Ex‑Deputy Mayor of Shimla Alleges “Man‑Made Disasters” in Himachal, Points to Unchecked Muck Dumping

A senior former official has issued a stark warning, accusing state authorities of a “serious and continuing failure of enforcement” that is directly contributing to repeated and escalating disasters across Himachal Pradesh. In a detailed communication to the State Disaster Management Authority, Tikender Singh Panwar, former Deputy Mayor of Shimla, alleges that rampant, illegal dumping of construction debris into rivers is actively creating catastrophic flood vulnerabilities.

The letter, citing the already active Disaster Management Act of 2005, argues that the problem is not a lack of laws but a blatant lack of action. It states that despite clear evidence from the devastating floods of 2023 and again in 2025, the indiscriminate dumping of muck into rivers, streams (khads), and natural drains continues “unabated,” particularly in ecologically fragile regions.

“This is not merely an environmental violation,” Panwar writes. “It is a direct violation of disaster preparedness and risk-reduction obligations under the Disaster Management Act.”

A “Textbook Example” of Risk

The communication highlights a specific case study to illustrate the scale of the problem: the road corridor connecting Dharampur in Solan district to Sabathu. Here, extensive construction has been accompanied by “routine and unscientific dumping of muck directly down slopes and into adjoining drainage channels.” This debris, the letter notes, flows into the Gambar River and ultimately the Sutlej.

“What is unfolding here is not an isolated lapse,” Panwar asserts, “but a textbook example of how disaster vulnerability is being actively manufactured on the ground.”

A Statewide Pattern with Devastating Consequences

The letter contends this pattern is replicated across districts like Mandi, Kullu, Shimla, and Chamba, where large-scale road construction (primarily by the National Highways Authority of India), infrastructure projects, and private development are generating massive amounts of waste. This muck is being dumped “with impunity” into riverbeds and canals.

Official post-disaster reports from the 2023 and 2025 floods have already identified such dumping as a principal reason for increased flood intensity and destruction. The letter explains that when floodwaters carry not just water but “vast quantities of loose debris, silt and boulders,” the resulting devastation far exceeds what natural rainfall alone would cause.

The consequences are particularly severe for low-lying agricultural areas and traditional irrigation systems, including the indigenous ‘kuhl’ canal networks. These vital canals are being choked or destroyed by debris flows, undermining livelihoods, food security, and centuries-old water management.

Failure to Use Existing Powers

The most disturbing aspect, according to the letter, is that this crisis persists “not due to lack of legal authority, but due to lack of enforcement.” It points out that the Disaster Management Act vests ample preventive powers in State and District Authorities, empowering Deputy Commissioners and field-level officers to act.

“Yet, violations continue openly,” Panwar notes, “raising serious questions about monitoring, accountability and the failure to invoke statutory powers to prevent foreseeable disasters.”

Call for Immediate Action

The former Deputy Mayor has urged the State Disaster Management Authority to take immediate action, including:

· Issuing binding directions to all Deputy Commissioners to identify, stop, and remediate illegal dumping sites.
· Fixing responsibility on executing agencies and contractors for violations.
· Ensuring strict enforcement through field officers with clear timelines.
· Publicly disclosing high-risk zones and actions taken.
· Protecting agricultural land and traditional irrigation systems as critical disaster-resilience infrastructure.

“The repeated floods of recent years have already extracted an enormous human, economic and ecological cost,” Panwar concludes. “Allowing known and documented risk-enhancing practices to continue would amount to institutional negligence under a law specifically enacted to prevent such outcomes.”

The communication calls on the Authority to treat the matter with the “seriousness and urgency it demands.”