Last week, the government introduced a Bill in Parliament seeking to amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It proposes to make important changes in the Act, aimed mainly at improving the operational efficiencies in responding to a natural disaster.
The Bill seeks to significantly expand the role and responsibilities of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), especially in guiding state governments and organs of the Centre in dealing with disasters.
However, it misses the opportunity to upgrade and strengthen the institutional status of NDMA. This would have empowered the body to coordinate better with state agencies, and provided it with more financial and human resources.
Significance of the DM Act
The DM Act was enacted in the aftermath of the devastating 2004 tsunami — the idea for such legislation was in the works at least since the 1998 Odisha super cyclone.
The Act led to the creation of the NDMA, SDMAs at the state level, a National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and a National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) — an institute meant for disaster-related research, training, awareness, and capacity building. The Act was followed by a National Disaster Management Policy in 2009 and a National Disaster Management Plan in 2016.
Floods to heatwaves, cities with corporations to get own disaster management body
This institutional framework has served India well in dealing with natural disasters. Over the years, it has saved thousands of lives, and provided relief, rescue and rehabilitation services. Growing incidents of natural disasters, exacerbated by climate change, have made agencies such as NDMA more important than ever, requiring the assignment of greater responsibilities and resources.
The proposed amendments
The amendment Bill acknowledges this fact and proposes to make a few important changes to make the Act more effective. Urban Disaster Management Authorities: The institutional structure for disaster management extends to the district level, and district disaster management authorities are already functional. However, the Bill recognises the special requirements of large metropolitan cities that often comprise multiple districts. In such cities — all state capitals and cities with a municipal corporation — would now also have an Urban Disaster Management Authority, headed by the municipal commissioner. This can help in having a unified and coordinated approach towards city-level disasters such as urban flooding.
SDRF: Although most states have raised their disaster relief forces on the lines of NDRF over the years, an SDRF is not mandated in the 2005 Act. The size and capacity of the SDRFs in the states vary significantly. The Bill proposes to make it mandatory for every state to raise and maintain an SDRF.
National Crisis Management Committee: NCMC, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, is already functional for handling all kinds of national emergencies, including disasters. The Bill gives legal status to the NCMC, making it the nodal body to deal with disasters with “serious or national ramifications”.
Enhanced role of NDMA: The role and responsibilities of the NDMA are proposed to be significantly expanded. It has been asked to periodically take stock of the entire range of disaster risks to the country, including risks from emerging disasters.
Disaster Databases: The NDMA is also being asked to create and maintain a national disaster database with information on the assessment of the disaster, fund allocation, expenditure, and preparedness and mitigation plans. The SDMAs will also need to create state-level disaster databases.
Compensations: The Bill proposes that the NDMA should recommend guidelines for minimum standards of relief to be provided to people affected by disasters. This includes a recommendation on compensation amounts in case of loss of lives, damage to homes and property, and loss of livelihoods.
Man-made disasters: The Bill seeks to include an important clarification about the definition of disasters. The original Act defined disasters as any “catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man made causes…”. The Bill says the phrase “man-made causes” does not include any law-and- order-related situation. Loss of lives, suffering, or property damage in a riot, for example, would not invoke provisions of this law.
Absence of vice-chairperson: The NDMA is headed by the Prime Minister as chairperson. A vice-chairperson, in the rank of a Cabinet Minister, is supposed to be responsible for day-to-day functioning. The post of vice-chairperson, however, has been vacant for about a decade. The amendment Bill legitimises this position by allowing for the day-to-day functioning to be carried out by any Member designated by the chairperson or the vice-chairperson.
Unaddressed issues in Bill
Considering its growing role and importance, it has been argued that NDMA be given more powers and elevated to the status of a government department, if not a full-fledged ministry in itself. The NDMA now remains active throughout the year, and has to regularly coordinate with state governments and their agencies. Currently, this is done through the Home Ministry, which is the nodal ministry for the NDMA.
Without a vice-chairperson, the NDMA has been deprived of not just leadership but also the political heft necessary to deal with states and other central government agencies.
The NDMA does not have any administrative financial powers. Routing every small decision through the Home Ministry is an inefficient and time-consuming process. The body is also severely short-staffed at the top, with just three members functioning. It used to once have six to seven members, each in charge of a specific type of disaster.
The amendment Bill ignores these deficiencies for the time being. Some of the other provisions are also likely to face opposition, particularly the ones that deal with changes at the state level.
National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel rescue flood affected at Baldakhal village on the outskirts of Agartala, the capital of northeastern state of Tripura. (Express photo by Abhisek Saha) 
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