Be Mains Ready

Approach:

• Briefly explain the reasons for India’s disaster vulnerability.
• List the measures taken by the government for disaster preparedness and response.
• Explain the challenges and issues related to government measures.
• Suggest a way forward.

Introduction

• India is the 10th most disaster-prone country in the world with 27 out of the 29 States and all of the seven Union Territories being most vulnerable.
• About 60% of the landmass is prone to earthquakes of various intensities, over 40 million hectares is prone to floods, about 8% of the total area is prone to cyclones, and 68% of the area is susceptible to drought.
• Some challenges to disaster preparation and disaster response in India are:
  
  • geo-climatic conditions combined with a high population density
  • urbanization and industrialization,
  • development within high-risk zones,
  • environmental degradation and climatic changes
  • absence of an institutional framework at the Center/State/District level,
  • poor intersectoral coordination,
  • lack of an early warning system,
  • slow response from relief agencies,
  • lack of trained/dedicated search and rescue teams,
  • Poor community empowerment

Body

Government Measures for Disaster Preparedness and Response

• India was one of the pioneering countries to establish a three-level disaster management institutional setup. Disaster Management Act, 2005 laid down institutional, legal, financial and coordination mechanisms at the National, State and District levels.
• The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) for capacity building and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for response purpose have been set up under the Act.
• With National Disaster Management Plan (2016) India has aligned its National plan with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, to which India is a signatory.
  
  • The plan aims to significantly decrease the losses of life, livelihoods, and assets in terms of economic, physical, social, cultural, and environmental.
  • It aims to maximize the ability to cope with disasters at all levels of administration as well as among communities.
• Environmental measures: Measures have been taken for environmental protection to ensure climate-change adaptation, vulnerability reduction, and post-disaster relief, recovery and reconstruction aspects of disaster management.
• Economic measures: State Disaster Response Fund which is supplemented by National disaster response fund, has been constituted by each state under the provisions of Disaster Management act 2005.
  
  • It was constituted based on the recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.
  • The government of India contributes 75% and 90% of the total yearly allocation of SDRF to general states and special category states respectively.
  • India has built a seed storage facility with over 5,000 seed accessions at Chang La in the Himalayas to ensure food security in the face of any calamity.
  • Also, the government is promoting the growth of climate resilient crops like millets.
• Social measures: Government’s approach to disaster preparedness and response increasingly focus on Community Based Disaster Management.
  
  • Through awareness generation, capacity building, social mobilisation and financial support the government encourages community evolved plans for designing infrastructure in vulnerable areas.
  • The traditional wisdom of local communities is being given the due consideration in the formulation of disaster planning.
• Technological measures: National Disaster Management Services (NDMS) was conceived by NDMA during 2015-16 for setting up of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) Network connecting MHA, NDMA, NDRF etc. to provide the failsafe communication infrastructure and technical support for Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) operations across the country.
  
  • NDMA through Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) has prepared Upgraded Earthquake Hazard Maps and Atlases for the country for better planning and policies.
  • NDMA has taken up a project for disaster risk management by establishing GIS Server and creation of a database to integrate data obtained from various stakeholders to increase disaster preparedness, mitigation, damage assessment, response and relief management efforts.
• Major disasters like Kerala Floods and responses to it are being analysed and studied by the government to both understand and test the disaster preparedness of the country.
• Regional Response Centres and Emergency Medical Relief Divisions have been set up in all the states to provide emergency communication and medical response.

Loopholes in the measures

• A performance audit of the disaster preparedness by CAG revealed that the National Disaster Management Authority was found ineffective in its functioning in most of the core areas.
  
  • It neither had information and control over the progress of work at the State level nor was it successful in the implementation of various projects.
  • Coordination between NDMA and nodal Ministries for various disasters needed to be improved.
  • Roles and responsibilities amongst the apex bodies at the national level also needed to be clearly specified.
• Disaster Management in India has been more concerned with responsive measures than with the preparedness.
• The development policies are not people-centric.
  
  • For eg: The latest Coastal Regulation Zone notification does not take into consideration the issues put forth by the fishermen in these regions.
• Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are virtually non-existent and even where such SOPs exists, the authorities concerned are unfamiliar with it.

Way Forward

• Public-private partnerships can be looked as alternative modes of disaster financing.
  
  • Eg: Surat Climate Change Trust, a collaboration between the private sector and the urban local body in Surat, Gujarat,.
• Risk-transfer mechanisms and insurance should be scaled up to support risk reduction.
• There is a need to expand capacity-building activities on disaster management within departments so that they include all stages of the disaster cycle, rather than the current emphasis on emergency response.
• There is a need for decentralised planning, implementation and monitoring and control of the disaster preparedness planning and response.
• Disasters are no longer to be considered as occurrences that are to be managed through emergency response services. So, there is a need to foster a culture of prevention and identification of the key issues to be addressed especially in the development process.
• A strategy aimed at holistic human development integrating the sustainable development goals is the way ahead to reduce the country’s vulnerability towards disasters.