Rajya Sabha MP Laltluangkima Khiangte has urged Union Home Minister Amit Shah to provide enhanced financial and technical assistance to Mizoram to address recurring landslides and other rain-related natural calamities affecting the state during the ongoing monsoon.
In a letter to the Union Home Minister dated August 13, Khiangte said more than 100 major incidents had reportedly occurred across Mizoram during the current monsoon season, including around 74 landslides, besides rockfalls, retaining-wall collapses, storms, land subsidence and mudflows.
He said the figures did not include numerous smaller incidents in towns and localities that had also caused disruption and hardship.
Khiangte highlighted the repeated disruption of road connectivity, describing it as the lifeline of the mountainous state. Major landslides along NH-54A in Lunglei district have caused prolonged road blockages, stranded travellers and damage to residential properties, he said.
He also pointed to recurring rockfalls at Ngaizel in Aizawl, which have affected an important road providing connectivity to southern Mizoram and access to two major hospitals.
According to the MP, several other districts have also experienced repeated disruption of road connectivity and damage to houses and essential infrastructure.
He acknowledged the efforts of the Mizoram government, district disaster management authorities, State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), PWD, BRO/BRTF, NHIDCL, Village Disaster Management Committees and local community organisations in evacuating vulnerable families, clearing debris, restoring roads and providing immediate assistance.
However, he said the scale and recurring nature of the disasters, combined with Mizoram’s difficult terrain and limited resources, required support beyond the state’s existing capacity.
“Emergency response, debris clearance and temporary protective measures, while essential, cannot by themselves provide a sustainable solution,” Khiangte said in his letter, calling for a comprehensive, long-term strategy for landslide mitigation and disaster-resilient infrastructure.
He sought Central assistance for permanent slope stabilisation and landslide mitigation, strengthening of retaining and protective structures, improved hillside drainage and surface-water management, rockfall protection and hazard-mitigation measures.
He also called for landslide early-warning systems, geological monitoring and hazard mapping, as well as adequate machinery and specialised equipment for rapid debris clearance and restoration of critical road connectivity.
Khiangte further requested additional assistance under the SDRF/State Disaster Mitigation Fund and other relevant Central schemes and funding mechanisms.
The MP also referred to Mizoram’s difficult terrain, geographical isolation and strategic location in the Northeast, urging the Union government to extend financial, technical and infrastructural support for both immediate restoration and long-term disaster mitigation.
The appeal came a day after Khiangte raised the issue of natural calamities in Mizoram as a Special Mention in the Rajya Sabha on August 12 during the ongoing monsoon session.
As a newly elected Rajya Sabha member representing Mizoram, Khiangte said the issue was among the matters of significant concern to the people of the state and sought the Union government’s intervention to strengthen Mizoram’s disaster resilience.