Organisers

HUDCO - BMTPC - IBC- Ministry of UD&PA

PRESS RELEASE

 3^rd May 2001

India is visited by one natural calamity or the other, depending upon the locational/geo-climatological context. The earthquakes of Uttarkashi, Latur, Jabalpur, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Pauri Garhwal and recently in Gujarat in addition to the cyclones in the coastal districts of Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Orissa and the floods in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Kerala have brought in incalculable loss to life and property. Nearly 55 percent of the land area of the country is seismic; 12% of the land area comes under seismic zone V, 18% in seismic zone IV and 8% of the land mass is vulnerable to cyclones and 5% prone to floods and other natural calamities like sea erosion, landslides and forest fires, with the result that nearly 85 per cent of India is affected by one natural calamity or the other.

To highlight the need for disaster preparedness, mitigation and management, Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO), Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC), Indian Buildings Congress (IBC) and Ministry for Urban Development & Poverty Alleviation jointly organised the “National Seminar on Habitat Safety against Earthquakes & Cyclones” on 2^nd and 3^rd May, 2001 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. In the backdrop of the recent devastating earthquake in Gujarat, the Seminar provided an opportunity for intense interaction and exchange of views on the issues concerning the safety of people and buildings from hazards like earthquakes and cyclones.

Highlighting the importance of the subject, Shri Jagmohan in his opening remarks pointed out that the efforts so far have been one of post-disaster action covering rescue, relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, repair, renewal and retrofitting.  He mentioned that there is urgent need to intensify the pre-disaster mitigation namely, pro-action, preparedness, protection, prevention, publicity and awareness creation at different levels. It is a fact that earthquakes don’t kill people, badly built buildings do. He stated that his through an Expert Group went into the aspects of hazard mapping and ascertaining the vulnerability of housing stock in all the districts of the country. This exercise resulted into what is now popularly called the Vulnerability Atlas of India. The Expert Group also produced Guidelines for Techno-legal Regime including Technical guidelines for reconstruction and retrofitting. A summary of all these guidelines and recommendations were sent to all State & U.T. governments for action at their end.  It was further emphasised by Shri Jagmohan that in view of the Gujarat tragedy what is now essentially required is that local authorities and State Governments should urgently take steps to suitably amend their building bye-laws, land-use zoning regulations, and other relevant acts. Enforcement machinery at local bodies level should be more vigilant while approving plans and issuing completion certificates. The appropriate and strict action should be taken against defaulters. The focus has to shift form post-disaster relief and reconstruction to pre-disaster planning and mitigation strategies.

The seminar was spread in four technical sessions comprising of Intensive issues like assessment of seismic risks in urban areas, assessment of seismic risks in urban areas, damage risk assessment, micro-zonation as a risk assessment tool, mitigation & management of earthquakes & cyclones. Over 300 delegates from all over the country participated in the 2 day seminar which had the benefit of the presence of around 50 experts in the field.

The deliberations revealed that there is general consensus about the safety measures including critical issues like micro-zonation that are required to be taken to ensure that the hazards like earthquakes and cyclones do not become disasters. It was observed that the related Codes, Standards and Guidelines formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards and institutions like Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council of Ministry of Urban Development for earthquake and cyclone resistant construction should be adopted without exception.