Raising concerns over the alarming situation at Joshimath in Uttarakhand, environmentalists have called for setting up a Central hill regulation authority. Navi Mumbai-based NGO NatConnect Foundation—in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MOEF&CC)—drew attention to incidents of landslides in Mumbai and elsewhere, which it termed nature’s warnings against playing with hills and slopes.

The letter stated that the Joshimath episode was the tip of the iceberg as the rampant destruction of hills in the name of development in various parts of the country, including the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, could lead to many more Himalayan-scale disasters. NatConnect Foundation pointed out that nobody seems to have ownership over the hills.