GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

PLANNING COMMISSION
REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP
ON

DISASTER MANAGEMENT
FOR THE TWELFTH FIVE YEAR PLAN
(2012-2017)

31st October, 2011

Investing TODAY
for a
Safer TOMORROW

FOREWORD

The Planning Commission, Government of India, vide their Order No.M-12016/03/2011-PAMD. dated
the 06 April, 2011, constituted a Working Group on Disaster Management, as a part of the formulation of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan (2012-2017). The Terms of Reference (TOR), interalia, included (i) To recommend
measures to streamline existing institutional structure on disaster management in order to avoid multiplicity of
structures keeping in view the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005; (ii) Review implementation of
disaster management policy both manmade and natural disaster, towards disaster risk reduction, preparedness
and mitigation at Centre and State levels and in the private sector. To incorporate multi hazard preparedness
and mitigation measures in the disaster risk reduction and management framework: (iii) To explore innovative
ways and means for application of Science & Technology in disaster risk reduction (iv) To draw a roadmap and
policy framework to encourage public-private partnership and community participation (with specific focus on
women, school children differently abled) in disaster management (v) To assess integration of disaster
management related concerns to be inbuilt into central sector and centrally sponsored schemes /projects (vi) To
suggest programmes for capacity building for disaster mitigation at Centre, State and district levels with special
reference to rural and urban area with focus on educational institutions (vii) To identify priority areas and
projects along with financial resources particularly with respect to setting up of National Disaster Mitigation
Fund to be undertaken through NDMA, Central Ministries and State Govts in an integrated manner during the
12th Plan period; and (viii) To suggest policy measures and programmes for knowledge sharing, dissemination of
information and for increasing public awareness.
th

2.
The composition of the Working Group was broad based and included representatives of the concerned
Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments and experts from relevant fields.

3.
The Group formed five Sub-Groups to address each of the eight terms of reference. The first Sub-Group,
headed by Dr. Noor Mohammad , the then Secretary, NDMA, examined the issues at item (i) and (ii) above, the
second Sub-Group, headed by Shri R. C. Jha, the then Member (RM), CWC and now Chairman CWC examined
the issues at item (iii), the third Sub-Group, headed by Ms Janki Andharia, Professor & Chairman, Jamsetji Centre
for Disaster Management, Tata Institute of Social Sciences examined the issues at item (iv), the fourth SubGroup, headed by Shri Anil Sinha, Vice Chairman Bihar State Disaster Management Authority examined the
issues at item (vi) and (viii), the fifth Sub-Group, headed by the Chairman Working Group examined the issues at
item (v) and (vii).

4.
The Working Group took note of the changing hazard profile of India in the context of recent global
events. The Group came to the conclusion that investments are needed today for a safer tomorrow. The Group
agreed that prevention and mitigation are socially and economically more profitable investments than relief and
rehabilitation. However, relief and rehabilitation in the aftermath of a disaster is equally important. The Group
felt that mainstreaming disaster risk reduction in important central sector and centrally sponsored programmes
is necessary for effective mitigation. The need for leveraging Science and Technology capabilities for effective
disaster management particularly for setting up of early warning systems was highlighted. The Departments
concerned with the Science and technology would be required to take this idea forward and from well coordinate and implementable action plans. The Group also recognized that empowerment of the community is a
critical element in effective disaster management. It was also recognized that NDMA needs to implement a few
new projects covering cross-cutting themes in addition to the continuation of the projects of the previous Plan.

5.
I am thankful to the Members of the Working Group, particularly the Chairpersons of the Sub-Groups
and the special invitees for their valuable contributions. I would also like to place on record my sincere
appreciation of the efforts of the officers and staff of the Planning Commission and NDMA for their help,
assistance and cooperation in organising the meetings of the Working Groups as well as of the Sub-Groups.

(T. Nanda Kumar)

Chairman
31st October, 2011

*******

Table of Contents

1. Disaster Management: Part of the Development Process.1

2. Disasters: Global Scenario.7
3. Indias Hazard Profile.10
4. Institutional Arrangements for Disaster Management.22
5. Public-Private Partnership for Disaster Management30
6. Capacity Development and Public Awareness.38
7. Leveraging S & T in Disaster Management 58
8. Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into National Development
Schemes.69
9. Schemes of NDMA84
10. National Disaster Mitigation Fund..105

Summary of Proposals..108
Abbreviations..109
Annexures..................115

1. Disaster Management: Part of the Development Process

1.1

Five Year Plan documents have generally not included issues relating to the management and
mitigation of natural and man-made disasters. Issues relating to disaster management received
adequate attention for the first time in the Xth Five Year Plan (2002-2007) prepared in the
backdrop of the Orissa Super Cyclone and the Gujarat Earthquake. The High Power Committee
constituted by the Government of India and the All Party Committee on Disaster Management
emphasized the need to place disaster management as an integral part of the development
agenda. As a result of these, a separate chapter on disaster management was included in the
Xth Five Year Plan.
The vision of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is to build a safer and
disaster resilient India by developing a holistic, pro-active, multi-disaster and
technology-driven strategy for disaster management through collective efforts of all
stakeholders.

1.2

Tenth Five Year Plan

1.2.1 The Xth Five Year Plan prescriptions on disaster management included the following:
(i) Policy guidelines which would guide the preparation and implementation of developmental
plans across sectors to operational guidelines for integrating disaster management practices
into developmental plans and specific schemes for prevention and mitigation of disasters.
(ii) At the macro level, the Plan emphasized that while hazards, both natural or otherwise, are
inevitable, the disasters that follow need not be so and the society can be prepared to cope
with them effectively whenever they occur and called for a multi-pronged strategy for total
risk management, comprising prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, on the one
hand, and for initiating development efforts aimed towards risk reduction and mitigation, on
the other. It stated that only then could we look forward to sustainable development.
1.2.2 The Plan made a number of important suggestions which are valid even today. Some of these
are:
Streamlining institutional arrangements for disaster response by an integrated approach
involving civilian and military resources; setting up a modern, permanent National
Command Centre or operations room with fail safe communications and data links to all
State capitals; establishing a quick response team particularly for search and rescue
operations; developing standard operating system for dealing with humanitarian and relief
1

assistance from non-government sources; and formulating a unified legislation for dealing
with all types of disasters.
Building disaster prevention and preparedness in development planning by introducing a
rigorous process of vulnerability analysis and risk assessment, maintaining comprehensive
database and resource inventories at all levels, developing state-of-the-art infrastructure for
mitigation planning, and establishing a Disaster Knowledge Network for the use of disaster
managers, decision makers, community, and so on.
Developing a nation-wide culture of prevention by introducing disaster management in the
school curriculum, including relevant aspects of disaster management in professional
courses, enhancing the capacity of disaster manages by better training facilities and
creating a massive awareness at all levels.
Encouraging community level initiatives for disaster preparedness by involving people at the
grass roots, particularly those who are more vulnerable, for better preparedness and
response.
Developing appropriate zonal regulations, design standards, building codes, and
performance specifications for safe construction.
Inclusion of disaster mitigation analysis in all development schemes in vulnerable areas
through which the feasibility of a project is assessed with respect to vulnerability of the area.
Building disaster mitigation components into all development projects financed under the
Plan.
1.2.3 The Xth Five Year Plan also emphasized that the plan expenditure on disaster mitigation and
prevention measures was required in addition to a Calamity Relief Fund (CRF & NCCF). The
plan, however, did not recommend any specific plan schemes for prevention, mitigation or
preparedness for disasters. It also did not make any specific recommendations regarding
allocations in specific schemes. However a general recommendation was made as Creation of
faculties in disaster management in all 28 states is proposed to be taken up in the Tenth Plan in
addition to community mobilization, human resource development, establishment of Control
Rooms and forging international cooperation in disaster management. There is also an urgent
need for strengthening the disaster management pedagogy by creating disaster management
faculties in universities, rural development institutes and other organizations of premier
research.
2

1.2.4 However, significant policy initiatives were made during the Xth Five Year Plan period though
not necessarily as part of the plan process. They are described below along with the current
status of implementation:
The disaster Management Act 2005 was enacted for establishing the requisite institutional
mechanisms at National, State and District levels.
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) under the Chairmanship of the Prime
Minister was set up in terms of the Act.
The National Disaster Management Authority has so far published 25 guidelines on various
topics on disaster (details at Annexure- VII) in addition to the National Policy on Disaster
Management.
The State Governments have set up State and District Disaster Management Authorities.
A 10 Battalion Strong National Disaster Response Force has been set up comprising of 180
teams.
Civil Defence set up is proposed to be revamped to strengthen local efforts for disaster
preparedness and effective response. The 13th Finance Commission have recognized this and
allocated funds.
The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has been set up for meeting the
training needs of the country and for supporting training initiatives in the states.
A Committee of Experts finalized the model building bye-laws for town and country planning
legislation, land use, zonation, development and control legislation.
The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has issued building codes for construction of different
types of building in different seismic zones in the country. The National building code has
also been revised on these lines.
A web enabled centralized inventory of resources (IDRN) has been developed to provide a
platform for District Disaster Management Authorities to map resources and to access them
in times of need. The knowledge sharing portal on disaster management and corporate
disaster resources net work portals viz., IDKN and CDRN have been established. These need
improvements in terms of its operational capability and reach.
3

The Hyogo Framework of Action (HFA) has advanced the cause of mainstreaming
disaster risk reduction into socio-economic development planning and activities by
adopting five priorities for action through a fivefold processes: viz., Political
process requiring countries to develop policies and legislative and institutional
frameworks for disaster risk reduction and commit resources for their prevention,
mitigation and preparedness; Technical process which calls for application of
science and technology for assessment, identification and monitoring of disasters
and enhancing early warning of system; Socio-educational process aiming at
increasing citizens understanding and skills to build a culture of safety and
resilience at all levels; Development process seeking to integrate disaster risk in all
relevant sectors of development planning and programmes; and Humanitarian
process which requires factoring disaster risk reduction in disaster response and
recovery.

1.3 Eleventh Five Year Plan

1.3.1 While the Xth Five Year Plan set in motion the process of shift in focus from relief and response
centric disaster management to laying greater emphasis on the other elements of the disaster
management cycle viz., prevention, mitigation, and preparedness as means to avert or soften
the impact of disasters, the XIth Five Year Plan tried to consolidate the process by giving an
impetus for projects and programmes that develop and nurture a culture of safety and
mainstreaming of disaster prevention and mitigation in the development process.
The XIth Five Year Plan prescribed, inter alia the following:
Mainstreaming disaster management into development planning is crucial for risk
reduction.
Projects need to be appraised from a disaster management perspective as well to ensure
safe development. The Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) guidelines were modified to
include this.
A number of specific projects were recommended with initial outlays for preparation of
detailed project reports covering, inter alia, the following:

Box 1.1: List of Projects

Major Projects
National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project
National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project
National Flood Mitigation Project
National Landslide Mitigation Project
National Disaster Communication Network
Other Disaster Management Projects (ODMPs)
Expanded Disaster Risk Mitigation Project
Information, Education, and Communication (IEC)
Programme
Micro-Zonation of Major Cities
Project Preparation Facility/Research Programme Studies
Vulnerability Assessment Schemes
International Co-operation
Infrastructure of 8 NDRF Battalions
Upgradation of NIDM and other Institutes

1.3.2 Out of the above, the National Cyclone Risk mitigation project has been started in the States of
Andhra Pradesh and Orissa with World Bank assistance. It is expected that this project will be
expanded to cover the other coastal states. Initiatives have also been undertaken on
awareness building, training of Government officials and others and empowerment of
communities.

1.4 Twelfth Five Year Plan

1.4.1 The lessons learnt in the major disasters which India faced in recent times viz., Orissa Super
Cyclone of 1999, Gujarat Earthquake of 2001, Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, Kosi flood of
2008, and Sikkim Earthquake of 2011 provided valuable lessons for disaster management. In
addition, there are lessons to be learnt from the global experiences; the more recent ones
being Japan Earthquake and Tsunami of 2011 (which is reported to be the costliest disaster
since 1970 with a burden of US $ 235 billion to the exchequer), New Zealand Earthquake of
2011, Haiti Earthquake of 2010, Chile Earthquake of 2010 and Hurricane Katrina of 2005.
1.4.2 Globally, there is an increasing recognition that disasters affect growth and the poorer section
of society takes a major share of the impact. Therefore, there is a consensus that investing in
prevention and mitigation is economically and socially more beneficial than expenditure in relief
and rehabilitation. In a recent World Bank study, it has been established that one dollar spent
5

on prevention is more than ten times more valuable than a dollar spent on relief in net present
value. The study also highlights four major findings:
First, a disaster exposes the cumulative implications of many earlier decisions, some taken
individually, others collectively, a few by default.
Second, prevention is often possible and cost-effective.
Third, many measures-private and public- must work well together for effective prevention.
Fourth, the exposure to hazards will rise in cities, but greater exposure need not increase
vulnerability.

1.4.3 British risk assessors Maplecroft conducted a survey of 196 countries evaluating them on
different risk indicators. The survey known as the Natural Hazards Risk Atlas 2011 looks at 11
indicators derived from data for 2005-2010 compiled by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), World Bank, and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). India, along with six other
countries (Mexico, the Philippines, Turkey, Indonesia, Italy, and Canada) was rated as "high risk"
in absolute terms.
The interventions proposed in this Plan are based on the following assumptions:
(1) Investing in prevention is economically and socially more beneficial than
expenditure in relief and rehabilitation.
(2) Indias strengths in Science and Technology should be leveraged to prevent
and soften the impact of disasters.
(3) Mainstreaming of disaster risk reduction in major development plans is a key
element in disaster management.
(4) Awareness and capability of the community needs to be enhanced for disaster
risk reduction.
(5) In addition to mainstreaming, a few projects covering cross-cutting schemes
need to be taken up by the Government of India.
(6) Inadequate investment in disaster risk reduction adversely affects growth,
more importantly inclusive growth.
(7) Disaster risk reduction needs a Whole of Government, Whole of Society
approach.

2. Disasters: Global Scenario

2.1

Disasters affect all regions of the world. According to a World Bank Report 1, floods and storms
are most widespread, while droughts are prevalent more often in Africa. Human deaths are
more concentrated with the deadly droughts in Africa; storms in East and South Asia also take
many lives. They are dynamic in nature with differential impacts on communities. Due to
constantly changing environments, there is a need to recognize hazard and vulnerability
characteristics in a more comprehensive manner.
During the second half of the 20th century, more than 200 major natural disasters
occurred in different parts of the world and claimed the lives of around 1.4 million
people. Losses due to natural disasters are 20 times greater (as % of GDP) in the
developing countries than in industrialized ones.

2.2

Disaster events are increasing exponentially. The number of disaster events which was 73 in
Asia
the
list of 2000-09.
casualties due
to natural
1900-09 has increased
totops
4494
during
More
people disasters.
were affected in the two recent
decades than the earlier ones. This increase may reflect greater exposure to hazards, or better
reporting in recent years, or both. Disaster events which have occurred globally between 1900
and 2009 can be categorized into three categories viz., hydro meteorological, geological and
biological disasters.
Figure 2.1 Disaster Events globally between 1900 and 2009

Source: Disaster Management in India, Ministry of Home Affairs

Natural Hazards, Unnatural Disasters

2.3

Trend analysis shows a continuous increase (except in the year 1920-29) in the frequency of
occurrence of hydro meteorological disasters. From human casualties perspective too, highest
number of casualties have been reported due to hydro meteorological disasters (47.94%)
followed by geological disasters (41.06%) and biological disasters accounting for 10.99% of the
total deaths.
Figure 2.2 Disaster Events Globally (1900-2009)

Biological,
Geological, 11.06%
11.91%

Hydrometereolog
ical, 77.03%

Hydro meteorological disasters are the most

devastating and commonly occurring disaster
throughout the world, comprising more than
2/3rd of all major disasters followed by
geological disasters and biological disasters.
This could be attributable to inadequate
mitigation efforts for reducing the impact of
hydro meteorological disasters.

Source: Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED)

2.4

2.5

2.6

The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami was one of the most devastating disasters in the history of the
world spreading across nations and uprooting lives of millions of people. Hurricane Katrina,
powerful earthquakes that struck China and Haiti and Cyclone Nargis are global events in recent
memory. More recently, the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, the Christchurch Earthquake and
the Turkey earthquake have thrown new challenges and lessons for all.
Differences in disaster impacts across countries imply that some countries avert disasters in a
better way than others. The contrast in the death toll in Haiti and Chile struck by massive
earthquakes underscores the point that disasters are manmade, not natural. Countries with
weak preparedness and poor governance systems are continuously ravaged by disasters. In
order to cope with increasing hazards, there is a need to adopt lessons learnt from different
countries. Many international case studies point to preparedness measures undertaken by
different governments in a proactive manner. Government budgets spent on relief would be
significantly reduced with lessons learnt from past disaster experiences.
British risk assessors Maplecroft conducted a survey of 196 countries evaluating them on
different risk indicators. The survey known as the Natural Hazards Risk Atlas 2011 looks at 11
indicators derived from data for 2005-2010 compiled by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), World Bank, and the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). According to the economic
8

exposure to earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, landslides, floods, storms, and wildfires, India
along with six other countries (Mexico, the Philippines, Turkey, Indonesia, Italy, and Canada)
was rated as "high risk" in absolute terms. India also falls in the high risk category as compared
to the United States and Japan which were rated low risk in their assessment of social and
economic ability to cope with a disaster. Faster growth and increasing urbanization may result
in larger economic losses in case of any disaster in developing countries.

Key Learnings from International Disaster Events

Better planning, preparedness and effective governance
Setting up of reliable Early Warning Systems
Investment in securing critical infrastructure like schools and hospitals
Strict building bye-laws/ Better building practices
Effective Risk Assessments for all hazards and regions
Increased emphasis on Public Awareness and Capacity Building at community
level
Formulation of a National Insurance Program

3. Indias Hazard Profile

3.1

Natural disasters like floods, cyclones and droughts occur repeatedly in different parts of the
country. Many districts of India are multi-hazard prone and face different disasters all round the
year. Earthquakes, hailstorms, avalanches and landslides occur suddenly but the extent of
impact depends on the magnitude of the event and the vulnerability of the location.
For the past 30 years, the country has been hit by approximately 25 major disasters apart from
heat waves, cold waves and heavy winds affecting some areas of the country. Floods,
earthquakes, cyclones and hailstorms are the most frequently occurring disasters in India.

3.2

Diverse factors, natural and human induced, adverse geo-climatic conditions, topographic
features, environmental degradation, population growth, urbanization, industrialization,
unscientific development practices etc. play a huge role in accelerating the intensity and
frequency of disasters resulting in huge economic losses and human causalities. These coupled
with the impact of climate change and climate variability, are accentuating disaster impacts and
underscore the criticality of promoting disaster-resilience and risk reduction practices. Out of
35 states and union territories in the country, 27 are prone to different disasters. With
increased socio-economic development, threat to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and
Nuclear (CBRN) disasters demand greater preparedness levels at national, state and district
levels.

Figure 3.1 Natural Disaster Occurrence Reported during 1980-2010 in India

Drought

Earthquake*

16

Epidemic

56

Extreme temperature

38

Flood

184

Insect Infestation

Mass Movement Dry

Mass Movement Wet

34

Storm

92

Volcano

2
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Occurrence (Numbers)

10

Mass Movement (dry): These are geophysical events originating from solid earth comprising of rockfall, avalanche,
landslide and subsidence.
2
Mass Movement (wet): These are hydrological events caused by deviations in the normal water cycle and/or overflow of
bodies of water caused by wind set-up comprising of subsidence, rockfall, avalanche and landslide.

Figure 3.2 Multi-Hazard Map of India

11

Figure 3.3 Economic Losses Due to Disasters

3.3

The human and economic losses from disasters are enormously high in India as compared to
other developing nations of the world. According to the World Bank, direct losses from natural
disasters have been estimated to amount to up to 2 per cent of Indias GDP and up to 12 per
cent of central government revenues. The Table 3.1 below gives some details of the losses due
to above disasters during decade of 2001-2010.
Table 3.1 Year-wise damage caused due to floods, cyclonic storms, landslides etc. during last
ten years in India

3.4

The impact of disasters varies across states. The level of preparedness, economic base and the
geo-climatic settings play a major role in determining the impact on various sectors and human
beings. Data on lives lost, loss of cattle, and damage to cropped area as well as number of
houses lost present a picture of the most vulnerable states. The system of collection of reliable
data on disasters also needs substantial improvement.

12

Table 3.2 below give the State-wise Damage due to Cyclonic Storms/Flash Floods/Flood/
Landslides/Cloudburst in the years 2005-2010

Sl
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Sl.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Total Human Lives lost

2005-2006 to 2009-2010
Top 10 states
Number
Uttar Pradesh
Bihar
Gujarat
Karnataka
West Bengal
Andhra Pradesh
Kerala
Maharashtra
Uttarakhand
Himachal Pradesh

2,763
1,684
1,199
990
921
770
763
749
488
379

Total Houses damaged

2005-2006 to 2009-2010
Top 10 states
Number
West Bengal
Karnataka
Bihar
Andhra Pradesh
Maharashtra
Uttar Pradesh
Assam
Orissa
Rajasthan
Gujarat

20,96,665
11,34,080
10,89,676
8,57,027
7,23,325
5,17,198
4,93,228
4,75,618
2,69,252
2,21,664

Sl.
No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Total Cattle lost

2005-2006 to 2009-2010
Top 10 states
Number
Andhra Pradesh
Rajasthan
West Bengal
Maharashtra
Arunachal Pradesh
Karnataka
Bihar
Gujarat
Himachal Pradesh
Assam

4,81,960
50,894
47,526
46,586
28,409
23,020
20,474
19,365
13,551
11,659

Crop Area Affected (in Lakh hectares)

2005-2006 to 2009-2010
Sl. Top 10 states
Lakh
No.
Ha
1 Karnataka
32.46
2 West Bengal
31.38
3 Andhra Pradesh
29.21
4 Tamil Nadu
23.34
5 Uttar Pradesh
22.87
6 Maharashtra
21.52
7 Bihar
21.37
8 Rajasthan
17.36
9 Gujarat
12.85
10 Orissa
12.36

13

3.5

The states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Bihar come
under the top 10 states in case of human lives lost, cattle lost, houses damaged and crop area
damaged. Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal record the highest cattle loss due to
disasters. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and West Bengal account for maximum human lives
lost, damage to houses and crop area as compared to other states. While the reasons for the
vulnerability can be established only on the basis of further analysis these states fall in the high
vulnerability category and need special attention.
Disasters like the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984), Orissa Super cyclone (1999), Kutch Earthquake
(2001), Tsunami (2004), Kosi Floods (2008), Leh Cloudburst (2010), Mayapuri Radiation
Exposure in Delhi (2010) and Sikkim Earthquake (2011) have posed serious challenges for the
Government.
Table 3.3 Indias Major Disasters
Sl.No. Name of Event

Year

State & Area

Fatalities

1.

Drought

1972

200 million people affected

2.

Cyclone

1977

Large part of the

country
Andhra Pradesh

3.
4.

Drought
Latur Earthquake

1987
1993

5.

Orissa Super
Cyclone
Gujarat
Earthquake

1999

7.

Tsunami

2004

8.

Maharashtra
Floods

July
2005

Maharashtra State

9.

Kashmir

2005

Mostly Pakistan,

6.

2001

15 States
Latur, Marathwada
region of Maharashtra
Orissa
Rapar, Bhuj, Bhachau,
Anjar, Ahmedabad and
Surat in Gujarat State
Coastline of Tamil
Nadu, Kerala, Andhra
Pradesh, Pondicherry
and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands of India

10,000 deaths
hundreds of thousands
homeless
40,000 cattle deaths
300 million people affected
7,928 people died
30,000 injured
Over 10,000 deaths
13,805 deaths
6.3 million people affected
10,749 deaths
5,640 persons missing
2.79 million people affected
11,827 hectares of crops
damaged
300,000 fisher folk lost their
livelihood
1094 deaths
167 injured
54 missing
1400 deaths in Kashmir
14

10.

Earthquake
Kosi Floods

2008

11.
12.

Cyclone Nisha
Drought

2008
2009

13.

Leh Cloudburst

2010

14.

Sikkim Earthquake 2011

Partially Kashmir
North Bihar

(86,000 deaths in total)

527 deaths
19323 livestock perished
2,23,000 houses damaged
3.3 million persons affected
204 deaths

Tamil Nadu
252 districts in 10
states
Leh, Ladakh in Jammu
& Kashmir
North-eastern India
Most Recent Disaster
with epicenter near
Nepal Border and
Sikkim

Figure 3.4 Major Disasters in India from 1980-2011

(1980-2011)

15

3.6 Drought
3.6.1 Drought impacts mostly rainfed crops to start with and subsequently the irrigated crops. Areas
with inadequate water sources (ground and canal water supplies), areas subjected to drastic
environmental degradation such as denuded forest lands and altered ecosystems, and areas
where livelihoods alternative to agriculture are least developed are most vulnerable to drought.
3.6.2 The details of drought years of India since 1951 have been listed below. The year 1987 faced a
severe drought where 47.7% of the total area was affected followed closely by the year 2009
with 46% affected area.
Table 3.4 Drought years with percentage area of the country affected by drought
S. No.
Year
Moderate drought
Severe drought
Total (%)
(%)
(%)
1.
1951
35.1
0.0
35.1
2.
1965
38.3
0.0
38.3
3.
1966
35.4
0.0
35.4
4.
1968
21.9
0.0
21.9
5.
1972
36.6
3.8
40.4
6.
1974
27.1
6.9
34.0
7.
1979
33.0
1.8
34.8
8.
1982
29.1
0.0
29.1
9.
1985
25.6
16.7
42.3
10.
1987
29.8
17.9
47.7
11.
2002
19.0
10.0
29.0
12.
2009
32.5
13.5
46.0
Table 3.5 Change in Production of Food grains in Drought years
S. No.
Year
Rainfall Deficit
Production of food grains
(in million tons)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

1968-69
1972-73
1974-75
1979-80
1982-83
1987-88
2002-03
2009-10

-10.3
-23.9
-12.0
-19.0
-14.5
-19.4
-19.2
-21.8

94.01
97.03
99.83
109.70
129.52
140.35
174.77
218.20

% change from
previous year
-1.09
-7.73
-4.62
-16.94
-2.83
-2.14
-17.89
-6.93
16

3.7 Landslides
3.7.1 The Himalayan Mountains have a history of landslides registering 30% of the total landslides in
the world. In the year 2005, over 500 lives were lost due to landslides caused by incessant rains
in the Konkan region of Maharashtra claiming 100 lives in the Mumbai Metropolitan Area
alone.
Figure 3.5 Landslide Hazard Map of India

Source: Geological Survey of India

17

3.8 Earthquakes
3.8.1 As per the Vulnerability Atlas of India (2006), 59% of land is vulnerable to Earthquakes and
there are four seismic zones in India. The most active area is demarcated as Zone five
comprising of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, northern portion of Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal
Pradesh, J&K, Northeast India and Uttarakhand. Three major earthquakes have occurred in
recent times: Latur, Maharashtra (1993), Gujarat (2001) and Sikkim (2011).
Figure 3.6 Earthquake Hazard Map of India

18

3.9 Epidemics
3.9.1 Diarrhea outbreak is the most frequently occurring communicable disease prevalent in the
Indian subcontinent accounting for more than 41 per cent followed by food poisoning, measles
and malaria which constitute 15 per cent, 7 per cent and 5 per cent respectively in last couple
of years (2008-2010).
Table 3.6 Epidemics: Disease-wise outbreaks/ epidemics reported by states under IDSP, 2008-10

3.10 Deaths due to Unnatural Causes

3.10.1 Accidents - human-made and natural - are among the two most important reasons of premature end to human lives. Injuries resulting from the accidents handicap many people.
Accidental deaths due to natural causes were 6.2 % and those due to unnatural causes were
93.8% while traffic accidents account for the maximum deaths.
19

Figure 3.7 Unnatural Deaths in 2009- Causes, Number and as a percentage of the Total deaths
(357,021)

3.10.2 Total number of road accidents has considerably grown showing an increase of about 80,000
from 2001 to 2008. In 2008, road accidents alone claimed 1.2 lakh human lives and making
more than half a million persons injured. Also, the Accident Severity (which is no. of persons
killed per 100 Accidents) has shown a steady growth and has reached up to 24.7 in 2008 from
19.9 in 2001.
3.10.3 Other disasters like major stampedes have also taken place in India in the last 8 years. In 2005, a
very intensive stampede occurred in Kalubai Mandhar Devi Temple located in Satara District of
Maharashtra claiming more than 260 lives. Naina Devi in Himachal Pradesh and Chamunda Devi
in Jodhpur have also witnessed major stampedes in 2008 claiming about 150 lives. Recently, a
stampede at the Sabarimala Shrine in Keralas Idukki district left 100 people dead and 90 people
injured. With such high number of fatalities, it is apparent that better crowd management
requires serious consideration.

20

3.11

Climate Change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of current extreme weather
events and give rise to new vulnerabilities with differential spatial and socio-economic impacts
on communities. Unpredictable climate variability is expected to have severe impacts on the
hydrological cycle, water resource, droughts, flood, drinking water, forest and eco-systems, sea
level/coastal area losses of coastal wetlands and mangroves, food security, health and other
related issues. Impact would particularly be disastrous for countries, like India and further
reduce the resilience of poor, vulnerable communities, both in rural and urban areas. Strategies
to cope with climate change should take into account these vulnerabilities.

3.12

Poverty and disaster vulnerability: Poverty and risk to disasters are inextricably linked and
mutually reinforcing. The poor and vulnerable sections of the society is worst affected in case of
disasters. The situation further aggravates due to the compulsion of the poor to exploit
environmental resources for their survival, increasing the risk and exposure of the society to
disasters, in particular those triggered by flood, drought and landslides. Poverty also compels
the poor to migrate and live at physically more vulnerable locations, often on unsafe land and
in unsafe shelters. Planning for the poor in various schemes of the Government should
recognize this.

21

4. Institutional Arrangements for Disaster Management

4.1 Purpose and Objective

4.1.1 There has been a paradigm shift in focus of the Disaster Management, from response-centric
covering rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction to laying greater emphasis on the
other elements of disaster management cycleprevention, mitigation, and preparednessas a
means to avert or soften the impact of future emergencies.
4.1.2 The Disaster Management Act 2005 envisages that the guidance and direction to achieve this
paradigm shift with flow from NDMA, to all stakeholders including State Governments and UTs,
right up to the PRIs. Communities at large will need to be mobilized to achieve this common
objective as they are the first responders. Even the best of isolated efforts will not bear fruit
unless they are part of an overall, well- considered strategy, and responsibilities of all
stakeholders are clearly spelt out and accountability and sustainability factored in. Towards
this, the first step is to prepare effective State Disaster Management Plans in all the States
and UTs, in terms of Section 23 of the DM Act, 2005.
4.1.3 The Twelfth Plan aims at consolidating the process by streamlining the existing institutional
mechanism so as to avoid multiplicity of structures and have a clearly defined responsibility
matrix to obtain optimum results. Further, a review of implementation of the Disaster
Management Policy should identify the gaps, if any, to ensure integration of Disaster Risk
Reduction needs in all the components of development initiatives in a holistic manner. If
disaster risk reduction is taken as the common denominator of all developmental plans to
achieve the objective of inclusive growth, keeping in view the geo-climatic vulnerabilities at
micro level and the needs of the socially and economically disadvantaged segments of
community who are the worst sufferers in case of any disaster, the objective of disaster risk
reduction as well as multi hazard preparedness can be met to a large extent.
4.1.4 The status of Disaster Management activities in various States/UTs is at Annex-VIII.

4.2 Streamlining Existing Institutional Arrangements for Disaster

Management
4.2.1 There is a need for improvement and strengthening of existing institutional arrangements and
systems to deal with disasters more effectively and professionally. Government institutions
need to be fully functional in terms with State Disaster Management Plans, District Disaster
22

Management Plans, State Disaster Response Force, Emergency Operation Centers etc. The
resources and expertise already available with the Government, therefore, need to be
streamlined and strengthened along with integration of training and deployment. While a few
states have done this, others need to set up the necessary institutional arrangements quickly.
4.2.2 As each state has different vulnerabilities to various disasters, a uniform institutional structure
may not work for the country as a whole. Therefore, states needs to ensure this by clearly
delineating responsibilities as envisaged in the Act. The release of funds to states under the
Thirteenth Finance Commission could be linked to setting up of the institutions as envisaged in
the Act and their performance in terms of preparation of Disaster Management Plans and
activities undertaken by them for disaster preparedness and mitigation.
4.2.3 The following recommendations are made for streamlining the existing institutional structure at
the various levels:-

4.2.3.1 District Level

Preparedness of Community for Disasters
(i)

The most neglected part in our preparedness is generally the capacity building of the
community and that of the disaster management officials in efficient discharge of their
functions. There is need for developing a proper mechanism to deal with this issue. A formal
mechanism using the retired army/ police personnel and others in preparing the community to
face the mammoth task will be quite useful. As the local community is the first responder
during any disaster, community preparedness plays a vital role in mitigating the effects of
disaster as well as in the relief and rescue operations. Community preparedness should involve:
Development of standardized training modules with certification
Imparting life skill trainings
Resource mapping of retired officials who may act as focal points during disaster
relief operation
A major revamping of Civil Defence
Involvement of cadres of NCC, NSS, NYK, Scouts and Guides
Equipping all the major cities and other towns/villages at critical locations at every
50 km on the major national highways/railway trunk routes as well as along major
flood prone rivers with the basic rescue/relief instruments so that the same is to be
available without any delay in the event of a disaster.

(ii)

NIDM which is the premier disaster management institute in the country should undertake
Training Needs Assessment (TNA) of different target groups for various types of disasters. On
the basis of this TNA, NIDM should develop standard training modules for community and
23

master trainers. These step by step training modules to be developed both in print and
electronic format will help in demystifying the different aspects of disaster management and
thereby facilitate transfer of knowledge to the community and shall become the resource
material for community based disaster management. NIDM should also oversee the quality of
training imparted.
(iii)

There should be a unified command of DDMA for the entire gamut of disasters. The Crisis
Management Group of the district should be made broader based by involving officers from the
Departments in charge of the various disasters like Labor Department for Chemical disasters,
Irrigation for Floods, Local Self Government and PWD for Earthquake, Health for Epidemics etc.
Further, the Fire Services and Civil Defence should be integrated with the DDMA, as it is the
nucleus of all disaster management activities.

(iv)

For ensuring adoption of best practices and integrated knowledge management in respect of
individual disasters, broader Advisory Groups of Experts may also be constituted for various
disasters as per the disaster profile of the district.

(v)

Government/Semi-Government Institutions may be involved in research and damage

assessment in respect of various disasters.

(vi)

DDMAs should identify retired army / police personnel with the help of Sainik Kalyan Board/ ExServicemen Board and scientifically train them in life saving skills and rescue operations. In the
event of any disaster, these people can be contacted and regular refresher courses should be
conducted for them. Their contribution in assisting the government in handling of disasters and
saving of life should also be duly recognized in publicly held ceremonies.

(vii)

Instead of having separate District-level Response and Mitigation funds, the DDMA should
have access to State-level Response and Mitigation Funds, subject to well laid down guidelines.
Even today, the DM / Collector / DC can access the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF), subject to the
CRF guidelines. It is felt that it will be a simpler and more effective financial arrangement, and
funds shall not remain blocked in districts not affected by disasters.

4.2.3.2 State Level

(i)

The Relief Commissioner should be designated as the Additional CEO of the SDMA and his
Secretariat may be suitably expanded to include subject matter specialists keeping in view the
hazard profile of the State.

(ii)

The Relief Commissioner should also be designated as the Member Secretary of the SEC to
assist the Chief Secretary in the day to day functioning of SDMA and SEC.

(iii)

An Advisory Committee of Experts based on the disaster profile of individual State needs should
be constituted, which shall assist SDMA in preparation of action plan, SOPs, formulate projects
24

and in the monitoring of action plan in respect of the various disasters. In addition to this,
subject specific Sub- Committees may also be constituted to look into different aspects of
disaster.
(iv)

Head of SDRF should be included as a member of SEC.

(v)

SDMA should undertake an exercise of assessing its capacity and functional needs. Accordingly,
the SDMA may be reorganized and strengthened with more professional human resources for
its day to day working.

(vi)

SDMA should have access to State Disaster Response Fund and State Mitigation Fund in
accordance with the guidelines framed for these funds.

4.2.3.3 National Level

(i)

The Cabinet Secretary who heads the Crisis Management Group at the national level should
also be made an ex-officio member of NDMA.

(ii)

Further, as the Crisis Management Group is headed by the Cabinet Secretary, it is

recommended that the National Executive Committee (NEC) which is essentially a Committee
of Secretaries, and is enjoined upon to assist the National Disaster Management Authority,
should also be headed by the Cabinet Secretary with Home Secretary as the Vice Chairman and
the Secretary, NDMA as its Member Secretary. This will help in better coordination amongst
various departments.

(iii)

Director General, NDRF should be included as a member of NEC.

(iv)

Institutionally, it should be ensured that the NEC meets at least once in a quarter, as specified
in the rules, to monitor all programs related to disaster management as well as to see that the
Disaster Management Plans of the Ministries/Departments are in place and functional.

(v)

In accordance with section 7 of the Disaster Management Act, NDMA should seek advice from
the Advisory Committee consisting of experts in the field of disaster management and having
practical experience of disaster management at the national, state or district level on various
aspects of disaster management. In addition, subject specific Sub-Committees may be
constituted to look into the different aspects of disaster management in respect of the specific
disasters, helping preparation of action plan and monitoring of gaps in implementation.

(vi)

Capacity building at various levels including that at the community level is one of the main
pillars of disaster management. In order to ensure that the NIDM works more closely with the
NDMA to benefit from the synergy, NIDM should be brought under the direction, general
superintendence and control of the NDMA.

25

(vii)

The responsibility for overseeing Civil Defence and Fire Services in the country should also be
brought under the purview of NDMA so as to ensure that all entities dealing with disaster
management institutionally are under general superintendence and control of NDMA with a
view to derive maximum benefit out of this synergy.

(viii)

NDMA should be the Nodal Agency for all disasters whether natural or manmade. Even while
the other specialised organisations/agencies may continue to look after the specific disasters
entrusted to them, they should share their knowledge and experience with NDMA in an
institutionalised manner.

4.2.3.4 International Level

(i)

NDMA should be encouraged to carve out a role in the international arena also by making it
a National focal point in the field of disaster management, so as to leverage its expertise in
helping South Asian countries since disasters do not recognize boundaries, this will help NDMA
in addressing DM issue in the region more effectively. It can also contribute to Indias
diplomatic efforts in many countries by providing support to capacity building, setting up Early
Warning Systems (EWS) etc.

4.3 Institutionalising Additional Arrangements for Disaster Management

4.3.1 In addition to the above proposed changes at the district, state, national, international levels,
following suggestions are made for streamlining the existing as well as additional arrangements
for disaster management and implementation of disaster management policy, towards disaster
risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation at Centre and State levels and in the private
sector:i)

Integration of Armed Forces into disaster preparation, planning and response at all levels
The services of Indian Armed Forces be it Army, Navy and Air force are invariably utilized as one
of the first responders in the event of most of the major disasters. However, they are generally
not involved during the preparation and planning stages in an integrated manner. As such, the
institutional arrangement needs to be strengthened to integrate armed forces into
preparedness and planning at all levels even before a disaster strikes. Integrated planning for
disasters, including the integration of relevant Armed Forces formations into disaster
management planning at all levels from District to State and Central Government was also
recommended in the 10th Plan. While the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff is one of the
members of the National Executive Committee, action on integration of Armed Forces in
Disaster Management Planning and Preparation at all levels including State and district levels
needs to be expedited.
26

ii) Streamlining of operational interaction between various agencies

There is an urgent need to review and streamline the operational interaction of various
agencies during a disaster as per the Incident Response System Guidelines prepared by NDMA,
so that their expertise can be dovetailed for quick deployment of the resources.
iii) Modern unified mechanism for disaster management.
In view of the current division of responsibilities between the State and Central Government
into state, central and concurrent lists, there is a need to create a clear protocol and an
effective mechanism for dealing with response to natural disasters and other emergencies,
clearly delineating responsibilities and powers of each entity and specifying what powers or
actions would need to be triggered on declaration of a disaster by the Government of India or a
State Government so that all emergencies are dealt with in an integrated manner.
iv) Setting up of National and State Emergency Operational Centers
A modern, permanent National Command Centre or Operations Control Room, with fail proof
communications and data links to all State capitals needs to be set up. This should be manned
on a 24-hour basis by professionals to cater for instant and integrated response. Setting up of a
properly equipped Emergency Operations Control room at the State level also needs to be
expedited.
Setting up of Emergency Response Centers (ERCs)
In India, disasters are normally being handled by local fire services and police. These
agencies often do not have trained manpower or sophisticated equipment to manage
disaster response. Internationally ERCs are being set up at various locations to combat the
Disaster situations. These ERCs have trained manpower and necessary equipment to
handle hazards like earthquake, Tsunami, Chemical & Oil fires, gas leaks etc. Similar ERCs
should be set up at various locations in India on the Incident Response System principles.
These ERCs should be over and above the existing Fire services set up of the State
Governments. The equipment required in these ERCs will depend upon vulnerability of the
location vis--vis various hazards. Initially, such centers may be set up at few vulnerable
locations and can be subsequently extended to cover all major cities in India.
The ERCs should develop urban search and rescue capacity by establishing a fully equipped
Search and Rescue units with trained staff and modern equipment such as thermal
imagers, acoustic detection devices etc. This is of immediate relevance since a major
weakness exposed in the Gujarat earthquake was the lack of specialized urban search and
rescue capability.
27

Due to the lack of coordinated planning and procurement of equipment, most of the states
do not even have the basic rescue equipments. Hence, there is an immediate need for the
states to operationalize the Emergency Response Centers by procurement and proper
positioning of the required equipments, developing trained manpower in the use of
sophisticated instruments, mapping of resources and knowledge at community level and
development of SOPs for involvement of NGOs, Civil Defence, Red Cross etc in Disaster
Management.
v) Establishing/Strengthening Fire and emergency services at community and town level:
The basic building block of all emergency and disaster response is Fire and Emergency services
at community and town level. Large parts of the country, especially rural areas and small towns
have very little, if any, coverage from Fire and Emergency services, both in normal times and
during disasters. In terms of responsibility for such services, this is also split between many
agencies in the States e.g. Municipality, Police, Fire Services Department etc. The 12th Plan
should provide for strengthening Fire and Emergency Services in addition to the Finance
commission recommended outlays. Further to strengthen and extend the reach of the Fire
and Emergency Services, financing of these services through public private partnership model
also needs to be explored along with developing mechanism to check the quality of the service.
There is a case for Fire and Rescue services being brought under the direct control of the State
Governments in view of the high technology components currently in vogue. A separate
legislation like the UK Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 could also be considered to ensure
such coverage.
vi) Facilitating States in the development of State Disaster Management Plans and District
Disaster Management Plans
Presently, in many states and most of the districts, the Disaster Management Plans have not
been made and where ever they have been made, they do not address all the relevant
concerns. Hence, there is a need to provide technical support to states for preparation of
SDMPs and DDMPs.
vii) Institutionalizing mechanism for the procurement of relief material
There have been many instances in the past where the availability of relief materials or their
procurement was mired in delays controversies. Hence, there is an urgent need to draw a list of
anticipated material needed for various disasters and finalizing a rate contract for procurement
of the same at the state levels so that the Government agencies involved in providing relief at
the district level, in the aftermath of a disaster, can procure the necessary relief material
through these rate contracts expeditiously and without fear.

28

viii) Institutionalizing Standard Operating procedures for Relief Assistance

Standard procedures need to be laid down for providing space to Civil Society Organizations to
provide humanitarian assistance.
ix) Handling of Manmade Disasters
As per provisions of the Disaster Management Act, the powers and functions of District
authority in case of any disaster have been defined. In case of any disaster, district authority
takes the overall control of the situation. In case of natural disaster like earthquake, floods,
cyclone etc, this system normally works well. But, in case of manmade disasters like disasters in
nuclear plant, gas leakage from chemical plant or a fire in a Refinery, such control inside the
plant area, is the responsibility of the CEO/Factory-in-charge of the plant because of the
technical knowledge of plant operations, safety features etc which are best known to him.
Specific contingency plans should be made by the units concerned and updated every year.
x) Vital installations to be made free of inhabitants nearby
Whenever any vital installation like nuclear plants, steel plants, chemical plants, Refineries &
other oil installations are set up, it is generally set up away from habitations. However, it has
been observed that over a period of time, habitations including many small shops, hotels,
dhabas etc come up in the adjoining areas. This increases the vulnerability and increases level
of difficulty. In order to reduce the risk and improve preparedness and mitigation the periphery
of these installations should generally be free of habitations. This needs legal backing.
Provisions under the relevant Acts and Rules need to be strengthened to ensure due diligence
for prevention of disasters, off-site management and liability arising in case of accidents.
4.4

Emergency handling facilities in coastal areas (Ports)

There have been several cases of oil spill/gas leakages etc in coastal areas/port locations.
Although coast guard is acting as the nodal agency on Oil spill response, area of gas leakage and
other emergencies are not taken care of. It is necessary to provide an Emergency handling
agency with trained manpower who can deal with all types of emergencies at coastal locations.

29

5. Public-Private Partnership for Disaster Management

5.1

Effective disaster management requires participation from the private sector in many areas.
Apart from the fact that the private sector is responsible for ensuring safety of their own
installations and their neighborhoods, they can also contribute by assisting the community and
the Government in bringing new concepts of disaster management and preparedness.
Admittedly, there is a larger role for the Public Sector. It is necessary to set up an appropriate
frame work for effective participation by the private sector in disaster management.

5.2 Disaster Preparedness for premises owned by the Private (including

Public) Sector
5.2.1 In the manufacturing sector, disaster preparedness should start with the production facilities.
While it is incumbent upon the company to ensure that all legal requirements regarding plant
safety are met, it is necessary that they have a plan for management (a business continuity
plan) of their own facility in the event of a disaster triggered by any internal malfunctioning.
The respective enforcement and regulatory agencies need to ensure that these requirements
are met on a regular basis.
The basic requirements for disaster preparedness are the following:
(i) The design, the location and construction of the plant is such that it does not cause a
disaster.
(ii) In the unfortunate event of an accident occurring, there is a plan supported by equipments
and trained personnel to handle any such accident reducing loss of human lives inside the
factory and in the vicinity. Regular drills are conducted to avoid any confusion in a crisis.
(iii) If the manufacturing or the transportation process (transporting hazardous material, gas,
oil, etc) is likely to affect the population outside the factory premises, a comprehensive plan
to avoid any mishap and deal with any unintended situation is ready and shared with the
local administration. The company provides for equipments and train personnel to enable
handle any such eventuality with minimum damage to lives and property.
(iv) The construction facilities incorporate design features to withstand natural hazards
identified for that region. In addition, they have regular disaster drills and a clear plan of
managing the factory shutting, down production facilities if required to avoid damage to the
habitation in its immediate neighbourhood.
(v) If the Company is to store hazardous material either in raw form or as finished products,
additional precautions for the safety and careful handling of the products are incorporated
in the daily routine of the storage, inspection and maintenance.
30

5.2.2 Industries like software, logistic services IT enabled services, etc., also need disaster
management plans albeit at a different level. The Companies which handle large volumes of
data need to create backup services preferably at another location to ensure the safety of the
data in the event of disaster affecting their data sources and operations. This applies to banks
and various other organizations which handle either private or public data in any form.

5.3 Support for the Community

5.3.1 The private (including Public) sector companies should support the community in their
preparedness for facing natural or man-made hazards. This is important from the point of view
of the safety of the community and also from the point of view of the Company itself. It is
presumed that most of the small companies and undertakings would restrict themselves to the
communities in the immediate neighborhood of the manufacturing or operational facilities.
However, large corporates could support preparedness of the community on a larger scale and
at a different level. Both are important in the management of disasters. Given this
consideration, the following are suggested as interventions by the private sector for supporting
the community:
Simulations and Disaster Drills: Each region is vulnerable to certain types of natural
disasters. Manufacturing facilities can add a different element of hazard to the community
living nearby. Therefore, awareness building of the community about the possible types of
disasters, evacuation plans, medical support facilities, etc., could be built into the District
Disaster Management Plan or the City/Area Disaster Management Plan and supported by
the private sector as part of overall disaster risk reduction efforts.
Early warning and response systems: Early warning systems are important interventions for
saving lives and property. The private sector can support maintenance of early warning
systems and support community based response mechanisms.
Health Measures: In the event of a hazard, health issues come to the forefront almost
immediately, be it clean drinking water, medical aid, sanitation measures, availability of
medicines or availability of professional medical services. The community would like to
know what to do and whom to approach in the event of a crisis. The private sector can play
a major role in making available information and providing services.
Facilitate Development of Area Disaster Management Plans: Since area disaster
management plans would need to factor in all the resources including that of the private
sector, there is scope for the private sector to participate actively in the process of
31

preparation of such a plan. This could involve logistics, provision of temporary facilities,
communication, etc.
Training: Many companies provide products and services which are important from the
point of view of disaster management. Companies which provide fire fighting equipments,
communication equipments, earthmoving equipments, etc, should keep trained personnel
for immediate availability in the event of a disaster. Others who are an integral part of
Disaster Management Plans are Companies involved in ambulance services, hospitals, water
supply, sanitation services, etc.
5.3.2 Invariably, in any disaster situation, the first responder is the local community. Their ability to
handle the situation in the first few hours is critical in saving human lives. Therefore, training as
many volunteers as possible should be a priority for all communities. For example, all security
guards, lift operators, drivers etc., who work mostly in private sector could be trained in rescue
and first aid. In addition, many others like Red Cross volunteers, School Teachers, etc., also
need to be trained. Some of these training programmes could be supported by the
manufacturers of specialized equipments or providers of services.

5.4 Support in Research, Science and Technology

The private sector can play a prominent role in supporting the use of Science and Technology
for disaster preparedness and mitigation. These are discussed in paragraph 7.4.10.

5.5 Supports in Disaster Response

5.5.1 It is often seen that Corporates and Companies, in addition to individuals, offer their support
for disaster response whenever a disaster occurs in any part of the country. It is normally in the
form of contributions in cash or in kind. The officials in-charge of disaster response are often
confronted with the problems of mismatch between requirements at that point in time and
supplies. Sometimes there is over-supply of materials and sometimes wrong materials reach
the place. While it is recognized that private sector can play a major role in disaster response, a
suitable frame work needs to be set up for meaningful co-operation and participation. In this
context the following could be considered:
5.5.2 Companies which want to make commitments need to work from a common platform. This
platform could be set up and managed by CII/FICCI or SCOPE. The Companies can make offers
for contributing either equipments or services during any disaster. (cash contributions are
managed through PMs Relief Fund or CMs Relief Fund). It can also specify the geographical
areas where such support can be made available. A mutually agreeable platform can be
created between the NDMA/SDMA and CII/FICCI/SCOPE .This will be updated on a yearly basis.
A similar platform at the District level could also be encouraged.
32

5.5.3 A GIS system could be designed, supported and jointly operated to enable the administration
to plan disaster response effectively. This could not only map resources but also the risks and
damages thereby enabling proper movement of relief materials to places where it is needed
most. The system can also track and prevent possible misuse of relief materials.
5.5.4 Relief and reconstruction have to follow a set of minimum standards. For this, NDMA has issued
National Guidelines for Minimum Standards of Relief. While it should be the responsibility of
the Government to set the standards, relief materials below standards should not be allowed in
any affected area.
5.5.5 To make use of expertise available in the society a panel of experts willing to provide assistance
during a disaster can be maintained. This could include experts from the Government, the
private sector and the community. Some of them may be willing to travel to the affected
regions and some of them may be able to share their knowledge over the telephone, internet,
etc. These are valuable resources for the management of disasters. For instance in a postearthquake reconstruction scenario, engineers working in Government, academic institutions,
or retired engineers could be very helpful in designing appropriate structures for buildings to be
reconstructed.
5.5.6 Many private sector entities and others may want to help in building infrastructure like roads,
bridges and houses. Contributions for these should be welcome, provided they meet minimum
standards prescribed by the Government. Involving private sector for speedy restoration of
critical infrastructure is important. It is, therefore, necessary to map available resources with
the private sector and shortlist such entities which can complete the job as per specifications in
a prescribed time frame for quicker completion of such projects. However, the short-listing and
or engagement of such companies will have to follow transparent processes. To avoid delays in
the process, there could be Rate Contract mode prescribed for critical operations to be used
in an emergency.

5.6 Involvement of Community in Disaster Management

5.6.1 It is well accepted that the first responder in any disaster is the community. Therefore, a
strategy of community based disaster management should evolve during this plan period. The
crisis management plans at the State/District level must focus on community involvement in
pre and post disaster scenarios. Many States have attempted this with varying degrees of
success. The absence of well coordinated programmes at the National level has held up the
scaling up of success stories from states. It is, therefore, necessary that a community based
disaster management programme be taken up as part of plan schemes. This should focus on
33

the planning and implementation of district disaster management plans and provide for specific
roles and responsibilities for Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies. The
programme should also provide for adequate flexibility to the District Disaster Management
Authorities to cater to the different degrees of vulnerability and specific problems of the region.
5.6.2 Community based disaster management plans should also take care of the following:
(i) The community has to be empowered to plan and implement programmes and respond to
disasters effectively. This would include increasing their awareness, providing for early
warning systems and providing for community evolved plans for designing infrastructure in
their communities; be it shelters, exit plans, flood control measures or rescue and relief
services.
(ii) Community volunteers should be trained for rescue and relief particularly with regard to the
type of hazards that they are normally exposed to e.g.: training of divers in flood prone
areas).
(iii) There is valuable traditional knowledge and wisdom available in many communities. This
could be in the form of local knowledge regarding the impact of disasters, local construction
techniques or even community behavior in a disaster. Introduction of modern technology
should not override this knowledge, but take into account the value of this cumulative
wisdom and integrate it with modern science and technology. This could be done only if
there are adequate sensitivities developed for understanding this knowledge, documenting
it, experimenting with it and fine-tuning it to suit new challenges and problems. A major
effort with the involvement of universities, other educational institutions, disaster
management training institutions and DDMAs, and SDMAs need to be put together as part
of the overall disaster management plan to achieve this objective.

5.7

Role of NGOs

5.7.1

A large number of NGOs are working in different areas of disaster management including
awareness generation, training, advocacy issues, response, relief and rehabilitation. Some
of them have done excellent work in the major disasters that India had to face. NDMA had
issued National Guidelines on Role of NGOs in Disaster Management. International NGOs
have also shown their willingness to work in such situations and have made effective
contributions in the last decade. It is recognized that NGOs can make substantially bigger
contributions to disaster risk reduction and post disaster management. To enable this to
happen the following are suggested:

5.7.2

Recognize the strength of NGOs in the region with regard to their resources, capabilities,
and special skills and map them on to the disaster management plans.
34

Set up a common platform for NGOs to come together for disaster management activities at
the District level with clearly delineated roles depending on their specialization and their
capabilities.
5.7.3

Set up a single point contact in the DDMA for interacting with NGOs on a regular basis in
normal times and on continued basis in a post disaster situation.
Many departments have used NGOs in specific programme interventions particularly in the
social sector. Use these programmes for effective disaster risk reduction and also use the
capabilities of these NGOs in improving awareness and creating a culture of safety.

5.7.4

Ensure that NGOs function within the frame work of equity and non-discrimination.
Use the knowledge base available with NGOs with respect to the region, the people,
customs, etc., for making effective disaster management plans.
Use their communication skills and capabilities to send out messages particularly during
disasters to ensure effective communication with the people.
International NGOs have better capabilities. Set up specific systems at appropriate levels for
their involvement.

5.8

Panchayati Raj and Urban Local Bodies

5.8.1

It is recognized that Panchayati Raj Institutions and Urban Local Bodies have major roles to
play in disaster risk reduction and in the management of a post disaster situation. While it
is the responsibility of these bodies to use their regulatory powers to ensure that all
projects, construction of private buildings, infrastructure, etc., are as per norms (factoring in
disaster risk reduction) they need to be made responsible for continuous monitoring of any
activity which could cause disasters. A spate of building collapses in the country amply
demonstrates the lack of proper implementation of the building regulations and the
absence of effective monitoring mechanisms.

5.8.2

Many of the urban local bodies and Panchayats have been entrusted with the responsibility
of maintaining water supply systems, transport, logistics, and other services. The standards
of maintenance of these services and critical infrastructure leave a lot to be desired. While
it is necessary to ensure that these bodies carryout their responsibilities fully, it is also
necessary to enhance their capabilities in handling disasters by
Providing adequate support in the form of training and equipments for disaster
management.
Providing additional financial resources where required to meet the objectives of
DRR.
Strengthening their regulatory capabilities to effectively fulfill their obligations.
35

Training the elected representative in disaster management at regular intervals.

Providing technical support in terms of knowledge inputs regarding designs,
construction techniques, monitoring, etc.
Assisting them in preparing Panchayat and City level disaster management plans for
their respective regions.
Integrating these plans into District/State disaster management plans.

5.9

Media

5.9.1

The role of the media in times of any disaster is crucial. In these days of competitive
journalism, where everybody tries to get the best visual and the latest news, it is important
for institutions involved in disaster management to give correct and updated briefings on
what is happening. Also important is the awareness in the media itself as to the various
contours of a disaster. It would be worthwhile therefore, to brief the media in normal times
and give them adequate information about the disaster management plans and other steps
being taken to prevent or reduce the impact of disasters. A code of ethics must be practiced
by all the broadcasters while airing the post disaster pictures so as not to show disturbing
visuals. Also for effective media management during a crisis, a single point communication
system with regular briefings must be followed.

5.9.2

Media can also be used very effectively for increasing awareness and preparedness. Use of
various options like electronic and print media and other traditional media like street plays
for increasing awareness and improving preparedness should be attempted as part of the
campaign. The larger media houses could also be encouraged to prepare effective
communication capsules on disaster preparedness and use them as part of the CSR.
One of the most neglected, but effective medium of communication is the HAM Radio. It is
an excellent device, often available as a voluntary effort. This needs to be encouraged
particularly amongst students. Regulatory bottlenecks in operationalizing this should be
removed and a hassle free system for permitting setting up of Ham Radio activities
established.

5.10

Vulnerable Sections of Society

5.10.1

Any disaster event creates additional vulnerabilities for certain sections of society. These
include the physically challenged, the old, women and children. In a disaster rescue and
response plan, their special needs are often ignored. Therefore, planning for disaster
management should include the concerns of these sections of society and their special
needs. The officers and people in-charge of relief arrangements should also be sensitized to
take care of these needs. The provision of supplies often excludes the needs of these
36

vulnerable groups particularly of women and children (dignity kits and baby food are glaring
examples).
5.10.2

Disasters can cause disability. Also, persons with disability are more prone to fatalities and
injuries. Therefore, companies manufacturing items for the disabled should be included in
the commitment list for disaster response. Public Health Officers should determine the
specific needs (e.g. food, medicines, and other related goods) of differently abled, women
and children. Attention should be paid for economic rehabilitation of the disabled.
Vocational training, if needed, may also be provided by company professionals in
consultation with government officers.

5.11

Psycho-Social Care

5.11.1

The intensity of a disaster situation impacts a person in such a manner that one is left in a
state of disbelief and shock. Government should involve mental health institutions and
educational institutions to help such people. NDMA has issued National Guidelines for
Psycho-Social Support which should be followed.

37

6. Capacity Development and Public Awareness

6.1 Background
6.1.1 Over last decade, there has been a paradigm shift in Indias response to disaster management
from the relief-centric approach to a more proactive, holistic and integrated approach of
strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response. NDMAs disaster risk
reduction strategy aims at improving the level of preparedness in the country to create an
enabling environment for the preparation and implementation of management plans and for
working towards improved the safety of the communities living, especially in the high risk areas
and vulnerable zones. It aims to undertake capacity development towards disaster risk
reduction, by undertaking pointed activities including:
Increasing awareness among various stakeholders about their risk;
Increase preparedness and response capacity among various stakeholder groups;
Increase in resilience to manage disaster risks;
Increased education and research towards disaster mitigation;
Improve compliance with regulation and enforcement norms in town planning, design and
construction as laid down in municipal bye-laws and prevalent national standards;
Devise and implement systems of permitting only qualified professionals and artisans to
undertake construction activities;
Formal training of professionals of various fields to address disaster risks, especially
earthquake risks;
Develop and implement systems for knowledge sharing and experience sharing;
Institutionalization of documentation of best practices and lessons learnt from the past; and
Increased transparency and quality assurance through peer review of structural safety of
designs.
6.1.2 The capacity development strategy under the 12 th Five Year Plan presented in the report
recognises the immense challenges being faced in the country with respect to disaster risks. It
also recognises that while several successful initiatives have been taken up during the last few
Plan periods, the effectiveness and sustainability of such programs needs to be enhanced.

38

6.2 Framework for Mainstreaming of Capacity Development

6.2.1 The 12th Plan provides the opportunity to build on initiatives undertaken during the earlier Plan
periods and focus strongly on the areas of capacity development that were inadequately
addressed in the past. The capacity development efforts require a framework to plan,
implement, and monitor and evaluate the programs.
6.2.2 Capacity development for disaster risk reduction, aims to enable identification of disaster risks
and to carry out the required programs to reduce their impacts. Capacity development needs to
be carried out at three levels: (1) Individual, (2) Organisations or Institutions, and (3)
Environment or Society.
6.2.3 The key capacity development features and elements, that are used to develop the Framework,
are shown in Table 6.1. The Framework at all three levels aims to provide equilibrium between
the implicit responsibilities imposed on various organisations/institutions and society at large,
and the ownership or control of initiatives. The Framework also recognises the importance of
monitoring and evaluation, which should be developed at the outset of any capacity
development program.
6.2.4 The capacity development strategy accepts and factors in that excessive focus on individuals
(such as numerical targets for education, training or skill development) misses the big-picture
issues. In certain situations, such focus may ultimately undermine the ability of the program to
achieve disaster risk reduction. It also appreciates that capable individuals may already be
available in many organisations, but may not find the environment conducive to the use of their
capacity for DRR. The importance of the processes for capacity development cannot be
underestimated in the Indian context, and have been duly considered.

6.3

Mainstreaming Capacity Development & Multi-Sectoral Approach

6.3.1 Several requirements of capacity development, at both individual and organisational level,
require expanding and scaling-up of existing expertise and organisational capabilities in the
government and private sector. The programs to further develop capacity of organisations and
the individuals working with them can be taken up by the line ministries and departments.
Since these organisations also typically carry out other functions that are not directly related to
disaster risk reduction, the approach of tasking the line ministries and departments can
facilitate mainstreaming of capacity development in the government.

39

Table 6.1: Key capacity development features and elements for DRR (UNESCO, 2006)
Levels of
Capacity
Individual

Definition of Capacity

The will and ability to set DRR

objectives and achieve them
using ones own knowledge and
skills
Organisation Anything that will influence an
or
organisations performance and
Institution
ability to undertake DRR
activities

Environment The conditions necessary for

or State
demonstrating capacity at the
individual and organisational
levels. It includes systems and
framework necessary for
formation and implementation
of policies and strategies
beyond an individual
organisation. It includes
administrative, legal, financial,
functional, technological social
environments.

Elements on which capacity is based

Knowledge, skill, value, attitude,
awareness, etc.

Human resources
Physical resources
Intellectual resources
Organisational structure and
management methods
Inter-institutional linkage
Leadership
Formal institutions (laws, policies,
rules, etc.)
Informal institutions (customs,
cultures, norms, etc.)
Social capital, social infrastructure,
etc.
Capacities of individuals and
organisations under the environment
(resiliency)

6.3.2 However, requesting ministries and departments alone to enhance their capacity development
programs will not be sufficient. Disaster risk management often requires a multi-sectoral or
multi-institutional approach. The country has very limited experience in meeting such
challenges. As a result, the ministries and departments do not always possess the institutional
systems to meet the challenge of developing the required capacity for multi-sectoral disaster
risk management. Several existing and emerging hazards have also not been adequately
addressed in the past, and the required institutional systems may not currently exist.

40

6.3.3 Disaster risk management also requires active involvement and capacity development of
people and organisations operating outside the government system or in partnership with the
government (as in various types of PPP programs). In order to create the required institutional
systems or organisational capacity, develop the required individual capacity in both
government and private sector, and take up multi-sectoral disaster risk management programs,
it is very important to take up some such capacity development programs in mission-mode. It
is expected that at least 25% of the projected capacity development expenditure in the 12 th
Five Year Plan will cater to such sectoral programs.

6.4

Common Approach for Capacity Development

6.4.1 The programs for capacity development for disaster risk reduction need to be carried out at
national, state and district levels reaching all the way to the villages. The programs also need to
be suitably structured to meet the diverse requirements of urban and rural areas. For the
programs to meet their disaster risk reduction objectives, a common approach is advocated.
The common approach encompassing the various programs, and also considering the
requirements of different levels of capacity provide the tools to setting up goals, and the
process for monitoring and evaluation.
6.4.2 The capacity development initiatives should be designed to contain four major pillars: (i)
training, (ii) education and research, (iii) public sensitisation and awareness, and (iv)
institutional strengthening and development. All these pillars should have various sub
components for actions which would address multi-hazard multi-level capacity gaps in the
country. These sub components should further develop interventions for all stages of disaster
management cycle prevention, preparedness, mitigation, response, relief & rehabilitation,
and recovery. The programme Framework must encompass the individual, organisational and
environmental levels initiatives.

6.5 Policy and Eco-System for Capacity Development

6.5.1 The capacity development programs are required to be implemented in a holistic manner so
that they meet their intended objectives, are sustainable and can be mainstreamed. The
enactment of The Disaster Management Act of 2005 has substantially strengthened the policy
framework for disaster risk reduction. As per the DM Act, the various ministries, departments
and organisations need to comply with the national disaster management policy. The
ministries, department and organisations also need to prepare their own disaster management
plans to comply with the national policy and implement them in a planned fashion.
6.5.2 The programs for capacity development are essential for these ministries, departments and
organisations to meet their disaster management objectives. Therefore, significant capacity
41

development needs to be carried out by these bodies as a part of their regular functions.
Depending on the programs, the capacity development need not be restricted to the people
working with these bodies, but may also include associated agencies or organisations in both
the government and private sector that may contribute to meeting the disaster management
goals. Such programs may be implemented at the national, state or local level as per
requirement.
6.5.3 Since a vast majority of the work force in the country is employed outside of government,
dedicated capacity development programs are also required for meeting their requirements.
These programs may be carried out directly by the government, or in partnership with nongovernment agencies or solely by the non-government agencies using their own resources.
However, the programs should be devised with a holistic assessment of the capacity
development requirement, consider the short-term and long-term priorities and should be
based on clear objectives that can be monitored and their effectiveness evaluated.
6.5.4 The implementation strategies need to recognise the diverse challenges and the multiplicity of
stakeholders that are to be involved in capacity development programs. At one level, capacity
development needs to address the knowledge and skill deficit of professionals. The programs to
address these can be relatively centralised, and lead by government agencies or professional
bodies dealing with these subjects. At the other level, capacity development of volunteers, who
are always the first responders, is required. They required highly decentralised programs, but
with properly identified objectives, procedures and monitoring and evaluation systems. A large
number of programs will be required with varying levels of government involvement and nongovernmental participation. All these programs must be a part of the overall strategy and
should not be stand alone efforts.
6.5.5 The implementation strategies also need to be scalable and highly parallelised so that the
different programs can be undertaken relatively independent of each other where required,
and with the capability to scale up or down the scope depending on its ability to meet the
objectives. In this context, the past experience of highly centralised capacity development
programs that are difficult to adapt to the ground realities should be adequately considered so
that their weaknesses can be avoided during the 12th Five Year Plan capacity development
programs.
6.5.6 Since disasters have been known since time immemorial, several communities have developed
their own coping mechanisms to manage various disasters. The program structure should be
sufficiently adaptable to incorporate the community knowledge-base in the capacity
development programs.
42

6.5.7 An important challenge for capacity development programs is that these will need to be
implemented in large-scale in both urban and rural areas. The requirements to ensure success
of programs in the urban areas are usually better understood; however, sustainable programs
in rural areas will be a major challenge. While the programs need to be implemented in the
local levels (village or city-level), their monitoring and evaluation strategies may be
implemented at a larger scale; this will provide opportunities for programs implementation
teams to learn from each other, as well as to provide more meaningful data for evaluation of
the success in meeting program objectives.

6.6

Knowledge Networking

6.6.1 Knowledge Networking for Disaster Management is to get the right knowledge in the right place
at the right time that can contribute to disaster risk reduction. The conscious effort for Disaster
Risk Reduction by government and non-governmental agencies in the country has resulted in
creation of various repositories of knowledge on disaster management at the national, state,
and local levels. However, millions of people are getting severely affected by disasters every
year due to lack of adequate coping mechanism. This could be attributed to the fact that
knowledge about best practices, disaster management policies and guidelines, experiences of
disaster practitioners are scattered over various individual and organizational domains, and due
to the lack of institutionalized mechanism for information sharing and knowledge networking,
the information lying at one place in not getting transformed into life saving knowledge for the
communities at risk. Hence, there is an urgent need to coordinate the disjointed repositories of
knowledge on disaster management by creating an organized common platform to capture,
organize, and share information, which can serve as a versatile interface among policy-makers
in the government and disaster managers at all administrative levels.
6.6.2 There have been various initiatives by the central and state Governments to capture knowledge
on Disaster Management theory and practices to strengthen disaster management capacities
for nearly a decade. Some of the existing knowledge networking initiatives in the country such
as GOI UNDP Disaster Risk Management Programme, India Disaster Knowledge Network
Initiatives (IDKN), India Disaster Resource Network (IDRN), the resource base of National
Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM), and Solution Exchange of UNDP, were initiated to
facilitate sharing of knowledge on effective approaches, methods and tools for disaster risk
management. Each of these knowledge networks were created and managed independent of
each other, with very limited coordination, information sharing or possibility of data portability
between these various knowledge sites.
6.6.3 To fill the gaps in knowledge coordination, accessibility and sharing, a National Program for
Disaster Knowledge Network is proposed that will facilitate knowledge networking and
43

information exchange among institutions, networks and communities to create, harness, share
and apply explicit and tacit knowledge available at national, state, city, district and community
levels to build national capacities around Disaster Management. The purpose of this program is
not to create another database on disaster management or replace exiting knowledge
networking initiatives of the government. Rather it will integrate all the existing databases and
knowledge repositories on disaster management and disseminate information about the kinds
of data and information stored and retrievable from these repositories. This program will
develop a plan for knowledge networking and information sharing among stakeholders at every
administrative level (from national, state to panchayat level) and at each level of planning and
implementation of disaster management policies and programs. At the national level, under the
purview of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), it will serve as a one-point
reference window for all the knowledge on disaster management issues available in the
country, and at the state level, lead by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA), will
support and strengthen on-going local information sharing initiatives and expand their scope
and coverage by improving knowledge access from and to local and rural communities, focusing
on capture and preservation of indigenous knowledge on disaster risk mitigation. For effective
implementation of this program, knowledge networking should be a component of capacity
building, public awareness campaigns, and information dissemination programs on disaster
management at the national, state, and local levels.

6.7

Monitoring and Evaluation

6.7.1 A holistic system for monitoring the capacity development and public awareness programs, and
evaluating their effectiveness, is essential to track progress of the programs and to evaluate
their effectiveness in meeting the desired objectives. The monitoring and evaluation systems
for these programs will need to be different from the evaluation system traditionally followed
for other projects that focuses on inputs (financial, human, etc.) and outputs (often in
numbers). The focus should be on evaluating the outcomes and their impact in meeting the
disaster risk management objectives of the programs.
6.7.2 For capacity development in disaster risk reduction programs, monitoring requires the
identification of input, output and result indicators. In addition, their impact indicators are
needed for evaluating the programs. While several capacity development programs may have
common objectives, the individual programs may have additional program-specific objectives,
with their own indicators for monitoring and evaluation. The awareness raising programs
require similar objectives to be defined, which is used to identify the objectives for monitoring
and evaluation.

44

6.8 Public Awareness Campaign

6.8.1 Public Awareness Campaigns play a pivotal role in disaster risk mitigation strategies at all levels.
To ensure a paradigm shift towards preparedness and mitigation to take root, all stakeholders
at national, state and district levels need to be oriented on response, preparedness and
mitigation methods. This includes bringing on board with regular and targeted messaging, all
possible stakeholders from government functionaries at the national and state levels, elected
representatives from members of parliament, ward councillors in cities to panchayat leaders in
villages, children, youth, elderly in families, the entire construction industry from masons to
builders and promoters, schools, hospitals, ... In short, Public Awareness Campaigns make
disaster risk mitigation Everybodys Business. Various short term projects have been undertaken
to sensitize the rural and urban community. However soon after the project gets over all
awareness and communication activities become lower priority activities. Experiences from
across the world have shown that regular and sustained activities are needed with the
community to ensure their preparedness and adherence to risk mitigation measures. This will
help in incorporating of awareness programmes into other activities of institutions and
organizations, such as self-help groups (SHGs) and resident welfare associations (RWAs),
schools, so that they continue even after the duration of the campaign. Till all aspects of risk
mitigation become a part of the unconscious competence, the need for the awareness
campaign will remain a priority.
6.8.2 Awareness campaigns towards Disaster Risk Mitigation broadly need to focus on the following:
Policy guidelines should seek to reduce disaster risk;
Preparedness programs should be in place for all stakeholders to address actions before,
during and after disasters, along with roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders. This is
easy for predictable disasters, but not for all;
Knowledge and information should be made available on the need for risk reduction of life
line support systems be it buildings, houses, multi storied buildings, essential infrastructure
such as schools, hospitals, bridges, etc.;
Need should be articulated for incorporating disaster resistant design and construction
practices in curriculum and agenda of professional bodies; and
Need should be articulated for developing knowledge, and sharing case studies and best
practices for advocacy with decision makers, media, opinion formers and general public.
6.8.3 The following are year-wise proposals of the public awareness campaign:
Year 1 Introduction Phase:
Awareness Campaigns to target men, women, and young adults in the family with focus on
protecting the people by making sure they are prepared and can save themselves. Promote
45

basic steps in protecting oneself during and after a disaster. Since all information cannot be
given in one message, it is required to link viewers, listeners and readers to exclusive website,
toll free number and nearest post office, for more information. Simultaneous messaging that
targets rural & urban households urging them to take that first step. And, link to more
information to exclusive website, toll free number and nearest post office. Basically, what
needs to be done is create an awareness of the enormity of damage and that the people can be
saved.
Year 2 Sustained Awareness Phase:
The theme for the 2nd Year could be on Responsible Citizens targeted at men, women, youth
from the community. On the line of some popular and effective campaigns like the one done by
a private Tea Company on the need to exercise voting rights, the campaign could focus on first
creating a sense of responsibility in citizens to protect themselves proactively and not wait for
government relief once damage has been done. This should focus on the fact that each person
can make a difference and can help in preventing damage to both life and property.
Year 3 Persuasion Phase:
The media campaign for the 3rd Year should be based on an evaluative exercise of the
effectiveness of the first 2 years of awareness building. Based on the feedback on the behaviour
patterns and gaps, the messages will be aimed at addressing the gaps emotive targeted
messaging on the lines of the polio campaign undertaken by the government. This is meant to
motivate the fence sitters to make the change and to target those sections who are still not
convinced of the need for preparedness or for taking disaster risk mitigation steps. The focus is
now on the damage and what someone has not done as a responsible citizen. Here, the idea is
to bring guilt and remorse, be it at the individual level, government level or the private level.
Also, unsafe practices need to be highlighted.
Years 4 & 5 Reinforce Phase:
The campaign for the 4th Year should be based on a massive drill mode. Mass media in addition
to the regular awareness messages can publicize the event, TV news channels and print will
cover the event. The purpose of the event is to create a platform, a space by which greater
dialogue can be initiated on the need for mitigation and preparedness. A climate created for a
renewed push on the issue. It is based on the presumption that all audiences in the high risk
states will be on board in terms of disaster risk preparedness messaging, all government
officers and line departments, elected representatives, judiciary, media will be advocating for
the same. The attempt is to make it part of the unconscious competence.
Campaign in the 5th Year will focus on sustaining the key messaging on preparedness of
community so that the issue remains top of mind, with a repeat of all messages in rotation.
46

6.9 Education
6.9.1 Disaster education involves all branches of formal study and at all levels. Three major areas of
disaster education are brought to focus in the 12 th Five Year Plan. The other components of
disaster related education are equally important; it is hoped that the subsequent plans will
bring to focus those components also. Education related to disasters, wherein formal
certificates and degrees are offered, considered here is seen in three sets, namely
(i) School Education and Higher Education, covering all aspects of science of hazards and
implications of disasters, in schools and colleges (other than architecture, engineering and
medical colleges) of higher education including management education (covering all aspects of
preparedness and response related to communities to help them prepare to face negative
effects of hazards towards saving life and property and providing support to survivors in
affected areas) and legal education (to understand, resolve and guide legal matters related to
disaster risk reduction);
(ii) Technical Education, covering all aspects of saving life and property during negative effects of
hazards on the built environment, in the areas of architecture and engineering; and
(iii) Medical Education, covering all aspects of prevention and of saving life (of both humans and
animals) in the aftermath of disasters and providing medical assistance to survivors in affected
areas, and preparing communities to organise themselves to face disasters.
6.9.2 The first involves educating the people of India with basics of disasters through the school,
college and university education, taking to all stakeholders the subjects of (i) disaster science to
the degree college students, (ii) disaster management to persons from grass-roots level to
corporate sector level, and (iii) disaster-related law to prepare the law professionals with the
tools to ensure that they can help the people of India to learn to respect the law. The second is
a critical aspect of safety of built environment, including that related to rescue and relief. The
third is related to safety of people and animals during disasters.
The important initiatives for creating an informed knowledge society include:
Spreading understanding of the dynamism of disaster risk at all levels,
Preparing the general public and community leaders on how to organize communities
before, during and after disaster, and
Equipping the vulnerable communities with necessary tools, technologies and infrastructure
for ensuring disaster-resistant practices and responses.
6.9.3 Education related to disasters needs to encompass all stages of the disaster management cycle,
including earthquake preparedness, prevention, mitigation, response (rescue & relief),
rehabilitation and recovery (reconstruction). The State Governments need to strive hard to
continually inform and upgrade the capacities of its people with the best available technical and
non-technical information on disaster safety.
47

6.10 School and Higher Education

6.10.1 To build capacity in disaster mitigation in schools and colleges, the following are proposed:
Amendment of Affiliation Bye Laws of schools and colleges to put in place disaster
mitigation personnel and infrastructure;
Training for School Administrative Staff to undertake safety related programmes and
schedules at the school and college
Training for school teachers for innovative teaching models in disaster mitigation
Internship of disaster management degree holders in schools and colleges in rural areas to
allow the best practices in the sector to percolate downwards;
Curriculum introduction/change at all levels of the school and colleges.
6.10.2 The high proportion of disaster losses to life and property in India implies that the disaster
preparation and mitigation apparatus needs to be radically upgraded. Central and state
governments have to earmark large sum of finances every year not only for the sudden onset
disasters but also for the predictable disasters. It is necessary that the higher education sector
be geared to play its part in making Indian society disaster resilient and adaptable. The higher
education must lead to (a) dissemination and application of available knowledge, (b) adaptation
of internationally available quality knowledge to address Indian challenges, and (c) creation of
new knowledge to address India-specific challenges. To achieve this, human resources with
analytical and experimental capabilities should be created who have required knowledge to
undertake disaster mitigation and preparedness activities.
6.10.3 The paradigm shift in the national outlook from disaster response to disaster preparedness and
mitigation necessitates that the disasters are examined from a multi-disciplinary lens in an
integrated and holistic manner in order to acquire the state of art critical knowledge and best
practices so as to include these ideas and knowledge in disaster prevention, preparation and
mitigation. Also, it means that a vast cadre of professionals is trained in various fields pertaining
to disaster prevention and mitigation, who have the required knowledge and skills to undertake
this task. The capacity is abysmally meagre in higher educational institutions in providing
trained professionals required in disaster preparedness and mitigation by enhancing the coping
capacity of the communities. The non-technical higher education subject matter of disaster
preparedness and mitigation incorporates insights from social science, earth science,
educational science, communication and management sciences. The subjects like anthropology,
social work, geography, geology, economics, psychology, communication, education and
management are core subjects who in collaborative framework can help in uncovering the
hazard-community interface by gaining knowledge in the critical areas such as community
coping and resilience, disaster impact and assessment, community capacity and awareness
besides linking localized knowledge with the external experience.
48

6.10.4 With very limited higher education potential available in the field of disaster preparation and
mitigation, the gap in terms of available professionals and PhDs is vast. For a disaster prone
country, like India, and to meet the challenges of paradigm shift from post-disaster response to
pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness plus post-disaster response, as enshrined in the
national policy of 2009, there is a need for a cadre of specially trained professional who have
the required skills, knowledge and capacity to act as a link between the government bodies and
the community by means of helping community in preparation of the risk map, identification of
vulnerability and existing resources useful in disaster preparedness and mitigation, community
specific disaster management plan, disaster awareness. For the ultimate goal of ensuring that
all hazards do not become disasters, we need these professionals to empower the community
in such a manner that most of the human resources are readily available to the people and
there is minimal external dependence. For setting up a chain of such higher education
professionals across all the districts of India, the higher education bodies will have to introduce
academic departments and research centres in a big way. The critical anthropology, psychology,
social work, economics, education, geology, geography, communication and management
professionals would need to create knowledge base, develop India-specific methodological
rigor and other related skills conducive to Indian situations. It will require opening up of
specialized departments having multi-disciplinary orientations in teaching, training and
research. A good beginning can be made by opening up of at least one such centre/department
in each state with UGC support. During the 12th Five Year Plan period, the objective should be
to start one such department/centre in each state of India. The target should be to train at least
500 PhD and 2,500 Masters Degree holders in the field of disaster mitigation by the end of the
12th Five Year Plan period.
6.10.5 Documentation of existing knowledge and experience, drawing appropriate lessons, adapting
the methods and tools to Indian conditions is a pre-requisite for strengthening the disaster
mitigation efforts in the country. Towards this end, a number of key features are needed to be
planned and included in the existing Indian higher education system, while including disaster
mitigation and preparedness aspects in higher education. Each of these is discussed in the
following sections.
6.10.6 Capacity building should happen in all subjects related to all of these disasters. But, the 12 th
Five Year Plan should have special thrust, to start with, for the most frequently occurring
disasters, namely: (a) Hydrological, (b) Meteorological, (c) Geophysical, (d) Technological, and
(e) Terrorist Violence. The thrust area for these disasters should initially be earthquake, floods,
landslides, cyclone, avalanches, tsunami, industrial disaster and bomb blasts.

49

6.11 Technical Education

6.11.1 Extensive construction activity has been underway in India in the last two decades, and even
more is expected in the next two decades. Even though a large number of graduates are being
generated annually by about 300 engineering and architecture colleges of standing, it is not
clear as to how many of them are competent to participate in disaster mitigation in India. Also,
an even larger number of professionals are involved in the current engineering practice. But,
collapses of buildings and structures, flooding of towns and cities, loss of transportation link,
etc., during natural disasters in last two decades in the country suggest that they need to
undergo strong continuing education modules.
6.11.2 The most glaring gap in the country is in the number of technical persons available versus
required with formal professional training and background in the subjects related to mitigation
of impending disasters including those due to cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, floods, fires,
and biological and chemical mishaps in industries. For example, about 60% of land area and
78% of 1.2 billion population of India is under the threat of earthquakes. To address matters
related to earthquake safety in India, there are very few PhD degree holders that are effectively
available (who are formally trained in the subject of earthquake engineering, conversant with
the subject of earthquake resistant design, have aptitude for research and give priority for
undertaking necessary R&D and technical support to prevent collapse of buildings and
structures) to meet this great technological challenge of the country. Similarly, the number of
hydraulic engineers currently available in India is grossly inadequate to undertake field level
studies, and make real-time projections of the scenarios, to meet the grand challenges of water
resource planning, development and management of this vast country. Further, shortage was
noticed in the availability of suitable number of specialised medical professionals to meet the
post-disaster support and attention after the major disasters of 1999 Super Cyclone in Orissa,
2001 Bhuj earthquake and 2004 Tsunami along the Indian coast following the Sumatra
Earthquake.
6.11.3 Thus, undertaking capacity building through technical education in the context of disasters in
India is urgently necessary to prevent loss of life and property. Formal technical knowledge
needs to be imparted to large number of persons, who can ensure safety of buildings and
structures when natural and man-made hazards manifest as events. The major goals of capacity
building proposed in technical education are:
Reduce loss of life and property during future disasters through mitigation measures, and
Improve preparedness of professionals and communities to face aftermath of disasters.

50

6.11.4 The activities proposed under the 12th Five Year Plan are aimed at
(i) Strengthening the Technical Education System and Infrastructure in India, to bring into focus
role of electrical, mechanical and chemical engineers in addition to that of architects and civil
engineers, towards addressing (a) earthquakes and landslides, (b) cyclones and hurricanes, (c)
floods, (d) biological and chemical mishaps in industries, and (e) bomb blasts;
(ii) Networking Institutes in the country towards technical education in architecture, civil
engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and
construction engineering, and setting-up of National Technical Advisory Panels to guide and
steer the national agenda in the said subjects;
(iii) Undertaking basic capacity building initiatives, like technical up-gradation of faculty members
employed in government institutes and universities; preparation of books and resource
materials; introduction of new degree programs related to disaster safety in government
institutes and universities; improvement of academia-industry relations; revision of education
degree programs; increased Research and Development related to disaster safety; Continuing
education of architects and engineers;
(iv) Launching focussed initiatives like National Missions on Technical Education and Research
covering architecture, civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering,
chemical engineering and construction engineering; QIP program for faculty development;
modern curriculum development and implementation; laboratory education infrastructure upgradation; promotion of excellence in technical education and research; and retrofit building
infrastructure of technical institutes and universities, especially against earthquake effects;
(v) Undertaking a massive continuing education of professional architects and engineers; training
of artisans; and sensitisation of contractors and developers;
(vi) Undertaking specific Research and Development projects on pressing questions needed to be
addressed in Indian context, including those related to post-disaster field studies; hazard
zonation; disaster risk assessment and scenario development; cost-effective construction and
retrofitting technologies; and development of design and construction standards; and
(vii)
Initiating a major documentation and dissemination program related to disasters,
including development of public awareness material; deployment of a virtual clearinghouse of
disaster related technical information; hosting Journals of Disaster-Resistant Technologies; and
hosting National Conferences on Disaster-Safety with special thrust on architecture-related
education.
The expected deliverables as a consequence of the above activities proposed under the 12th
Five Year Plan are:

Development of Faculty Members employed in universities/research institutes;

Preparation of books and resource materials;
Development of disaster related curriculum in universities;
51

Development Student towards employable graduates;

Launch of Research and Development in disaster management (including preparedness,
response, rehabilitation and reconstruction) to resolve pointed questions that the country is
faced with; and
Institutionalizing disaster-related technical education in NITs and other colleges of
architecture and engineering.

6.12 Medical Education

6.12.1 Medical education related to prevention and post-disaster support should be given focused
thrust in 12th Five year Plan. It should include elements of medical services needed in the
aftermath of disasters, like psycho-social trauma, orthopaedics, biological and chemical
contamination, and burns injuries. An effective capsule on pandemic preparedness and
prevention should be a part of the curriculum. Further, emphasis should be laid on the needed
medical attention in the aftermath of disasters towards animals alongside towards humans.
Disaster management on the medical front should include education, research and
preparedness initiatives.
6.12.1.1 Human Health Care
Though the Physician/healthcare worker in India is called upon at times of crisis as a leader and
a professional, (s)he has little or no training in disasters or mass casualty management. Medical
education is focused on the hospital care whereas the field situations could vary significantly.
The 10th and the 11th Five Year Plans did not address the health aspects of disasters. Disaster
health warrants integration within the larger disaster risk reduction and disaster management
framework. The 12th Five Year Plan makes a case for a national program for Disaster Medicine
and to have a cadre of trained healthcare workers, who are able to respond to the all-disasters
model. Two levels of disaster healthcare workers are required, one a specialized cadre
developed through education and, two, a general workforce, which is trained through short
programs. Disaster Medicine education is necessary for building a new speciality of Emergency
Medicine with in Hospitals and a cadre of paramedics for pre-hospital care, and Mental and
Psychosocial Health workers. Further, training (towards awareness and sensitization) will be
needed for building capacity in Public Health for Emergencies, CBRN and Humanitarian
medicine.
The following specific initiatives are proposed as part of the 12 th Five Year Plan:

52

(i) Education and Research: Four specific proposals are included.

Emergency Medicine and Pre-hospital Care The proposal is to introduce Acute Emergency
Care in India through: (a) Emergency Medicine as a speciality and therefore no Emergency
Departments in Public Hospitals and Medical Colleges; (b) Specific mock drills and hospital
preparedness plans; (c) Hospitals compliant with WHO standard of structurally safe
hospitals; and (d) Coordinated pre-hospital transportation system.
Paramedic and Nursing Personnel More paramedics, nurses, healthcare technicians,
physiotherapists and occupational therapists are required in disasters than physicians. As an
extension outreach of the Emergency department proposed above, a second line of
paramedics is proposed to be established, who will operate in the pre-hospital space.
Further, pre-hospital care ambulance services should be brought under the one common
'108' phone number for coordination and under one licensing agency (Paramedical Council
of India or similar), which will formulate policies and regulations for ambulance services and
curriculum for paramedic training. Also, accredited training centers are needed for this new
field of paramedic medicine. In fact 108 could become the common number for a call centre
(police, fire and ambulance) for effective monitoring.
Mental Health, Psychosocial Support and Rehabilitation Disaster mental health,
psychosocial support and rehabilitation, should be a separate entity within the broad
framework of Emergency and Disaster Medicine. Specific initiatives include: (i) Education
towards Awareness and Sensitization on Psychosocial Care and Mental Health Aspects of
Disaster and the Significance of Ones Work in Enhancing Psychosocial Well Being; (ii)
Disaster Mental Health Education introduced through formal programs at all levels
schools, colleges and (including specific degrees) higher education.
Disaster Research in India Research drives advocacy and that in turn drives policy. This
should happen in India. A systematic approach and a local research agenda is required To
develop indigenous research in India. A shift is proposed in the focus of the knowledge base
from the acute phase handling of disasters and to their prevention, mitigation and
preparedness. Long-term recovery studies are a priority, along with standardizing
definitions and research methodology for future studies. Clearly, funding level will
determine the pace of this research. While humanitarian aid is directed at the acute phase
of disasters and on humanitarian missions, it would be cost-effective to channel some of
these funds toward disaster research, as sustained aid to promote research in disaster
medicine.
(ii)

Training and Infrastructure for Institutions in Disaster Medicine

The broad areas of training include pandemic preparedness, clinical Mass Casualty Care, Public
Health in Emergencies, Food and Nutrition, Psycho-social care, rehabilitation, Water and
sanitation, disaster epidemiology and surveillance and Humanitarian medicine. The training will
be at two levels, namely (i) a basic module to augment the medical training of the physician and
53

healthcare worker, which can be rendered to medical students and to practicing physicians,
nurses and paramedics, and (ii) an advanced module to train the future trainers. The training
domains include Public Health Preparedness Training; Humanitarian Medicine, Conflict and
Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) Preparedness.
6.12.1.2 Veterinary Health Care
India has about 2% of worlds land mass supporting 17% of worlds human population and 20%
of worlds animal population. India has vast resources of livestock and poultry, which play a
vital role in improving the socio-economic conditions of rural masses. Welfare of animals and
people are closed linked during disasters. It is essential to consider animals in mitigation and
preparedness strategies to build capacity of the community to minimize such aspects in future
disasters. Adequate capacities should be increased in the country to protect animals in disasters
through (1) sufficient trained people in this specific area, (2) awareness on animals, (3) material
resource in terms of equipments, data, studies and research, and (4) opportunities for the
individuals to improve upon their skills on disaster management.
In India, Veterinary Universities and Agriculture Universities offer courses in veterinary science,
animal husbandry and animal science. Disaster management for animals requires trained
human resources to deal with emergencies and post-emergencies effectively and efficiently to
reduce the impact of disaster on animals and community dependent on them for livelihood and
companionship. It is important to build capacities in those who are already handling or expose
new ones to some or all the phases of disaster cycle such as prevention, mitigation,
preparedness, response, recovery and reconstruction. Therefore, capacity building needs to
encompass all resources available within a community, institution and organizations upon
which the animals and people dependent on animals are protected from disasters. The skills of
the relevant stakeholders can be improved through training programmes in educational
institution while awareness of animal welfare can be increased through effective information
sharing, appropriate education and efficient communication.
The capacity building in Veterinary and Animal Science education can be achieved by
introducing following programmes in the universities and allied institutes responsible for
welfare and management of animals during disasters:
Knowledge and Skill Development Programme or faculty members of Universities;
Knowledge and skill development programme for the students;
Develop and establish the linkages of universities and allied institutions;
Development of Emergency Response Units in Universities and Institutions;
Introduce and establish Disaster Response and Risk Reduction short term courses in existing
learning programmes, like CVE, and Summer and Winter School; and
Research and development.
54

The following gains are expected from the above initiatives:

Development of National-level Faculty and Training of Trainers Programme, including
specific programme on animal welfare and their management in all phases of disasters;
Infrastructure Development, and Inventory Planning and Mapping at National & State
Levels based on vulnerable areas through institutional technology and interdisciplinary
approaches; and
Capacity building training for the community at educational institutes.

6.13 Strengthening Institutional Capacities, And Training of NGOs, Civil

Society and Private Sector Groups
6.13.1 In pre-, during- and post-disaster management in India, the civil society and NGOs have been
playing an important role in humanitarian response, relief and long-term recovery. Also, they
have been dedicating their services for pre-disaster capacity building. Many in-situ programmes
were initiated in the past by the governments, where NGOs were one of the biggest strength at
the time of crisis.
6.13.2 Initiatives in the 12th Five Year Plan are aimed at reducing the risk and vulnerability of states
and district to different natural hazards by involving all stakeholders, NGOs, Civil Society
Organizations and private sector groups, within an agreed framework, through proper guidance
from a nodal agency. Also, the proposal aims at enhancing the capacity of the functionaries to
respond properly during the time of emergencies. The expected results include higher degree
of awareness starting from village to district to state levels. Risk reduction would be the
objective of all interventions through enhanced participation of the people. Research centers
and training institutions would assist in developing a suitable strategy for the civil society and
NGOs for each state, and offering advocacy for replication of the outcomes of the project in
other areas. Further, it would facilitate to establish networking among all project states for
sharing of information and helping each other during the time of crisis. Simultaneously, all
control rooms would be strengthened with equipments and operational manuals to function as
disaster management information centres. Information Technology (IT) centres set up at the
district level would enable the community to have easy access to information on disaster risk
management along with other critical information.

55

6.13.3 National Human Resource Plan and Capacity Development

The National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) has drafted a National Human Resource
and Capacity Development Plan, which addresses the need for enhancing the capacity of all the
stake holders in the country. Capacity Development is a key priority area for the Governments,
NGOs and Private sector groups. It is stretches beyond training, and includes:
(i) Human resource development, the process of equipping individuals with the understanding,
skills and access to information, knowledge and training that enables them to perform
effectively;
(ii) Organizational development, the elaboration of management structures, processes and
procedures, not only within organizations but also the management of relationships between
the different organizations and sectors (public, private and community); and
(iii) Institutional and legal framework development, making legal and regulatory changes to enable
organizations, institutions and agencies at all levels and in all sectors.
As part of the 12th Five Year Plan, it is proposed to implement this National Human Resource
and Capacity Development Plan under the supervision and guidance of NDMA

6.14 Proposed National Programmes towards Capacity Development

6.14.1 Seven programmes are proposed as part of the 12th Five Year Plan towards Capacity
Development; these are listed in Table 6.2 and described in the Annexures of this document.
The proposed programmes seek to not only develop part of the requisite human resources, but
also the necessary infrastructure and enabling environment to undertake sustained efforts
towards Capacity Development to address disaster risk reduction in future also. It is expected
that these programmes are continued in the subsequent Five Year Plans also, to capitalize on
the momentum created under 12th Five Year Plan. The proposed budgets for these activities
also are listed in Tables.

56

Table 6.2: National Programmes towards Capacity Development in India proposed

under 12th Five Year Plan
S.No.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

National Program on
Disaster Knowledge Network
Disaster Awareness and Advocacy
Disaster Education and Research School and Higher Education
Disaster Education and Research Technical Education
Disaster Education and Research Medical Education
Disaster Education and Research Management and Legal Education
Disaster Training of NGOs, Civil Society and Private Sector Groups, and
Strengthening Institutional Capacities

57

7. Leveraging S & T in Disaster Management

7.1

The most important intervention suggested for prevention and mitigation of disasters is the use
of Science and Technology. India has considerable strengths in various fields of Science and
Technology including Space applications, analytical capabilities, modelling capabilities, etc.
However, since many departments are involved in isolated efforts for excellence, there is often
inadequate communication between the departments resulting in data mismatch and
inadequate sharing of resources. The need for standardization of data, a clear policy on sharing
data and creation of common platforms for disaster risk reduction is critical in the XII th Five Year
Plan.

7.2

The plan recognizes this important element and makes recommendations on what needs to be
done from a technology perspective. Budget allocations are not suggested since these are
better assessed by the departments concerned and provided in their budgets. These, however
will have to be in addition to their normal programs.

7.3

Critical Processes involving innovation and application of S&T in Disaster Risk Reduction The
processes where innovation and application of science & technology is essential for reduction
of risk of disasters are data collection, data transmission, data analysis, early warning,
dissemination of Early Warning, and relief / remedial Measures.

7.4 Innovative and S&T Programmes for XII Plan

7.4.1 Earthquake Disasters: Many innovative means in Earthquake disaster risk reduction have
been experimented by the affected countries. Globally, numerous efforts have been made by
the developed countries like America, Japan, China and Russia. The efforts made could be
grouped as prediction theories, forecasting and infrastructural durability. While no significant
success has so far been noticeable in prediction theories, the countries facing potential risk
have been concentrating on forecasting when the parameters being collected are suggestive of
a significant geological activity as having taken place; and making residential and industrial
installations earthquake resistant to a reasonable degree. In India, the seismological data is
collected by IMD using sensor based equipment, satellite based transmission and state of the
art analytical models. The data of international seismological network is also used by IMD in
earthquake detection and warning process. IMD has planned a substantial expansion of Indian
seismological network under the programmes the Ministry of Earth Sciences.

58

7.4.2 Flood Disasters: The floods are natural recurrent phenomenon in our country. The man has
made continuous endeavour to devise ways and means to combat the fury of floods. An
appropriate combination of structural and non-structural methods of flood control and
mitigation of impacts of floods is the need of the day. For structural measures, the schemes of
flood management are planned, investigated and implemented by the State governments.
The current level of flood forecasting infrastructure is inadequate. The flood forecasting
network of CWC has only 175 stations of which details are given below. Also this does not
cover many smaller rivers which cause substantial floods in the country.
Table 7.1: Flood Forecasting Network of CWC
Basin-wise FF Stations
S.No River-System
Level

Inflow

Total

1.

Ganga & Tributaries

77

10

87

2.

Brahmaputra & Tributaries

27

27

3.

Barak-System

4.

Eastern-Rivers

5.

Mahanadi

6.

Godavari

14

18

7.

Krishna

8.

West flowing Rivers

15

9.

Pennar

147

28

175

Total

Rivers originating in Nepal pose difficult challenges. IMD, NRSC and State governments need to
work together to generate early warning systems for such rivers. Use of modern technology
like satellite pictures, Doppler weather radars, etc., have to be increasingly used to get real time
data. The same will hold good for rivers like Brahmaputra as well.
Isolated experiments on flood warning systems developed by Andhra Pradesh Remote Sensing
Application Centre, North-Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC), Shillong, and by the
Centre for Geospatial Applications under the Department of Science and Technology have been
successful in generating warnings with a reasonable level of accuracy. These models have to be
improved upon and replicated for all river basin systems which are flood prone.
Better management of release of water by dams in high flood season is required to ensure that
the problem of floods downstream is not aggravated. This needs to be modelled on all available
59

information including rain in the catchment areas. The need for sharing this information with
downstream organizations is well understood, but not practiced rigorously.

7.4.3 Drought Disasters: Droughts are dependent on availability of water and the quantum
rainfall at different times during the season plays a major role. The activity of drought forecast
is undertaken by IMD depending on the rainfall pattern. IMD has already planned installation of
satellite based telemetry system for collection of rainfall data in the country and the activity will
continue during the XIIth Plan. The activity of drought disaster management is undertaken by
Ministry of Agriculture and innovative ways like cropping patterns and seeds which can
withstand moisture stress are planned by them to be continued and implemented during XIIth
Plan. The Ministry of Agriculture is expected to provide the required finances within their
overall budget during XIIth Plan. The current Aridity Anamoly Index for ascertaining drought
conditions is inadequate for taking the necessary measures. Most developed countries use a
more reliable index. Moving away from the Aridity Anomaly Index to an appropriate index
combining various drought indices like Palmer Drought Severity Index, Crop Moisture Index,
Standardized Precipitation Index, Remote Sensing based Vegetation Index, percentage of
variation of rainfall, etc. should be a priority for this plan. This involves collecting data on the
following parameters: Temperature, Rainfall (actual and normal), Soil moisture, Potential
Evapo-transpiration, Equilibrium Constant and Actual Evapo-transpiration.
The monitoring of drought will require extensive, region specific and regular data collection
which is of poor quality at present. All agencies concerned starting from village level
functionaries need to be empowered both technically and managerially and made responsible
for accurate data collection.
The ICAR should develop drought tolerant varieties for adoption in various crops. Sufficient
technical investment should be made in measuring moisture levels etc and giving timely advice
to farmers to plant the right crops.
Science and Technology based management of water particularly in rainfed regions in
combination with water shed management programmes, MGNREGA, programmes of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Crop management is an important element in the management of
drought.

7.4.4 Tsunami Disasters: A tsunami is a large ocean wave that is caused by sudden motion on the
ocean floor. This sudden motion could be an earthquake, a powerful volcanic eruption, or an
underwater landslide. The impact of a large meteorite could also cause a tsunami. Tsunamis
travel across the open ocean at great speeds and build into large deadly waves in the shallow

60

water of a shoreline. The seismological data collected by IMD and other ocean data observed is
used by INCOIS for tsunami warning.
A state-of the-art tsunami warning system was set up in October 2007 as outlined in the Prime
Ministers twenty-six thrust areas. The system comprises a network of seismic stations including
international stations to compute earthquake parameters, simulated scenarios of travel time
and run-up heights at 1800 coastal locations in the Indian Ocean, observing platforms for sea
level variations, both in deep sea and coast, robust communication and dissemination system,
data centre and decision support system. In last three years, many earthquakes larger than 7magnitude, which can cause tsunami, did occur. In all such cases necessary advisories were
provided to all concerned within 15 minutes. This system is recognized as the Regional Tsunami
Service Provider (RTSP) for the Indian Ocean and provided services to many countries in the
Indian Ocean as well. The effort needs to be continued and strengthened.

7.4.5 Cyclone Disasters: Cyclone warnings are issued by India Meteorological Department from its
already existing cyclone warning centers at Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, Chennai,
Mumbai and Ahmadabad. These centers have their distinct area wise responsibilities covering
both the east and west coasts of India and the oceanic areas of the Bay of Bengal and the
Arabian Sea, including Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep.
Cyclones are tracked with the help of INS AT, powerful cyclone detection radars and
conventional meteorological observations including weather reports from ships. At present
cyclone detection radars are installed at (i) Kolkata, (ii) Paradeep, (iii) Visakhapatnam, (iv)
Machilipatnam, (v) Chennai, (vi) Karaikal on the east coast; and (vii) Goa, (viii) Cochin, (ix)
Mumbai and (x) Bhuj along the west coast. Present cyclone surveillance system in India is such
that no cyclone in the region will go undetected at any time of its life cycle. However the
warning systems are still inadequate due to lack of support in the form of hurricane hunters.
In recent times, several new approaches (high resolution, super parameterizations, data
assimilation etc.) have shown that the variability in tropics can be reasonably resolved, thereby
creating a great scope for improving the monsoon prediction. In view of this, a focused mission
has been launched by IMD consisting of two sub-themes viz. a) Seasonal and Intra-seasonal
Monsoon Forecast b) Medium Range Forecast. The mission will support focused research by
national and international research groups with definitive objectives and deliverables to
improve models in the medium range as well as in the extended and seasonal range scales
through setting up of a framework for generating dynamical forecasts and improving skill of
forecasts. The mission will also support observational programs that will result in better
understanding of the processes.

61

7.4.6 Forest Fire Disasters: Forest fire is a major disaster which requires coordinated action by
the Minister of Environment and Forests in consultation with the local communities. The active
involvement of Joint Forest Management Committees and the District Administration is
essential pre-requisite for managing Forest Fires.

7.4.7 Nuclear Disasters: These programmes are being coordinated by the Department of Atomic
Energy. NDMA is working in close collaboration with DAE. Some of the initiatives required on
the administrative side are being included under other disaster management projects (ODMP)

7.4.8 Chemical Disasters: The interventions of Science and Technology in chemical hazards have
to be initiated by Science and Technology Department and Department of Chemicals and
Petrochemicals. Administrative measures required for handling transportation and storage of
chemicals is being taken up under ODMP. A strong techno-legal regime is also envisaged under
the disaster management umbrella.

7.4.9 Biological Disasters: Biological disasters could take place due to outbreak of epidemics
caused by natural transmission and spread of an infection or a biological war fare or a terrorist
activity. The scientific approach involves a scientific diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Biological disaster can also affect plants and animals. A strong techno-legal frame work is
required to prevent and contain trans-boundary pests and diseases. The concerned Ministries
are already working on the necessary legislation. In addition, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Department of Animal Husbandry and Ministry of Health need to set up adequate surveillance,
monitoring quarantine and containment mechanisms for preventing outbreak of any such
hazard.

7.4.10Remote Sensing Based Technologies: The focus of disaster management community is

increasingly moving towards more effective utilization of emerging technologies such as
Remote Sensing, Geographic Information System, Global Positioning System (GPS), Mobile
based solutions, High speed Infrastructure, Satellite communication, collaborative distributed
technologies etc. Though a variety of technologies are available, efforts need to be made to
have an appropriate mix of technologies suitable to our needs of disaster mitigation. The
following technologies could be applied to find solutions to decision making in disaster
preparedness, prediction, damage assessment and mitigation:
(i) Data Collection Automatic Weather Stations, Seismic Stations, Doppler weather radars,
ocean buoys, customized mobile based applications, lidar technology, photogrammetric
methods & interfereometery for generation of high resolution digital elevation models.
(ii) Data Processing High speed computing systems

62

(iii) Data Communication Space / satellite based communications, terrestrial communication,

wireless communication technologies and internet technologies may be used as per
requirement.
(iv) Awareness Creation internet, mass media, tele-education, tele-medicine and virtual
classrooms.

7.5

Programmes Recommended During XII Plan

Programmes recommended for increasing the use of Science and Technology for disaster
management: The following programmes/thrust areas are recommended. These will be
included in the budgets of the respective departments in addition to their normal programmes:
S&T Programmes / Thrust Areas Recommended by Sub-Group-II for XII Plan (2012-17)
S.No

1.

Disaster
Type
Earthquake

Recommended S&T Programme / Thrust Area During XII Plan

(i)

(ii)
(iii)

(iv)

(v)
(vi)

Upgradation and digitization of topographic maps with

contour interval of 0.5 m in collaboration with NRSC.
(SOI and NRSC)
Sharing of seismic data being collected by IMD with other
Departments. ( SOI)
Deployment and augmentation of observing systems such as
GPS, bore-hole sensors, multi-parametric observing systems,
etc. at identified locations for better understanding of
physical processes associated with earthquakes, active fault
mapping in addition to the existing conventional weak and
strong motion observing systems. (IMD)
Creation of a modern test and maintenance facility for
testing and upkeep / rectification of existing sophisticated
equipments seismological instruments, such as, broadband
sensors, SMAs, digitizers, communication systems.
(IMD)
Strengthening / augmentation of the existing data centre
facility of IMD. (IMD)
Raster scanning and vector digitization of seismic analog
charts at seismological observatory, Ridge and carry out
raster scanning of remaining significant historical
seismograms, their vector digitization and archival in
electronic media. (IMD)
63

(vii)

2.

Floods

Analysis of seismological and collateral geophysical data in

near real time. (IMD)
(viii) R&D programmes in collaboration with other leading
countries in development of earthquake prediction and
forecasting methods. (IMD)
(ix) Establishment of additional heavy mass vibration
laboratories. (IMD)
(ix)
Development of GIS based Hazard and vulnerability data
base / digitized maps. (IMD, NRSC, SOI and States)
(x)
Innovative earthquake resistance construction
technologies for new and retrofitting of existing buildings.
(IITs, States )
(xi)
Earthquake instrumentation and monitoring
(IITs, States )
(xii)
Real time earthquake occurrence monitoring
(IITs, , States )
(xiii)
Earthquake scenarios for major urban high hazard areas
(IITs, , States )
(xv)
Mapping of remaining faults.
(i)
Expansion and Modernisation of Flood Forecasting
Network of CWC and States to cover Substantial
expansion to cover all flood prone rivers and A, B-2, Cclass cities located near rivers and important reservoirs
and requirement of data for climate change impact
challenges and studies.
(CWC and States)
(ii)
Revisiting Design Procedures for structural measures
particularly embankments. ( CWC)
(iii)
Classification of existing embankments according to
vulnerability and their periodical Inspection. (By States)
(iv)
Preparation of Basin-wise flood management models
including ALTM technology based Digital Elevation
Models, Inundation Forecast Model and Cubature
modelling. (States and NRSC)
(v)
Scientific studies for river and sea-erosion (DST & NRSC)
(vi)
Preparation of State-wise, Basin-wise Flood Hazard
Zonation Maps (by States and NRSC)
(vii)
Satellite based reservoir information system having
64

3.

Drought

4.

Tsunami

5.

Cyclone

6.

Other
Common
S&T

linkages with web sites of States / Project Authorities.

(by States and CWC)
(viii)
Development of Integrated mathematical models for
flood / runoff forecasting using weather parameters,
rainfall observed and rainfall forecast. (by CWC and
IMD)
(ix)
Development of dam break models and preparation of
Basin-wise Emergency Action Plans.(by States and CWC)
(x)
Bathymetric surveys
(xi)
Use of equipment / ADCP-fitted boats in hydrological
observations.
(xii)
Strengthening Satellite based/ radar based observation
systems for rivers originating from Nepal and for
Brahmaputra.
(i)
New approaches for determination of aridity index may be
explored.
(ii)
Adopting water shortage sustainable cropping pattern.
(iii)
Developing drought tolerant varieties and improved
techniques for moisture management.
(iv)
Developing moisture techniques for water management
including the use of micro irrigation networks.
Development of new technologies and standards for layered
systems, including ocean observing subsystems, at each repeater,
in order to obtain high spatial sampling resolution along the cable
path. (NRSC)
(i)
Continuation of Monsoon Mission programme by IMD
(ii)
Programmes for cyclone track error reduction.
(i)
Data Collection Automatic Weather Stations, Seismic
Stations, Doppler weather radars, ocean buoys,
customized mobile based applications, lieder technology,
photogrammetric methods & interferometer for
generation of high resolution digital elevation models.
The whole country should be covered with adequate
Doppler weather radars, the current plan of 55 Doppler
weather radars, 950 automatic weather stations and 3350
automatic river gauges, proposed by the end of XIIth Five
Year Plan is inadequate. This need to be stepped up
substantially and supplemented by the efforts of State
65

(ii)
(iii)

(iv)

(v)

(vi)

(vii)

(viii)

Governments. The availability of automatic rain gauges in

various parts of the country is a matter of concern. The
target should be to install one rain gauge in every 10
square km area in rural India and one every 4sq.km area in
urban India.
(IMD/NRSC))
Data Processing High speed computing systems
(NRSC).
Data Communication Space / satellite based
communications, terrestrial communication, wireless
communication technologies and internet technologies
may be used as per requirement. (by NRSC)
Providing mobile hospitals for management of individual
and mass causalities particularly during epidemics or any
biological warfare.
Provision of satellite phones with operating departments
and sustainable power backup sources during emergencies
for having a reliable communication system during all
emergencies.
Standardization and sharing : While a lot of data is
generated by various science and technology and other
institutions like Surveyor General of India, NRSC, IMD,
CWC, GSI, Department of Science and Technology, INCOIS,
state departments, revenue officials etc., there is no
common platform where they entire data is shared,
analysed and used to support decision making. The critical
step will be to ensure that all Departments collect data in
an inter-operable format and share it between themselves
(except Defence and security sensitive data) and make it
available in a usable format to NDMA, State Governments,
SDMAs, DDMAs etc., for disaster management.
Setting up a National GIS platform is a national priority
Already a proposal has been prepared and is under
consideration
Vulnerability Maps on the scale 1:10000 has to be
prepared for the entire country and with a priority to
coastal regions and river basins and major towns and
cities.
66

(ix)

7.6

The issue of Disaster data inadequacy has to be taken up

and data updated by Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation.

As stated earlier, these programs will be included in the plan proposals of the concerned
ministries. In addition, four programmes are recommended as follows:
(i) Earthquake instrumentation and monitoring. The country currently has over two hundred
earthquake monitoring stations, which are mainly located in the high hazard areas along the
Himalayas and in the North-East. The monitoring stations consist of either or both of
broadband instruments and strong-motion instruments. In order to identify the major
earthquake sources and their activity rates, dense networks of earthquake monitoring stations
will be required. During the next plan period, it is recommended that such focus may be made
for northern Himalayas (where the earthquake may affect most areas of northern India
including Delhi) and the North-East. Each such dense network should consist of at least 90
strong motion instruments and 10 broadband instruments. The monitoring system should be
set up under an R&D eco-system so that these are used to identify the various seismic source,
their activity rates, current strain build-up, determination of ground motion prediction
equations and for updating the earthquake hazard map of the region (Northern India and
North-East India). Estimated Cost: Rs. 20 crores.(to be funded by MoES)
(ii) Real-time earthquake occurrence monitoring. The current network of earthquake monitoring
stations is not adequate to assess the size, location, depth and wave-propagation parameters of
earthquake events in near real-time. This situation is experienced even in areas with high
earthquake hazard. The specifications in several high-seismic hazard countries require their
national earthquake monitoring network to provide this information within around 60 seconds
from the time of occurrence of an earthquake with magnitude larger than 4.0 (such
earthquakes may cause damage to poorly-built constructions, and may result in panic among
people and/or require relief efforts). Estimated Cost: Rs. 100 crores.(to be funded by MoES)
(iii)Disaster scenarios for major urban centres in earthquake prone areas. There is very limited
understanding among the various stakeholders of the possible consequences of a damaging
earthquake. Even in areas where a damaging earthquake may have occurred during the last few
decades, such information may not be available since the earthquake event may not be as large
as the one to be considered as per the Indian standards, or the consequences not fully
recorded. The earthquake disaster risk management plans therefore are often without a
realistic context or without fully understanding the components that contribute to the overall
risk. The effectiveness of the risk management or risk reduction programs can be considerably
improved by developing detailed earthquake scenarios for major urban areas in a mission67

mode and using this information. The scenarios can also provide the basis for monitoring the
change in risk profile over time, such as by repeating the scenario development every five
years. During the next plan period, it is recommended that a concerted program to evaluate the
earthquake disaster scenario for all cities in seismic zones IV and V with population of over 2
lakhs be carried out. If required, one or more dedicated centres of excellence can be
established to develop the methods and carry out the scenario-development, and to carry out
further R&D in this field. Estimated Cost: Rs. 100 crores.(to be funded under ODMP by NDMA)
(iv)Innovative earthquake-resistant construction technologies. It is possible to develop suitable
innovative devices that, when used in buildings, can make these earthquake resistant. Such
technologies also provide the ability to retrofit existing buildings. The use of such devices is
essential when resistance to large earthquakes is required, or when a facility is required to
remain functional immediately following a major earthquake. Currently, several such devices
that have been developed in other countries are available. However, these are very expensive
and cannot be used for large-scale earthquake risk reduction efforts. It is possible to undertake
R&D in this field to develop indigenous technologies that are both low-cost and with local IP
ownership so that constant innovations can continue in the field. This approach has been
adopted by China and has resulted in the development of low-cost base isolation systems which
has been implemented in thousands of buildings in high-risk areas. It is recommended that R&D
programs to develop and implement such technologies in a large scale may be undertaken. For
example, all critical or lifeline buildings in Seismic Zone V that are constructed using
government funds may be mandated to use the new technologies and thereby ensure a much
higher level of earthquake-resistance. Estimated Cost: Rs. 100 crores. (to be funded under
ODMP by NDMA).
S.No.
1
2
3
4

Name of Programme
Earthquake instrumentation and monitoring(MoES)
Real time earthquake occurrence monitoring(MoES)
Earthquake scenarios for major urban high hazard
areas(NDMA-ODMP)
Innovative earthquake resistance construction
technologies(NDMA-ODMP)
Total

Amount (Rs.
crore)
20.00
100.00
100.00
100.00
320.00

68

8. Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction into National

Development Schemes
8.1 Introduction
8.1.1 The previous two Five year Plans recognized the importance of mainstreaming disaster risk
reduction into the National Development Scheme. International organizations like the
United Nations and the World Bank have also held the view that reduction of vulnerabilities
in disaster prone areas has to be addressed through development plans.
8.1.2 The XIth Plan document prescribed that Mainstreaming disaster management into the
development planning process essentially means looking critically at each activity that is
being planned, not only from the perspective of reducing the disaster vulnerability of that
activity, but also from the perspective of minimizing that activitys potential contribution to
the hazard. Every development plan of a ministry/department should incorporate elements
of impact assessment, risk reduction, and the do no harm approach. Examples of this
approach are urban planning and zoning, upgradation of building codes and their effective
enforcement, adoption of disaster resilient housing designs and construction of school and
hospitals, flood proofing, response preparedness planning, insurance, establishment of early
warning systems for various types of disasters, generating community awareness, creating
technical competence and promoting research among engineers, architects, health experts,
and scientists.
8.1.3 State governments need to give priority in their plans for schemes regarding hazard
identification and risk assessment once they have prepared the project paper, completed
preliminary work, and drawn up the details of the scheme. Hazard identification and risk
assessment across the country must be bound by uniformly followed procedures, fine-tuned
to local conditions. In the absence of such procedures, any sporadic activity based on some
ad hoc procedure carries the potential of doing more harm than good. It will be essential
that while clearing plans of State Governments, there is an integrated approach particularly
for creation of adequate capacity for relief and rescue operations, for example, for funding
projects for construction of school buildings. Some school buildings need to be identified
which will be used as relief centers and buildings designed so that they withstand the impact
of disasters and also have adequate capacity to provide space as relief centers. Such schools
should be equipped with essential services which become important at the time of a
disaster.
69

8.1.4 Outside the framework of Plan schemes, many innovative measures can be adopted to
encourage disaster risk reduction measures by the corporate sector, nongovernment
organizations, and individuals. These are detailed separately in the report.
8.1.5 However, the XIth plan did not prescribe specific interventions in the flagship programmes of
Government of India (GoI). Therefore, many programmes which could have contributed to
Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) could not do so for want of specific guidelines/directives.
8.1.6 Mainstreaming disaster risk reduction essentially means that risk reduction becomes a
practice of all partners involved in development work by institutionalizing the process in the
planning and implementation as well as in policies. It entails:
Building institutional capacity to critically examine all development initiatives/projects to
ensure that they are structurally safe to withstand the impact of hazards that it would be
exposed to. For instance Buildings and Bridges constructed on high seismic zones must have
adequate earthquake resistant features and roads in landslide prone areas must be
constructed with adequate protection work
Taking into account the hazards and vulnerabilities of the area and making sure that the
development initiative/project does not increase its vulnerability; rather it aims to reduce
the existing vulnerabilities. For instance National Highways must provide sufficient
culverts to ensure proper drainage of water through existing drainage systems and
Railway lines must consider the existing drainage channels to prevent flooding
Ensuring that relevant development initiative/project has adequate flexibility to respond
to disasters that may occur during the course of its implementation. For instance housing
projects can cater to the needs for disaster victims requiring new houses and drinking
water schemes address the drinking water requirement in flood affected areas.
8.1.7 Ability of the Government and other development partners to address the above stated
parameters in all the initiatives would address mainstreaming requirements. However, it is
important to note that all the above may not be applicable to every project. Therefore, the
sectoral projects and each of the initiatives need to be examined carefully to incorporate
risk reduction elements as required under section 49(1) of the Disaster Management Act
2005.
In this context, some of the Sectors and National Programmes that can specifically integrate
DRR features are listed below:

70

8.2 Housing
8.2.1 Government has large number of programmes for providing housing to the poorer sections
of society. These are funded out of the Government Budget or subsidized through housing
schemes floated by Public Sector financing agencies. While safe housing for all has to be
enforced through a strong techno-legal regime, Government schemes should lead the way
by providing safe houses for people. Schemes such as Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY), Rajiv Awas
Yojana (RAY) and Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) are relevant
in this context.
8.2.2 With significant outlays to construct lakhs of houses and infrastructural facilities every year,
these schemes have a substantial impact from the point of view of coverage and quality.
Most of them currently do not take into account safety features relevant to natural hazards.
It is important that these schemes integrate disaster risk reduction components in their
policy, plan and guidelines to ensure that the beneficiaries get safe houses and provide an
opportunity to promote other risk reduction measures such as involving house owners in
construction, promoting use of environment friendly local materials and technologies etc.
The interventions suggested are:-

8.2.3 Indira Awaas Yojana (IAY)

Continue to earmark 5% of the funds for providing houses to families who lose their
houses (including IAY houses constructed earlier, but destroyed in a disaster) in a
disaster.
Revise the cost norms and provide for additional costs upto 15% to introduce disaster
resistant and locally suitable designs and norms for houses in vulnerable regions and
habitations.
Include safety measures such as application of hazard resistant design in construction of
IAY houses, appropriate siting and new designs for earthquake, flood and cyclone prone
regions etc in IAY guidelines and ensure its compliance.
Ensure that IAY houses are constructed in locations which are less vulnerable to hazards
(like high ground in flood prone areas).
Introduce awareness/training programmes for safe construction practices for
community/house owners.
Provide for community based infrastructure such as common multi-purpose shelters as
part of the housing clusters.
Develop prototypes for IAY houses which can be easily referred to by District Rural
Development Agencies (DRDAs) and used for community awareness depending on the
geographical location.
71

Build Capacities of Engineers and Rural masons on safe construction.

Build Capacities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and DRDA officials on Disaster Risk
Reduction issues.

8.2.4 Rajiv Awaas Yojana (RAY)

Build community level disaster preparedness capacities under the capacity development
component for slum dwellers who often become the most vulnerable community during
disasters such as floods, fire and high wind speed.
Carefully assess safety of the land/location for its vulnerability to floods, landslides and
its proximity to the highway before selecting it for constructing houses for slum
dwellers.
Ensure incorporation of hazard resistant features and safe siting in the Housing
Programmes being implemented in these selected cities.

8.2.5 Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)

In view of the rapid growth of urban areas, especially large cities and the anticipated high
growth rate of urbanization in the coming years, there is an emerging concern about several
Indian cities becoming more vulnerable to disasters on account of unsafe construction to meet
the demand. The following interventions are suggested:
Include amendment of building-byelaws to ensure structural safety of buildings as a
mandatory reform in the mission cities..
Include disaster resistant features in the houses being constructed under the BSUP
component.
Specify mechanisms for strengthening compliance of development control regimes such as
building bye laws in the detailed project report which needs to be considered at appraisal
stage in case of infrastructure and housing schemes to ensure structural safety.
Provide adequate infrastructure for disaster management in the cities as a compulsory
component.
Provide for flexibility to immediately restore water supply and other essential services and
ensure quality of water in the event of a disaster.
Design water supply lines with appropriate safety features in Seismic Zones 4 and 5
Include strategies for disaster management in the City Development / Master Plans
Emphasize disaster risk audit at the stage of preparation of detailed project reports.
Include disaster management as a responsibility of the Urban Local Bodies and allocate
resources as part of projects and their own budgets.
Introduce Training and Capacity Building Programmes for municipal officers on disaster risk
reduction
72

8.3 Infrastructure (Roads)

8.3.1 The National Highway Authority is entrusted with the task of building major highways in the
country. In addition, urban roads are taken up under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban
Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and rural roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY). These schemes have substantial allocations and therefore are important for
providing connectivity in the country. While implementing these schemes it is necessary to
ensure that their design and construction do not cause additional hazards. For instance, the
National Highways should ensure that the flow of rain water/flood water in the area is not
obstructed by construction of highways. The PMGSY should also ensure the same in addition to
ensuring that these roads do not cause landslides in areas prone to landslides. The following
interventions are suggested:
Ensure that the roads under JNNURM are constructed in such a manner that it does not
lead to landslides, water logging etc. The technical guidelines, design and training manuals
should incorporate these aspects required for suitable disaster risk mitigation measures (eg.
landslide protection, provision of culverts, etc).
Apart from focusing on all-weather roads, add a special component in PMGSY for providing
foot bridges for those villages which may not get connected in the near future as a special
package. This will ensure access to education, economic activity and health services.
Incorporate (if not done already) timely restoration of roads, damaged or destroyed during
a disaster in the model concession agreement for PMGSY and National Highways And
modify the maintenance guidelines to ensure that in case of disasters these roads get
provision for restoration to ensure all weather connectivity. Make a special budgetary
provision (if required) for restoration of roads (portions thereof) destroyed in natural
disasters.
Explicitly address disaster risk reduction concerns while planning for rural roads and
identifying core network and accord priority to connect the vulnerable habitations.

8.3.2 Urban Infrastructure

Development of Urban infrastructure is mostly funded through JNNURM and externally funded
projects by the World Bank, ADB, etc as well as other projects funded directly by the State
Government/Municipal bodies. It is important to ensure that the JNNURM projects insist on a
component for making lifeline services like water supply, hospitals, schools, etc., to be made
disaster resistant. These design parameters will have to be modified on the basis of the hazard
vulnerability analysis of the city/municipal area. JNNURM should also make provisions for
providing retrofitting of lifeline buildings owned by the Government/Municipal Corporation in
cities with seismic vulnerability.
73

JNNURM cities should be mandated to make city disaster management plans and conduct a
disaster risk audit every year. Other cities could be incentivized to do the same. Preparation of
city disaster management plans and linking it with the Master Plan as well as conduct of risk
audit every year can be made mandatory, in cities where such programmes are being
implemented.

8.3.3 Other Infrastructure

There are other critical infrastructures like power, communication etc., which play a crucial role
in the management of disasters. Management of power supply in a post -disaster situation is
crucial both from the point view of ensuring that the power-lines do not cause damage, and
restoration of services to industry and people. Similarly keeping the communication lines open
both in the public and private sector is crucial. Given the current mobile telephone network in
the country, these are communication lifelines for the society as a whole. While specific
allocations cannot be suggested for these services, disaster management elements need to be
incorporated in their operations and budget provisions made in the case of public utilities.

8.4 Education
8.4.1 Various isolated initiatives in school safety in the country have shown that school children are
quick to learn disaster management practices and they play a major role in influencing elders to
undertake various disaster management activities. The following interventions are suggested in
the context of the education sector:
8.4.2 Safety of School buildings: Safety of school buildings has to be ensured through a strict
techno-legal regime by enacting a separate provision for school safety in the National Building
Code/building bye-laws. This should cover all schools including private schools. In addition, the
following interventions are suggested through the national programme:
Design and construct schools (under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan or any other scheme) keeping in
mind the hazard and vulnerability of the region
Develop a Policy paper for new initiatives on school safety.
Develop prototypes for structurally safe designs for schools.
Take up Training of Rural Engineers appointed under SSA Scheme as well as the SSA State
Coordinators.
Take up training of masons in rural areas.
Create Technology Demonstration Units.

74

8.4.3 School Education

Introduce school safety as a part of the guidelines of SSA which is focussed on inclusive
development.
Introduce School Safety in the Teachers Training Curriculum.
Introduce Disaster awareness as an element of education imparted in all schools. The SIET
and DIETS should ensure that these are imparted appropriately in all schools through
innovative methods.
The teachers and students in these schools could be used to enhance community awareness.

8.4.4 Higher Education

The Department of Human Resources needs to encourage teaching and research in disaster
management and in the related subjects of Geology, Geography, Engineering, Medicine,
Veterinary Science, Management, Law, etc. Universities should be encouraged to set up at least
one Department of Disaster Management in their campus. This Department should encourage
collection of data, documentation of best practices and research and development in disaster
management techniques. The Universities should also encourage introduction of courses in
disaster management in various colleges, particularly in hazard prone areas.

8.4.5 Technical Education

Make Disaster resistant construction methods and technologies a compulsory part of all
technical education covering Engineering, Architecture, etc.
Make Disaster management a compulsory element in other technical courses like medicine,
agriculture, veterinary science, etc. (details are in paragraph 6.11)
A detailed set of recommendations is given in the chapter Capacity Development and Public
Awareness.

8.5 Rural Development (Rural Employment)

8.5.1 During the drought of 2009, when a large number of marginal farmers could not sow their fields
in the kharif season, implementation of MGNREGS helped avert starvation in many parts of
the country. This scheme has the potential to transfer rural areas into the disaster resilient
villages and habitations. The following interventions are suggested:
Take into account the hazard profile and offer continuous employment opportunities in the
event of disasters to ensure livelihood security in the event of disasters
75

Give priority to works which reduce disaster risks such as local mitigation works etc
Create Water conservation and water harvesting systems
Undertake Drought proofing, including afforestation and tree plantation
Undertake Flood-control and protection works, including drainage in waterlogged areas
Ensure rural connectivity to provide allweather access. The construction of roads may
include culverts where necessary. Priority should be given to roads that give access to SC/ST
habitations.
Undertake Disaster proofing of village assets like Schools, Panchayat buildings, Primary
health centers, etc. within the overall MGNREGS guidelines regarding the share of labour
and material component.
Construct emergency shelters and high lands in flood/cyclone prone areas.
Undertake Drainage improvement work in villages to prevent flooding.
Introduce disaster resilient designs and construction techniques under the training
component for engineers under MGNREGS programme.

8.6 Environment
8.6.1 The Ministry of Environment and Forests plays a key role in reducing the adverse impacts of
natural hazards. There are many programmes under which the impact of natural hazards like
drought, flood, landslides or tsunami can be reduced. The improvement of forest areas and the
afforestation programmes are the two key elements in this strategy.
The Ministry of
Environment and Forests needs to give special attention to the following:
Coastal Zone Plantations including mangroves in coastal areas to minimize the impact of
coastal disasters like cyclone and tsunami.
Afforestation programmes in landslide prone areas along with proper landslide protection
measures.
Afforestation programmes in areas prone to desertification.
Afforestation programmes in catchment areas of major rivers.
Involvement of communities in management of forest fires

8.6.2 While it has not been possible to suggest specific interventions in the programmes of Ministry
of Environment and Forests, many of this Ministrys programmes are intended to take disaster
risk reduction into account including the reduction of hazards likely to be faced due to climate
change.

76

8.7 Health
8.7.1 In the event of any disaster, the role of the Ministry of Health is crucial. Ministry of Health has
many programmes, the most important one being National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). The
following interventions are suggested under the NRHM:
Ensure that the Village and District health plans explicitly address disaster risk reduction
concerns and the disaster management plans connect to the District and village Health
plans.
Provide training to the Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers on disaster health
preparedness and response.
Strengthen Disease Health Surveillance System in rural areas.
Ensure structural safety of the Community and Primary health centers (CHCs & PHCs) and
other health care service delivery centers in rural areas.
Train doctors and hospital staff on mass casualty management and emergency medicine.
Create Community awareness on disaster management
Provide for Mobile Medical Units (MMUs) at CHC level.
Provide First Aid and Disaster Management (DM) training for health workers, including
(ASHA), Aanganwadi Workers (AWW), Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM), Red Cross Volunteers
and (PRI) members.
Form Community Emergency Response Teams at community level and sensitize them about
health related treatments, first aid etc.
Ensure adequate stocks of essential medicines in all health centers well before the disaster
seasons, especially in the context of floods, landslides, snow slides, cyclones and droughts
since these seasons are reasonably well known.
Provide for a portion of the budget to kept as reserve for emergencies

8.7.2 Apart from the above, the Ministry of Health should also have a separate scheme for
retrofitting of major Government hospitals in Seismic Zones 4 and 5. Metropolitan cities in
seismic Zone-3 may also be covered under this.
8.7.3 They should also have facilities for treating nuclear radiations in all Government/Public Sector
hospitals located near nuclear power plants and in large metros. In addition, facilities for
treating patients who could be affected by chemical disaster should also be provided in all
hospitals which are near clusters of chemical factories. The number of doctors trained in CBRN
emergencies across the country need to be increased and specific training programmes
designed and implemented for such hospitals and doctors.

77

8.8 Drinking water

8.8.1 The drinking water supply programme is covered under JNNURM in urban areas and Rajiv
Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission in rural areas. The Rural programme keeps 5% of the
total outlay earmarked for providing immediate drinking water facilities in times of disaster.
This provision has been found very useful in post disaster situations. The following
interventions are suggested:
Continue with the 5% provision for emergency support measures for creation of
additional/alternate sources of drinking water.
Insist on the tube-wells being constructed on higher level platforms in flood prone and low
lying areas. This may need a marginal increase in cost, but will provide safe drinking water
during emergencies.
Provide for a component for emergency repair and restoration of water supply systems in
disaster affected areas.
Mandate creation of an emergency fund of Municipal bodies (with or without Government
support) to help restoration of water supply urgently in times of disaster.
Provide sufficient facilities for testing of quality of water immediately after the disaster, if
necessary in PPP mode.
Train Engineers and Public Health officials in water quality testing and in fixing and
operating water purifying systems at short notice.
Maintain reserves of water purifying systems as part of emergency reserves.

8.9 Agriculture
8.9.1 The role of the Ministry of Agriculture is crucial in ensuring the Food Security of the country in
the event of floods and drought. While floods and drought do not get high visibility, it causes
maximum economic damage to the people particularly the small marginal farmers and
agricultural labour. It also results in extensive damage to crops and cattle thereby affecting not
only the food and nutrition security of the country but also income security of the rural
population. The Ministry of Agriculture has therefore, the dual responsibility of ensuring that
the overall production does not suffer on this account and the micro level food security of small
farmers are not affected. The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY), National Food Security
Mission and National Horticulture Mission are some important Government Schemes. The
following interventions are suggested under the following missions:

78

8.9.2 The Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVY) is a major flagship programme which, in convergence
with MGNREGS can provide for better management of water for increased production and
productivity by managing tanks, ponds, and other water bodies. In addition the following can
be done:
Create of a seed (including planting material) reserve in different parts of the country to
take care of likely damages due to floods or drought. This can be used whenever a new
window of opportunity for sowing or transplanting presents itself during the season after a
flood or lack of adequate rain. It must however, be kept in mind that this reserve is to
ensure alternate sowing in bad years and it is likely that some part of the resources have to
be written off. A conscious plan to write off such seed, planting material needs to be built
into the scheme to avoid audit objections later. Details of the scheme will have to be
worked out based on the vulnerabilities of each region since the seeds have to be region
specific, crop season and variety specific. This could be done under the National Seed
Program also
Pest surveillance and management of pests and diseases should be an integral part of
Rashtriya Krisha Vikas Yojana.

8.9.3 National Food Security Mission

Create additional seed resources for wheat, rice and pulses in districts where the Mission
operates.

8.9.4 National Horticulture Mission

The activities mentioned with reference to seed reserves and for pest and disease surveillance
could also be taken up under this scheme for horticulture crops.

8.9.5 Other Schemes

Elements of disaster risk reduction could be introduced in some of the other schemes of MOA.
In particular, Agriculture Insurance Schemes need to expand its coverage in the Modified
National Agriculture Insurance (MNAIS) format and in Weather Based Insurance Systems.

8.9.6 Agriculture Research

Since climate variability poses new challenges to the Food Security of the country, the Indian
Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and National Agriculture Research System need to focus
on evolvement of new drought resistant/ flood resilient varieties. ICAR should introduce new
climate resilient techniques for agricultural practices in the Country. These research initiatives
79

have to be region and crop specific and will have to draw upon the immense genetic pool and
traditional knowledge systems in the Country.

8.10 MPLADS
8.10.1 The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation operates the scheme of MPLADS
with an annual provision of Rs. 5 crores per Member of Parliament. This scheme can make a
substantial difference to Govts efforts in disaster risk reduction in the country. The scheme
currently focused on relief and not on prevention and preparedness. The suggestion therefore
is to shift the focus from disaster relief to mitigation and include the following in the list of
eligible schemes.
8.10.2 Many eligible items under the MPLADS can contribute to disaster risk reduction. In addition, the
following needs to be introduced as eligible items.
include man made calamites
Amend para 2.7 of the guidelines to include Natural & Man-made Calamities. MPLADS works
can also be implemented in the areas prone to or affected by the calamities like floods, cyclone,
Tsunami, earthquake, landslides, tornado, drought, fire, chemical, biological and radiological
hazards. This will permit inclusion of manmade calamities.
permit retro-fitting
Redraft item 5 of Annexure II to permit retrofitting of lifeline buildings. All renovation, and
repair works excluding retrofitting of essential lifeline buildings, viz Govt. hospitals, Govt.
Schools and public buildings to be used as shelters in an emergency and heritage and
archeological monuments and buildings with specific permission available from the
Archeological Survey of India.
add to list of eligible items the following
Construction of common shelters for cyclones and floods
Retrofitting of essential lifeline buildings, viz Govt. hospitals, Govt. Schools and public buildings
to be used as shelters in an emergency.
Early Warning Systems for effective disaster mitigation.

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8.11 Other Initiatives

8.11.1 The establishment of Village Knowledge Centres under the Ministry of Rural Development is a
welcome initiative in the overall strategy of empowerment of communities for disaster
resilience. These centres can become key players in disseminating knowledge and increasing
awareness of village communities. These centres can also become responsible recipients of the
early warning system. In the overall design of village knowledge centres this element could be
built in.

8.12 Water Resources

8.12.1 The Flood Management Programme (FMP) needs to be accelerated to ensure that works of a
critical nature are taken up without delays. The flood management program of Ministry of
Water Resources is inadequate compared to the damages caused by the floods every year. It is
recommended that:
Enhanced allocation be made for flood management programme (FMP) accompanied by
simplification of the process for approval with strict monitoring of implementation.

8.13 Insurance
8.13.1 An effective risk transfer mechanism in a disaster situation is insurance. Though the Indian
Insurance industry has grown (both public and private sectors) the coverage for disasters
remains grossly inadequate. There are different models of disaster risk insurance possible
among which the US flood insurance model and the Turkey model of insurance are good
examples for replication in India. Both these models have some mandatory elements which
help increase the coverage and reduce the premium. Intervention by the insurance companies
may not, per se, involve budgetary outlays. In fact, they can reduce Governments spending in
post disaster rebuilding. Asset owners should also have specific legal responsibility for
insurance, particularly for third party liability (Motor Vehicle Act provisions including third party
insurance is a good example). An India Catastrophe Insurance Pool is recommended.
8.13.2 Insurance for crops and cattle which account for the maximum economic losses in times of
disasters, be it floods, cyclone or drought needs to be expanded and made simpler and farmer
friendly. The Ministry of Agriculture is already working on these schemes and it is necessary to
expand these schemes to cover as many farmers as possible in disaster prone areas.
8.13.3 States such as Gujarat and Tamil Nadu had introduced insurance schemes in the post-disaster
reconstruction phase. This could be scaled up for all reconstruction/new construction schemes.

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8.14 Schemes of other Departments

8.14.1 There are other Ministries which have to provide for specific interventions for disaster
reduction in respect of the target population they serve. Typically these are the Ministry of
Development of North-Eastern Region (for disaster reduction in the Northeast which is highly
vulnerable), Ministry of Tribal Affairs (for specific problems of the tribal population in disasters),
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (for the targeted groups who have special
requirements of their target).

8.15 Ministry of Mines and Ministry of Coal

8.15.1 Mine accidents have been getting global attention, be it in China or in Chile. The rescue of
miners in Chile has become a global standard of mine rescue. In the Indian context, there is a
need for setting up a comprehensive mine safety infrastructure and the setting up of mine
disaster management Cell which works in close co-ordination with all the mining companies.
Though the Directorate General of Mine Safety is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring
mine safety, it is recommended, therefore that A National Mine Disaster Management Centre may be established under Department of
Mines to plan the emergency response and coordinate with stakeholders under a unified
command structure. Its terms of reference may include among others, drawing up of a
national policy pertaining to emergency preparedness and response systems in Indian
mines. Its function may include setting up of establishments stocking critical equipments
like heavy duty pumps for quick drainage of water from underground mines, at appropriate
locations managed by respective mine management. Its mandate may incorporate a
charter of extending assistance to other Government departments, agencies and civil
society in tackling other natural and manmade disasters.
A centre of excellence may also be set up in Indian School of Mines.

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8.16 Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals

8.16.1 Accidents due to improper handling of hazardous chemicals have been on the rise in recent
times. While legal interventions are available through various Acts and laws, a large number of
small factories which handle or transport hazardous chemicals contribute to a number of small
but fatal accidents. While there is a need for strengthening the techno-legal regime and
monitoring in this regard, it is also necessary to earmark some funds by the Department of
Chemicals and Petrochemicals to create a chemical safety network to conduct studies, research
to monitor industries handling hazardous chemicals.

8.17 Ministry of Petroleum

8.17.1 Transportation and handling of highly inflammable petroleum products are of concern. Since
the Oil companies and ONGC have adequate resources, they should have a well coordinated
Cell to look at the issues of safety, storage, transport and handling of these substances. There is
also a need for training and awareness building regarding safe handling of these substances.

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9. Schemes of NDMA
9.1

While substantial amount of work on disaster management will be carried by respective

Ministries and Departments, there are a few critical missing links which need to be taken up by
NDMA.

9.2

Disasters in India are far too frequent and cause substantial economic damages. In particular,
disaster affects the poor more both in terms of severity of impact and the spread. This will
adversely affect the object of the Government to accelerate inclusive growth. To achieve this,
programmes relating to cross-cutting themes need to be taken up by NDMA. Earlier Ministry of
Home Affairs (MHA) had implemented a programme called National Disaster Mitigation
Programme since 1993-94. With the enactment of the DM Act 2005, the responsibility of the
Government of India and NDMA have increased manifold. It is in this context that these
programmes are being recommended.

1. National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP)

Title
Sector
Proposed
Outlay
Externally
Aided Project
Funding
Pattern
Objective

National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project

Central Scheme
Rs. 2900 Crores
World Bank
75% central share: 25% state share
The main objectives of the Project are to strengthen the structural and nonstructural efforts and to reduce the risk and vulnerability of the coastal districts
which are prone to cyclones. NCRMP will assist the vulnerable States/UTs in
building capacities for cyclone risk mitigation.

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Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

The Government, in January 2011, has approved the implementation of Phase-I of

the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project
(NCRMP) for Andhra Pradesh and Orissa at a cost of Rs. 1496.71 crores. The
Scheme is being funded by the World Bank as an Adaptable Programme Loan with
an International Development Association (IDA) credit amounting to Rs. 1198.44
crores. The remaining amount of Rs. 298.27 crores will be contributed by the State
Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The Financing Agreement and Project
Agreements relating to National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project (NCRMP) were
signed between the Department of Economic Affairs, World Bank and the State
Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha on 14.1.2011. 2. The Project has four
principal components namely :A. Last Mile Connectivity
B. Structural and Non-Structural Measures
C. Technical Assistance for Cyclone Hazard Risk Mitigation,
Capacity Building and Knowledge Creation
D. Project Management and Implementation Support
Unallocated and contingency @ 10% of overall cost
The Components A, C and D are being fully financed by the Central
Government through World Bank assistance. The component-B is being financed
by the Central and State Governments in the ratio of 75:25. The Scheme will be
implemented during the period 2010-11 to 2014-15 by NDMA in coordination with
the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the NIDM.
It is proposed to implement the Project in four other vulnerable coastal States
of Gujarat, West Bengal, Kerala, and Maharashtra in Phase-II of the Project. The
Investment Proposals received from these States are at various stages of
consideration in consultation with the World Bank. The remaining States/UTs may
be included in subsequent phases as and when they are ready with their appraisal
documents.
Government of India, World Bank, NDMA, State Governments of Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Gujarat, West Bengal, Kerala, and Maharashtra.

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2. National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project (NERMP)

Title

National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project

Sector

Central Scheme (Initiated in XIth Plan)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 600 Crores

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

100% centrally sponsored scheme

The objective of NERMP is to enhance the preparedness of the nation to face
earthquakes and to reduce the loss of lives and property caused by earthquakes.
The project is of a national importance and shall have a huge social impact by
strengthening earthquake preparedness, improving the compliance to
earthquake-resistant building codes, strengthen the techno-legal regime, create
an enabling environment for institutional strengthening, Research and
Development and most important of all, carry out capacity building of
engineers, architects and masons in earthquake-resistant construction
techniques.
1. Stricter compliance regime and increased uptake of earthquake resistant
design features for construction of new buildings through a consistent
policy, legal and regulatory framework
2. Development of a separate building code for schools and hospitals
3. Strengthening of institutions involved in capacity building programmes
4. Setting up of six Centers of Excellence to promote Research and
Development for earthquake risk mitigation.
5. Skill enhancement of 1 lakh engineers, 32 thousand architects and 9 lakh
masons in earthquake-resistant construction techniques.
6. Capacity building of Town planners, Architects and Structural Engineers
who approve building plans.
7. Retrofitting of 14 hospitals in 13 earthquake prone states and detailed
assessment study for retrofitting of 216 hospitals of the country
8. Increased public awareness on earthquake risk reduction and mitigation
practices
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, DDMAs

86

3. Landslide Risk Mitigation Projects (LRMP)

Title

Landslide Risk Mitigation Projects

Sector

Central Scheme (Initiated in XIth Plan)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern

Rs. 500 Crores

Objective

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

Component-Wise Funding Pattern:

A. Site specific landslide mitigation schemes of States : 75% central share:
25% state share
B. Site specific landslide studies/R&D work by Premier Institutions: 100%
centrally sponsored
C. Capacity Building of Professionals in Geotechnical Investigations and
landslide mitigation measures by Premier Institutions: 100% centrally
sponsored
A. The objective of the proposed projects would be to establish a mechanism to
enhance scientific and technical knowhow in the country for effectively
addressing landslide risk mitigation concerns for large scale replication
subsequently and to take up a few specific projects in each region to
demonstrate its effectiveness.
B. It is also proposed to include the issues such as Capacity Building of
Geologists and Engineers, monitoring of Landslides and development of Early
Warning Systems in these site specific mitigation projects after developing a
common methodology by the experts in this regard.
1. Formulation of site specific landslide mitigation schemes of states
2. Capacity Building of Professionals in Geotechnical Investigations and
structural landslide mitigation measures by Premier Government
Institutions
3. Development of remotely operated Real Time Early Warning Systems for
monitoring of recurring, unmanageable and critical landslide sites
4. Development of Comprehensive Management Models for landslides and
remedial measures for its mitigation including slope stabilization
5. Site specific landslide studies and Research and Development work by
Premier Institutions
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, DDMAs

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4. Flood Risk Mitigation Project (FRMP)

Title

Flood Risk Mitigation Project

Sector

Central Scheme (Initiated in XIth Plan)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern

Rs. 300 Crores

Objective

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

Component-Wise Funding Pattern:

A. Non-structural measures: 100% centrally sponsored
B. Structural Measures : 75% central share: 25% state share
C. Forecasting and Early Warning: 100% centrally sponsored
The project aims to develop disaster prevention and mitigation strategy and
promote R& D in monitoring of factors causing floods thereby leading to the
development of Early Warning System and Capacity Building initiatives.
A. Non-structural measures which may include:Vulnerability mapping,
Risk assessment analysis,
Hazard zoning,
Inventory of resources to meet the emergency
Development and Adoption of techniques to contain the problem of
river erosion, braiding, siltation/filling of water bodies etc.
Knowledge networking of best practices etc.
B. Structural Measures
Pilot projects for development of model multipurpose flood shelters etc.
Flood shelters in critical areas which had floods in at least 4 years out of
last 10 years.
C. Forecasting and Early Warning.
Development of Early Warning System and Flood Prediction Models for
predicting Floods, through strengthening of coordination and cooperation
among all relevant sectors like National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), Space
Application Centers (SAC), IMD, Survey of India and CWC.
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, DDMAs

88

5. National Disaster Communication Network (NDCN)

Title

National Disaster Communication Network

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 1000 Crores

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

100% centrally sponsored scheme

NDCN will be a network of networks created by providing appropriate
connectivity to the existing communication networks, including NICNET, SWANs,
POLNET, DMSNET etc., to various Emergency Operation Centers (to be
established at National, State and District Levels). Seamless connectivity with
these networks will be ensured by adopting open and industry standard
communication protocols.
1. Establishment of National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC) at NCR
covering VSAT Hub of the NDCN VSAT Network, Network Operation
Centre with Network Management System and Network Application
Servers.
2. Establishment of NEOC Disaster Recovery (DR) site at NRSC Hyderabad
3. Establishment of State Emergency Operation Centers (SEOC) linked to
respective NICNET, SWAN POPs and the NEOCs in every state and UTs.
4. Establishment of District Emergency Operation Centers (DEOC) with
Video Conferencing facility at all 626 districts in the country
5. Equip NDRF battalions with VSAT connections for NDCN connectivity
6. Provision of Communication on Wheels (COW) to each NDRF battalion
housing all communications equipment required at a disaster site for
relief and recovery management.
7. Establishment of basic voice and data communication quickly through
specially built Man Portable and Man packed packages consisting of a
Portable VSAT, Satellite Terminal, Wireless Phones and a notebook
computer along with Power Supply unit like battery and Portable
Generator. These units can be transported to the disaster site using any
local transport.
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, DDMAs

89

6. Strengthening of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and State

Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and setting up of Emergency Operation
Centers (EOCs)
Title

Sector
Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

Strengthening of District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and State

Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) and setting up of Emergency
Operation Centers (EOCs)
Central Scheme (New Scheme)
Rs. 800 Crores
100% central assistance on specific components; the balance components to be
funded fully by state government
This project aims at improving the speed and effectiveness with which District
Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) and State Disaster Management
Authority (SDMA) respond to any calamity or disaster. It also envisages setting
up of Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs).
A. District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA)
Support DDMAs for conducting effective Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability
Analysis (HRVA) and preparation of District Disaster Management Plans
(DDMPs).
B. State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA)
Support SDMAs for conducting effective Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability
Analysis (HRVA) and preparation of State Disaster Management Plans
(SDMPs).
C. Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs)
Setting up of effective Emergency Operation Centers (EOCs) which are
functional on 24 x 7 basis and can receive all signals and warnings about
the calamities and respond to disasters.
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, DDMAs

90

7. Strengthening State Disaster Response Force (SDRF)

Title

Strengthening State Disaster Response Force

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 800 Crores

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

100% central assistance restricted to certain components

This project aims at efficient and effective response to disasters by State
Disaster Response Force (SDRF) with the help of specialized equipments to carry
out search, rescue & relief operation during different type of disasters.
After execution of this project, SDRF will be able to:
Have an idea about the various types of disasters and to understand the
basic principles of disaster response in different situations.
Understand the concepts, methodology and techniques of search and
rescue operations in different disaster situations, including collapsed
structure search and rescue operations, urban search and rescue
operations and rope rescue operations, as also become familiar with the
various equipments and tools used for the same;
Learn the various methods and techniques of evacuating casualties.
Become familiar with the essentials of fire fighting and control.
Acquire the requisite life saving skills needed for water and flood rescue
operations.
Broadly understand the causes of, and the nature of threats caused by
nuclear, biological and chemical disasters, as also the basic principles of
management of the NBC emergencies.
Gain familiarity with the emergency medical services system, the various
kinds of medical emergencies encountered in disaster situations, as also
the principles of triage and basic life support systems.
Become familiar with the basics of communication, including radio
telephony procedures, satellite phones, Internet and Ham Radio, used in
disaster situations.
Understand the importance and methods of dignified management of
dead bodies, in disaster situations.
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs

91

8. A. National Disaster Management Training Institute

Title

National Disaster Management Training Institute

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 500 Crores

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

100% centrally sponsored scheme

To provide specialized and advanced training to National Disaster Response
Force (NDRF) personnel. Besides, this institute would also cater to the special
training needs of the State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs) and various other
responders of the state governments.
1. Training of Strategic and Operational Level personnel, Master Trainers
and First Responders
2. Standardization of disaster response procedures
3. Development of a nodal centre for conducting standardized training of
trainer courses in all the disaster related subjects like NBC,MFR, CSSR,
high altitude and water related disasters for national and international
agencies.
4. Certification of First Responders, Trainers and agencies in the field of
disaster response and assist NDMA in benchmarking disaster response
5. Improved disaster response, through research and development with
incorporation of latest practices, procedures and technologies in
consonance with national and international standards
6. Establishment of knowledge pool for disaster response activities and
disseminate the same using conventional and internet based
technologies.
7. Creation of a database of disaster response equipment, their
specifications and to advise various agencies with regard to selection of
equipment
8. NDMTI as a nodal agency for training in Disaster Response for SAARC
countries.
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, NIDM

92

B. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF)

Title

National Disaster Response Force

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 2500 Crores

Deliverables

100% centrally sponsored scheme

NDRF battalions are envisaged as a multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled, high-tech
force, capable of effectively responding to all type of disasters. The battalions
are located at ten different places in the country, selected on the basis of the
vulnerability profile of different regions of the country, to cut down the
response time for their deployment
1. NDRF to respond in any kind of disaster or calamity and help in search &
rescue and other relief operations.
2. While not on deployment, the battalions will remain fully occupied with
regular and intensive training of their own personnel, familiarization with their
respective areas of responsibility, capacity building of the state police forces and
various other stakeholders in the area and carrying out mock drills and joint
exercises with State Government agencies, NGOs, community volunteers etc.
3. National Disaster Mitigation Reserve (NDMR) to cater for the emergent
supply of life-saving and other essential materials to meet the urgent
requirements of the victims of minor (level-3) natural or man-made disasters
which are beyond the immediate coping capacity of the States. These reserves
will be maintained at the respective locations of the various NDRF battalions.

Implementing
Partners

Government of India, NDMA

93

9. National Programme on Disaster Knowledge Network

Title

National Programme on Disaster Knowledge Network

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 100 Crores

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

100% centrally sponsored scheme

Establishment of an integrated Disaster Knowledge Network, at the national and
state level, to capture, collect, manage, disseminate, retrieve and preserve
knowledge on disaster management. It will integrate all existing knowledge
networks and databases to create a common Information and Knowledge
platform for individuals, organizations, institutions, and government agencies to
share knowledge on effective approaches, methods and tools for disaster risk
management.
1. Integration, collaboration and information sharing among various knowledge
repositories and networks will ensure the availability, accessibility and flow of
accurate and required information to the policy makers, disaster managers and
other stakeholders at all the three stages of disaster management i.e.
preparedness, mitigation and response.
2. Facilitate two-way flow of information
(a) Top to Bottom: Dissemination of information on new technologies,
scientific data, disaster mitigation programs and policies in easy to understand
format to vulnerable communities, grassroots disaster managers, local
administrators, NGOs in disaster-prone areas and other information seekers.
(b) Bottom to Top: Inputs from rural communities, NGOs, grassroots
traditional wisdom and practices will feed into disaster mitigation planning
and policies at the state and national level. It will encourage digitalization of
undocumented indigenous practices and knowledge on disaster management,
thus help in capture, sharing and preservation of such grassroots knowledge
resources.
NDMA, SDMAs, NIDM, Solution Exchange of UNDP etc.

94

10. National Programme on Disaster Awareness and Advocacy

Title

National Programme on Disaster Awareness and Advocacy

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 1800 Crores

Deliverables
Implementing
Partners

100% centrally sponsored scheme

(1) Sustain, institutionalize awareness activities
(2) Enlarge the campaign and increase events
(3) Evaluate the campaign and assess gaps
(4) Intensive advocacy and awareness generation
(5) Baseline survey-gap analysis
(6) Training programmes for communities
(7) Hazard specific volunteers from communities
Increased awareness on disaster risk mitigation amongst stakeholders in India;
and institutionalizing disaster awareness and advocacy in India
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, DDMAs, NIDM,
SIDMs, IITs and IISc, NITs

95

11. National Programme on Disaster Education and Research

A) School and Higher Education
Title
Sector
Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Deliverables

National Programme on Disaster Education and Research School and Higher

Education
Central Scheme (New Scheme)
Rs. 260 Crores
100% centrally sponsored scheme
1. Initiate formal education research on various facets of disaster risk
reduction, disaster management and legal education at the university
level, and basic education on various disasters and social preparedness
at the school level;
2. Networking of institutes across India in specific subjects of Disaster
Anthropology, Disaster Psychology, Disaster Geography, Disaster
Economics, Disaster Communication, Disaster Social Work, Disaster
Management, and Disaster Law;
3. Formation of National Higher Disaster Education Panel in India to
provide thrust, direction, and guidance to disaster related education
programs;
4. Capacity Building of universities and research institutes across country
and associated stakeholders in Higher Education towards disaster related
education;
5. Initiation of research on various facets of disasters; and
6. Institution of State Institutes of Disaster Management (SIDMs).
1. Development of Faculty Members employed in universities/research
institutes;
2. Preparation of books and resource materials;
3. Curriculum development in universities;
4. Student development;
5. Research and Development in disaster management (including
preparedness, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction) on pressing
questions needed to be addressed in Indian context; and
6. Institutionalizing disaster management in the states through efforts of
SIDMs.

96

Implementing
Partners

NDMA, SDMAs, DDMAs, NIDM, Ministry of Human Resources and Development

(Government of India), University Grants Commission, and Department of
School, Secondary and Higher Education of various states.

B) Technical Education
Title
Sector
Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

National Programme on Disaster Education and Research Technical

Education
Central Scheme (New Scheme)
Rs. 350 Crores
100% centrally sponsored scheme
1. Development of Technical Education System and Infrastructure in India,
to bring into focus role of electrical, mechanical and chemical engineers
in addition to that of architects and civil engineers, towards addressing
(a) earthquakes and landslides, (b) cyclones and hurricanes, (c) floods,
(d) biological and chemical mishaps in industries, and (e) bomb blasts;
2. Networking Institutes in the Country towards technical education in
architecture and civil engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical
engineering, chemical engineering, and construction engineering, and
setting up of National Technical Advisory Panels in the said subjects;
3. Basic Capacity Building Initiatives: Development of Faculty Members
employed in government institutes/universities, Preparation of books
and resource materials, Degree programs and curriculum development
in government institutes/universities, Academia-Industry relations,
Student development, Research and Development, Continuing education
of architects and engineers, and Industry-Academia relations;
4. Focussed initiatives like national missions on Technical Education and
Research in the identified subjects including QIP program for faculty
development, development and implementation of modern Curriculum,
upgrade laboratory education infrastructure, promotion of Excellence,
upgrade education building infrastructure;
5. Continuing Education of Professional Architects and Engineers, and
Training of Artisans, Sensitisation of Contractors and Developers;
6. Research and Development related to Post-Disaster Field Studies, Hazard
Zonation, Disaster Risk Assessment and Scenario Development, Cost97

Deliverables

Implementing
Partners

effective Construction and Retrofitting Technologies, Development of

Design and Construction Standards, in addition to specific R&D projects;
and
7. Documentation and Dissemination, including development of Public
Awareness Material, and Virtual Clearinghouse of Disaster Information,
hosting Journals of Disaster-Resistant Technologies, and National
Conferences on Disaster-Safety, with Special Thrust on Architecturerelated Education.
1. Development of Faculty Members employed in universities/research
institutes;
2. Preparation of books and resource materials;
3. Curriculum development in universities;
4. Student development;
5. Research and Development in disaster management (including
preparedness, response, rehabilitation and reconstruction) on pressing
questions needed to be addressed in Indian context; and
6. Institutionalizing disaster related technical education in NITs.
Union and State Governments, NDMA, SDMAs, DDMAs, MHA, Ministry of
Human Resources and Development (Government of India), IITs, NITs,
Department of Technical Education of various states, CoA, Indian Technical
Institutes, Polytechnics, All India Council for Technical Education, the Council of
Architecture, the Institution of Engineers (India), Indian Institute of Architects
(IIA), Departments of Science and Technology of the Government of India and
the State Governments, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,
National Institutes of Technical Teachers' Training and Research (NITTR), the
State Training Institutes (STIs), the National Institutes of Construction
Management and Research (NICMAR), National Academy of Construction, (NAC)

98

C) Medical Education
Title

National Programme on Disaster Education and Research Medical Education

Sector

Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 300 Crores

Deliverables

100% centrally sponsored scheme

Human Medicine
1. Educate to create skilled personnel in the new speciality of Emergency
Medicine and create a cadre of paramedics (Emergency Medical
Technicians)
2. Train a large healthcare workforce in Public Health; Chemical, Biological,
Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) and Humanitarian Medicine
3. Research disaster themes in the Indian context
4. Co-ordinate with other non-medical disaster agencies
Veterinary Medicine
1. Knowledge and Skill Development Programme or faculty members of
Universities
2. Knowledge and skill development programme for the students
3. Develop and establish the linkages of universities and allied institutions
4. Development of Emergency Response Units in Universities and
Institutions
5. Introduce and establish Disaster Response and Risk Reduction short
term courses in existing learning programmes, like CVE, and Summer /
Winter School
6. Research and development in disaster-related medicine
Human Medicine
1. Establishment of accredited institutions in Disaster Medicine in
government-funded academic centres and public hospitals, at the state
level
2. Creation of 100 Emergency departments (up gradation of existing
'casualty') in 200 medical colleges
3. Establishment of a Disaster Response cell in each medical college
4. Establishment of a paramedic service as an extension of the Emergency
department
5. Pre-hospital and Ambulance service helpline number a single '108' call
99

Implementing
Partners

number for whole of India

6. Establishment of a Paramedic Council of India for certification and
affiliation
7. District Radiation safety office (RSO) cum CBRNe officer in each district
8. Disaster Psychosocial worker in each district
9. District Occupational, Rehabilitation and physiotherapist in each district
10. District Disaster Medical social worker in each district
11. Establishment of India Disaster Medical Force (IDMF) by training in
Public Health, CBRNe and Humanitarian Medicine
Veterinary Medicine
1. Development of National-level Faculty and Training of Trainers
Programme include specific programme on animal welfare and their
management in all phases of disasters
2. Infrastructure Development, Inventory Planning and Mapping at
National & State Levels based on vulnerable areas through institutional
technology & interdisciplinary approaches
3. Capacity building training for the community at educational institution
NDMA, SDMAs, DDMAs, Ministry of Health And Family Welfare (GoI), State
Departments Of Health, National level Medical Institutes & Universities, State
level Medical Institutes & Universities

100

D) Management and Legal Education

Title
Objectives
Sector
Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Deliverables

National Programme on Disaster Education and Research Management and Legal

Education
Imparting management approach to disaster risk reduction and awareness about
legal aspects of disaster management.
Central Scheme (New Scheme)
Rs. 150 Crores
100% centrally sponsored scheme

1. Development of Management as Process, Discipline and Body with DRR

context.
2. Incorporating sustainable development and disaster related issues in
Management Curriculum and Management principles in Sociological and
disaster education.
3. Short- and long-term programmes for primary stakeholders for creating basic
awareness on legal aspects of DRR.
4. Incorporating disaster related Acts, Rules and Regulations, Bylaws in legal
education.
Implementing NDMA, NIDM, State Institutes of Disaster Management, UGC, AICTE, Management
Partners
Universities and Law Colleges

101

E) National Programme on Disaster Training of NGOs, Civil Society and Private Sector
Groups, Government Officers and Strengthening Institutional Capacities
Title
Sector

National Programme on Disaster Training of NGOs, Civil Society and Private

Sector Groups, and Strengthening Institutional Capacities
Central Scheme (New Scheme)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 500 Crores

Deliverables

1. Institutional Strengthening: Starting State Institute of Disaster Management

(SIDM) in 20 states; Setting up training facilities at district level; and
Equipping district control rooms with suitable equipment
2. Training: Organised groups of Government officers (primarily officers from
multi hazard prone districts), NGOs, Private Sector Groups and Civil Society,
and development of formal training methods for each group

Implementing
Partners

NDMA, SDMAs, DDMAs, NIDM, SIDMs, ATIs

100% centrally sponsored scheme

Reducing the risk and vulnerability of states and district to different natural
hazards by involving all stakeholders, through NGOs, Civil Society Organizations
and private sector groups, through proper guidance from a nodal agency. This is
proposed to be achieved by:
1. Enhancing the capacity of the functionaries to respond properly during
the time of emergencies.
2. Increased awareness and participation of stakeholders (from village,
district to state levels)
3. Developing suitable strategies for training of civil society and NGOs for
each state
4. Networking states for sharing of information and helping each other
during the time of crisis
5. Strengthening district control rooms with equipments and operational
manuals to function as disaster management information centres
6. Setting up Information Technology (IT) centres at district level

102

12. Other Disaster Management Projects (ODMPs)

Title

Other Disaster Management Projects

Sector

Central Scheme (Initiated in XIth Plan)

Proposed
Outlay
Funding
Pattern
Objective

Rs. 1700 Crores

Projects
undertaken/
proposed

Deliverables

100% central funding

The dynamics of disasters keep changing and the interventions required to
manage them also undergo quick changes based on new learning and new
technologies. A number of interventions covering research, technology, early
warning systems, awareness campaigns, development of training modules,
development of course curriculum, support to communities, etc., would require
to be undertaken for specific regions and specific hazards. These are often small
but effective interventions. Since it is difficult to outline all such small projects,
these projects are grouped under the broad heading Other Disaster
Management Projects.
a. Studies/Research/Development including vulnerability assessment
Techniques/studies
b. Technical and Scientific initiatives for management of disasters including
Early Warning Systems for disasters
c. Initiatives on cross cutting themes like medical preparedness, mass
casualty management , response systems , awareness etc
d. Pilot projects on man-made and natural disasters including school safety.
e. Disaster Risk Insurance studies.
f. Institutional strengthening for management of other disasters
g. International Cooperation
h. Development of Hazard Specific (location specific) Scenarios and
exercises.
i. Studies in the above areas leading to better preparedness, prevention
and mitigation.
Increased knowledge regarding prevention, preparedness and
mitigation.
Pilot projects demonstrating new applications/technology/practices etc
leading to scaling up of efforts in major developmental programmes
Area specific and hazard specific knowledge base and data systems
Fine tuning of existing S&T knowledge to suit local conditions and
practices
103

Implementing
Partners

Testing new concepts and practices in Disaster Management on pilot

basis and lessons learnt
Building capabilities of key stakeholders
Partnerships with Private Sector/NGOs/Community for better Disaster
Management
Increased structural and non-structural safety in schools
Mass casualty management with better medical preparedness and
response systems
Government of India, NDMA, State Governments, SDMAs, Private
Sector, NGOs, Research Institutes, Universities etc.
These are small projects which will be taken up in collaboration with
National Institutions/ NGOs/ other stakeholders for disaster
management related activities.
These individual projects will be approved as per extant norms in the
Government.

104

10. National Disaster Mitigation Fund

10.1

The Disaster Management Act 2005 provides (Para 47(1)) for setting up of a National Disaster
Mitigation Fund (NDMF) for projects exclusively for the purpose of mitigation. The National
Disaster Management Authority is to administer this fund. The 13 th Finance Commission was
set up by the Government on 13th December 2007. The terms of reference at Serial No. 8 of
the Notification enjoined the Finance Commission to review the present arrangements as
regards financing of Disaster Management with reference to the National Calamity Contingency
Fund (NCCF) and Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) and the funds envisaged in the Disaster
Management Act 2005(53 of 2005) and make appropriate recommendations thereon. The
Finance Commission, after detailed discussions with the Central Ministries, Planning
Commission and the State Governments recommended that the erstwhile NCCF may be
converted into NDRF and all the money available in NCCF be transferred to NDRF. The Calamity
Relief Fund maintained by the States was to be reconstituted as State Disaster Response Fund.
The Disaster Management Act 2005 had also provided for District Disaster Response Fund. The
13th Finance Commission was of the view that setting up of these funds may be left to the
discretion of the States. The NDRF came into effect on 1.4.2011. Most States have also set up
State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and transferred the balance in CRF to SDRF.

10.2

On the creation of National Disaster Mitigation Fund, the TFC suggested that it should be a part
of the plan assistance and that the expenditure on mitigation should be made out of the plan
resources of the respective ministries of the Union and the States. The Commission was of the
view that this may be a more advisable course of action as there are already a number of
schemes at the Central as well as at the State levels that are targeted towards mitigation, in
areas such as drought proofing, flood and water management, soil erosion and promotion of
earthquake resistant structures.

10.3

It suggested that the adequate funding of disaster mitigation may be decided by the Planning
Commission and the NDMA.

10.4

The Centrally sponsored schemes which are implemented by the States with varying levels of
central plan support are important vehicles for disaster mitigation. The Government of India,
after notification of Disaster Management Act 2005, has modified its Expenditure Finance
Committee/Public Investment Board formats for appraisal of projects and schemes. The
project authorities have to give a declaration that the projects that they would implement
would confirm to the guidelines issued by the National Disaster Management Authority for the
area in which they are located. This self-certification is an important document considered by

105

the EFC/PIB while recommending proposal for public investment. However, these documents
do not come to NDMA, nor is NDMA represented in EFCs.
10.5

Incorporating preventive and mitigation measures in urban planning including construction of

housing in the central sector and centrally sponsored schemes should be mandatory.
Guidelines on DRR should be built into the project designs. In major projects such as refineries,
petro-chemical plants, power projects (hydro thermal, nuclear) disaster mitigation measures
are already an integral part. These need to be subjected to a third party review. In many areas
such as construction of school building, hospitals, roads, irrigation canals and many such other
critical infrastructure, a more detailed blue print for disaster mitigation needs to be prepared
and notified. The relevant cost of mitigation should be a part of the project cost.

10.6

Since the Disaster Management Act, 2005 specifically provides for the creation of National
Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), the Government could be called into question in Parliament
or before Courts of Law as to why such Fund has not been set up. Not setting up such a Fund
would also encourage the State Governments to do the same viz-a-viz the State Disaster
Mitigation Fund.

10.7

Given the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005, it is necessary, therefore, to set up
a National Disaster Mitigation Fund. The key question seems to be whether the fund should be
a non-lapsable fund or should it follow the discipline of a plan scheme. Since mitigation efforts
have to be time bound it could take the form of National Programme subject to the disciplines
of annual plan budget. The recommendations of the 12 th Finance Commission indicate that the
National Disaster Mitigation efforts have to primarily depend on factoring in DRR into the
development plans of the Departments but it does not rule out specific interventions by NDMA
in areas of critical importance and in cross-cutting issues. Therefore, funds for the National
Disaster Management effort may consist of the following:
(i)

A percentage of budget provisions specifically earmarked by Ministries for disaster

prevention, mitigation, relief and rehabilitation in their respective budgets against
specific schemes. The choice of schemes, proposed interventions and outlays may be
decided by the concerned Ministry in accordance with Section 49(1) of Disaster
Management Act 2005. These schemes will be monitored by NDMA on a regular basis,
(as is done for North Eastern Region).

(ii)

Though there is a strong case for setting up an NDMF on the lines of the non-lapsable
pool of resources for DONER, a start could be made by providing a plan outlay for a
National Disaster Mitigation Fund which can be in the form of National Programme
covering the other Disaster Management Projects (ODMP). A set of guidelines can be
issued for these projects. (The funding pattern can follow the broad principle of 100%
for all Central Sector schemes and 75:25 or 90:10 for all schemes in which assistance is
106

provided to State Governments). For the purpose of this plan ODMP may be renamed
as the National Mitigation Fund. This disposition may partially meet the legal
obligations of setting up of the National Disaster Mitigation Fund.
10.8

The combination of the two mentioned above viz., clear earmarking of provisions for disaster
related activities by the Ministries and Departments would meet the requirements of Section49* of the Disaster Management Act and establishment of National Disaster Mitigation Fund on
an Annual Budgetary Support basis for disaster mitigation projects could partially meet the
requirements of Section-47** of the Disaster Management Act, 2005.

*Section-49: Allocation of funds by Ministries and Departments: (1) Every Ministry or

Department of the Government of India shall make provisions, in its annual budget, for funds for
the purposes of carrying out the activities and programmes set out in its disaster management
plan.
(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to departments of the
Government of the State.
**Section-47: National Disaster Mitigation Fund: (1) The Central Government may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, constitute a Fund to be called the National Disaster
Mitigation Fund for projects exclusively for the purpose of mitigation and there shall be credited
thereto such amount which the Central Government may, after due appropriation made by
Parliament by law in this behalf, provide.
(2) The National Disaster Mitigation Fund shall be applied by the National Authority.

107

Summary of Proposals
In addition to the allocation of funds proposed for mainstreaming DRR in major developmental
programmes as mentioned in Chapter-8 and the interventions of Science & Technology
mentioned in Chapter-7, funds required for NDMA are as follows:
S.No

Title

Proposed Outlay
(Rs. In Crores)
Rs. 2900

1.

National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project

2.

National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project

Rs. 600

3.

Landslide Risk Mitigation Projects

Rs. 500

4.

Flood Risk Mitigation Project

Rs. 300

5.

National Disaster Communication Network

Rs. 1000

6.

Rs. 800

7.

Strengthening of District Disaster Management Authority

(DDMA) and State Disaster Management Authority
(SDMA) and setting up of Emergency Operation Centers
(EOCs)
Strengthening State Disaster Response Force

8.

A. National Disaster Management Training Institute

Rs. 500

B. National Disaster Response Force

Rs. 2500

National Programme on Disaster Knowledge Network

Rs. 100

10.

Rs. 1800

11.

National Programme on Disaster Awareness and

Advocacy
National Programme on Disaster Education and Research

Rs. 260
Rs. 350
Rs. 300
Rs. 150
Rs. 500

12.

A. School and Higher Education

B. Technical Education
C. Medical Education
D. Management and Legal Education
E. National Programme on Disaster Training of NGOs,
Civil Society and Private Sector Groups, Government
Officers and Strengthening Institutional Capacities
Other Disaster Management Projects (ODMPs)
Total Outlay Proposed

Rs. 800

Rs. 1700
Rs. 15,060
108

Abbreviations
ADB

Asian Development Bank

ADCP

Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler

ALTM

Airborne Laser Terrain Mapper

ANM

Auxiliary Nurse Midwife

APRSAC

Andhra Pradesh Remote Sensing Application Center

ASHA

Accredited Social Health Activist

ATI

Administrative Training Institute

AWW

Aanganwadi Worker

BIS

Bureau of Indian Standards

CBRN

Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear

CDRN

Corporate Disaster Resource Network

CEO

Chief Executive Officer

CHC

Community Health Centers

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency

CII

Confederation of Indian Industry

COW

Communication on Wheel

CRF

Calamity Relief Fund

CSSR

Collapsed Structure Search & Rescue

CSO

Civil Society Organization

CSR

Corporate Social Responsibility

CVE

Continued Veterinary Education

CWC

Central Water Commission

DAE

Department of Atomic Energy

DDMA

District Disaster Management Authority

109

DDMP

District Disaster Management Plan

DEOC

District Emergency Operation Center

DIET

District Institute of Education and Training

DM

Disaster Management

DONER

Development of North-Eastern Region

DR

Disaster Recovery

DRDA

District Rural Development Agency

DRR

Disaster Risk Reduction

DST

Department of Science & Technology

EFC

Expenditure Finance Committee

EOC

Emergency Operation Center

ERC

Emergency Response Center

EWS

Early Warning Systems

FICCI

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

FMP

Flood Management Programme

FRMP

Flood Risk Mitigation Projects

FYP

Five Year Plan

GDP

Gross Domestic Product

GIS

Geographic Information System

GPS

Global Positioning System

GSI

Geological Survey of India

GoI

Government of India

HFA

Hyogo Framework of Action

HRVA

Hazard, Risk and Vulnerability Analysis

IAY

Indira Awaas Yojana

ICAR

Indian Council of Agricultural Research

IDA

International Development Association

110

IDKN

India Disaster Knowledge Network

IDMF

India Disaster Medical Force

IDRN

India Disaster Resource Network

IDSP

Integrated Disease Surveillance Project

IIA

Indian Institute of Architects

IMD

Indian Meteorological Department

IMF

International Monetary Fund

INCOIS

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

IT

Information Technology

JNNURM

Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission

LRMP

Landslide Risk Mitigation Projects

MFR

Medical First Responders

MGNREGA

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act

MGNREGS

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme

MHA

Ministry of Home Affairs

MMU

Mobile Medical Unit

MNAIS

Modified National Agriculture Insurance

MPLADS

Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme

MoES

Ministry of Earth Sciences

NAC

National Academy of Construction

NBC

Nuclear Biological Chemical

NCC

National Cadet Corps

NCCF

National Calamity Contingency Fund

NCDC

National Centre for Disease Control

NCRB

National Crime Records Bureau

NCRMP

National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project

NDCN

National Disaster Communication Network

111

NDMA

National Disaster Management Authority

NDMF

National Disaster Mitigation Fund

NDMR

National Disaster Mitigation Reserve

NDMTI

National Disaster Management Training Institute

NDRF

National Disaster Reserve Force

NEC

National Executive Committee

NEOC

National Emergency Operation Center

NERMP

National Earthquake Risk Mitigation Project

NESAC

North-Eastern Space Application Centre

NFSM

National Food Security Mission

NGO

Non-Governmental Organization

NHM

National Horticulture Mission

NICMAR

National Institutes of Construction Management and Research

NIDM

National Institute of Disaster Management

NITTR

National Institutes of Technical Teachers' Training and Research

NMDMC

National Mine Disaster Management Centre

NRHM

National Rural Health Mission

NRSC

National Remote Sensing Centre

NSS

National Service Scheme

ODMP

Other Disaster Management Programmes

ONGC

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation

PHC

Primary Health Centers

PIB

Press Information Bureau

PMGSY

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

PRI

Panchayati Raj Institution

PWD

Public Works Department

RAY

Rajiv Awas Yojana

112

RKVY

Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna

RS

Remote Sensing

RSO

Radiation Safety Office

RTSP

Regional Tsunami Service Provider

RWA

Resident Welfare Associations

S&T

Science and Technology

SAC

Space Application Centers

SCOPE

Standing Conference of Public Enterprises

SDMA

State Disaster Management Authority

SDMP

State Disaster Management Plan

SDRF

State Disaster Response Force

SEC

State Executive Committee

SEOC

State Emergency Operation Centers

SHG

Self Help Group

SIDM

State Institutes of Disaster Management

SIET

State Institute of Education and Training

SOI

Survey of India

SOP

Standard Operating Procedure

SSA

Sarva Siksha Abhiyan

STI

State Training Institute

TFC

Thirteen Finance Commission

TNA

Training Needs Assessment

ULB

Urban Local Bodies

UNDP

United Nations Development Programme

UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UT

Union Territory

WHO

World Health Organization

113

Annex-I
No.M-12016/03/2011-PAMD
Government of India
Planning Commission
(Project Appraisal & Management Division)
*****
Yojana Bhawan Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-11000
Dated 6th April, 2011
Subject:

ORDER
Constitution of Working Group on Disaster Management for the 12th Five year Plan (2012-2017)

It has been decided to constitute a Working Group on Disaster Management in the context of preparation of the
Twelfth Five Year Plan. The composition and Terms of Reference of the Group will be as follows:
II-Composition
S.N.
Name
Designation
1
Shri T. Nanda Kumar, Member, National Disaster Management Authority, NDMA
Chairman
Bhawan, A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi-110029 (Tel26701775 )
2
Dr. Noor Mohammad, Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, NDMA
Member
Bhawan, A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110 029 (Tel: 2670170)
3
Shri Anil Sinha, Vice Chairman, Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, 2nd
Member
Floor, Pant Bhawan, Patna (Bihar) Tel:0612-2522032, Mob:09473400201
4
Ms Swarna Subba Rao, Surveyor General of India, Survey of India, Post Box No.37,
Member
Hathibarkala Estate, Dehradun-248001, Uttarakhand Fax:91-135-2744064
5
Shri R.C. Jha, Member (RM), Central Water Commission, 212, Sewa Bhawan (5), R K
Member
Puram, New Delhi-110606, Tel: 26103221
6
Shri P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti, Executive Director, National Institute of Disaster
Member
Management, 5-B, IIPA Campus, IP Estate, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi110002
7
Shri Atanu Purkayastha, Joint Secretary, (Drought Management), Ministry of
Member
Agriculture, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110001 , Tel: 011-23381503
8
Shri Ravindra Kumar Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Disaster Management), Ministry of
Member
Home Affairs, Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi-110003 (Tel:24638206 )
9
Dr. P.K. Mohanty, Additional Secretary & Mission Director, Ministry of Housing &
Member
Urban Poverty Alleviation, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi-110 108, Tel:23061419,
Fax:23061420
10
Shri V. Thiruppughazh, Additional Chief Executive Officer, Gujarat State Disaster
Member
Management Authority, 5th Floor, Block-11, Udyog Bhawan, Gandhinagar-382017
(Gujarat) Tel:07923259451
11
Dr. R.K. Srivastava, Director General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family
Member
Welfare, Nirman Bhawan, Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi-110108. Tel:23061063
114

12
13
14
15
16

17
18
19

20
21

22
23
24
25
26

27
28
29

Dr. R.P. Samui, Deputy Director General of Meteorology (Agremit), IMD, Shivaji
Nagar, Pune-411005 (Maharashtra) , Telefax:020-25535953
Deputy Director General (PPM), GSI, 27, J.L. Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016 (West
Bengal) ,Tel:033-22861676, Fax:033-22861770
Dr. K.J. Ramesh, Advisor & Scientist-G, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Mahasagar
Bhawan, Block-12, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003, Tel:24622059
Dr. V. Jayaraman, Director, National Remote Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad500625, Tel:040-23879572, Fax:040-2387864
Dr. Rakesh Dubey, Disaster Management Institute, Prayavaran Parishar, E-5 Arera
Colony, P.B.No.563, Bhopal MI, Bhopal-462011, Tel:0755-2466715, Fax:075524666653
Prof. Ravi Sinha, Department of Civil Engineer, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT),
Powai, Mumbai-400076 (Maharashtra) ,Tel:022-25722545, Fax:022-25723480
Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa, UNDP, Post Box No.305955, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003 (
Tel: 46532333 )
Ms Janki Andharia, Professor & Chairperson, Jamsetji Centre for Disaster
Management, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Post Box No.8313, Deonar, Mumbai400088 (Tel:022-25525000 )
Ms Sushma Lyengar, Kutch Navnirman Ahiyan, Dr. Rajaram Campus, Near Xavier
English Primary School, Bhuj-370001 (Kutch) (Tel:02832221379/221382)
Dr. V.S. Prakash, Director, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, 9th
Floor, BWSSB Building, Cauvery Bhawan, Bangalore-560009 (Karnataka)
(Telefax:080-22217038)
Pr. Secretary (Revenue)/Relief Commissioner, Government of Gujarat, 8th Floor,
Block-11, New Sachiwalaya, Gandhinagar-382017 (Gujarat) (Tel:09978406123 )
Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief Commissioner, Government of
Uttarakhand, 4-B, Subhash Road, Dehradun-248001 (Tel: 0135-2712008 )
Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Revenue and Disaster Management Department,
Government of Orissa, Bhubaneswar-751001,
( Tel:0674-2539023)
Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief Commissioner, Government of Tripura, 1st
Floor, TPSC Building, Secretariat, Agartala-799001
Shri P.K. Tripathi, Joint Secretary,(M), National Disaster Management Authority,
NDMA Bhawan, A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110 029 ( Tel: 26701868 Fax:
26701820 )
Dr. Nagesh Singh, Adviser, Planning Commission, Yojana Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New
Delhi-110001 ( Telefax: 23096707 )
Dr. P.K. Mishra, Chairman, Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission, Barrack No.3,
Polytechnic, Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380015 (Tel:079-26302689)
Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Mahasagar Bhawan, Block12, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 ( Tel:24360874 )

Member
Member
Member
Member
Member

Member
Member
Member

Member
Member

Member
Member
Member
Member
Member

Convener
Special Invitee
Special Invitee

115

III. The Terms of Reference (specific to the Working Group) will be as under:
(a) To recommend measures to streamline existing institutional structure on disaster management in order to
avoid multiplicity of structures keeping in view the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005.
(b) Review implementation of disaster management policy both man made and natural disaster, towards disaster
risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation at Centre and State levels and in the private sector. The disaster risk
reduction and management framework to incorporate multi hazard preparedness and mitigation measures.
(c) To explore innovative ways and means for application of Science & Technology in disaster risk reduction.
(d) To draw a roadmap and policy framework to encourage public-private partnership and community
participation (including women, school children differently abled) in disaster management.
(e) To assess integration of disaster management related concerns to be inbuilt into central sector and centrally
sponsored schemes/ projects.
(f)
To suggest programmes for capacity building for disaster mitigation at Centre, State and district levels with
special reference to rural and urban area with focus on educational instititins.
(g) To identify priority areas and projects along with financial resources particularly with respect to setting up of
National Disaster Mitigation Fund to be undertaken through NDMA, Central Ministries and State Governments in
integrated manner during the 12th Plan period.
(h) The Chairman of the Working Group may include any additional terms of reference, if needed after the 1 st
meeting of the Group.
IV. Terms of Reference (General):
1. The Chairman may co-opt other members to the Sub-Group for specific inputs.
2. The expenditure towards TA/DA in connection with the meetings of the Working Group in respect of official
members will be borne by their respective Ministry/Department. In case of non-official members of the
Working Group, expenditure towards their TA/DA would be met by the Planning Commission as admissible to
the Class-I officers of the Government of India.
3. The Working Group will submit its draft report by September 2011 and final report by 31st October 2011 to
the Planning Commission.

116

Copy to:
1. Chairman, All Members, Special Invitees and Convener of the Working Group/Sub-Groups.
2. PS to Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
3. PS to Member of State (Planning)
4. PS to all Members of the Planning Commission.
5. PS to Member Secretary, Planning Commission
6. All Principal Advisers/Sr.Advisers/Advisers/HODs, Planning Commission
7. Director (PC), Planning Commission
8. Administration (General-I) and (General-II), Planning Commission
9. Under Secretary (Admn-I), Planning Commission Accounts-I Branch, Planning Commission.
10. Information Officers, Planning Commission
11. Library, Planning Commission
Sd/(Raj Pal Singh)
Deputy Adviser (PAMD)
Tel:23753165

117

Annex-II
No.M-12016/03/2011-PAMD
Government of India
Planning Commission
(Project Appraisal & Management Division)
*****
Yojana Bhawan Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-11000
Dated 3rd May, 2011
Subject:

ORDER
Working Group on Disaster Management for the 12th Five year Plan (2012-2017)

In continuation of Planning Commissions Order of even number dated 6th April, 2011 on the above
subject, as per decision of the 1st meeting of the Working Group, additional members of the Working Group and
Revised TOR are as follow:
II - Composition (Additional Members):
S.N.
Name
Designation
1
Shri V.K. Pipersenia, Principal Secretary, Revenue & Disaster
Member
Management Department, Govt. of Assam, Guwahati (Ph.03612237255, Mob:94355-52145)
2
Dr. Suhel Akhtar, Commissioner, Relief and Disaster Management
Member
Department, Govt. of Manipur, Imphal- 795001 (Ph.03852440736)
3
Shri Suresh Chandra Gupta, Joint Secretary (Chemical Division,
Member
Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Shastri Bhawan, New
Delhi-110003 (Ph.23383756)
4
Dr. D.C. Katoch, National Consultant (Traditional Medicine &
Member
Homeopath), WHO Regional office for South East-Asia, World Health
House, Indraprastha Estate, MG Marg, New Delhi-110002.
Email:katochdc@searo.who.int
5
Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, Asstt. Country Director (Head), Disaster
Member
Management Unit, UNDP, 55 Lodhi Estate, New Delhi-110003, Tel:01146532340
6
Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Director General, FICCI Federation House, Tanseng
Member
Marg, New Delhi 110001. Ph:23738760-70, email: ficci@ficci.com
7
Shri N.K. Khosla, Executive Director (SHE), Indian Oil Corporation Ltd.,
Member
Scope Complex, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003, Tel:01124363646, email:khoslank@iocl.co.in
8
Shri Satish Puri, Director General, Directorate General of Mines Safety,
Member
Head Office, Dhanbad-826001, Ph:02326-2221000, Mob:09471191239,
email:dgms@dgms.in
9
Dr. N.A. Kazmi, Secretary, University Grants Commission, Bahadur Shah
Member
Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002, Ph:23239337
118

10

Dr. Alka Parikh, Associate Professor, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of

Information and Communication Technology, Gh Zero Extension Road,
Gandhinagar, Gujarat-382007. Tel:079-30510653, Fax:079-30520010
email:alka_parikh@daiict.ac.in

Member

III. The Terms of Reference will be as under:

(i)
To recommend measures to streamline existing institutional structure on disaster management in order
to avoid multiplicity of structures keeping in view the provisions of the Disaster Management Act 2005.
(j)
Review implementation of disaster management policy both man made and natural disaster, towards
disaster risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation at Centre and State levels and in the private sector. The
disaster risk reduction and management framework to incorporate multi hazard preparedness and mitigation
measures.
(k) To explore innovative ways and means for application of Science & Technology in disaster risk reduction.
(l)
To draw a roadmap and policy framework to encourage public-private partnership and community
participation (including women, school children differently abled) in disaster management.
(m) To assess integration of disaster management related concerns to be inbuilt into central sector and
centrally sponsored schemes/ projects.
(n) To suggest programmes for capacity building for disaster mitigation at Centre, State and district levels
with special reference to rural and urban area with focus on educational instititins.
(o) To identify priority areas and projects along with financial resources particularly with respect to setting
up of National Disaster Mitigation Fund to be undertaken through NDMA, Central Ministries and State
Governments in integrated manner during the 12th Plan period.
(p) To suggest policy measures and programmes for knowledge sharing, dissemination of information and
for increasing public awareness.
IV. Terms of Reference (General): The other Terms of Reference of the Order dated 6.4.2011 would remain
unchanged.
Copy to:
12. Chairman, All Members, Special Invitees and Convener of the Working Group/Sub-Groups.
13. PS to Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
14. PS to Member of State (Planning)
15. PS to all Members of the Planning Commission.
16. PS to Member Secretary, Planning Commission
17. All Principal Advisers/Sr.Advisers/Advisers/HODs, Planning Commission
18. Director (PC), Planning Commission
19. Administration (General-I) and (General-II), Planning Commission
20. Under Secretary (Admn-I), Planning Commission
21. Accounts-I Branch, Planning Commission.
22. Information Officers, Planning Commission
23. Library, Planning Commission
Sd/(Raj Pal Singh)
Deputy Adviser (PAMD)
Tel:23753165

119

Annex-III
No.M-12016/03/2011-PAMD
Government of India
Planning Commission
(Project Appraisal & Management Division)
*****
Yojana Bhawan Sansad Marg,
New Delhi-11000
Dated 4th May, 2011
ORDER

Subject:

Constitution of Sub-Group in the Working Group on Disaster Management for the 12th Five year
Plan (2012-2017)

In continuation of Order of even number dated 6th April, 2011 and 3rd May, 2011 on the above subject
it has been decided with the approval of the Chairman of Working Group on Disaster Management to constitute
Sub-Groups in the Working Group on Disaster Management in the context of preparation of the Twelfth Five
Year Plan. The composition and Terms of Reference of the Sub-Groups will be as follows:

A) Sub-Group I
(i)

Composition
S.N.
1

Name
Dr. Noor Mohammad, Secretary, National
Disaster Management Authority, NDMA Bhawan,
A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110 029
Tel: 2670170
Shri Ravindra Kumar Srivastava, Joint Secretary
(Disaster Management), Ministry of Home Affairs,
Lok Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi110003 Tel:24638206
Shri P.K. Tripathi, Joint Secretary,(M), National
Disaster Management Authority, NDMA Bhawan,
A-1, Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110 029
Tel: 26701868 Fax: 26701820
Dr. Nagesh Singh, Adviser, Planning Commission,
Yojana Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001
Telefax: 23096707
Shri R.C. Jha, Member (RM), Central Water
Commission, 212, Sewa Bhawan (5), R K Puram,
New Delhi-110606, Tel: 26103221

Designation
Chairperson

Member

Member

Member

Member

120

10

11

12

13

14

15
16

17

Shri V.K. Pipersenia, Principal Secretary, Revenue &

Disaster Management Department, Govt. of Assam,
Guwahati (Ph.0361-2237255, Mob:94355-52145)
Dr. Suhel Akhtar, Commissioner, Relief and Disaster
Management Department, Govt. of Manipur,
Imphal- 795001 (Ph.03852440736)
Pr. Secretary (Revenue)/Relief Commissioner,
Government of Gujarat, 8th Floor, Block-11, New
Sachiwalaya, Gandhinagar-382017 (Gujarat)
Tel:09978406123
Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief
Commissioner, Government of Uttarakhand, 4-B,
Subhash Road, Dehradun-248001
Tel: 0135-2712008
Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief
Commissioner, Government of Tripura, 1st Floor,
TPSC Building, Secretariat, Agartala-799001
Shri Atanu Purkayastha, Joint Secretary, (Drought
Management), Ministry of Agriculture, Krishi
Bhawan, New Delhi-110001 Tel:011-23381503
Shri V. Thiruppughazh, Additional Chief Executive
Officer, Gujarat State Disaster Management
Authority, 5th Floor, Block-11, Udyog Bhawan,
Gandhinagar-382017 (Gujarat) Tel:07923259451
Shri P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti, Executive Director,
National Institute of Disaster Management, 5-B,
IIPA Campus, IP Estate, Mahatma Gandhi Marg,
New Delhi-110002
Dr. P.K. Mohanty, Additional Secretary & Mission
Director, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty
Alleviation, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi-110 108
Tel:23061419, Fax:23061420
Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa, UNDP, Post Box No.305955,
Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003 Tel: 46532333
Shri Suresh Chandra Gupta, Joint Secretary
(Chemical Division, Department of Chemicals &
Petrochemicals

Member

Shri N.K. Khosla, Executive Director (SHE), Indian Oil

Corporation Ltd., Scope Complex, CGO Complex,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003, Tel:011-24363646,
email: khoslank@iocl.co.in

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member
Member

121

18

19

(ii)

Dr. Rakesh Dubey, Disaster Management Institute,

Prayavaran Parishar, E-5 Arera Colony, P.B.No.563,
Bhopal MI, Bhopal-462011
Tel:0755-2466715, Fax:0755-24666653
Shri Vinay Kajia, AIG Works, CISF Headquarters,
Block 13, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.
Telfax:011-24360722, Mobile: 8800936868

Member

Member

Terms of Reference (specific to the Sub-Group in the Working Group) will be as under:
(a) To recommend measures to streamline existing institutional structure on disaster
management in order to avoid multiplicity of structures keeping in view the provisions of the
Disaster Management Act 2005.
(b) Review implementation of disaster management policy both man made and natural disaster,
towards disaster risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation at Centre and State levels and in the
private sector. The disaster risk reduction and management framework to incorporate multi
hazard preparedness and mitigation measures.

B) Sub-Group II
(i)

Composition
S.N.
1

Name
Shri R.C. Jha, Member (RM), Central Water
Commission, 212, Sewa Bhawan(S), R.K.Puram,
New Delhi- 110606 Tel:26103221

Designation
Chairperson

Dr. K.J. Ramesh, Advisor & Scientist-G, Ministry

of Earth Sciences, Mahasagar Bhawan, Block-12,
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Tel:24622059
Dr. R.P. Samui, Deputy Director General of
Meteorology (Agremit), IMD, Shivaji Nagar,
Pune-411005 (Maharashtra) Telefax:02025535953
Dr. V. Jayaraman, Director, National Remote
Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad-500625
Tel:040-23879572, Fax:040-2387864
Deputy Director General (PPM), GSI, 27, J.L.
Nehru Road, Kolkata-700016 (West Bengal)
Tel:033-22861676, Fax:033-22861770
Dr. V.S. Prakash, Director, Karnataka State
Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, 9th Floor,

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

122

BWSSB Building, Cauvery Bhawan, Bangalore560009 (Karnataka) Telefax:080-22217038

Ms Swarna Subba Rao, Surveyor General of
India, Survey of India, Post Box No.37,
Hathibarkala Estate, Dehradun-248001,
Uttarakhand Fax:91-135-2744064
Prof. Ravi Sinha, Department of Civil Engineer,
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai,
Mumbai-400076 (Maharashtra) Tel:02225722545, Fax:022-25723480

Member

Member

ii) Terms of Reference (specific to the Sub-Group in the Working Group) will be as under:
(c ) To explore innovative ways and means for application of Science & Technology in disaster risk reduction.

C) Sub-Group-III
(i)

Composition
S.N.
1

3
4

Name
Ms Janki Andharia, Professor & Chairperson,
Jamsetji Centre for Disaster Management, Tata
Institute of Social Sciences, Post Box No.8313,
Deonar, Mumbai-400088 Tel:022-25525000
Ms Sushma Lyengar, Kutch Navnirman Ahiyan, Dr.
Rajaram Campus, Near Xavier English Primary
School, Bhuj-370001 (Kutch)
Tel:02832221379/221382
Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa, UNDP, Post Box No.305955,
Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003 Tel: 46532333
Shri Anil Sinha, Vice Chairman, Bihar State Disaster
Management Authority, 2nd Floor, Pant Bhawan,
Patna (Bihar) Tel:0612-2522032,
Mob:09473400201
Dr. Rakesh Dubey, Disaster Management Institute,
Prayavaran Parishar, E-5 Arera Colony, P.B.No.563,
Bhopal MI, Bhopal-462011 Tel:0755-2466715
Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, Asstt. Country Director
(Head), Disaster Management Unit, UNDP, 55
Lodhi Estate, New Delhi-110003, Tel:01146532340
Shri Satish Puri, Director General, Directorate
General of Mines Safety, Head Office, Dhanbad-

Designation
Chairperson

Member

Member
Member

Member

Member

Member
123

826001, Ph:02326-2221000, Mob:09471191239,

email: dgms@dgms.in
8

10

11

12

13

14

Col. (Retd) Arjun Katoch, D1/9, Vasant Vihar, New

Delhi-110057 Tel:011-46696380,
email:arjunkatoch@gmail.com
Dr. Alka Parikh, Associate Professor, Dhirubhai
Ambani Institute of Information and
Communication Technology, Gh Zero Extension
Road, Gandhinagar, Gujarat-382007. Tel:07930510653, Fax:079-30520010
email: alka_parikh@daiict.ac.in
Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Director General, FICCI Federation
House, Tansen Marg, New Delhi 110001.
Ph:23738760-70, email: ficci@ficci.com
Shri N.K. Khosla, Executive Director (SHE), Indian
Oil Corporation Ltd., Scope Complex, CGO
Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003, Tel:01124363646, email: khoslank@iocl.co.in
Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General,
Confederation of Indian Industry, CII
Headquarters, Mantosh Sondhi Centre, 23,
Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003,
Tel:011-24629994-7, Fax:01124626149/24633168, email: c.banerjee@cii.in
Shri Sunit Tandon, Director General, Indian
Institute of Mass Communication, IIMC, Aruna
Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi-110067, Telfax:01126741532 & 26742492,
email:sunit.tondon@gmail.com
Shri Vinay Kajia, AIG Works, CISF Headquarters,
Block 13, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.
Telfax:011-24360722, Mobile: 8800936868

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

(iii) Terms of Reference (specific to the Sub-Group in the Working Group) will be as under:

(d) To draw a roadmap and policy framework to encourage public-private partnership and
community participation (including women, school children differently abled) in disaster
management.

124

D) Sub-Group-IV
(ii) Composition
S.N.
1

10

11

Name
Shri Anil Sinha, Vice Chairman, Bihar State Disaster
Management Authority, 2nd Floor, Pant Bhawan,
Patna (Bihar) Tel:0612-2522032,
Mob:09473400201
Dr. R.P. Samui, Deputy Director General of
Meteorology (Agremit), IMD, Shivaji Nagar, Pune411005 (Maharashtra) Telefax:020-25535953
Dr. N.A. Kazmi, Secretary, University Grants
Commission, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New
Delhi-110002, Ph:23239337
Ms. Anita Kaul, Addl. Secretary (Sarva Siksha
Abhiyan) Bureau of Elementary Education,
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Shastri
Bhavan, New Delhi-110001, Tel No.011-23383226,
Fax:011-23070584, email: anitakaul.edu@nic.in
Dr. K.J. Ramesh, Advisor & Scientist-G, Ministry of
Earth Sciences, Mahasagar Bhawan, Block-12, CGO
Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Tel:24622059
Dr. V. Jayaraman, Director, National Remote
Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad-500625
Tel:040-23879572, Fax:040-2387864
Deputy Director General (PPM), GSI, 27, J.L. Nehru
Road, Kolkata-700016 (West Bengal) Tel:03322861676, Fax:033-22861770
Col. (Retd) Arjun Katoch, D1/9, Vasant Vihar, New
Delhi-110057 Tel:011-46696380,
Email:arjunkatoch@gmail.com
Dr. V.S. Prakash, Director, Karnataka State Natural
Disaster Monitoring Centre, 9th Floor, BWSSB
Building, Cauvery Bhawan, Bangalore-560009
Ms Swarna Subba Rao, Surveyor General of India,
Survey of India, Post Box No.37, Hathibarkala
Estate, Dehradun-248001, Uttarakhand
Fax:91-135-2744064
Pr. Secretary (Revenue)/Relief Commissioner,
Government of Gujarat, 8th Floor, Block-11, New
Sachiwalaya, Gandhinagar-382017 (Gujarat)

Designation
Chairperson

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

125

Tel: 09978406123
12

13

14

15

16

17
18

19

20

21

22

Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief

Commissioner, Government of Uttarakhand, 4-B,
Subhash Road, Dehradun-248001
Tel: 0135-2712008
Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Revenue and
Disaster Management Department, Government
of Orissa, Bhubaneswar-751001 Tel:0674-2539023
Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief
Commissioner, Government of Tripura, 1st Floor,
TPSC Building, Secretariat, Agartala-799001
Prof. Ravi Sinha, Department of Civil Engineer,
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai,
Mumbai-400076 (Maharashtra) Tel:022-25722545,
Fax:022-25723480
Shri Sunit Tandon, Director General, Indian
Institute of Mass Communication, IIMC, Aruna
Asaf Ali Marg, New Delhi-110067, email:
sunit.tondon@gmail.com Telfax: 011-26741532 &
26742492
Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa, UNDP, Post Box No.305955,
Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003 Tel: 46532333

Member

Shri J. Radhakrishnan, Assistant Country Director

(Head Dm Unit), UNDP, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi110003 Tel: 9958882684
Prof. Santosh Kumar, Head-Policy, Planning &
Cross Cutting Issues Division, NIDM, IIPA Campus,
New Delhi-110002.Email: profsantosh@gmail.com
Tel: 011-23702433
Prof. Amit Bose, Director, DDF Consultants Pvt.
Ltd., 501, B-9, ITL Twin Tower, Netaji Subhash
Place, Pitampura. Email: amitkbose@sify.com
Tel: 09810582710
Mr. N.M. Prusty, Chairperson, Sphere India,
Building No.3, Flat No. 401/3, Sona Apartments,
Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110016. Email:
nmprusty@yahoo.co.in Tel: 09811310841
Prof. P.C. Joshi, Dept. of Anthropology, University
of Delhi-110007. Email: pcjoshi@anthro.du.ac.in
Tel: 9871222692

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

126

23

Dr. Ashish N Sutar, World Society for the

Protection of Animals, K-004, Country Park,
Borivali (East), Mumbai-400066 Email:
ashishsutar@wspa-asia.org Tel: 09619081888

Member

24

Mr. Anuj Tiwari, Head (Projects)- GFDR, JPH-4,

Niho Scottish Garden, Indirapuram, Ghaziabad201010 Email: anujtiwariin@yahoo.com
Tel: 09818584477
Ms. Archana Kapoor, Director Hardnews Media
Pvt Ltd, 145, Gautam Nagar, New Delhi-110049.
Email: archana.smart@gmail.com
Tel: 9811166297
Mr. Rakesh Kaul, Associate Director, PwC Building
8, Tower B, DLF Cyber City, Gurgaon-122002.
Email: rakesh.kaul@in.pwc.com Tel: 9899295229
Ms. Sulagna Chattopadhyay, Editor (Geography
And You), President LIGHTS Research Foundation,
1584, B1, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. Email:
lights2003@gmail.com Tel: 011-26892275
Prof. C.V.R. Murthy, Dept. of Civil Engineering, IIT
Madras, Chennai-600036 Email: cvrm@iitm.ac.in
Tel: 044-22574302
Prof. Ranjana Mukhopadhyay, Associate Professor,
Japanese Studies, Dept. of East Asian Studies,
University of Delhi-110007 Email:
ranjanayaya@gmail.com Tel: 09971879179
Mr. Mihir Bhatt, Director, Managing Trustee, All
India Disaster Mitigation Institute, 411, Sakar Five
Building, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad-380009 Email:
mihir@aidmi.org Tel: 079-26582962
Mr. Ahilesh Gupta, Advisor, Managing Trustee, All
India Disaster Mitigation Institute, 411, Sakar Five
Building, Ashram Road, Ahmedabad-380009
Email: mihir@aidmi.org Tel: 079-26582962
Mr. Nirankar Saxena, Director, FICCI, Tansen Marg,
New Delhi-110001. Email: nirankar@ficci.com
Tel: 9811839174
Ms. Sushmita Shekhar, Dy. Secretary General, PHD
Chamber of Commerce & Industry, 4/2 Siri
Institutional Area, August Kranti Marg, New Delhi110016 Email: sshekhar@phdcci.in
Tel: 9810005531

Member

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

127

34

35

36

37

38

39

(iii)

Mr. M.S. Kasana, Expert-Human Resources,

Competition Commission of India, Hindustan
Times House, K.G. Marg, New Delhi-110001 Email:
mahabir.kasana@rediffmail.com
Tel: 09868284717
Prof. A.S. Arya, Sector C-2, House No. 2457
(Ground Floor), Vasant Kunj, New Delhi-110070.
Email: asarun3155@gmail.com
Tel: 9818997029
Dr. Anshu Sharma, SEEDS India, 15/A, Institutional
Area, R.K. Puram, Sector-4, New Delhi-110022.
Email: anshu@seedsindia.org Tel: 9810066976
Mr. Vikrant Mahajan, COO, Sphere India, Building
No.3, Flat No. 401/3, Sona Apartments, Hauz Khas,
New Delhi-110016. Email: vik@sphereindia.org.in
Tel: 9818666831
Mr. Vikas Gora, Consultant, H 1/11, 1st floor, Hauz
Khas, New Delhi-110016. Email:
vikasgora@gmail.com Tel: 9958699913
Dr. Alka Parikh, Associate Professor, Dhirubhai
Ambani institute of Information & Communication
Technology, Gh Zero Extension Road,
Gandhinagar, Gujarat-382007, Email:
alka_parikh@daiict.ac.in Tel: 079-30510653

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Terms of Reference (specific to the Sub-Group in the Working Group) will be as under:
(f) To suggest programmes for capacity building for disaster mitigation at Centre, State and
district levels with special reference to rural and urban area with focus on educational
institutions.
(h) To suggest policy measures and programmes for knowledge sharing, dissemination of
information and for increasing public awareness.

E) Sub-Group-V
(i)

Composition
S.N.
1

Name
Shri T. Nanda Kumar, Member, National Disaster
Management Authority, NDMA Bhawan, A-1,
Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi-110029
Tel26701775

Designation
Chairperson

128

10

11

12

Prof. Ravi Sinha, Department of Civil Engineer, Indian

Institute of Technology (IIT), Powai, Mumbai-400076
(Maharashtra)
Tel:022-25722545, Fax:022-25723480
Shri V.K. Pipersenia, Principal Secretary, Revenue &
Disaster Management Department, Govt. of Assam,
Guwahati (Ph.0361-2237255, Mob:94355-52145)
Shri Atanu Purkayastha, Joint Secretary, (Drought
Management), Ministry of Agriculture, Krishi Bhawan,
New Delhi-110001
Tel:011-23381503, Fax:011-23381503
Shri Ravindra Kumar Srivastava, Joint Secretary
(Disaster Management), Ministry of Home Affairs, Lok
Nayak Bhawan, Khan Market, New Delhi-110003
Tel:24638206
Dr. R.K. Srivastava, Director General of Health Services,
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Nirman Bhawan,
Maulana Azad Road, New Delhi-110108. Tel:23061063
Shri V. Thiruppughazh, Additional Chief Executive
Officer, Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority,
5th Floor, Block-11, Udyog Bhawan, Gandhinagar382017 (Gujarat) Tel:07923259451
Shri P.G. Dhar Chakrabarti, Executive Director, National
Institute of Disaster Management, 5-B, IIPA Campus, IP
Estate, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi-110002
Shri R.C. Jha, Member (RM), Central Water
Commission, 212, Sewa Bhawan (S), R.K. Puram, New
Delhi-110606, Tel:26103221
Dr. P.K. Mohanty, Additional Secretary & Mission
Director, Ministry of Housing & Urban Poverty
Alleviation, Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi-110 108
Tel:23061419, Fax:23061420
Shri P.K. Tripathi, Joint Secretary,(M), National Disaster
Management Authority, NDMA Bhawan, A-1,
Safdarjung Enclave, New Delhi 110 029
Tel: 26701868 Fax: 26701820
Dr. Shailesh Nayak, Secretary, Ministry of Earth
Sciences, Mahasagar Bhawan, Block-12, CGO Complex,
Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003
Tel:24360874

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

129

13

14

15
16

17

(ii)

Secretary (Disaster Management)/Relief

Commissioner, Government of Tripura, 1st Floor, TPSC
Building, Secretariat, Agartala-799001
Dr. P.K. Mishra, Chairman, Gujarat Electricity
Regulatory Commission, Barrack No.3, Polytechnic,
Ambawadi, Ahmedabad-380015 (Tel:079-26302689)
Dr. Krishna S. Vatsa, UNDP, Post Box No.305955, Lodhi
Estate, New Delhi 110003 Tel: 46532333

Member

Shri Satish Puri, Director General, Directorate General

of Mines Safety, Head Office, Dhanbad-826001,
Ph:02326-2221000, Mob: 09471191239, email:
dgms@dgms.in
Dr. Nagesh Singh, Adviser, Planning Commission,
Yojana Bhawan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi-110001.
Telefax:23096707

Member

Member

Member

Member

Terms of Reference (specific to the Sub-Group in the Working Group) will be as under:

(e) To assess integration of disaster management related concerns to be inbuilt into central sector
and centrally sponsored schemes / projects.

(g) To identify priority areas and projects alongwith financial resources particularly with respect to
setting up of National Disaster Mitigation Fund to be undertaken through NDMA, Central Ministries
and State Govts. in integrated manner during the 12th Plan period.

Terms of Reference (General)

4.
The Chairman may co-opt other members to the Sub-Group for specific inputs.
5.
The expenditure towards TA/DA in connection with the meetings of the Working Group in respect
of official members will be borne by their respective Ministry/Department. In case of non-official
members of the Working Group, expenditure towards their TA/DA would be met by the Planning
Commission as admissible to the Class-I officers of the Government of India.
6. The Sub-Groups of the Working Group will submit its draft report by August 2011 and final report
by Mid-September, 2011 to the Chairman of Working Group on Disaster Management.

130

Copy to:
24. Chairman, All Members, Special Invitees and Convener of the Working Group/Sub-Groups.
25. PS to Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission.
26. PS to Member of State (Planning)
27. PS to all Members of the Planning Commission.
28. PS to Member Secretary, Planning Commission
29. All Principal Advisers/Sr.Advisers/Advisers/HODs, Planning Commission
30. Director (PC), Planning Commission
31. Administration (General-I) and (General-II), Planning Commission
32. Under Secretary (Admn-I), Planning Commission
33. Accounts-I Branch, Planning Commission.
34. Information Officers, Planning Commission
35. Library, Planning Commission
Sd/(Raj Pal Singh)
Deputy Adviser (PAMD)
Tel:23753165
*****

131

Annex -IV

National Disaster Communication Network

The NDCN project involves a total anticipated expenditure of Rs. 943 Crores as per the
following break up:
Year

Description

Expenditure

CAPEX Phase I (Implementation

1,00,00,000

Period)+ OPEX (Phase 1 for 4 months)

2

CAPEX Phase I (Implementation

328,64,75,891

Period) + OPEX (Phase 1 for 4 months)

3

OPEX (Phase I after implementation

242,87,50,800

of Ph I) & CAPEX implementation for

Phase-II
4

OPEX (Phase I & II)

86,12,58,400

OPEX (Phase I & II)

86,12,58,400

OPEX (Phase I & II)

86,12,58,400

OPEX (Phase I for 8 months & Phase II 67,40,66,133

for 12 months)
Total

898,30,68,024
5% buffer:
943,22,21,425

132

Annex -V

State Disaster Response Force

SDRF Equipments
NDRF is authorized 310 disaster rescue equipments to carry out search, rescue & relief operation during
disaster. SDRF, which will play an important role in such rescue operation before the arrival of NDRF, would also
require some essential equipment to carry out the rescue operations during disaster. These equipments could
be on the line of NDRF such as for Collapsed Structure Search & Rescue (CSSR), Medical First Responder (MFR),
Water and Flood Rescue Equipment, Mountain and Highrise building rescue, NBC Emergencies as well as Radio
& Comn. A detail of such equipments proposed to be authorized to SDRF Battalion is shown at annexure A:-

SDRF Training Infrastructure

SDRF personnel are to carry out regular basic and advance training to maintain their professionalism at their
respective Bn HQ and therefore, they need some requisite Training infrastructure for day-to-day training. This
training infrastructure will also facilitate in training for State stakeholders, NGOs, Volunteers and other State
Govt. functionaries.
The training infrastructure consists of Indoor and Outdoor training facilities,
accommodation, storage of training equipments, Kennel & Dog training, Rubble field etc. The details of Training
Infrastructure require for a SDRF Bn is shown at annexure-B.

After going through training infrastructure created, the SDRF personnel as well as other State
stakeholder will be able to:
Have an idea about the various types of disasters and to understand the basic principles of disaster response in
different situations.
Understand the concepts, methodology and techniques of search and rescue operations in different disaster
situations, including collapsed structure search and rescue operations, urban search and rescue operations and
rope rescue operations, as also become familiar with the various equipments and tools used for the same;
Learn the various methods and techniques of evacuating casualties.
Become familiar with the essentials of fire fighting and control.
Acquire the requisite life saving skills needed for water and flood rescue operations.
Broadly understand the causes of, and the nature of threats caused by nuclear, biological and chemical
disasters, as also the basic principles of management of the NBC emergencies.
Gain familiarity with the emergency medical services system, the various kinds of medical emergencies
encountered in disaster situations, as also the principles of triage and basic life support systems.
Become familiar with the basics of communication, including radio telephony procedures, satellite phones,
Internet and Ham Radio, used in disaster situations.
Understand the importance and methods of dignified management of dead bodies, in disaster situations.

133

Financial Implications
(a) A total cost for equipping one NDRF Bn including CBRN and Mountain Rescue equipments is approx Rs.38 Cr.
The equipments for NDRF Bn is on higher side comparing to the State requirement for SDRF Bn. Moreover,
some of the States are vulnerable only for Cyclon & Tsunami and some are for only Floods whereas, North and
North-East States are vulnerable for all type of disasters and therefore, funds could be worked out keeping
vulnerability and requirement of equipments. Even due to fast urbanization and industrialization every State
will need the equipments of all type of disasters. The cost for equipping one SDRF Bn, as per annexure A, is
approx Rs.18 Cr. (including 10% escalation in the prices) as per earlier rate with details shown against each
below:-

S/No.

Nature of Equipments

Cost (in Rs.)

i.

CSSR Kit

11,37,84,326.00

ii.

Individual Kit/Personal Protective Gear

iii

Water Rescue & Diving Equipments

2,37,39,000.00

iv

Medical First Responder (MFR)

1,30,07,730.00

Mountain Rescue Equipments

vi

CBRN Equipments

31,29,225.00

vii

Radio Comn Equipment

70,20,000.00

15,23,200.00

3,57,800.00

Total

16,25,61,281.00

10% escalation in prices

1,62,56,128.00

G.Total

17,88,17,409.00
Say Rs. 18 Cr.

a) The cost of creation of Training Infrastructure for Indoor and Outdoor training facility etc for SDRF Bn., as per
details shown at annexure B, comes to Rs. 5 Cr. Including the other training charges which will be required to
build up their own training capacity.
b) Keeping above requirement for SDRF personnel of all States and Union Territory, the total fund will be required
as under :-

(i) SDRF Equipments (Rs.18 Cr X 35)

=Rs.630 Cr.

(28 States and 07 Union Territory (28+7=35)

(ii) Training Infrastructrue etc.(Rs. 5 Cr. x 35)
=Rs.175 Cr.

(28 States and 07 Union Territory (28+7=35)

G.Total

=Rs.805 Cr.
134

Conclusion
a) At present the SDRF is literally non existant in most of the States and it needs to be strengthened
because they would be able to respond much before any other Force possibly can.
b) If the SDRF has to strengthen, it will require both equipments for search and rescue equipments for
search and rescue and proper training infrastructure alongwith props. Their master trainers can be
initially trained by the NDRF.
c) As far as the equipments for the SDRF are concerned, we may keep the NDRF standard in mind.

Details of Training Infrastructure for SDRF Battalion

S/No.
a)

Nomenclature

Size

Approx Cost

Indoor Training Block

(i)

Class room (with seating

capacity of 40)

(ii)

Earthquake simulator Room

(iii)

Store Room for training

1500 Sqm

equipments
(iv)

Accommodation/Hotel for State

Stakeholders/ trainees

b)

Outdoor Training Block

(i) Prop Area

40 mtr x 40 mtr

5 Cr.

= 1600 mtrs
(ii) Rubble

field

with

collapsed 30 mtr x 30 mtr

single & Multi stored structure

(iii) Decontamination training area

=900 mtrs
50 ft x 50 ft
= 2500 sqft

(iv) Artificial wall cum slithering Hollow tower in the form of

tower

building is to be raised upto

25 mtr

(v)

Swift water training facility

A canal of 60 mtr length &

3mtr depth is required

135

(vi) Area

for

dead

body 60 ft x 60 ft

management

=3600 sqft

National Disaster Response Force

Justification for Infrastructure of NDRF Battalion
NDRF battalions are envisaged as a multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled, high-tech force, capable of
effectively responding to all type of disasters. The battalions are located at ten different places in the
country, selected on the basis of the vulnerability profile of different regions of the country, to cut
down the response time for their deployment.
While not on deployment, the battalions will remain fully occupied with regular and intensive training
of their own personnel, familiarization with their respective areas of responsibility, capacity building of
the state police forces and various other stakeholders in the area and carrying out mock drills and joint
exercises with State Government agencies, NGOs, community volunteers etc.

136

Annex -VI
National Disaster Response Force
Justification for Infrastructure of NDRF Battalion
NDRF battalions are envisaged as a multi-disciplinary, multi-skilled, high-tech force, capable of
effectively responding to all type of disasters. The battalions are located at ten different places in the
country, selected on the basis of the vulnerability profile of different regions of the country, to cut
down the response time for their deployment.
While not on deployment, the battalions will remain fully occupied with regular and intensive training
of their own personnel, familiarization with their respective areas of responsibility, capacity building of
the state police forces and various other stakeholders in the area and carrying out mock drills and joint
exercises with State Government agencies, NGOs, community volunteers etc.

Equipment and Transport

Each NDRF battalion will have to maintain a wide range of disaster response equipment, including CSSR
kits, MFR kits, individual (personal) kits boats, diving and water rescue equipment etc. It is also
proposed to provide NDRF battalion with certain earth-moving and other heavy equipment to deal
with collapsed structures. The NBC battalions will additionally have certain specialized equipment
required to deal radiological and chemical equipment for their various teams always kept in readiness
in ready-to-ship-out containers, for prompt movement.
Each NDRF Bn will have s sanctioned fleet strength for 80 vehicles, including troops carers,
ambulances, water tankers etc. Some more vehicles may have to be added for the transpiration of
earth moving etc equipment to the disaster sites. Each NBC Bn of NDRF, in addition will have one
Hazmat van and two de-contamination vehicle.

Infrastructural Requirement
The infrastructure of a NDRF Bn, will have to take care of all the functional needs of the battalion,
including office accommodation, appropriate arrangements for warehousing and maintenance of
different kinds of equipment an stores, sheds for parking, repairs and maintenance of vehicles etc in
addition to the requisite infrastructure for the day to day training of the battalion personnel and dogs
as well as training of NGO and civil society volunteers. Table-Top Exercises, joint mock drills etc with
State Government functionaries and others concerned. Each battalion will also have to have adequate
residential accommodation for its personnel. Other requirements will include a 20 bedded hospital and
other amenities like a bank, a post office STD/ISD booth, a family welfare centre, a shopping complex
etc.
137

Constant training and re-training of NDRF personnel will hold the key to their effectiveness in providing
response in the wake of a disaster. The initial training imparted to the personnel at a training
institution, alone, will hardly be adequate for this purpose unless followed up by day-to-day training to
hone their skills in different disaster response techniques. Regular table top exercises, simulation
practices and mock drill will all be useful in this regard. Besides this, the first responders have to
maintain exacting standards of physical fitness and agility as well as mental alacrity. The training
regime to be followed in a battalion will have to take care of all these aspects. This will call for an
elaborate training infrastructure which has to include not only a well-equipped gymnasium, a P T
ground, drill sheds and obstacles course, but also facilities like rock climbing, an artificial wall-cumslithering tower, an Olympic-size swimming pool with deep diving facility etc. A well laid out prop area
and rubble field with different kinds of collapsed structures will also be required.
To take care of indoor training of the battalion personnel as well as the officials of the State
Government and NGO/Civil society volunteers, the training infrastructure of a battalion will need at
least two class room-one with a seating capacity of 60 and another of 40, the latter with four breakaway rooms of a capacity of 10 each for proper training in operational aspects of CSR, MFR etc. A
Table-Top exercise hall with a seating capacity of 100 will also be required.
The battalion will also need a M I Room-cum-Hospital of 20 bedded capacity, to take care of the
medical and health-care requirements of battalions personnel and their family members as also the
day to day training of personnel in Medical First Response.
As for the housing requirement of the personnel, it is important to provide 100% satisfaction in respect
of residential accommodation. Out of this, family accommodation may have to be provided to the
extent of at least 75% of the sanctioned strength in the ranks of Constable to Inspectors, while
bachelors accommodation may be made available for the remaining 25%. For officers (Asstt
Commandant and above), 100% family accommodation may be provided.
In addition to all thee the NDMA has proposed the creation of a National Disaster Mitigation Reserve
(NDMR) to cater for the emergent supply of life-saving and other essential materials to meet the
urgent requirements of the victims of minor (level-3) natural or man-made disasters which are beyond
the immediate coping capacity of the States. These reserves will be maintained at the respective
locations of the various NDRF battalions. This will entail the need for warehouse for storing all the
NDRM equipment and materials. NDMA has proposed the erection of pre-fabricated sheet structure
godowns with poly-coated roofing and side wall cladding of the size of 126 X 21.80 meters with a
verandah all around, for the purpose. The battalion infrastructure will have to include this equipment.
The present position of NDRF battalions with respect to their land and infrastructure is as under:-

138

S.N.

Units

Location

Quantum of Land

1.

01
NDRF

Guwahati

Land Yet
acquired.

2.

02
NDRF

Haringhata,
WB (Distt.
Noida)

3.

03
NDRF

Mundali
(Orissa)

4.

04
NDRF

Arakkonam

5.

05
NDRF

Pune

6.

06
NDRF

Vadodara

7.

07
NDRF

Bhatinda

8.

08
NDRF

Ghaziabad

9.

09
NDRF

Bihta
(Patna)

10.

10
NDRF

Vijayawada
(AP)

to

Remarks
be Nil

Approx. 64.091 acres Digital survey has been carried out through
of land.
NBCC. Authorised infrastructures, shifting of
existing 132/33 KVA high tension lines and
development works yet to be done.
100 Acres
The construction works for Residential and
Non-residential building are in progress and
balance authorized infrastructure are yet to
be constructed.
105.91 Acres
Some residential and non residential
buildings have already been constructed
and balance infrastructures are yet to be
constructed.
Approx. 62.5 acres of Raising of basic infrastructure are in
land
progressive stage. Authorized infrastructures
as per approved DPR are yet to be
constructed.
Approx. 80.00 acres Raising of basic infrastructure are in
of land
progressive stage. Authorized infrastructures
as per approved DPR are yet to be
constructed.
Land yet to be Nil
acquired at Nurpur
(HP)
Approx. 75.13 acres Raising of basic infrastructure are in
of land.
progressive stage. Authorized infrastructures
as per approved DPR are yet to be
constructed.
Apprx. 74.47 acres of Raising of basic infrastructure are in
land.
progressive stage. Authorized infrastructures
as per approved DPR are yet to be
constructed.
50 acres of land has Digital survey of 50 acres of land has recently
been acquired and been completed through CPWD and after
balance land is yet to acquisition of balance land, authorized
be acquired.
infrastructure will be carried out.
139

Further, raising of two additional NDRF Bns has been approved by MHA, which are to be converted
from SSB and proposed to be located at Roorkee (Uttarakhand) and Mysore (Karnataka). To raise the
authorized infrastructure, MHA has approved DPR in terms of norms and scale of infrastructure
required for NDRF Bns. (Copy of approved DPR enclosed as Appendix.) The tentative cost involved for
construction of Office Building and Residential Buildings have been worked out as per approved DPR.

140

Annex-VII

List of Guidelines issued by NDMA

Description

Sr. No.

Guidelines On Management of Urban Flooding.

Guidelines On Role Of NGOs in Disaster Management.

Guidelines On Drought Management.

Guidelines for Management of Tsunamis.

Guidelines for National Policy on Disaster Management.

Guidelines for Minimum Standards of relief.

Guidelines for Management of Dead in the Aftermath of Disaster.

Guidelines for Mechanism to Detect, Prevent and Respond to Radiological Emergencies

in India.

Guidelines for Threats to Municipal Water Supply and Water Reservoirs.

10

Guidelines for Strengthening of safety and security for transportation of POL tankers.

11

Guidelines for Incident Response System.

12

Guidelines for Psycho-Social Support.

13

Guidelines for Chemical (Terrorism) Disaster.

14

Guidelines for Landslide Guidelines.

15

Guidelines for Disaster Response Training at the Centre & States.

141

16

Guidelines for Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies.

17

Guidelines for Biological Disaster.

18

Guidelines on Cyclones.

19

Guidelines on Pandemic Preparedness Beyond Health.

20

Guidelines on Flood.

21

Guidelines on Medical Preparedness and Mass Casualty Management.

22

Guidelines on Formulation of State DM Plans.

23

Guidelines on Chemical Disaster (Industrial).

24

Guidelines on Earthquakes.

25

Guidelines for Recommendation on Revamping of Civil Defence.

142