Amit Shah To Introduce Bill To Amend Disaster Management Act In Parliament Today

The primary objective behind introducing the bill is to create a “disaster database at national and State level” and make provision for constitution of “Urban Disaster Management Authority” for the state capitals and large cities with Municipal Corporations.

About the bill

• The importance of the bill lies in the creation of the extensive database that will encompass several variables including disaster assessment, fund allocation details, expenditure, preparedness and mitigation plan amongst several others.

• Amendment in the Disaster Management Act, 2005 is also expected to empower the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) to prepare disaster plan at the national level and State level respectively instead of the plans made by National Executive Committee and the State Executive Committees earlier. 

• It will also provide NDMA the authority to take stock of the entire range of disaster risks in the country periodically, including emerging disaster risks which includes “risks of those disasters that may not have taken place, but may occur in future owing to extreme climate events and other factors.”

• Furthermore, the bill will also provide a statutory status to certain pre-Act organisations such as the National Crisis Management Committee and the High-Level Committee.