Give an account of the major earthquake prone areas in India.

Introduction: Over 59% of India's landmass is vulnerable to moderate to severe seismic earthquakes due to the continuous northward collision of the Indian Tectonic Plate into the Eurasian Plate at ~5 cm/year.

1. Seismic Hazard Zonation of India (Bureau of Indian Standards - IS 1893):

• 1. Zone V (Very High Damage Risk - Seismic Intensity $ge$ IX):
  • Entire North-Eastern States (Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram).
  • Northern and Eastern Bihar (Terai seismic fault line).
  • Himachal Pradesh (Kangra), Uttarakhand (Chamoli/Uttarkashi), Jammu & Kashmir.
  • Rann of Kutch in Gujarat (Bhuj fault lines) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
• 2. Zone IV (High Damage Risk - Intensity VIII):
  • National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR), Northern Punjab, Haryana, parts of UP and West Bengal.
  • Remaining Himalayan foothill belts and coastal Maharashtra (Koyna fault line).
• 3. Zone III (Moderate Damage Risk - Intensity VII):
  • Indo-Gangetic alluvial plains, Western Ghats, parts of Rajasthan, Gujarat, and central India including parts of Madhya Pradesh (Narmada-Son Fault line - Jabalpur, Khandwa).
• 4. Zone II (Low Damage Risk - Intensity VI or less):
  • Stable Deccan peninsular shield (parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Odisha, and central MP).

2. Structural Mitigation Measures:

• Strict enforcement of National Building Code (NBC) earthquake-resistant construction norms, retrofitting lifeline hospitals, and community mock drills by NDMA.

Conclusion: Scientific micro-zonation and resilient structural engineering are indispensable to minimizing seismic disasters in high-risk zones.