Guwahati: The Kamrup (Metro) district commissioner has directed all departments, including PWD, transport and soil conservation, Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) and Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), not to permit any earth cutting and earth filling activity in the hilly terrains, water bodies and low lying areas of the district till the monsoon season.Issuing the order, DC Swapneel Paul stated, “No earth cutting should be allowed till the monsoon season is over, even if permission has been procured from the regulatory authorities like GMDA and GMC for any construction activity. It is further directed not to allow carrying of earth procured after hill cutting.”The order follows the district administration’s observation that unscientific and haphazard earth cutting and earth filling in hillocks and low-lying areas for unplanned construction destabilises natural slopes, blocks drains and clogs natural and artificial drainage channels, triggering landslides, artificial floods and persistent waterlogging during rainy days, leading to loss of human and cattle lives and damage to property.“I am of the considered opinion that if haphazard, unscientific and unplanned earth-cutting and earth filling are allowed to continue unhindered in the district, it may cause a catastrophe, mishap and calamity of great magnitude in this district putting the public in general in a situation of great inconvenience and hardship,” he stated.The DC directed departments concerned and regulatory bodies to review permissions granted, if any, during the current year and cancel them forthwith in the most vulnerable areas prone to landslides and flash floods, considering the present risk and vulnerability.
