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17th, August, 2022

 

Topic: Flash floods and landslides in Himachal

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

  • Rain triggered flash floods and landslides in Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur districts in Himachal and 27 families were affected as huge tracts of agricultural land were washed away in Lahaul and Spiti.

 

What is Flash Flood?

  • Flash floods are defined as flood events where the increase in water occurs during or within a few hours of the rainfall that produces the increase. Therefore, flash floods occur in small watersheds, where the response time of the watershed is short.

Factors have relevance to the occurrence of a flash flood:

  • Many hydrological factors are relevant to the occurrence of a flash flood: terrain gradients, soil type, vegetation cover, human habitation, previous rainfall, etc. In steep, rocky terrain or in highly urbanized areas, even relatively little rain can trigger a flash flood. These hydrologic factors determine how the watershed responds to precipitation. Thus, a flash flood is clearly the result of the concatenation of the meteorological and hydrological circumstances.

 

  • Most flash floods associated with rainfall are produced by thunderstorms, that is, deep, wet convection. A single thunderstorm cell is unlikely to produce enough rainfall to cause a flash flood, so the typical flash flood is the result of several thunderstorms moving successively over the same area, known as ‘training’ thunderstorms , because it resembles the passage of cars in a train.

 

Damages due to Flash Flood:

  • It is the rapidity of the event that makes flash floods so damaging and dangerous. Flash floods are fast-rising, fast-moving waters that can cause immense damage; the sudden onset of flooding can result in people being caught unawares and unprepared. Most fatalities result from drowning, with perhaps some traumatic injuries from being carried along with the debris-laden waters and being swept into stationary objects.
  • The potential for loss of human life with flash floods is high. Debris carried in flash floods can form temporary ‘debris dams’ that typically fail as waters back up behind them. Failure of these debris dams, then results in a ‘wall of water’ surging downstream. Debris dam failure events can happen repeatedly during the course of the flash flood. Not all flash floods are characterized by a ‘wall of water’ but all of them (by definition) involve rapidly rising floodwaters.

 

Important Fact about Flash Flood:

  • Flash flooding is more likely in cities than in rural areas surrounding a city, because urbanized areas promote runoff of rainfall, rather than permitting most of the rain to be absorbed into the ground. It takes much less rainfall in a city to create a flash flood situation than in a rural area of comparable size.

 

About Landslide:

  • A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth on a slope.
  • They are a kind of massive wasting, which denotes any downward movement of the earth and rock under the direct influence of gravity.
  • The term landslide includes five modes of slope displacement: falls, rollovers, slides, deviations and flows.

 

Causes:

  • A slope motion occurs when the forces acting downwards (primarily due to gravity) exceed the resistance of the earth materials that make up the slope.

 

Landslides occur due to three main factors: geology, morphology and human activity.

  • Geology refers to the characteristics of the material. The earth or rock may be weak or fractured, or different layers may have different forces and stiffnesses.
  • Morphology refers to the structure of the land. For example, slopes that lose vegetation because of fire or drought are more susceptible to landslides.Vegetation holds soil in place, and without the root systems of trees, bushes, and other plants, the land is more likely to slide away.
  • Human activity, which includes agriculture and construction, increases the potential for landslides.
(News Source: The Tribune & sciencedirect)

 

Topic: Channelization of Beas river

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

  • A DPR of Rs 1,555 crore has been prepared with the help of the Central government for the channelization of Beas river as shared by Minister Govind Singh Thakur.
  • The banks of the Beas river, which wreaks havoc with devastating floods during monsoon season every year and attracts tourists with its charm, would soon be channelized and beautified.

 

Reason for the Channelization of Beas river:

  • Beas has caused damages worth crores of rupees to public and private properties.
  • Many have lost lives and many tourists lured by Beas have also been drowned.
  • Flood in Beas in September 2018 had damaged protection walls from Manali till Mandi and also damaged the highway at many places.
  • Kullu was most affected district in the state where the Beas destroyed everything that came in its way.
  • The concrete walls will control its flow and also promote the safe tourism in Kullu.

 

What is the Plan?

  • The plan is to channelize nearly 70km stretch of the river from Palchan village near Manali till Aut in Mandi district.
(Source: The Tribune & discoverkullumanali)

 

 

Topic: New Appointment in Himachal

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

  • Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar today administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rameshwar Singh Thakur as the Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (HPPSC) at a ceremony held at Raj Bhawan, Shimla. Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur was also present on the occasion.
  • The Governor also administered the oath of office and secrecy to Rakesh Sharma, Colonel Rajesh Kumar Sharma and Dr. Nain Singh as Members of the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission.

About Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission:

 

Historical Background:
  • Himachal Pradesh attained statehood on 25th January, 1971.
  • Prior to this date, the function of Public Service Commission in respect of the civil services and posts in connection with the affairs of the Union Territory of Himachal Pradesh were being discharged by the Union Public Service Commission under Article 315 of the Constitution of India.

It was, therefore, incumbent on the State to have its own Public Service Commission. However, since a State Public Service Commission could be constituted simultaneously with the attainment of Statehood, the Union Public Service Commission, on a request from the Governor of the State of Himachal Pradesh with the approval of the President of India, agreed to serve the needs of Himachal Pradesh till the establishment of a Public Service Commission for the State or for a period of three months from 25th January, 1971 whichever was earlier.

  • The Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission (Members) Regulations, 1971 were notified by the Governor of Himachal Pradesh on 8th April, 1971 by virtue of the power vesting in him under Article 318 of the Constitution of India.
  • These Regulations, prescribed that the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission would consist of a Chairman and two Members to be appointed by the Governor.

 

Important Points:

 

1) Chairman and other members (Number of other members is not fixed. It is determined by the Governor of the state)

2) Appointment by Governor

3) Qualification:

  • The qualification of the chairman and other members is NOT SPECIFIED in the constitution. However, there is a condition that one-half of the members of the commission should be such persons who have held office for at least ten years either under the government of India or under the Government of a state

4) Term:

  • 6 years or until they attain the age of 62 years (Initially, the retirement age was 60 years. It was extended to 62 years by the 41st Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976)

7) Resign to Governor

8) Annual Report is submitted to the Governor, who then tables it before the State Legislature for the discussion.

9) Removal of Chairman and members: By President (Although they are appointed by the Governor, only President can remove them from their post)

10) Reappointment after retirement:

  • Chairman: The Chairman of the State PSC cannot be reappointed for the next term in the same PSC. However, he can be appointed as the chairman or member of UPSC or chairman of other PSC or JPSC
  • Member: A member cannot be reappointed for the next term in the same PSC. However, he can be appointed as the chairman of that PSC or chairman or member of other PSC/JPSC or UPSC.

11) Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission: HeadQuarter in Shimla

(News Source: Amar Ujala)

 

 

Topic: State Finance Commission

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

  • The under-19 boys’ block-level sports competition began at Charatgarh in Una, Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday. It was inaugurated by State Finance Commission Chairman Satpal Satti.

 

About State Finance Commission:

  • The Indian Constitution makers envisioned a two-tier democratic system with a strong federal government at the Centre and states as its units.
  • They also clearly demarcated the duties and responsibilities of the Union government and the states and further assigned revenue streams to both of them to discharge their duties and responsibilities.
  • However, this model underwent a major change for decades after the Constitution came into effect. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1992 formally recognized a three-tier system of local self-governance comprising at village level, block level and district level bodies.

 

For instance, the Gram Panchayats has historically existed in the country for thousands of years as a unit of self-rule. However, the 73rd amendment gave the Gram Panchayats a real boost in the form of endowing it with a constitutional status, thereby assigning to them – funds, functions and functionaries.

 

Who appoints the State Finance Commission?

  • Under Article 243-I of the Constitution of India, the governor of a state is required to constitute a Finance Commission every five years.

 

Wondering why?

  • This is in order to decide the resource allocation between the state government and the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
  • Article 243-Y also brought city councils or municipalities under the purview of the State Finance Commission.

 

What is the role of the State Finance Commission?

  • A State Finance Commission has functions similar to that of the Central Finance Commission. It allocates resources of a state to its Panchayati Raj institutions at all three levels in terms of taxes, duties and levies to be collected by the state and the local bodies.
  • Its job is similar to that of the Central Finance Commission constituted by the President of India under Article 280 of the Constitution, that divides the central taxes between the Union government and state governments.

 

Recommendations of a State Finance Commission:

  • A State Finance Commission reviews the financial position of the Panchayats in a state and makes recommendations to the Governor about the principles that should govern the distribution of tax proceeds – taxes, duties, levies, toll fee collected by the state between the state and its Panchayati Raj Institutions at all three levels – village level, block level and district level.

 

It also recommends the following:

  • Taxes, levies and fees levied or appropriated by Panchayats themselves.
  • Grants-in-aid to Panchayati Raj Institutions from the consolidated fund of a state.
  • Ways to improve the financial position of the Panchayati Raj Institutions.
  • Measures for the overall improvement of Panchayat’s finances.

 

Action Taken on State Finance Commission’s Recommendations:

  • Under Article 243-I of the Indian Constitution, the governor of a state ensures the laying of a State Finance Commission’s recommendation on the table in the state legislature. It also includes a memorandum of action taken by the government on the Commission’s report.
(Source: Divyahimachal & financialexpress)