The National Disaster Management Authority stated in its 130-page "Post Disaster Need Assessment" assessment on the town's "sinking" that Joshimath is far above its carrying capacity and must be designated a zone of "no new constructions." It’s one among eight reports on Joshimath, each by a key central scientific and technical institution, that the state government has not made public for the past several months.
The media had exclusive access to the reports' recommendations, which had been kept "secret" by the government for the previous few months, days after the Uttarakhand High Court questioned the state's decision to do so.
The eight institutions - Central Building Research Institute, Geological Survey of India, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, National Geophysical Research Institute, Central Ground Water Board, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, National Institute of Hydrology, and IIT Roorkee - received the mandate in January of this year with the task of determining the causes of ground subsidence in the area near and around Joshimath and of carrying out corrective measures.
They submitted their preliminary reports to the National Disaster Management Authority towards January-end. The reports were subsequently shared with the state government but were never made public. Last week, copies of the reports were placed in a sealed cover by the state government for the Uttarakhand HC’s consideration.
The town's carrying capacity, poor construction design, and soil bearing capacity were among the significant observations and suggestions provided by specialists from the top institutions. Notably, the settlement has risen on loose soil or moraine that has been left behind by landslides.