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Little time to lose

India has over time been buffeted by disasters of various kinds and degrees, both natural and man-made. Yet it was the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004 that forced the country to initiate the process of putting in place a comprehensive disaster management and mitigation mechanism suited to the size, spread, and topographical diversity. Here, a serious beginning has been made but clearly much more remains to be done, especially at the level of individual States — and there is little time to lose. Parliament passed the Disaster Management Act in 2005, and a National Disaster Management Authority was constituted. The National Disaster Response Force, comprising 10,000 men, is undergoing training. While the primary responsibility for disaster management should rest with State Governments, much of the action so far, it appears, has taken place at the Central level. Since the passage of the Act, only four States — Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram and Goa — have constituted Disaster Management Authorities as required under it. In 13 States, structures with a similar role were already in place, but most of these need to be substantially reoriented and reconstituted to match the national template. Many States actually still follow outmoded `relief codes' formulated decades ago. A new road map needs to be drawn up to reappraise the mechanisms and institutionalise them.

The challenges are manifold. To start with, advance preventive measures to check the fallout of disasters need to be put in place. This calls for the creation of a database and mapping of disaster-prone areas, through the use of information technology tools and remote sensing capabilities. Effective multi-modal and multi-hazard early warning systems are essential. Not only should adequately trained swift response teams be kept in readiness but a programme of public education, including as part of the school curriculum, should be initiated. A paradigm shift in the approach to disaster management is needed. It has to be a multi-disciplinary process spanning different sectors of development, and tailored to the requirements of individual regions and States, with special emphasis on the needs of the poor and vulnerable sections of society. Development cannot be made sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into its very process.

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