Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today said that the state government was exploring the possibility of devising a mechanism to allow faster declaration of death in case of persons who had gone missing during natural disasters as the seven-year wait was very agonising for the affected families.
He was speaking on the issue of the grant of ex-gratia to the families of people, who had gone missing in flashfloods triggered by a cloudburst, raised by Rampur MLA Nand Lal during the Question Hour in the Vidhan Sabha.
Sukhu admitted that providing financial relief in the form of ex-gratia to the families of missing persons in the case of natural disasters was a major challenge for the government, as they could not be considered dead till seven years after the incident.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state government could utilise water from the reservoirs of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) for drinking and irrigation purposes without a no objection certificate (NOC) from it, “as Himachal has a 7.19 per cent legitimate right over water”
The Chief Minister was replying to a calling attention motion moved by Sundernagar MLA Rakesh Jamwal in the Assembly
Jamwal said that people were facing problems due to the Beas-Sutlej Link Project of the BBMB
Sukhu said, “The notification that an NOC from the BBMB is not required for the use of water will be shared with the Deputy Commissioners of Kangra, Bilaspur and Mandi. Objections being raised by the BBMB regarding various development works will be taken up with its management.”
He said demarcation would be done to assess excess vacant land with the BBMB, which was not being returned and could be put to use.
“People are facing problems, as there are reports of seepage and silt from the Beas-Sutlej Link Project. The Pandoh Dam is also not being run as per the norms and a havoc was caused during the monsoon last year. Even adherence to the dam safety norms is very poor,” he added.
The Chief Minister said, “It is often seen that many bodies decompose and are never recovered after cloudbursts and similar tragedies, causing emotional trauma to the affected families.”
Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that in the past two years up to July 31, 2024, as many as 41 people had gone missing in disasters in Himachal. He added that 22 individuals, who had gone missing in the rain-triggered tragedies in Bagipul and Samej (Kullu) and Padhar (Mandi) could not not be declared dead for seven years, as per the Central Birth and Death Registration Act.
Negi said that during extreme events like the 2013 Uttarakhand tragedy, the Registrar General, Union Ministry of Home Affairs, issued a procedure for the registration of deaths of missing persons in the areas affected by natural calamities. The Central Government had also prescribed this procedure for Himachal Pradesh after the 2023 floods.
He said that the state government could provide the gratuitous relief to the families of missing people from the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) and the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) only after the issuance of a death certificate.
Negi said that the Section 111 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, prescribed a procedure for declaring a missing person dead. “It provides that when the question is whether a person is alive or dead, and it is proved that he has not been heard for seven years by those who would naturally have heard him if he had been alive, the burden of proving that he is alive is shifted to the person who affirms it,” he added.