GUWAHATI, Sept 21 - The Kamrup Metro district administration has directed the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) not to accord building permission in the entire Nilachal Hill.
�I have directed the development authorities like GMDA and GMC not to accord building permission, including construction of boundary wall or guard wall, in the entire Nilachal Hill. Moreover, the Circle Officer of Guwahati Revenue Circle and GMC have been directed to conduct a joint survey of the entire Nilachal Hill for identifying illegal encroachment and take necessary measures to remove them from the hillock for protecting the hill from landslide and other related disasters,� said Dr M Angamuthu, Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup Metro. The order has been issued under the Disaster Management Act 2005.
�It has been observed that unscientific and haphazard earth cutting, earth filling and unplanned construction works in the Nilachal Hill, from the foothill to entire hillocks, are not only destabilising the natural earth slopes but are also blocking natural drains, clogging primary and secondary water channels and drains, which triggers severe landslides, artificial flood and persistent water-logging during the rainy days, resulting in substantial loss of human and cattle lives and destruction of properties,� said Dr Angamuthu, who is also Chairman of the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA).
He added, �Unplanned and unscientific construction of houses and buildings in the Nilachal Hill is not only making these establishments vulnerable to erosion, landslide and other related disasters, but also creating ecological imbalance in the environment. Several incidents of landslides have already occurred in the recent past, leading to loss of lives and properties.�
