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Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024
Context
The Lok Sabha passed the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, aimed at strengthening India's disaster management framework. The Bill empowers the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMA) to take the lead in disaster planning and response.
Key Provisions of the Bill:
- Enhanced Powers for NDMA and SDMA:The Bill empowers the NDMA and SDMA to prepare national and state-level disaster plans, respectively.
- Urban Disaster Management Authority:State governments can now establish separate Urban Disaster Management Authorities for major cities and state capitals.
- Disaster Database:The Bill mandates the creation of a comprehensive disaster database at both national and state levels.
Government Initiatives
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India’s Vulnerability to disasters
- India, with 2.4% of the world’s land area, is home to about 17.78% of the global population.
- This induces pressure on resources and sees competition over fragile ecosystems, which in turn increases the risk for disasters.
- Climate change: India witnessed the death of over 5,000 people between 2014 and 2020 due to heatwaves, the intensity of which appears to be rising due to global warming.
- Displacement: The Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre has estimated that over 2.5 million people were displaced in India in 2022 due to natural disasters, especially floods and cyclones.
- Coastline: 33.6% of India’s coastline is vulnerable to erosion, a point of concern for coastal States including Andhra Pradesh which has one of India’s longest coastlines. There is increased frequency as well as intensity of cyclones on India’s western coast. The incidence of summer cyclones and the accompanying damage is equally worrisome.
- As tracked by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC) for 2023-2024, India reports over 3,500 fatalities, more than 15 million people affected, suffering from displacement, loss of property, and disruption of daily life.
- The cumulative losses including damage to roads, bridges, buildings, and essential public infrastructure, exceeded USD 12 billion due to weather-related disasters, including floods, cyclones, and heatwaves.
- The impact on wildlife and livestock has also been severe, with tens of thousands of animals displaced or killed, particularly in flood-prone areas.
- In August alone, India witnessed 387 deaths; 271,485 people affected, and 39,414 houses damaged.
- Several factors exacerbate this vulnerability, including shifting demographic and socio-economic conditions, unplanned urbanisation, development in high-risk zones, environmental degradation, climate change, and geological hazards.
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