NE states reported 592 landslides since 2017, one-third in April-July 2024: Govt

New Delhi, Jul 31 (PTI) The northeastern region has reported 196 landslides from April-July this year, accounting for one-third of the total 592 landslides recorded since 2017, according to data shared in Parliament on Wednesday.

In response to a question by BJP MP Kamakhya Prasad Tasa, Union Earth Sciences Minister Jitendra Singh told the Lok Sabha that the Geological Survey of India (GSI) has collected data on 592 landslides that occurred between April 2017 and July 2024 in different northeastern states, impacting lives and infrastructure.

He said the analysis of the data shows a "mixed trend with periodic ups and downs" in the occurrences of landslides.

"To infer conclusively about the exact nature of the trend of landslide incidents, long-range (at least 20 years of) data with exact date of occurrence is required," the minister said.

According to the data presented in Parliament, the northeastern region reported 28 landslides in 2017-18; 49 in 2018-19; 45 in 2019-20; 65 in 2020-21; 78 in 2021-22; 102 in 2022-23; 29 in 2023-24; and 196 in 2024-25 so far.

According to the landslide atlas released by the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) National Remote Sensing Centre last year, the Northwest Himalayas account for 66.5 per cent of the landslides in India, followed by the Northeast Himalayas (18.8 per cent) and the Western Ghats (14.7 per cent). PTI GVS RPA