NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review the situation on the sinking town of Joshimath here, even as the local administration began demolishing two “unsafe” hotels — Hotels Malari Inn and Mount View — which had developed cracks, and the government shifted people to temporary relief centres.
The Uttarakhand government is offering an interim relief of Rs 1.5 lakh per affected family, and Rs 4,000 per month to pay for rent. Officials said the Joshimath administration was evacuating affected families to a safer place As of now, 723 houses have been identified that have reportedly developed deep cracks.
Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Bhupendra Yadav, Gajendra Shekhawat, R.K. Singh, Union home secretary Ajay Bhalla, Border Roads Organisation officers, and senior home ministry officials were present in Shah’s meeting.
According to sources, Shah was updated on the rehabilitation of residents of Joshimath and issues related to the evacuation.
Meanwhile, the Uttarakhand Court asked the state government on Thursday to formulate a robust plan for subsidence-hit Joshimath town in Chamoli district.
Hearing a PIL on the crisis, a division bench of Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi and Justice Alok Kumar Verma directed the government to form a committee of independent experts to look into the matter.
The court said the committee must include Disaster Management Authority CEO Piyush Rautela and Executive Director, Space Application Centre, MPS Bisht.
