Lok Sabha Question No. 901 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-01
Subject: Earthquake Mitigation Measures
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: DHANANJAY BHIMRAO MAHADIK, G. HARI, HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT, VIJAYSINH MOHITE PATIL, SUPRIYA SADANAND SULE, HARISH DWIVEDI

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 901

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 1 ST  MARCH, 2016/PHALGUNA 11, 1937 (SAKA)

## EARTHQUAKE MITIGATION MEASURES

901.

SHRI DHANANJAY MAHADIK:

SHRI G. HARI:

DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL VIJAYSINH SHANKARRAO:

SHRIMATI SUPRIYA SULE:

SHRI HARISH CHANDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a)  whether a powerful 6.8 magnitude earthquake had occurred in the State  of  Manipur  and  its  neighbouring  States  recently  and  if  so,  the details thereof;

- (b)  the  number  of  casualties  reported  and  quantum  of  damage  to property in this regard;
- (c) whether the National Disaster Response Force has been engaged in clearing  the debris  and looking  for survivors, if so, the details  thereof along  with  the  financial  assistance  provided  to  the  affected  States, State-wise;
- (d) whether it is also true that quakes with a higher intensity than the one that struck Manipur are likely to rock the region in the future; and
- (e) whether it is also true that the Government has taken measures to sensitise the Governments of all hill States to adopt a common building code different from the rest of India and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI KIREN RIJIJU)

## LS.USQ.No. 901 FOR 1.3.2016

(a) to (c):    As per India Meteorological Department (IMD) an earthquake of magnitude 6.7 scale had occurred on 4 th  January 2016 in Tamenglong District, Manipur. Tremors were also felt in neighboring States.

As per the information received from the State Government of Manipur, 10 human lives had been lost due to the earthquake of 4 th  January 2016, besides  damage  to  3218  public  and  private  properties.    No  major casualty  or  damage  was  reported  from  other  States  of  North-Eastern India.

Two  Search  &  Rescue  Teams  (83  personnel)  of  National  Disaster Response  Force  were  deployed  to  assist  the  State  Government  of Manipur and one Team was deployed to assist the State Government of Assam.

With regard to financial assistance, it is mentioned that the concerned State Governments undertake relief operations in the wake of natural disasters including earthquake from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)  already  placed  at  their  disposal.    An  additional  assistance  is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

The State-wise allocation and releases from SDRF and NDRF in respect of North-Eastern States for the year 2015-16 is given in Annexure.

(d):    The  government  is  aware  about  seismic  hazard  of  the  whole country.  Earthquake  prone/  seismic  zones  have  been  identified  and mapped under the auspices of Bureau of Indian Standard [IS 1983 (part I); 2002].  The country is grouped into four seismic zones viz; zone-II, III, IV and V. Of these, zone V is seismically the most quake prone region, while  zone-II  is  the  least.  The  entire  North  East  India  region  lies  in seismic zone V.

As  per  information  received  from  Ministry  of  Earth  Science,  till  date, there is no proven scientific technique available, anywhere in the world, to  forecast/  predict  the  occurrence  of  earthquakes  with  reasonable degree of accuracy with regard to space, time and magnitude and also there is no scientific technique yet available to prevent the occurrence of earthquake.

(e):    Guidelines  have  been  published  by  Bureau  of  Indian  Standards (BIS),  Building  Materials  &  Technical  Promotion  Council  (BMTPC)  and Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) etc. for the

design and construction of earthquake resistant structure to minimize the loss of life and damage to property caused by earthquakes. Further, National  Building  Code  provides  various  provisions  for  earthquake resistant design and construction of buildings in various zones including  those  in  hilly  areas.  There  is  no  separate  building  code  for hilly areas. These guidelines are in wide circulation amongst the public and  the  administrative  authorities  responsible  for  the  design  and construction  of  earthquake  resistant  structures  in  earthquake  prone areas.

*****

LS.USQ.No. 901 FOR 1.3.2016 Annexure

Statement showing State-wise details of allocation and releases of SDRF and NDRF during the year 2015-16

(Rs. in crore)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State   |   Allocation under SDRF | Centre's share of SDRF released   |   Releas ed from NDRF |
|-----------|---------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------|
| 1         | 2                   |                       3 | 4                                 |                  5    |
| 1.        | Arunachal Pradesh   |                      52 | 46.80                             |                  0    |
| 2.        | Assam               |                     460 | 414.00                            |                  0    |
| 3.        | Manipur             |                      19 | 21.05 #                           |                  9.68 |
| 4.        | Meghalaya           |                      24 | 21.60                             |                  0    |
| 5.        | Mizoram             |                      17 | 15.30                             |                  0    |
| 6.        | Nagaland            |                      10 | 9.00                              |                  0    |
| 7.        | Sikkim              |                      31 | 27.90                             |                  0    |
| 8.        | Tripura             |                      31 | 27.90                             |                  0    |
|           | Total: -            |                     644 | 583.55                            |                  9.68 |

#  Including arrears of SDRF for the previous year.