Delhi is facing its longest spell of heatwave, with temperature soaring again to 45°C and above and authorities issuing warnings for the residents this week. But heatwave is still not included as a notified disaster under the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
The debate to include heatwave in the Disaster Management Act is not new as this would help the Delhi government like other states to use their disaster response funds to provide compensation and relief and conduct other activities to minimise the effects of a heatwave.
What is Disaster Management Act?
The National Disaster Management Act (NDMA) was enacted during the 1999 super-cyclone in Odisha, earthquake in Gujarat in 2001 and 2004 tsunami.
The NDMA establishes a National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs). They oversee disaster management at the national and state levels respectively.
The Act also calls the Ministry of Home Affairs the nodal ministry overseeing the nation’s comprehensive disaster management. The Act also includes monetary systems such as establishing funds for disaster relief and other urgent situations.
The Act creates a number of agencies and organisations for the efficient handling of catastrophes at the national, state and district levels. Additionally, it offers a “plan” for every level.
What are ‘Notified Disasters’?
The NDMA defines a disaster as a “catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence” arising from “natural or man-made causes” that results in substantial loss of life, destruction of property, or damage to the environment. It must also be of such nature which is “beyond the coping capacity” of the community.
Some of the notified disasters are cold wave, cyclone, drought, earthquake, fire, flood, tsunami, hailstorm, landslide, avalanche, cloudburst, pest attack, frost waves.
If a state experiences one of the disasters, then the provisions of the Act can be invoked. According to the Act, the states are allowed to draw two funds — the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) at the national level and the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) at the state level.
A state usually draws money from the SDRF but if the magnitude of destruction is large then the NDRF is used.
The Centre is the main source of money in the NDRF, however, states contribute 25% of the money in SDRF.
Why were Heatwaves not Included in the List?
When the Act came into being in 2005, heatwave or heat-related illnesses, which were quite common in northern India, were not viewed as a disaster.
In the last 15 years global warming has become a serious threat to human life, resulting in severe and frequent heatwaves. Also, with rise in population and increased economic activity, there is a far larger number of people who have to remain outdoors for their livelihoods, exposing them to the risk of a heat-stroke. There are 23 states, which are vulnerable to heatwaves.
What is the Centre Saying?
Subsequent state governments have demanded that heatwave be included in the list of notified disasters. But the 15th Finance Commission, whose recommendations are currently being applied, said the existing list of notified disasters “covers the needs of the states to a large extent” and did not find merit in the request to include heatwaves.
It has, however, enabled a provision by a previous commission that allowed states to up to 10% of the SDRF money for “local disasters” such as lightning or heatwaves.
Thus, at least four states — Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, and Kerala — have added heatwaves as local disasters.
Another difficulty for the Centre is that it has to provide Rs 4 lakh compensation for every life lost in a disaster that is in the notified list. So, with more and more heatwave deaths reported, the government will be mandated to provide monetary relief. Moreover, in most cases the death is not caused by heatwave alone. Thus, in comparison to other disasters, the identification of the heatwave victims could be difficult.
For the five-year period between 2021-26, the 15th Finance Commission had recommended an allocation of Rs 1,60,153 crore to the various SDRFs, a substantial sum of money. Uttar Pradesh has been allocated about Rs 11,400 crore in its SDRF for the period while Maharashtra’s share is the maximum, about Rs 19,000 crore.
Heat Action Plans (HAPs) to Tackle Heatwave
HAPs aim to increase preparedness and lower the adverse impacts of extreme heat by outlining strategies and measures to prepare for, address, and recover from heatwaves. The National Disaster Management Authority and IMD are reported to be working with 23 states to develop HAPs.
HAPs in India provide a snapshot of regions’ heat profile, including information on the number of past heatwave events, yearly trends in the summer maximum temperature and land surface temperature, followed by a vulnerability assessment which maps out regions that require immediate attention and a response plan.
These measures require expenditure but state governments have not been able to use the SDRF for them. This is the reason for the demand for inclusion of heatwaves as a notified disaster in the DM Act.
HAPs currently are standalone plans with limited finance. Crowdfunding or pooling in resources could sustain them.