New Delhi, Jan 2 (IANS): Three officials from the Uttarakhand State Disaster Management Authority (USDMA) and one from the Rural Development Department of the state government have been served a showcause notice, seeking to know if their scientific paper about the February 2021 Chamoli disaster was published with or without permission.

The showcause notice was issued on December 28 by the additional CEO (administration) of the Uttarakhand government's Disaster Management and Rehabilitation Department, an official said on Saturday.

Peeyush Rautela, Rahul Jugran and Girish Chandra Joshi from USDMA and Surabhi Kundliya, a consultant with the Rural Development Department had authored the research paper titled 'Sequential Damming Induced Winter Season Flash Flood in Uttarakhand Province of India' in the October issue of Journal of Environmental and Earth Sciences.'

Writing about the Chamoli disaster of February 2021, wherein over 200 people had died in flash floods triggered by glacial burst incident in the Rishi Ganga valley, the authors had concluded: "Lacking warning system only enhanced the flood-induced devastation. Legally binding disaster risk assessment regime, together with robust warning generation, and dissemination infrastructure are therefore recommended for all major infrastructure projects."

Based on the published scientific paper, local media carried several reports showcasing the department's lacunae.

"Tracing the source of media reports, we find it is the research paper published in the journal. A reading of the article gives the impression that this is your department's view. (So), please clarify if you had taken prior permission from the competent authority or not and if yes, please provide a copy of the same," read the showcause notice.

The media advisor to the government, however, sought to downplay the whole matter by calling it a mere procedural issue. "A government servant is supposed to seek prior permission if he or she wants to publish something in her name. This notice is merely asking if they had sought prior permission or not and if yes, show the copy of it," he said.