It has been almost a month and a half since the flood disaster struck Uttarakhand, a mountain state in India. However, instead of working on a collaborative and inclusive approach to reconstruction and rehabilitation, it appears that the state and national governments are not aligned with the local people. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI) recently sent a team to the state, but they left without visiting the affected areas.

Meanwhile, the state Chief Minister has been staging photo sessions in the badly hit city of Kedarnath to show that his team is working on rebuilding efforts. However, the reality is that neither his advisers nor his workforce have consulted with local people about the plans for reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The question arises as to whether the state Chief Minister believes that the state machinery can rebuild without consulting with the locals, who have lost loved ones, property, and have the primary entitlement to the land. Does he not see the need for collaboration between officials and the local populace in order to effectively implement these tasks? In fact, the state of Uttarakhand has a highly inefficient, ineligible, and ill-prepared team of officials who can hardly think and plan seriously about the magnitude of the disaster and the hardships faced by the people. The inefficiency can be seen in the rescue and relief work that was carried out with ill-preparedness, leading to a high death toll.

This serious and pressing issue is slowly taking shape and exacerbating in the minds of locals, which may lead to retaliation.