India, Aug. 12 -- The government is working on a new planning framework for the rapidly growing Himalayan cities as climate change and human activity are increasing disaster risks in the region, it told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

In its reply to a question on whether climate change and unscientific construction were contributing to the rise in cloudburst incidents and other disasters in Himachal Pradesh, the government said that anthropogenic factors had also contributed to disaster risk. It added that climate change had increased the intensity and frequency of extreme rainfall events in the region.

The government's public policy think tank NITI Aayog is working on a planning framework for hill cities. On July 13, NITI Aayog and the Nort...