Taking cognisance of the failure of the district administration to deploy adequate machinery to clear the rivulet threatening houses in Lippa village of Himachal Pradesh’s tribal district of Kinnaur, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Deputy Commissioner (DC) Kinnaur to appear in person and explain why timely action was not taken.

The order was passed by a division bench headed by Chief Justice G S Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi on Tuesday. The court directed the DC Kinnaur to remain present on the next date of hearing on July 27, 2026, to explain why adequate machinery was not deployed despite earlier directions.

The court took serious note of the complete non-compliance with its previous orders. Referring to the report submitted by amicus curiae C D Negi on the flash floods in the area on July 9 and 10, the bench observed that the bridge had been submerged and covered with debris, while buildings adjoining the stream were also under threat.

The court observed that despite directing DC Kinnaur on October 16 to deploy additional equipment, as only one JCB was operating at the site, no effective action was taken. As per the affidavit filed before the court, only one machine was deployed for over 40 hours, and the situation had worsened over the year. The court noted that this reflected total non-compliance with its earlier directions.

Earlier, an affidavit filed by Public Works Department (PWD) Superintendent Engineer, Rampur, stated that a private chain-mounted Poclain excavator was engaged from September 7 to 15 for 40 hours to remove debris, boulders and obstructions and restore the original flow of the Taitty khud.

The affidavit further stated that a Rs 1.25-crore project had been proposed for periodic dredging and lowering of the khud bed by around three metres over a stretch of 100 metres upstream and downstream of the confluence. The proposal has been submitted for sanction.

It was also informed that Rs 18.67 crore would be required for the larger project, for which a detailed project report (DPR) had been prepared for submission to the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The work is expected to take at least 36 months for completion.

Residents of Lippa village had earlier submitted that the accumulation of debris had caused extensive damage, leaving several houses uninhabitable.