Uttarakhand to begin Rs 10,000 crore project to relocate villages in disaster-prone areas

In a mammoth exercise, Uttarakhand government will relocate 395 villages in disaster-prone areas to safer locations. In the first phase of the project, which is worth Rs 10,000 crore, 73 villages will be relocated. A total of 3,491 families live in these villages.
Of the 73 villages, three are located in Bageshwar district and harbour a total of 31 families, 21 villages are in Pithoragarh and have 582 families combined, three villages are in Nainital with 158 families as inhabitants, three villages are in Almora with 84 families, 11 villages in Uttarkashi with 638 families, eight villages in Tehri with 507 families, seven villages in Rudraprayag with 92 families and 17 villages in Chamoli with 888 families.

A Detailed Project Report of the villages has been submitted to the state government.
The authorities also face challenges in identifying the locations the villages will be shifted to. While in the plain districts of Haridwar, Dehradun and Udham Singh Nagar, the shortage of available land may pose a problem, in the hills, permission from the forest department may be required at some places.