TOPIC : EXPLAINING HOW DISASTERS ARE CATEGORISED AND THE RELIEF PACKAGE IS DETERMINED BY THE CENTRE?

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THE CONTEXT: To understand why, how and what of the COVID-19 being declared as a ‘notified disaster’, one should know first about disaster, how disaster is categorized and funding is determined by the Centre. In brief, one should have understanding of some legal and procedural aspects of the NDMA 2005.

DO YOU KNOW?

As you are aware that the NDMA 2005 was one of the very significant legislation of 2005 and first important landmark legislation for a holistic disaster management in India which is blueprint for making India a disaster resilient country. The law has become basis for taking a series of steps by the government to establish policy, procedural and institutional mechanisms for disaster management in India.

THE KEY FEATURES OF THE NDMA 2005

The law lays down following key mechanisms to make India a disaster resilient country and match to the global standards in disaster management. The key features are:

1. It envisages for an institutional mechanism from top to bottom for decision making, planning, relief and rescue
2. It envisages for laying down a disaster management policy and plan at national and state level
3. It deals with disaster management holistically consisting of pre-disaster, during disaster and post disaster cycle
4. It envisages for two separate funds knows as DMMF/DMRF for centre and SDMMF/SDMRF for states
5.  It lays down for a dedicates disaster management force known as NDRF capable of tackling all types of disaster through land, air and sea
6. It also has also provisions for promoting research and studies through IIDM, New Delhi.

At the apex, it is the national disaster management authority headed by the Prime Minister which is responsible for taking important decisions related to disaster management in India followed by several committees, ministries and departments.

HOW DOES THE TERM ‘DISASTER’ IS DEFINED BY THE NDMA?

As per the Disaster Management Act, 2005, “disaster” means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area. A natural disaster includes earthquake, flood, landslide, cyclone, tsunami, urban flood, heatwave; a man-made disaster can be nuclear, biological and chemical.

HOW THE TERM DISASTER IS CLASSIFIED?

We often hear demands by the states to declare a calamity as national disaster from the Centre. You also know that at times there is difference in view on whether a disaster should be declared as national disaster.

But you will wonder to notice the fact that there is no any defined standards or legal provision for the categorization of disasters. The NDMA is silent on this provision that it doesn’t have a clearly defined mechanism for the classification of the disasters. Rather, the classification is done on the case by case basis. For instance, learning from the past experiences, the disasters have been classified as

CLASSIFICATIONS

DISASTERS

A. A calamity of unprecedented severity

1. The 1999 super cyclone in Odisha
2. The 2001 Gujarat earthquake

B. Calamities of severe nature

1. The flash floods in Uttarakhand
2. Cyclone Hudhud
3. The Kerala floods

C. Notified disaster

1. COVID-19

DOES IT MEAN THE TERM NATIONAL DISASTER WHICH IS OFTEN USED HAS NO LEGAL BASIS?

Yes, the term has no legal basis and it is used in general parlance by the governments and media. For instance, the state of Kerala demanded that the flood should be declared as National Disaster but the central government replied that there is no such term like national disaster.

The central government examine the proposal of the Kerala and the MoS (Home) replied to a question in Parliament “The existing guidelines of State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF)/ National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), do not contemplate declaring a disaster as a ‘National Calamity’.” There is no provision, executive or legal, to declare a natural calamity as a national calamity. It is used more in general parlance.

Therefore, there is no provision in the law or rules for the government to designate a disaster a “national calamity” and the guidelines of the NDRF and SDRFs don’t contemplate declaring a disaster a national calamity. The Centre also informed the Kerala High Court that there was no legal provision to declare a disaster as a national calamity, amid demands for declaring the floods as a national disaster.

DOES IT MEAN THERE HAS BEEN NO EFFORTS TO DEFINE THE STANDARDS OF DISASTERS?

In 2001, the National Committee on Disaster Management under the chairmanship of the then Prime Minister was mandated to look into the parameters that should define a national calamity. However, the committee did not suggest any fixed criterion.

The 10th Finance Commission (1995-2000) examined a proposal that a disaster be termed “a national calamity of rarest severity” if it affects one-third of the population of a state. The panel did not define a “calamity of rare severity” but stated that a calamity of rare severity would necessarily have to be adjudged on a case-to-case basis taking into account, inter-alia,

1. The intensity and magnitude of the calamity,
2. Level of assistance needed,
3. The capacity of the state to tackle the problem,
4. The alternatives and flexibility available within the plans to provide succour and relief

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO CLASSIFY A CALAMITY OR DISASTER?

Simply because it is the categorization which ultimately determines the quantum of relief sanctioned by the CENTRE to the states under the SDRFs. If a disaster is categorized as ‘rare severe nature’ then accordingly the state will receive the relief from the Centre.

WHICH AUTHORITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CATEGORISING THE DISASTERS?

The classification is the responsibility of the NDMA which is headed by the Prime Minister. But in actual practice, it is done by the national executive committee headed by the Home Secretary and is notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs. In general, it can be said that disasters are categorized and notified by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

WHAT HAPPENS IF A CALAMITY IS SO CATEGORISED?

1. When a calamity is declared to be of “rare severity”/”severe nature”, support to the state government is provided at the national level. The Centre also considers additional assistance from the NDRF.
2. A Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) is set Up, with the corpus shared 3:1 between Centre and state.
3. When resources in the CRF are inadequate, additional assistance is considered from the National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF), funded 100% by the Centre.
4. Relief in repayment of loans or for grant of fresh loans to the persons affected on concessional terms, too, are considered once a calamity is declared “severe”.

HOW IS THE FUNDING DECIDED?

1. For calamity with national ramifications: As per the National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009, the National Crisis Management Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary deals with major crises that have serious or national ramifications.
2. For other calamities:For calamities of severe nature, inter-ministerial central teams are deputed to the affected states for assessment of damage and relief assistance required. An inter-ministerial group, headed by the Union Home Secretary, studies the assessment and recommends the quantum of assistance from the NDRF/National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF). Based on this, a high-level committee comprising the Finance Minister as chairman and the Home Minister, Agriculture Minister, and Planning Commission Deputy Chairman as members approves the central assistance.

HOW MUCH FUNDS HAS THE CENTRE BEEN DISBURSING UNDER THE NDRF?

According to a reply in Parliament by MoS (Home) in January 2020, the Centre released Rs 3,460.88 crore in 2014-15, Rs 12,451.9 crore in 2015-16, and Rs 11,441.30 crore in 2016-17 under the NDRF to various states. In 2017-18 until December 27, it had disbursed Rs 2,082.45 crore. State-wise figures showed that the highest amounts for 2016-17 were released to

1. Karnataka (Rs 2,292.50 crore),
2. Maharashtra (Rs 2,224.78 crore) and
3. Rajasthan (Rs 1,378.13 crore).

HOW ARE THE NDRF AND THE SDRFS FUNDED?

The funding of the NDRF: The NDRF is funded through a National Calamity Contingent Duty levied on pan masala, chewing tobacco and cigarettes, and with budgetary provisions as and when needed. A provision exists to encourage any person or institution to make a contribution to the NDRF.

The 14th Finance Commission recommended changes to this structure once the cess was discontinued or subsumed within the Goods and Services Tax. However, the government, instead, decided to continue with the National Calamity Contingent Duty even in the GST regime.

The funding of the SDRF:

1. The SDRF corpus is contributed by the Union government and the respective State governments in a 75:25 ratio for general category States and 90:10 for Special Category States.
2. The allocation of the SDRF for each State is done by the Finance Commission, and the Centre contributes its specified share each financial year.
3. The Central share of SDRF is released in two equal instalments, in June and then in December.

What has been the trend in budgetary allocations to the NDRF and SDRFs?

The Union government has maintained a steady flow of funds to the NDRF each year, ranging from ₹5,690 crore in 2015-16 to a budgeted amount of ₹2,500 crore for the current financial year. In addition, the Centre has also been contributing to the SDRFs every year, amounting to ₹ 8,374.95 crore in 2016-17 and ₹7,281.76 crore in 2017-18.

HOW DO OTHER COUNTRIES CLASSIFY DISASTERS?

In the US, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) coordinates the government’s role in disaster management. When an incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of state and local governments, the Governor or Chief Executive of a tribe can request federal assistance under the Stafford Act. In special cases, the US President may declare an emergency without a request from a Governor. The Stafford Act authorises the President to provide financial and other assistance to local and state governments, certain private non-profit organisations, and individuals following declaration as a Stafford Act Emergency (limited) or Major Disaster (more severe).

WEAKNESSES IN CATEGORISATION AND FUNDING OF DISASTERS

When there is lack of institutionalized and standardized mechanisms for the categorization and determining the quantum of funds to states then it results into

1. Ad hocism in the process of determining the funds
2. Politics into who should get what? Since India is a federal state and the states are dependent on Centre, hence the decisions are politically motivated
3. It results into delay in sanctioning of relief materials to states like in case of COVID-19 the states have complained for scarcity of funds and delay in release of funds by the Centre.
4. It affects decentralized governance system
5. It promotes tensions and conflicts in union-states relations

CONCLUSION AND WAY FORWARD

To deal effectively with the disasters when they strike, it is essential to have a robust mechanism for categorization and immediate relief package to the states. Since India is a federal state in which the states are heavily dependent on the Centre, hence without an institutionalized standard for the transfer of disaster funds, there can be huge loss to human life, resources and will become a hurdle in making Indian society disaster resilient.

Hence, the government should improve the NDMA 2005 by taking the following steps:

1. There should be standards set for categorizations of disasters in consultation with state governments
2. The quantum of funds should be clearly linked with the levels of disasters categorized
3. The funds should be immediately transferred when the disaster strikes

The disaster management in India has improved since 2005 due to adoption of a new legal and institutional framework according to which the Centre has also come up with the National Disaster Management Policy 2009 and the National Disaster Management Plan 2016. The states have also taken similar steps. But still there is huge scope for improvement in disaster management in India based on the COVID-19 experiences and other recent disasters like Kerala flood and cyclones in South India.