As mercury levels continued to rise in the past two days, the Telangana government on Tuesday declared the heatwave as a ‘state-specific disaster’, with a provision for an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the families of persons dying due to heatwave or sunstroke.
The government order comes into effect from April 15.
According to the Government Order from Revenue (disaster management) Department, the state government “decided to declare heatwave/sunstroke as a “State Specific Disaster” henceforth for the purpose of providing relief to the families of the victims of heatwave/sunstroke”.
The government will consider heatwave as per the definition provided by the India Meteorological Department, ie; when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C and there is a departure from normal ie; 5°C to 6°C; likewise, a severe heatwave is considered when this departure from normal is 7°C or more.
According to IMD, heatwaves should be declared when the actual maximum temperature remains at 45°C or more, irrespective of the normal maximum temperature.
Meanwhile, Arvind Kumar, special chief secretary for disaster management, told indianexpress.com that deaths in the state due to heatwaves were underreported as such deaths are often considered deaths due to old age or some ailment.
“A few other states such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Madhya Pradesh have declared heatwaves as state-specific disaster. By declaring heatwave as a “state-specific disaster”, the state will be able to extend an ex gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the person dying due to heatwave/sunstroke etc. It was only Rs 50,000 earlier under ‘Apathbandhu’ programme. The funds will be drawn from State Disaster Response Funds released by GoI… This will also help in properly documenting the heatwave-related deaths henceforth,” he said.
In Telangana, all but five districts had at least 15 days of heatwaves during 2024, with Nalgonda, Mancherial, Peddapalli, and Jagtial having more than 30 days of heatwaves.
“In addition, the debilitating effect of heat waves is further exacerbated in urban areas due to the Urban Heat Island Impact and Wet Bulb Impact (combining heat and humidity). People, especially the construction workers and daily wagers in Hyderabad, Warangal, all the Municipal Corporations, Hyderabad Urban Agglomeration, and all the Urban Local Bodies are vulnerable to heatwaves and sun strokes,” the GO explained.
The government stated that sufficient relief in terms of ex gratia to the family of person dying due to heatwave or sunstroke could not be provided in the absence of a notification declaring the heatwave as a disaster, despite all districts in Telangana having a district-specific heatwave action plan and vulnerable points equipped with ORS packets, and drinking water kiosks (chalivendrams).
“In the absence of specific ex gratia, the state until now was providing assistance of Rs 50,000 (Rupees fifty thousands) only under Apathbandhu scheme to the family of the deceased who’ve died due to heat wave/sunstroke. The people getting affected due to heatwave/sunstroke are mainly those who work outside at peak summer or from the vulnerable group such as old aged and this amount is not considered sufficient. Accordingly, it is felt necessary to notify the heat waves condition as a state-specific disaster,” the GO explained.
Certain norms are put in place to get assistance from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) in case of deaths due to heatwaves, sunstroke, or sunburn.
If the deceased happens to be a farmer enrolled under Rhythu Bima scheme, the family can avail one of the two ex-gratia — Rhythu Bima or ex-gratia due to heatwave — whichever is higher.
As a procedure, the district collector shall ensure that the District Medical Health Officer (DMHO) or officers as prescribed by DMHO at the district level and similar government authorities as prescribed by the collector in consultation with the commissioner of Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in Hyderabad, shall diagnose the heat-related death based on the history of exposure to high ambient temperature and the reasonable exclusion of other causes of hyperthermia, the order stated.
The diagnosis shall be established from the circumstances surrounding the death concerning the environmental temperature and/or measured antemortem body temperature at the time of the collapse.
As per the order, based on the scrutiny, the diagnosis will be signed by the medical officer concerned, Mandal Revenue Officer (MRO), and the police officer (not below the rank of an SI); while the collector is also required to maintain record of the report in original and copy of the Aadhar/other ID proof of the deceased at the district level; and the AWS (automated weather station) report of the IMD for the period when the said death occurred; apart from details of family to whom the ex-gratia is proposed and the copy of the death certificate.
By declaring heatwave as a "state-specific disaster", the state will be able to extend an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the family of person dying due to heatwave/sunstroke etc.
(Representational image) 
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