Govt gives nod to set up first state-level landslides monitoring study institute

Fadnavis directed the disaster management secretary to form a committee to start the process for setting up the country’s first state-level specialised institute for study and monitoring of landslides in the urban and hilly regions of Maharashtra.

Dr Vijay Page, director, Bramha Research Foundation, had recently appealed to the Deputy Chief Minister to set up a ‘Sahyadri Institute Geoinformatics Research & Monitoring’ (SIGRAM) on the lines of India government’s Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment (DGRE), for study, monitoring of hilly and landslide-prone regions of Maharashtra and to evolve strategies to tackle this.

Earlier, speaking on the topic, Dr Page said, “Increasing extreme rainfall events, coupled with forest cover reduction and growing human settlements in landslide-prone areas endanger life and property for lakhs of residents across the Western Ghats, Sahyadri region of Maharashtra.”

“As per a 2020 study by Geological Survey of India, 225 villages are classified as landslide-prone. In Mumbai city alone, 74 regions have been identified as landslide-prone areas. There is an urgent need to assess the situation and devise scientific strategies to address this situation and we offered our subject expertise to the government in this matter. I am thankful to the government of Maharashtra and Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis for taking cognizance of the situation,” he said.

The Bramha Research Foundation

Bramha Research Foundation is a Mumbai-based strategic research think-tank focussed on key issues impacting the country. The work encompasses areas of international strategic affairs, hi tech industrial development, Atmanirbhar Bharat, defence indigenisation, agriculture, education, water among others.