Will urban disaster bodies help smoother handling of emergencies?

The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, passed in the Lok Sabha on December 12 as an amendment to the existing 2005 law has, among multiple modifications, envisaged the formation of urban disaster management authorities in a first. Be it Bengaluru, which suffered flooding recently during October earlier this year, or Chennai, which was paralysed as a result of cyclone Michaung in November, climate-induced disasters are becoming a recurring phenomenon in Indian cities at a point wherein India is continuing to log an urban-focussed growth. In this context, experts and practitioners have lauded the introduction of an urban-specific disaster authority.

While the amendments are yet to be discussed in detail and passed in the Upper House before being sent to the President for her assent, the provisions of the urban authority and aspects, such as necessary recognition of disaster risk reduction (DRR), climate change and some autonomy to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), have been welcomed.

Also read | Centre approves ₹944 crore as Cyclone Fengal relief to Tamil Nadu, promises more after assessment reports

Krishna S Vatsa, a member of NDMA, said this is a landmark step, given the country’s rapid urbanisation and recurrence of disasters in cities. “The existing district-level structures are not effective in these cases.”

An official working with a UN agency, echoing the sentiments, said the emphasis on the creation of a disaster database will also lead to more data-based decision-making.

Notably, the current draft mentions that national capital Delhi and Chandigarh will be the only exceptions. In other places, these new city-level authorities will align with central, state and district-level disaster management authorities for state capitals and large cities.

While these additions have been lauded as broadly progressive, many experts have pointed out other obvious reformative steps that the proposed amendment has overlooked, particularly from the urban perspective.

Also read | ‘Justice for Wayanad’: Priyanka leads protest, demands relief package for landslide-hit constituency

A senior official with experience in working with a state disaster management authority for more than three years said the amendment could have mandated frameworks for resource allocations into clear categories, such as mitigation, preparedness, rescue, and rehabilitation, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission. “This structured approach would ensure efficient and targeted use of resources for disaster management.”

Other than this, he said, the emphasis on communication protocols and technology integration for real-time monitoring, predictive analysis, and data-driven decision-making is missing. He also mentioned that the law fails to incorporate participatory governance, involving local communities, to ensure solutions are inclusive and grounded in local realities.

An official currently with the NDMA, on condition of anonymity, said, another level of decentralisation was required, with regard to ward-level structures, for emergency management. “We need to pay more attention to creating urban search and rescue teams, which can operate at a sub-city level.”

Kathyayini Chamaraj, a member of the social security association of India, said ward disaster management teams and booth-level committees need to be formed with volunteers. “Ward committee members and ward-level officials need to be equipped with emergency funds to carry out activities during an emergency: rescue, recovery and mitigation of disasters,” Chamaraj said.

Anil Kumar Gupta, a professor at IIT Roorkee who previously worked with the Centre for Disasters and Health and the National Institute of Disaster Management, questioned why mayors have been left out of the framework, when the state and central authorities are led by the Prime Minister and chief ministers, respectively.

Gupta questioned the proposal to make the municipal corporation commissioner the chief of the urban disaster authority, expressing scepticism if the officer can exercise control multiple other parastatal agencies that are involved in the day-to-day functioning of large cities. “This is important as, unlike disaster response that is done on war footing, mitigation will involve broader issues, such as improving land use practice, housing, setting development regulation norms and even preparing risk-informed master plans.”

He questioned how a multiplicity of agencies, incongruous with one another, will achieve its goals and wondered if these urban bodies will be set up in industrial cities, such as Noida, which do not have traditional municipal bodies.

Gupta said the aspect of losses specific to cities has also been missed, as disasters not only negatively impact infrastructure but also disrupt supply chains and city economics. He said that instead of an authority, an operational agency to implement the mechanisms that already exist on paper in a time-bound manner would have been more helpful.