The  Disaster  Management Act,  2005  provides  for  the legal and  institutional  framework  for  the  effective  management  of  disasters.  

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has prepared the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) in 2016 the updated and revised it in 2019.  NDMP provides a framework and direction to the government agencies for all phases of disaster management cycle.  It is a strategic tool in further strengthening disaster resilient development in the country. 

NDMP incorporates national commitments in the domain of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) associated with the three major post-2015 Global Frameworks namely, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and Prime Minister’s 10-point Agenda.

NDMP brings together all sectors, ministries and departments at Central and State level as well as district level functionaries and defines their respective roles and responsibilities in disaster risk reduction.  It recognizes the need to minimize, if not eliminate, any ambiguity in the responsibility framework. 

Further, the National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM) has also been prepared and approved in 2009 in tune with and in pursuance of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 with a vision to build a safe and disaster resilient India   by   developing   a   holistic,   proactive,  multi-disaster  oriented  and technology driven strategy through a culture of prevention, mitigation, preparedness and response. 

Central Government’s initiatives to strengthen local disaster management capacity and early warning systems in high-risk areas include the following:- 

• Government of India has also approved Rs. 1000 Crore National Landslide Risk Mitigation Programme which includes implementation of landslide risk mitigation activities / projects in 15States including the State of Kerala.  The State Government may furnish their projects as per the approved programme for mitigation activities for landslide affected areas in Kerala including Wayanad.
• Aapda Mitra Scheme, has been implemented and 1,00,000 community volunteers have been trained in disaster rescue in 350 multi-hazards disaster prone districts, covering all States/UTs.  Each volunteer – Aapda Mitra or Aapda Sakhi – is given two-week intense training in disaster response (relevant to their area of operations), equipped with an Emergency Responder Kit (ERK), and provided an insurance cover for five years. In addition, each district is provided an Emergency Essential Resource Reserve (EERR) for the use of Aapda Mitra during disasters.
• ‘Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) based Integrated Alert System’ has been implemented for dissemination of geo targeted early warnings/alerts related to disasters to the citizens of India for all 36 States/UTs using various disseminating medium like SMS, TV, Radio, Indian Railways, Costal Sirens, Cell broadcast, Internet (RSS feed & Browser Notification), Satellite Receiver of GAGAN & NavIC etc., through integration of all Alerting Agencies.  The alerts are sent to geo targeted areas in regional languages. There is a web-based dashboard to disaster managers for approving/editing alerts and choosing media for dissemination. The system has been used successfully in recent disasters. More than 4300 crore alerts have been transmitted so far using this system.
• In order to implement the vision of Prime Minister for ‘Single Distress Number for all emergencies across the country’ the Project “Extension of ERSS” with existing single number “112”, has been implemented, which also caters for emergency call related to disasters.  This project has been designed to leverage technology for a swift response to distress calls related to disaster thus mitigating loss of life and property.
• Under the National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP), Early Warning Systems have been installed in the Coastal States, which have proved to be of great help in alert dissemination to the coastal community during recent cyclone.
• Under NCRMP, 24,007 Government officials from various priority sectors viz., Health, Education, Panchayat Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies, and Rural Development have been trained through 925 Capacity Building Trainings. 68,988 community representatives have been trained on various disaster response skills viz., First Aid, Search & Rescue, and Shelter Management through 3,421 Shelter Level Trainings.
• NDMA has developed a web-based Dynamic Composite Risk Atlas and Decision Support System (Web-DCRA & DSS tool) for cyclone risk mitigation and response planning.  The tool has been successfully used in recent cyclones such as Biparjoy (June, 2023) and Cyclone Michaung (December, 2023)
• Indian Universities and Institutions Network (IUINDRR-NIDM) has been established, under the aegis of National Institute of Disaster Management  (NIDM),  to  highlight  the role of education, research and training in disaster resilience and to develop model curricula for DRR with its integration at various levels. The IUINDRR provides a platform for interface between academia and policy. It also provides a platform for collaborative development of knowledge products on disaster risk reduction.  So far, more than 300 Universities and Institutes have joined the network.
• NDRF regularly conducts Mock Exercises in all 36 States / UTs on community disaster awareness in Floods, Cyclones, Earthquake, Landslide & Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) in vulnerable areas with various stakeholders of Disaster Management / Response.  NDRF also conducts School Safety Programme (SSP) to impart training on disaster response to children in vulnerable schools in all 36 States/UTs of India.
• NDMA has issued thirty-eight (38) guidelines for management of hazard specific disaster on various thematic and cross-cutting issues.

The primary responsibility for disaster management including disbursal of relief assistance on ground level rests with the State Governments concerned.  The Central Government provides requisite logistics and financial assistance to support the efforts of the State Governments.

The State Governments provide financial relief to the affected people in the event of 12 notified natural disasters, which includes floods and landslides, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at its disposal in accordance with approved items and norms of Government of India.

However, in the event of disaster of a ‘severe nature’, additional financial assistance is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).  The financial assistance provided under SDRF and NDRF is by way of relief and not for compensation. 

  The allocation and releases from SDRF/ NDRF to the State of Kerala during last three years i.e. 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 is as under: -

(Rs. in Crore)

 

  An amount of Rs. 388.00 crore (Rs. 291.20 crore Central Share + Rs. 96.80 crore State share) has been allocated to State Government of Kerala for financial  year  2024-25  in  SDRF.  The  1^st  instalment of Rs. 145.60 crore of

Central share was released on 31.07.2024. The 2^ndinstalment of Rs. 145.60 crore of Central Share was also released on 01.10.2024 in advance to the State.  In addition, the Accountant General, Kerala reported balance of Rs. 394.99 crore in its SDRF account as on 1^st April, 2024. Thus sufficient fund of Rs. 782.99 crore is available in the SDRF account at the state for the relief operations.

Further, in the wake of landslide and flash flood in Wayanad, Kerala, an IMCT was constituted on 02.08.2024 to assess the damage by the Central Government without waiting for a memorandum from the State Government of Kerala.  The IMCT visited the affected areas of the State from 8^th August to 10^th August, 2024.  The instant calamity at Wayanad has been adjudged to be of ‘severe nature’ by the IMCT.  The State Government submitted its memorandum on 19.08.2024 seeking an additional assistance of Rs. 214.68 crore under NDRF including Rs. 36 Crore estimated for removal of debris, which was yet to be incurred, for providing temporary relief assistance of immediate nature. Based on the report of the IMCT, the High Level Committee (HLC) in its meeting held on 16.11.2024, approved an amount of Rs. 153.47 crore (subject to the adjustment of 50% of balance available in the SDRF account), assistance for the air bills of Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopters for rescue and relief, as per actual, and actual expenditure for the clearance of debris.

Further, the State has carried out Post-Disaster-Needs-Assessment (PDNA), estimating a total requirement of Rs. 2219.033 crores for Recovery & Reconstruction. The report of the State Government has been provided to the Central Government on 13.11.2024.  The Central Government has constituted a Multi-Sectoral Team to examine PDNA report and further action is taken as per the established procedure under the guidelines on constitution and administration of Recovery & Reconstruction Funding Window which are available on Ministry of Home Affairs website www.ndmindia.mha.gov.in

This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.

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RK/VV/ASH/RR/PR/PS/2470

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