Administrative Reforms Commission- 3 rd Report

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS:



1. Constitutional provision - Is there need for a separate entry (Para 4.1.5)

a. A new entry, "Management of Disasters and Emergencies, natural or man- made", may be included in List III (Concurrent List) of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.



2. Analysis of the Disaster Management Act, 2005: (Para 4.2.3.5 )

The Disaster Management Act, 2005 (Central Act) needs to be amended to bring in the following features:

a. Disaster /Crisis Management should continue to be the primary

responsibility of the State Governments and the Union Government

should play a supportive role.

b. The Act should provide categorization of disasters (say, local, district,

state or national level). This categorization along with intensity of each type of disaster will help in determining the level of authority primarily responsible for dealing with the disaster as well as the scale of response - detailed guidelines may be stipulated by the NDMA on this subject.

c. The functions of the National Disaster Management Authority should

be: to recommend policies, to lay down guidelines for preparation of

different disaster management plans and standard operating procedures; to promote and organize vulnerability studies, research and evaluation; to advise on parameters of categorization and on declaration of national and state disasters; to develop expertise and knowledge in the field of crisis/disaster management and disseminate to the field, to develop and organize training and capacity building programmes, to coordinate the early warning system and deploy specialized manpower and machinery in support of local/state governments, where required; to advise on the constitution and use of the Disaster Management Funds; and to give recommendations on all matters relating to crisis/disaster management to the government

d. The task of implementation of mitigation/prevention and response

measures may be left to the State Governments and the district and local

authorities with the line ministries/departments of Government of India,

playing a supportive role.

e. The law should cast a duty on every public functionary, to promptly inform

the concerned authority about any crisis, if he/she feels that such authority

does not have such information.

f. The law should create a uniform structure at the apex level to handle all

crises. Such a structure may be headed by the Prime Minister at the national

level and the Chief Minister at the state level. At the administrative level,

the structure is appropriately headed by the Cabinet Secretary and the

Chief Secretary respectively.

g. The law should make provisions for stringent punishment for

misutilization of funds meant for crisis/disaster management.

h. The role of the local governments should be brought to the forefront for

crisis/disaster management.

i. The NEC as stipulated under the Disaster Management Act need not be

constituted, and the NCMC should continue to be the apex coordination

body. At the state level, the existing coordination mechanism under the

Chief Secretary should continue (refer para 4.3.3).

j. Since all sections of the Act have not been notified, it is suggested that the

above amendments be carried out without further delay. Meanwhile, except

for those sections for which amendments are suggested, the others can be

notified straightway so that the law can be brought into effect.

3. Coordination at the Apex Operational Level: (Para 4.3.3.3)

a. There is no need for a separate ministry/department of disaster

management at the national or the state level.

b. The NEC as stipulated under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 need

not be constituted, and the NCMC can continue to be the apex coordination

body. At the state level, the existing coordination mechanism under the

Chief Secretary may continue.

c. Notwithstanding the establishment of NDRF, the role of the Armed Forces,

particularly the Army, in coming to the aid of victims of disasters should be retained and the special capabilities acquired by the Armed Forces in

search and rescue and on-the spot medical attention need to be maintained.



4. Role of Local Self-Governments: (Para 4.3.4.2)



a. State Governments may examine the need to incorporate provisions in

the state disaster management law and also the state laws governing local

bodies to provide for a well defined role to the municipal bodies and

panchayat raj institutions.



5. Crisis Management Set Up for Metropolitan Cities: (Para 4.3.5.2 )


a. In larger cities (say, with population exceeding 2.5 million), the Mayor, assisted by the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation and the Police Commissioner should be directly responsible for Crisis Management.


6. Creation of Legal and Institutional Framework for Managing Floods in Inter-State Rivers: (Para 4.3.8.2)



a. Using powers under Entry 56 in the Union List, a Law may be enacted to set up mechanisms for collection of data, managing flow in rivers and release of water from reservoirs, so as to prevent disasters, with inter- state ramifications.



7. Empowering the Relief Commissioners/Disaster Management Departments to

Effectively Discharge Disaster Related Responsibilities: (Para 4.3.9.2 )

a. The State Disaster Management organisations need to be strengthened for dealing with crises. This could be achieved in the following manner:

(i) A framework should be in readiness to be put in place immediately

during crisis or on fulfillment of some pre-arranged scenarios - the

'trigger mechanism' needs to be well defined to ensure that the

'framework' is put in active operation instantaneously.

(ii) The 'framework' may consist of officers (designated by name) drawn

from Revenue, Police, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, Public Health

Engineering, Water Resources, Women & Child Development,

Welfare, Public Works, Highways, Irrigation, Health, and Treasury

& Accounts Departments. The designated officers must undergo a

week's orientation every year, though they may continue to discharge their normal departmental responsibilities except when seconded to the nodal point in the manner suggested above.

(iii) The designated officers will work as a cohesive integrated team under one roof on whole-time basis during crisis situations, under the

leadership of the nodal officer and be responsible entirely for the

functioning of their department insofar as it relates to drought/

disaster management.

(iv) The role and responsibility of each department needs to be

specifically identified and defined on the lines the Ministry of

Agriculture has specified the responsibilities of various Union

Government agencies during severe droughts.

(v) The designated departmental officer should be delegated powers

and responsibilities defined in advance and will deal with other

departmental functionaries directly.

8. Institutional Support from Science and Technology Institutions to Disaster Management: (Para 4.3.10.3)

a. The National Disaster Management Authority, assisted by NIDM, may

facilitate a common platform between the Science and Technology

organizations and the users of the technologies. Such a mechanism may

be operationalised both at the Union and State levels.

9. Strengthening of National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM): (Para 4.3.11.2)

a. NIDM may continue as an autonomous body and function as an apex

professional institution in disaster management. In addition to research

and studies, the institution needs to engage itself in documenting and

disseminating global and national best practices and in developing

planning, training and evaluation methodologies.

10. Professionalization of Disaster Management: (Para 4.3.12.3)

a. 'Disaster Management' as a body of knowledge should be introduced as a

subject in Management and Public Administration. The University Grants

Commission may initiate the process to see how best this can be

implemented in selected Universities.



b. The possibility of bilateral agreements with foreign governments and

international institutions dealing with different aspects of disaster

management, for exchange of experiences and learning from their

documentation and research efforts may be explored.



11. Enunciating a Policy Towards Crisis Management Which Emphasizes Risk Reduction: (Para 5.2.3) There is need to have a National Policy on Disaster Management. The policy must address all issues not included in legislations and may, in particular include the following:

a. Disaster Management to be professionalized.

b. Risk management to be brought to the centre stage in all disaster mitigation plans.

c. All efforts for disaster management to be based on hazard and vulnerability analysis.

d. Communities and local governments to be made aware of the hazards

and the vulnerabilities.

e. Communities and local governments to be involved in formulating disaster management plans.

f. The primary responsibility for disaster management to be that of the State Government, with the Union Government playing a supportive role.

g. Effective implementation of land use laws, building byelaws, safety laws and environmental laws.

h. Setting up a framework to coordinate the responses from different sections like donors, voluntary organisations, corporate bodies etc.

i. Special needs of women, children, elderly and physically challenged

persons to be addressed.



12. Assessment of Risk - Hazard and Vulnerability Analysis: (Para 5.3.8)

a. Hazard and vulnerability analyses should be made an essential component of all crisis/disaster mitigation plans.

b. Priority should be given to seismic micro-zonation of vulnerable major cities, hazard prone areas, and urban agglomerations in a scale of 1:1000 in Zones V and IV, with topmost priority being given to cities with population of more than one million.

c. Geographical Information System tools should be used to integrate spatial

data such as topography, hydrology, land use, land cover, settlement pattern

and built structure as well as non-spatial data such as demography, socio-

economic conditions and infrastructure in a common platform. This

should be integrated with satellite and aerospace data as well as data from

Geographical Positioning Systems for real time monitoring of crisis

situations and for scientific assessment of damages.

d. Scientific, technological and research organizations such as NRSA, ISRO,

NIC, GSI and NIDM should be brought on a common platform by NDMA

for developing a sound information base for crisis management. This

exercise should generate base hazard maps for district and sub-district

levels and should be completed by the end of Eleventh Plan. Till such

time the GIS based hazard maps are prepared, the conventional maps

have to be used. These maps should form the basis for hazard analysis.

e. A detailed vulnerability analysis should be carried out in all hazard prone

areas. Such an analysis would prioritize the areas in order of vulnerability;

it should also highlight the vulnerability of different sections of society

and infrastructure.

13. Generating Awareness about Risk: (Para 5.4.4)

a. Awareness generation programmes should be undertaken using tools of

social marketing.

b. A responsible media, which is also well informed about all aspects of

disaster, is a very powerful tool for sensitizing people. Proactive disclosures

about all aspects of disaster management would build a healthy

relationship between the media and disaster management agencies.

c. Details of past accidents and disasters and the lessons learnt, should be

documented and kept in the public domain. The Disaster Management

Authorities have to take up this task.

14. Preparation of Disaster Management Plans: (Para 5.5.9)

a. Crisis/disaster management plans as stipulated under the Disaster

Management Act, 2005 should be prepared, based on hazard and

vulnerability analysis. The off site emergency plans, in case of industrial

hazards, should be integrated into the District Crisis/Disaster Management Plan. The State Disaster Management Authorities should set up a mechanism in place to evaluate these plans periodically, and ensure the effectiveness of the plans.

b. The District Disaster Management Plan needs to have two components:

i. Long Term Mitigation Plan.

ii. Emergency Response Plan.

The Long Term Mitigation Plan, in turn, should have the following components:

i. Long Term Development Plan.

ii. Long Term Enforcement Plan.

Annual plans should be culled out of the Long Term Development/ Enforcement Plans. State Governments must evolve a mechanism for speedily scrutinizing district level long term plans to harmonize these with similar plans for other districts, particularly those located contiguously.

c. The quality of on-site and off-site emergency plans in hazardous industrial

units need to be enhanced in terms of completeness and practicability of

implementation considering the ground level situation. The State Disaster

Management Authorities should set up a mechanism in place to evaluate

these plans periodically.

d. The plan should be prepared in consultation with all role players. Each

role player should understand and accept his/her roles. This would require

awareness campaigns, especially for the community.

e. For ensuring quality of on-site and off-site emergency plans (for hazardous

units), the professional expertise available, both in industry, and in

enforcement agencies such as the Factory Inspectorates should be

improved.

f. All crisis/disaster management plans should be tested periodically through

mock drills.

g. It should be the responsibility of the state level 'nodal department' to

ensure that adequate assistance is available at the district level for drawing

up and periodically updating the plans. The nodal department must engage

agencies and experts on a continuing basis to examine the plans and bring

methodological and substantive deficiencies to the notice of agencies

formulating the plans.

h. The same principles would apply to plan at other levels.



15. Making Crisis/Disaster Management Plans a Part of Development Plans: (Para 5.6.3)

a. The activities in the disaster management plans should be included in

the development plans of the line agencies and the authorities like

panchayats and municipal bodies.

b. The supervisory level of each agency should ensure that the annual plan

of that agency incorporates the activities listed out in the disaster

management plan on a priority basis.

c. Incorporation of disaster mitigation plans into the development plans

should be specially monitored at the five-year and annual plan discussions

at State and Union (Planning Commission) levels. The Planning

Commission, State Planning Boards and Planning Departments must

revise on priority basis the proforma for formulating plan proposals to

ensure that the process adequately takes into account the disaster

prevention concerns.



16. Instruments for Mitigation of Hazards: (Para 5.7.1.2)

a. Environment management should be made an integral part of all development and disaster management plans.



17. Construction of Disaster Resistant Structures: (Para 5.7.2.3.13)



a. Structural prevention measures should be a part of long term disaster

management plan for an area.

b. Appropriate Zoning Regulations need to be extended to all areas. Phasing

of the areas to be covered should be done based on the intensity of the

hazard anticipated. This would require strengthening of the Town and

Country Planning Departments of State Governments. Local bodies can

be given financial incentives for preparation of Zoning Regulations. The

hazard zonation maps prepared should be one of the inputs for preparation

of Zoning Regulations.



c. Building byelaws should incorporate the disaster resistant features of

buildings. Since safety codes are complex and technical, it is necessary to

issue simplified guidelines which could be understood by the citizens.

Further, these codes should be implemented in the most hazard prone

areas, on priority.

d. The importance of disaster resistant constructions and simplified safety

guidelines should be widely disseminated so as to promote compliance.

In so far as the rural areas are concerned, other methods of dissemination

including setting up of Building Technology Demonstration Centres and

undertaking demonstrative disaster constructions in severe hazard prone

areas should be taken up. Demonstration camps should also be used to

make the people aware of the concerns and the solutions.

e. The existing system of enforcement of building regulations needs to be

revised. It should be professionalised by licensing architects and structural

engineers for assessment of structures and certification of safe buildings.

The units of local bodies dealing with enforcement of building byelaws

and zoning regulations also need to be strengthened.

f. The standards prescribed by BIS for disaster resistant buildings should

be available in the public domain, free of cost. This should be posted on

websites of the concerned government agencies to promote compliance.

g. Among the existing buildings, government buildings used by the public

should be evaluated and retrofitted first, giving preference to buildings

housing essential services. It would be advisable to fix a schedule for all

such buildings in hazard prone areas. Private buildings used by the public

should also be tackled on priority. A mix of regulatory and financial

incentives could be used for this purpose by the local bodies.

h. All these measures should become an integral part of long term disaster/

crisis management plans.



18. Effective Implementation of Laws and Regulations: (Para 5.7.3.2)

a. Effective enforcement of laws on encroachments, public health and safety,

industrial safety, fire hazards, safety at public places should be ensured.

The same applies to Zoning Regulations and Building Byelaws.

b. Third party audit of all major alleged violations needs to be introduced in

the respective regulation governing the activity.

c. All records pertaining to permissions/licenses should be brought in the

public domain suo motu.

d. There should be periodic inspections of all such places/facilities by a team

of stakeholders assisted by experts.

e. A scheme for enforcement of laws should be part of the long term

mitigation plan.

f. Public education on consequences of violations is important.



19. Early Warning Systems: (Para 5.8.3)

a. Though it is the responsibility of the government machinery and the local

bodies to disseminate the warning, peoples' participation has to be enlisted.

For this purpose, the role of community leaders, NGOs and others should

be clearly defined in the emergency response plan and they should be

fully trained and prepared for their respective roles.

b. Communications networks, with sufficient redundancies should be

established between the data collection point to the points where hazard

is likely to occur. The communication channels from the point of alert

generation to the point of disaster should have enough redundancies so

as to maintain line of communication in the event of a disaster striking.

Care has to be taken to put in place systems to disseminate warnings to all

sections of the people.

c. The early warning system should be evaluated after each disaster to carry

out further improvements.



20. Building Community Resilience: (Para 5.9.2)

a. Location specific training programmes for the community should be

executed through the panchayats.

b. Crisis management awareness needs to be mainstreamed in education.

For the purpose, an appropriate component of disaster awareness should

be introduced in school, college, university, professional and vocational

education.

c. Disaster awareness should be included in training programmes for elected

leaders, civil servants, police personnel, and personnel in critical sectors

such as revenue, agriculture, irrigation, health and public works.

d. Orientation and sensitization programmes highlighting issues and concerns

in disaster management should be taken up for legislators, policy makers,

and elected leaders of urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions.

e. NIDM and NDMA would have to play a vital role in working out the

details of these suggestions for implementation by different authorities.



21. Financial Tools for Risk-Reduction: (Para 5.10.4)

a. Government and the insurance companies should play a more pro-active

role in motivating citizens in vulnerable areas to take insurance cover.

This could be done through suitably designed insurance policies, if

required, with part funding from government. NDMA could play a major

facilitating role in this area.



22. Research and Use of Knowledge: (Para 5.11.4)

a. NIDM should develop methodologies for effective dissemination of

knowledge on disaster management.

b. Disaster management plans should attempt to integrate traditional

knowledge available with the communities.

c. NIDM should coordinate with research institutions and universities on

the one hand and field functionaries on the other and identify areas where

research is required.

d. It may be ensured that the IDRN network is updated regularly.



23. Emergency Plan: (Para 6.1.6)

a. Since the initial response in any crisis/disaster should be timely and speedy,

the Emergency Response Plans should be up-to-date and should lay down

the 'trigger points' in unambiguous terms.

b. The district emergency response plan should be prepared in consultation

with all concerned. The plan should be known and accepted by all the

role players. (This should be apart of the District Disaster Management

Plan).

c. Standard operating procedures should be developed for each disaster at

the district and community level, keeping in mind the disaster vulnerability

of the area. Disaster management plans at all levels should have handbooks,

checklists, manuals with precise instructions for disaster management

personnel, search and rescue teams, and Emergency Operations Centres.

d. Unity of command should be the underlying principle for effective rescue

operations. For example, in a district, all agencies of Union and State

Government have to work under the leadership of the Collector. Such

unity of command principle should pervade at all field levels.

e. The plan should be validated annually through mock drills and should

be backed up by capability building efforts.

f. Any plan would have its limitations as each crisis situation would vary

from another. Plans are, therefore, no substitute for sound judgement at

the time of crisis.

g. Handling of crisis should be made a parameter for evaluating the

performance of officers.

h. These principles apply to plans at other levels and also in case of

metropolitan cities.



24. Coordinating Relief: (Para 6.2.6)

a. Effective coordination is essential at the district and sub-district levels for

rescue/relief operations and to ensure proper receipt and provision of

relief. During rescue and relief operations, unity of command should be

ensured with the Collector in total command.

b. In order to avoid mismatch between demand and supply, the demand

should be assessed immediately and communicated to all concerned

including through the media, so that the relief provisions are provided as

per requirements.

c. Ensuring safe drinking water and sanitized living conditions should receive

as much a priority as other basic means of livelihood.

d. All procurement and distribution of relief materials should be done in a

transparent manner.

e. Monitoring and vigilance committees should be set up involving the

stakeholders. These committees could also look into grievances.

f. Trauma care and counselling should be made an integral part of the relief

operations.

g. There is urgent need to evolve objective methods of assessing the damage

so that there are no allegations of bias, distortions, exaggeration or arbitrary

scaling down. Satellite imagery could be used as a tool to validate the

reported damages. NDMA should be requested to draw up the necessary

detailed guidelines for assessment, to be followed by all authorities.



25. Civil Defence: (Para 6.3.1.13)

a. The Civil Defence Act should be amended as proposed so as to cover all

types of disasters.

b. Civil Defence should be constituted in all districts which are vulnerable

not only to hostile attacks but also to natural calamities. The goal of

community participation should be pursued primarily through the

instrumentality of Civil Defence especially in urban areas.

c. The objective should be to include 1% of the population within the fold

of Civil Defence within five years. Efforts should be made to enlist paramedics

as Civil Defence volunteers.

d. Budgetary allocations relating to Central Financial Assistance for Civil

Defence should be increased substantially.

e. Civil Defence set-ups at all levels should be permitted to accept donations.

f. The Civil Defence set-up at the state level may be brought under the

control of the Crisis/Disaster Management set-up.



26. Police, Home Guards and Fire Services: (Para 6.3.2.11)

a. Policemen, Firemen and the Home Guards at the field level who are

among the first responders should be adequately trained in handling crises/

disasters. Such training should be specific to the types of crises envisaged

in an area. More importantly, they should be fully involved in the

preparation of the local Crisis/Disaster Management Plan and also be fully

conversant with them.

b. The minimum qualification for entry to Home Guards may be revised to

at least a pass in the 10 th class, given the increased responsibility and

complexity of tasks to be entrusted to them.

c. A section of Home Guards should also be given para-medical training.

d. Fire Services should more appropriately be renamed as Fire and Rescue

Services with an enhanced role to respond to various types of crises.

e. While in the long run, it would be desirable to place the Fire Services

under the control of all municipal bodies, as a first step, this may be done

in bigger cities (population exceeding 2.5 million). In the remaining parts

of the state, the Fire Services should be organized as a department but

within a district, full operational control should be given to the District

Crisis/Disaster Management Authority. Transfer of these services to

municipal authorities should be accompanied by transfer of commensurate

financial resources.

f. Only persons with expertise in crisis/disaster management should be

inducted into the top management of the Fire (and Rescue) Services.

g. Fire and Rescue Services should be brought under the control of the State

Crisis/Disaster Management set up under the Disaster Management Law.

h. The NDMA may be requested to suggest model provisions regarding these

services for inclusion in the Disaster Management Act/s.



27. Setting-up Integrated Emergency Operations Centre (EOC): (Para 6.4.2)

a. While it is necessary that each nodal ministry handling crisis has an EOC,

it is clearly desirable to have an integrated National Emergency Operation

Centre for all types of crises. 'Subject-matter specific' Ministries/

Departments should deploy representatives in this Centre which must be

networked with all other EOCs and control rooms.



28. Organising Emergency Medical Relief: (Para 6.5.7)

a. An institutional arrangement to attend to medical emergencies is required

to be put in place.

b. Access to this system should be facilitated by having an identical telephone

number throughout the country.

c. This arrangement envisages involvement of the private hospitals. The

enunciation of the role of various role players may be through legislation.



29. Relief and Rehabilitation: (Para 7.1.12 )

a. Damage assessment should be carried out by multi-disciplinary teams in

a transparent and participatory manner in accordance with guidelines

laid down by NDMA. (refer para 6.2.6 g).

b. The efforts of NGOs and other groups have to be coordinated with

government activities at the district and state levels.

c. A recovery strategy should be evolved in consultation with the affected

people and concerned agencies and organisations. The recovery strategy

should include all aspects of rehabilitation - social, economic and

psychological.

d. Minimum standards of relief should be developed to address the

requirements of food, health, water and sanitation shelter requirements.

Focus should be placed on the special needs of the vulnerable population

that is, children, women, the elderly and the physically challenged.

e. Implementation of the rehabilitation efforts should be carried out by the

village panchayats/local bodies. The first priority should be to get the

beneficiary oriented works executed through the beneficiaries themselves.

f. Concurrent monitoring and a quick financial audit should be carried out

to prevent misuse of funds.

g. Risk reduction aspects should be incorporated into the recovery plans.

Land use plans which ensure safety of the inhabitants should be brought

into effect during reconstruction.

h. All new civil constructions should mandatorily be made disaster resistant

as per prescribed standards.

i. A mechanism for redressal of grievances should be established at the local

and district levels.

j. For all major disasters, NIDM should conduct a detailed evaluation exercise

through independent professional agencies.



30. Revisiting the Financial Procedures: (Para 7.2.6)

a. Both the funds (National Disaster Mitigation Fund and the National

Disaster Response Fund) may be operationalised from April 1, 2007 with

an initial annual contribution of Rs. 5000 crores each from the Government

of India. This would be in addition to CRF and NCCF for the present. The

CRF and NCCF would cease to exist at the end of the award period of the

Twelfth Finance Commission.

b. NDMA may recommend to Government of India the quantum and criteria

of assistance and conditions of release from the two new funds as well as

manner of replenishment of these funds from different sources.

c. A system of compiling accounts for each calamity separately with reference

to each head of relief expenditure should be initiated. The Comptroller

and Auditor General of India may consider laying down a standardized

format in this regard.

d. Accounts as above may be available on the website of the state level nodal

agency at such intervals as may be laid down.

e. The basis for calculation of assistance from the funds should be available

on appropriate websites.



31. Gender Issues and Vulnerability of Weaker Sections: (Para 8.3)

a. The vulnerability analysis should bring out the specific vulnerabilities of

women and these should be addressed in any mitigation effort. Disaster

mitigation plans should be prepared, in consultation with women's groups.

Similar steps should be taken for other vulnerable groups.

b. Rescue and relief operations should focus on the most vulnerable groupswomen,

children, the elderly and the physically challenged.

c. Relief measures should take into account the special requirements of

women and other vulnerable groups. Particular attention needs to be given

to their physical and mental well being through health care and counselling.

d. In the recovery phase, efforts should focus on making women economically

independent by offering them opportunities of earning incomes; providing

training in new skills, forming self-help groups and providing microfinance,

marketing facilities etc.

e. The title of new assets created should be in the names of both husband

and wife.

f. Camp managing committees should have adequate number of women

representatives.

g. Trauma counselling and psychological care should be provided to widows

and women and other persons in distress. These activities should form

part of the disaster management plan.

h. Arrangements have to be made for orphaned children on a long term

basis. NGOs should be encouraged to play a major role in their

rehabilitation.



32. Revisiting Long Term Interventions (Droughts): (Para 9.2.5)

a. A National Institute of Drought Management may be set up for networking

on multi-disciplinary, cross-sectoral research on various aspects of drought,

acting as a resource centre on droughts and carrying out impact evaluation

studies of the drought management efforts. It needs to be ensured that

the mandate and agenda of this proposed institute does not duplicate the

efforts of the National Institute of Disaster Management.



33. Livelihood Management in Extremely Drought Prone Areas: (Para 9.3.2)

a. A strategy for making people pursue livelihoods compatible with their

ecosystems needs to be evolved. Some concrete steps in this direction

could be:

(i) A multi-disciplinary team needs to be immediately constituted by

the Ministry of Environment and Forests to specifically identify

villages where soil and climatic conditions make 'conventional

agriculture' unsustainable.

(ii) Alternate means of livelihood have to be evolved in consultation

with the communities, in such areas.



34. Codifications of Management Methodologies: (Para 9.4.3)

(i) State Governments need to rewrite the Relief 'Manuals' thoroughly

in the light of recent developments including inputs from the NDMA

and their own experience and update them once in a few years.

(ii) Ministry of Science and Technology may compile from time to time

a document incorporating details of available scientific and technical

inputs/facilities for detecting the onset and progress of drought;

and inter-face between scientific and technical organizations with

disaster management agencies of the Union and State Governments.



35. Rationalization of Drought Declarations: (Para 9.5.2)

The method and mechanism of declaration of droughts needs to be modified under

the guidance of NDMA. While it is for the State Governments to work out the

modalities keeping in view the peculiarities of their agro-climatic conditions, the

Commission recommends that the modified mechanism may incorporate the following

broad guiding principles:

(a) Where a certain percentage (say, twenty per cent) of area normally

cultivated remains unsown till the end of July or December for Kharif

and Rabi respectively, the affected Tehsil/Taluka/Mandal could be declared

drought affected by the government.

(b) To begin with, 'eye estimates' could be used. Such estimates may be verified

with reference to remote sensing data as access to such facilities improves

progressively. The ultimate objective should be to use remote sensing as

the primary tool of early detection of droughts with 'eye estimates'

remaining only as 'secondary verifying methods'.



36. Deployment of Remote Sensing for Diagnosis and Prognosis of Drought Situations:(Para 9.6.3)

a. Deployment of remote sensing as the primary tool for diagnosing droughts,

monitoring their course and forecasting prognosis is a goal that needs to

be pursued speedily and systematically. This would require dovetailing

remote sensing into the routine framework of drought management. This

could be best achieved through establishment of an NRSA cell in identified

drought prone districts. The activities of the NRSA cells in the districts

must include monitoring of other disasters as well.



37. Making Rivers Perennial: (Para 9.7.4 )

a. Technical agencies under the Ministries of Water Resources, Environment

and Forests and Science and Technology must immediately carry out river

specific feasibility studies to determine the ecological and hydrological

implications of making seasonal rivers perennial.



38. Rainfed Areas Authority: (Para 9.8.2 )

a. A National Rainfed Areas Authority may be constituted immediately. The

Authority can deal inter alia, with all the issues of drought management

mentioned in this chapter.



39. Epidemics: (Para 10.1.12)

(i) To more effectively prevent outbreak/spread of epidemics, it is imperative

that a comprehensive revised 'model' legislation on public health is

finalized at an early date and that the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

systematically pursues its enactment by the states with adaptations

necessitated by local requirements.

(ii) The Union legislation governing Public Health Emergencies be introduced

for final consideration in the light of feedback received from the states at

an early date.

(iii) Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has to ensure that requisite plans

envisaged under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, are drawn up in

respect of epidemics also and that the role of the district administration

finds explicit mention in the Public Health Emergency Bill. The structure

created by the Disaster Management Act, 2005, should be utilized for

managing epidemics also.

(iv) While surveillance and management of epidemics are the responsibilities

of public health professionals, it is clear that a particularly severe outbreak

could overwhelm the capacities of the 'line organisations'. The Ministry

of Health and Family Welfare and the State Governments must ensure

that 'standard operating procedures' are devised to assign roles and

responsibilities of agencies and personnel outside the line organizations

wherever a situation so warrants.

(v) State level handbooks and manuals concerning disaster management

should have a chapter on "epidemics-related emergencies". A model

chapter may be circulated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare

for guidance of states. It may be useful to document the past handling of

epidemics like the Plague (Surat) and Japanese encephalitis (Eastern UP)

to facilitate standardization of response mechanisms.



40. Disruption of Essential Services: (Para 10.2.2)

(i) All crisis/disaster management plans should include plans for handling

possible disruptions in essential services.

(ii) All agencies/organizations engaged in the supply of essential services

should have their own internal crisis management plans to deal with

emergencies.

(iii) The regulatory authorities of the respective sectors may lay down the

required framework for drawing up standard operating procedures and

crisis management plans.