By Boshavarthini P
ABSTRACT
This article provides the complete documentary related to FEDERATION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN INDIA. Disaster management, is seen in a normal sense, it is the organization of resources and responsibilities. The serious disruption of the functioning of a community or society which suppress the ability of a community to use its own resource is known as disaster. Under the Disaster Management Act,2005, the various tiers of authority are constituted for the management of those disaster which arises in their respective areas. In addition to these, this article covers the National Disaster Response and Mitigation Funds and State Disaster Response and Mitigation Funds to find how the funds are allocated in Federal India. It also compares the features of disaster managements with other federal countries.
INTRODUCTION
India’s climatic conditions as well as socio-economic vulnerability and locality makes it one of the most disaster-prone country in world. Being a disaster-prone country the mere legislations for disaster management cannot afford a full package of preparedness or prevention to mitigate disaster, also the co-operation and collaboration between the Centre and States and Local authorities.
The must knew definition from the Disaster Management Act,2005 are envisaged as follows,
Section 2(e) “disaster management” means a continuous and integrated process of planning, organising,
coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for,
(i) prevention of danger or threat of any disaster;
(ii) mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences;
(iii) capacity-building;
(iv) preparedness to deal with any disaster;
(v) prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster;
(vi) assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster;
(vii) evacuation, rescue and relief;
(viii) rehabilitation and reconstruction.
CONSTITUTION AND STRUCTURE OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT ACT, 2005
The disaster management Act, 2005 is the cornerstone for establishing a comprehensive legal framework for disaster prevention, response, and mitigation. The institutional arrangement and structure for disaster management in India is in a system of transitional state. The new setup was framed and followed from the implementation of the Act of 2005(DMA). There are two structure or authorities co-exist at present:
1) National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA)
2) State Disaster Management Authorities(SDMAs)
Established for Centre and state respectively. In addition to these authorities the district Management Authorities(DDMAs) has been formalized at district levels. This hierarchical structure ensures effective coordination and response to disaster at all levels, from national to local.
National Disaster Management Authority(NDMA)
The NDMA has been vested with the power of laying down the policies on disaster management, and it proposes guidelines to be followed by the different ministries and department of government of India and State government. Some of the measures taken by NDMA for management of disaster are as given below:
• Laying down policies
• Approving the national plan as envisaged under section 11 of the Act of 2005
• Proposing guidelines to be followed by the state authorities for state plan
There are 9 members nominated by the prime minister, chairperson of authority, the organizational structure consists of a secretory and five joint secretaries which include one financial advisor under section 7(1) of the Act of 2005 an advisory committee with 12 members has been constituted.
State Disaster Management Authority(SDMA)
The Act of 2005 provides for Constitution of SDMA in all states except Gujrat and daman & diu all the rest of the authorities have been constituted by the Act. Gujrat has constituted its own SDMA under the Gujarat Disaster Management Act 2003 and Daman & diu constitutes its own SDMA prior to the enactment of the Act of 2005.
Under section 20 of the Act of 2005 The state executive committee was established and It was headed by the chief secretory of the state government with four other secretaries. The state government selects the four other secretaries as it may think fit.
DISTRICT DISASTER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITIES(DDMA)
Under section 25 of the Act 2005, the constitution of DDMA was provided for every district of a state besides the chairperson of the DDMA, an elected representative of the local authority is nominated as co- chairperson.
The district authority is envisaged with the duties of planning, co-ordination and implementation of disaster management as provided in the guidelines. The authority also has the power of examination of any construction in any area to enforce the safety standards and to arrange for relief measures at the district level.
BASIS OF FUND ALLOCATION IN FEDERATION
The Fifteenth Finance Commission has made various recommendation which also includes the distribution of funds for the purpose of disaster management under chapter 6 of the recommendations. It has submitted the two reports, one for the Disaster Risk Management for the year 2020 to 2021 and another final report for the period of five years, 2021-2022 to 2025-2026.
The Finance Commission has established the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) and State Disaster Risk Management Funds at the National and State Levels respectively. The NDRMF consists of two components namely, National Disaster Mitigation Fund and National Disaster Response Fund. The SDRMF consists of two components namely, the State Disaster Mitigation Fund and State Disaster Response Fund.
NATIONAL DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT FUND (NDMRF)
The National Disaster Mitigation Fund is constituted under the section 47 of the DM, Act, 2005 as The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a Fund to be called the National Disaster Mitigation Fund for projects exclusively for the purpose of mitigation and there shall be credited thereto such amount which the Central Government may, after due appropriation made by Parliament by law in this behalf and The National Disaster Mitigation Fund shall be applied by the National Authority. The act of 2005 has defined mitigation as measures aimed at reducing risk, impact or effects of a disaster or threatening disaster situation. the NDMF is constituted in the public accounts as the reserve funds not bearing interest of government of India.
The NDMF generally support the states in case when the SDMF is insufficient, projects involving two or more states and for the projects which have jurisdictional and technical complexity. The NDMF has certain limitation such as it should not be used for the general environmental improvements and for existing government programs etc. The NDMF cannot be used for the purpose of expenditures such as salaries, office expenditure etc. incurred by the disaster management authorities. The NDMA is the supervising authority for the implementation of the mitigation project funded from NDMF. The accounts of the NDMF are audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General in conformity with the NDMF guidelines..
The Central Government is responsible for the management of the NDRF by meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation which happens due to the disasters and it also supports the SDRF in cases of severe disasters happened for which it is insufficient to bear the expenses only by the SDRF. The NDRF is financed by levying of a Cess, chargeable to excise and customs duty and the national calamity contingent duty is levied to finance the NDRF.
STATE DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT FUND (SDMRF)
The Finance Commission has allocated Rs 68,463 crores in total for the national disaster risk management fund from the year 2021-2022 to 2025-2026. The total national allocation is distributed to the National disaster mitigation fund and national disaster relief fund as 20% and 80% respectively.
The share for the NDMF is distributed under the four heads such as catalytic assistance for the 12 most drought prone states(Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Jharkhand , Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh),reducing risk of urban flooding in 7 most populous cities(Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune), managing seismic and landslide risk in 10 hill states (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura) , mitigation measures to prevent erosion. The share for the NDRF is distributed for response & relief, recover & reconstruction, preparedness & capacity building as 40%, 30%, 10% respectively.
The State Disaster Response Fund is the major and primary fund vests with the state governments for the responses to the disasters which are notified. The contribution to the SDRF is made in two equal installments. It should only be used for the expenditure for the immediate relief to the persons affected by the disasters. The share of the Government of India to the SDRF is treated as a ‘grant in aid’. The state executive committee is responsible for the administration of SDRF. The norms are fixed by the ministry of finance and the ministry of home affairs oversees the operation of the SDRF and the funds are audited by the comptroller and auditor general of India every year.
The central government will contribute 75% funds to the SDMF for all states. But, for the north eastern and Himalayan states the central government will contribute 90% for the SDMF fund. The balance will be contributed by the concerned state governments
JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENT ON FEDERATION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT
The Supreme Court by various judgements emphasized the need for the co-ordination of Union and State in the management of the disasters, one of the important judgements pronounced by the supreme court in the case of Vineet Kumar vs. Union of India,2011[1] that emphasized the responsibilities of the union and state governments under the National Disaster Management Act,2005 and underscored the need for the union to provide guidelines and support while ensuring that state government establish their Disaster Management Authorities and implement comprehensive plans for the disaster management. The court has mandated the formation of National, State, and District-Level Disaster Authorities to ensure better coordination and response to disasters.
DISASTER MANAGEMENT IN OTHER FEDERAL COUNTRIES
In Australia, the disaster management is mainly supported from the federal government to the specific state or territory through the Emergency Management Australia (EMA). The financial assistance for the disasters is provided by the Natural Disaster Relief and Recover Arrangement, these arrangement underscores disasters like floods, cyclones and earthquakes etc., the state sets a limit of $ 2,40,000 for disaster related spending, if the limit exceeds the amount the state can claim from the NDRRA.
In United States, the department of Homeland Security which has the Federal Emergency Management Agency(FEMA), is responsible for disaster management. Administering several programs, response and recovery for disaster mitigation is one of the sole function of the FEMA. Hazard Mitigation Grant Program(HMGP) is one of the wing of FEMA which helps in implementing long term solutions for reducing disaster risk particularly a declared major disaster. The specific programs of FEMA are Fire Management Assistant Grant Program, Flood Mitigation Assistance Program, National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program. The federal government covers at least 75% of the eligible cost for all the programs of the FEMA.
CONCLUSION
"Co-operated hands have more power than a single hand ".
In prior to the subject of distribution of powers in constitutional domain, it has been traditionally derived from the colonial practice. During the Colonial period, The Disaster management was in the state subject and thereafter the state governments realized that Disaster management is a complex and expensive task and it appears simple and inexpensive on its surface. And there began a rethinking about the location of the Constitution and the central government also gets an important role in the whole exercise of disaster resilient in India.
After the realization of the subject disaster management as the concurrent to both, the federation's role in Disaster Management has been considered as an imminent one.
REFERENCES
1. Disaster management act, 2005
2. Environmental law in India, p. Leela Krishnan
3. Disaster management in India, ministry of home affairs, government of India, 2011
4. XV finance commission recommendations for disaster risk management, ravinesh kumar, financial advisor, national disaster management authority
5. Guidelines on national and state fund for disaster management, government of india,2023
6. Guidelines on constitution and administration of the state disaster response fund, ministry of home affairs,2022
[1] 1996 SCC VOL 1 199
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