Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 26 Mar: The Central Government is undertaking a study to develop a landslide monitoring and early warning system along the Char Dham Yatra route. This was stated by the Centre in the Parliament in response to a query raised regarding the progress of National Highway projects in Uttarakhand by Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt.
Replying to the query in the Rajya Sabha, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari asserted that the development and maintenance of National Highways in Uttarakhand, as in the rest of the country, is a continuous process. He said that works on National Highways are carried out based on traffic density, road condition and alignment with the Prime Minister Gati Shakti National Master Plan to ensure that roads remain in a motorable condition. He further said that the Union Government, apart from monitoring project implementation agencies, has also initiated several measures to avoid delays or minimise them. These include streamlining land acquisition and environmental clearances, online approval of general arrangement drawings for railway overbridges and underpasses, restructuring of dispute resolution mechanisms, re-determination of premiums and provision of one-time fund infusion.
The Minister added that several initiatives have been taken to develop disaster-resilient infrastructure on National Highways, particularly in hill states and Union Territories. As part of these efforts, a research scheme has been undertaken with funding support to IIT Roorkee for preparing guidelines on assessing slope instability using instruments and enabling real-time monitoring. In Uttarakhand, work is in progress on a study to deploy an interferometric synthetic aperture radar-based landslide monitoring and early warning system along a 100-kilometre stretch of the Char Dham pilgrimage route.
In continuation of these efforts, an agreement has been signed with Tehri Hydro Development Corporation India Limited (THDC) to carry out special works for landslide mitigation in Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh. It has also been decided that, in mountainous regions, slope cutting and stabilisation works will be prioritised before beginning the road construction. The construction activities will begin only after completion of safety measures on a segment-wise basis. For technical support in mitigating geo-hazards on National Highways, an agreement has been entered into with the Defence Geoinformatics Research Establishment. Collaboration is also underway with the Geological Survey of India for sharing data related to geological investigations and geo-hazard studies for tunnel projects. Geotechnical investigations, preparation of Detailed Project Reports, and review and proof-checking of tunnel designs and drawings during the construction stage are being carried out for tunnel and road projects.
The Centre has now made it mandatory to complete slope cutting and stabilisation before undertaking road construction. The minister stated that the road works will be taken up only after implementing safety measures in each segment. In line with this, a policy issued in November 2025 provides for enhanced and streamlined corrective measures for National Highway construction in the hills. These include improving the quality of Detailed Project Reports, ensuring adequate slope protection and drainage systems, adopting better construction methodologies in mountainous terrain, allowing sufficient time for construction, and strengthening monitoring and landslide early warning systems. The policy also lays down detailed guiding principles such as alignment selection and road widening proposals, planning for additional right of way, identification of dumping sites for debris disposal, design of slope protection and drainage measures, adoption of improved construction practices, and ensuring proper post-construction maintenance.
