Commission tasked to review status of high-risk glacial lakes, suggest measures to minimize glacial threats to Sikkim
GANGTOK,: The State government has constituted a 13-member commission to
evaluate vulnerable glacial lakes in Sikkim and suggest strategies to mitigate
future glacial hazards.
The
‘Sikkim Commission on Glacial Hazards’ is headed by Dr. Akhilesh Gupta, former
senior advisor of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India
as its chairman.
Notified this
September, the commission is tasked to address and mitigate future glacial
threats to Sikkim, a State which suffered extensive damages to properties and
loss of lives during the massive Glacial Lake Outburst Flood in October 2023.
“The
accelerated rate of melting glaciers influenced by climate change has resulted
in the formation of a large number of glacial lakes and many that are in the
process of being formed. This has created an immense threat of glacial hazards
in the State,” reads the government notification for constituting the Sikkim
Commission on Glacial Hazards.
Sikkim has
40 high-risk glacial lakes including 16 in category ‘A’ of high-vulnerability
index. Thirteen of such glacial lakes are in North Sikkim and three are in West
Sikkim.
Alarmingly, one in every four high-risk glacial lakes in India is situated within Sikkim.
Commission given set tasks
The
commission is mandated to review the current status of glacier and glacier
lakes in Sikkim, to establish the link of climate change and global warming to
glacier melt in Sikkim. It would identify the vulnerable glacial lakes in
Sikkim in terms of glacial impact.
Crucially,
the commission is tasked to suggest the site-specific best technical measures
to minimize the glacial threat in the identified glacial lakes. It would be
suggesting special measures to follow during the mitigation measures,
especially during the engineering interventions at the lake and in the
downstream areas.
The
commission would also suggest the roles and responsibilities of the different
stakeholders in terms of glacial hazards, and if required, suggest forming a
specific task force to take up mitigation measures at the field level.
Another
important responsibility is to provide policy prescriptions on a cross-sectoral
basis and inter-disciplinary issues to the Sikkim government. These are
essential to enhance the efficacy of operationalization of both the technical
and scientific recommendation and also to assess and mobilize the institutional
or resources support.
The
commission would also be suggesting the State government to tap national and
international climate fund towards glacial threat mitigation measures as well
as other climate hazards in Sikkim. It is also directed to suggest action
required on human resources generation or capacity building towards the study
and management of glacial threats.
The commission has been directed to submit its report within one year of its first meeting or latest by February 2025.
Team Sikkim Commission on Glacial
Hazards
Dr.
Akhilesh Gupta, former senior advisor of Department of Science &
Technology, Government of India is the commission’s chairman.
In a
social media post, Dr. Gupta expressed that he is honoured to be designated as
the chairman of Sikkim Commission on Glacial Hazards along with some of India's
leading glaciologists, hydrologists, DRR experts, Disaster Managers and
officials from Government of Sikkim as members.
“The
Commission has a daunting task of assessing vulnerable glacial lakes in Sikkim and
propose appropriate mitigation strategies to reduce the impact of such hazards
in future. The Commission looks forward to working with all stakeholders within
and outside Sikkim to seek a long term solution to the problem. As the impact
of climate change increases in future the frequency, intensity and duration of
such disasters may increase,” said Dr. Gupta.
Leading
educationists and experts like Prof Mahendra P Lama, Prof A. Ramsoo, Dr. Rajesh
Kumar, Dr. Piyush Gourav, Dr. Ashim Sattar, Dr. Kalachand Sain, and Dr. Anil
Kumar Gupta are in the commission as members.
The
commission also includes heads of Forest & Environment, Land Revenue &
Disaster Management, Mines & Geology, and Water Resources departments as
the members.
State
Science & Technology secretary Sandeep Tambe is the member secretary.
