SHIMLA-24th July, 2025

CM expresses grief over seven deaths in bus accident in Mandi district

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has expressed grief over the HRTC bus accident that took place at Tarangla near Maseran in Sarkaghat area of Mandi district today in which seven persons lost their lives and 27 sustained injuries. The ill-fated bus was on its way from Sarkaghat to Durgapur. The injured individuals have been admitted in the Civil Hospital Sarkaghat and Medical College Nerchowk and seriously injured had been referred to AIIMS Bilaspur for further treatment.

The Chief Minister directed the district administration Mandi to provide ex-gratia grant to the next of kin of the deceased and best of treatment to the injured.

He also prayed to the Almighty to grant peace to the departed souls and strength to the bereaved families to bear this irreparable loss.

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ACS urges revised norms for disaster relief in Himachal

• Seeks flood forecasting unit and enhanced monitoring systems for state

A meeting of the Multi-Sectoral Central Team (MSCT), constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs to investigate the increasing incidents of natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh, was held today under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue) K.K. Pant.

The meeting was attended by the MSCT team leader Col. K.P. Singh and members Dr. S.K. Negi, Prof. Arun Kumar, Dr. Neelima Satyam and Dr. Sushmita Joseph.

Welcoming the MSCT team, Shri Pant stated that Himachal Pradesh's geographical conditions are different from other states, making it necessary to revise the norms related to disaster recovery and rehabilitation in the region. He stressed the need for institutions such as the Central Water Commission (CWC) and the Geological Survey of India (GSI) to conduct in-depth studies on the causes of natural disasters while being stationed in the state.

He highlighted the importance of assessing disaster-prone areas and focusing on early forecasting of such events. He said that emphasis should be laid on pre-disaster planning rather than post-disaster response in order to minimize loss of life and property. He also called for the installation of advanced sensors to improve data collection across the state.

He said that the Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has also been advocating for a detailed study on the increasing incidents of cloudbursts since 2023. He further emphasized the need to set up a flood forecasting unit in the state with the support of the Central Water Commission, to enhance hydrological monitoring and to study glacial lakes.

Dr. Neeraj from DGRE-DRDO and Atul from GSI participated in the meeting virtually. The MSCT team urged DGRE-DRDO to provide data related to high-altitude regions and asked GSI to focus more on the issues of sudden floods and landslides, which were the two major natural disasters occurring in Himachal Pradesh.

Special Secretary (Revenue-Disaster Management) D.C. Rana gave a detailed presentation on various natural disasters in the state. He said that since 2018, Himachal Pradesh has witnessed 148 cloudbursts, 294 flash floods and over 5,000 landslides. He said that districts such as Kullu, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur and Mandi were extremely vulnerable to such events.

He apprised the MSCT team that during 2023 alone, the estimated loss due to natural disasters in the state was nearly Rs. 10,000 crore. Apart from this the state incurs a loss of Rs.1,000 to Rs. 2,000 crore annually due to such events. He said that climate change was a major factor behind the increase in cloudbursts, flash floods and landslides.

Senior officials from various departments of both the central and state governments were present in the meeting.

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CS holds meeting with Central Team on Escalating Natural Calamities

• Team to examining root cause of increasing trend of disasters in State

A deputation of multi-sectoral central team to examine the root causes of increasing trend of natural disasters in Himachal Pradesh in the recent years held a meeting with Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena here today.

The Chief Secretary told the central team, led by Advisor (Ops & Comn), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Col. K. P. Singh, that it has been observed that the State has witnessed an increase in the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts, flash floods, landslides and torrential rainfall events, causing widespread loss of life, damage to infrastructure, livelihoods and environmental degradation in the State.

He said that in the recent years new challenges have emerged due to the frequency, scale, intensity and impact of disasters like cloudbursts, flashfloods and landslides. Such disasters have a long lasting impact on the life of the victims, social structure and overall development.

The team tasked with examining the increasing trend of disasters in the State, find out their root causes and suggests remedial measures based upon scientific evidence/ analysis to the State and Central Government consists of Chief Scientist, CSIR-CBRI (Roorkee) Dr. S. K. Negi, Geologist, (Retd.) Univ. of Manipur Prof. Arun Kumar, Research Scientist, IITM (Pune) Dr. Susmita Joseph and Professor, Civil Engineering, IIT Indore Dr. Neelima Satyam as members.

The Chief Secretary said that hilly states have different and significant challenges when it comes to dealing with disasters, relief works and rehabilitation, therefore it was important to find the root causes behind the disasters so that we could work to minimize the disasters and accordingly prepare ourselves for such challenges.

In view of the urgency of the matter, the multi-sectoral central team was asked to visit Himachal at the earliest. Upon its return from visit and after making final assessment, the team would submit its report within one week to the Disaster Management Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

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New trainee policy to end Ad-Hoc System

• Candidates to be regularized in two years
• · No provision for termination after two years

A government spokesperson today clarified that the aim of the new Trainee Policy was to make the functioning of departments more smooth, efficient and effective. He said that previously, the period for regularizing contractual employees depended on ad-hoc decisions and the discretion of the government in power. This duration varied from two to eight years. The objective of the new policy was to end the ad-hoc system and ensure regularization of employees after a two-year period. He also clarified that there was no provision in the new policy to terminate the services of any trainee after two years.

The Spokesperson said that some political leaders were spreading misinformation regarding the policy. He questioned how the Agniveer scheme, which was once a key recruitment source for Himachali youth, has now completely shut its doors. He further asked what plans were being made for those youths who would be retired at the age of 23.

He said that the new policy has been designed keeping in mind the interests of the youth and that most of its provisions were similar to the previous contract policy. In the earlier contract system, employees were also kept on contract for two years and under the new system, selected candidates would serve as trainees for a similar period. He said that a departmental examination would be conducted after the two-year training, for which the Personnel Department would soon issue detailed guidelines. All candidates selected through the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission and the Rajya Chayan Aayog would be regularized after completing the two-year trainee period.

The Spokesperson further said that the old contract policy had several practical shortcomings, which caused various difficulties for employees and led to many legal disputes. To resolve these issues the government issued the new Trainee Policy on 19th July, 2025. Under this policy, newly appointed trainees would undergo two years of practical training during which they would learn the functioning of their respective departments. After the training, they would be better equipped to handle departmental responsibilities with greater skill and efficiency.