods such as
controlled breaching, pumping or siphoning out water, and making a tunnel through the moraine barrier or under an
ice dam.

A landslide occurred along the Phuktal (tributary to Zanskar river) on December 31, 2014 in Kargil district of
Ladakh, leading to a potential flood situation on May 7, 2015. The NDMA created an Expert Task Force which,
along with the Army, used explosives to channel water from the river using controlled blasting and manual
excavation of debris.

FIGURE 6
 Conclusion

Uttarakhand CM orders probe into flood relief scam

Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat today ordered an inquiry into alleged inflated and forged bills submitted by
state government officials during the relief work of 2013 floods.

The scam surfaced during the hearing carried out by state information commissioner Anil Sharma where a RTI
petitioner submitted documents showing massive irregularities. The documents indicated that officials relished
choicest of cuisine even as people were suffering.

Taking cognizance of the allegations, the chief minister on Saturday asked chief secretary to look into the matter and
take action against the erring officials, sources in the chief minister's office told PTI.

Records show officers pampering themselves with lavish five star course meals, staying in luxury hotels.

A RTI reply on the Uttarakhand floods has shed light on disturbing facts on the misuse of money allocated for
disaster relief. When lakhs of people in flood-ravaged Uttarakhand went hungry during the 2013 disaster, officials of
the state government indulged themselves with mutton chops, chicken, milk and cottage cheese in the course of their
Rs.7, 000 per day hotel stay supervising relief efforts.

Diesel powered two wheelers used for the rescue operations.

The records further reveal payments made for diesel powered two wheelers, Rupees 194 billed for half a liter milk,
1800 raincoats being purchased for three days from one shop alone. A payment of Rs.98 lakh towards fuel purchase
to a helicopter company was also found in the RTI.

In a 12-page order, passed after hearing complainant Bhupendra Kumar of National Action Forum for Social Justice,
Sharma has taken note of bills provided by various districts and response to RTI queries seeking to know details of
funds spent on relief work in the aftermath of the tragedy that claimed 3,000 lives, with many still missing.
 References

 Sanjeev Singh. (2015) “Uttarakhand Government Orders Probe into 2013 Flood Relief
Scam”, NDTV news, viewed May 31st, https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/probe-ordered-
into-flood-relief-scam-by-uttarakhand-government-767312

 (2015) “BJP protests against no CBI probe”, THE ECONOMICS TIMES, viewed June
16, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/uttarakhand-flood-
relief-scam-bjp-protests-against-no-cbi-probe/articleshow/47692619.cms

 Dehradun.(2015) “Uttarakhand CM orders probe into flood relief scam”, INDIA NEWS,
viewed May 30, https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/uttarakhand-cm-orders-probe-
into-flood-relief-scam/story-IL3nFHTxPNQu5ZIZJMUw0K.html