Multi hazard atlas, policy roadmap to guide future development
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 18: In a major step towards strengthening disaster preparedness and ensuring scientific planning, the high-powered expert committee constituted by the Government to conduct a comprehensive Hazard, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment (HVRA) is set to submit its report shortly and the recommendations will help in reshaping the Union Territory’s future development framework.
Follow the Daily Excelsior channel on WhatsApp
The expert committee, constituted vide Government Order No. 168-JK(GAD) dated February 6, 2026, was given a three-month timeline to complete the exercise. With the deadline nearing, the panel has almost finalized its findings after extensive consultations, data analysis and coordination with multiple departments, official sources told EXCELSIOR.
Headed by Safi Ahsan Rizvi, Advisor (Mitigation), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the committee comprises Administrative Secretaries of Jal Shakti, Public Works (R&B), Housing and Urban Development, Forest, Ecology and Environment and Rural Development Departments, Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu, scientists and technical experts. It was entrusted with the task of mapping Jammu and Kashmir’s complex and multi-layered risk profile.
“The report will present a detailed scientific analysis of major hazards affecting the Union Territory, including earthquakes, floods, landslides, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and forest fires. These risks have become more pronounced in recent years due to climate change, environmental degradation and rapid urban expansion”, sources informed.
They further said, “the expert committee’s work is expected to culminate in the preparation of a comprehensive HVRA atlas, which will demarcate hazard-prone zones across Jammu and Kashmir. This atlas is likely to serve as a critical reference document for future infrastructure development, urban planning and environmental regulation”.
Such scientific mapping has long been missing in the region as a result of which infrastructure projects and settlements were being undertaken without adequate assessment of underlying risks, sources said, adding “beyond identifying risks, the committee will recommend a structured policy framework comprising short, medium and long-term mitigation strategies. These recommendations are expected to guide the Government in prioritising investments, regulating construction activities and strengthening disaster response mechanisms”.
“Significantly, the report is also likely to stress the need for integrating hazard assessment outputs into governance and planning systems. This would ensure that risk considerations are embedded at the planning stage itself, rather than being addressed only after disasters occur”, they further informed, adding “the recommendations may include stricter land-use regulations, improved building codes and safeguards for infrastructure projects in ecologically sensitive zones”.
The committee, as per the sources, is likely to suggest mechanisms for continuous updating of hazard data and periodic review of disaster preparedness plans. “Gaps in existing coordination systems, data-sharing mechanisms and implementation frameworks have also been examined with suggestions aimed at making disaster management more proactive and responsive”, they added.
It is pertinent to mention here that such measures are critical in a region like Jammu and Kashmir, where the dynamic nature of environmental risks requires constant monitoring and adaptive strategies. The timing of the report is significant, as Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed increasing vulnerability to natural and climate-induced disasters in recent years. Last year’s incidents of flash floods and landslides have highlighted the fragile ecological balance of the region.
“Rapid and often unregulated developmental activities have raised concerns among experts about the long-term sustainability of infrastructure growth in hazard-prone areas and the report of the expert committee will provide a much-needed evidence-based framework for balancing development with environmental and safety considerations”.
“The recommendations of the expert committee will yield the desirable results on the ground only when the Government responds timely to the findings”, sources said and hoped that report will lead to a paradigm shift in the planning and disaster preparedness instead of becoming another policy document awaiting execution.
The post Expert panel to shortly submit crucial hazard, vulnerability, risk assessment report for J&K appeared first on Daily Excelsior.