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Informist, Tuesday, Mar. 25, 2025

NEW DELHI – The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to create a disaster database at national and state levels, and provide for the constitution of an Urban Disaster Management Authority for state capitals and large cities having municipal corporations. The bill aims to amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which was enacted to provide for effective management of disasters and related matters.

While responding to discussion in the upper house, Home Minister Amit Shah said the government intends to go from a reactive approach to proactive risk reduction through the this bill. He said the government want to move towards the artificial intelligence based real time monitoring of disasters and also want to move towards social media and mobile applications for announcements.

During the discussion, Communist Party of India member Sandosh Kumar P. demanded that the bill be sent to a joint parliamentary committee for wider scrutiny. He also pointed that the bill doesn't clarify the criteria for declaring a disaster national or serious.

The Lok Sabha had passed the bill on Dec. 12. The bill seeks to mainstream disaster management in development plans, aligning with the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission. The Bill also seeks to provide immunity to officers involved in disaster management from any legal proceedings while discharging their functions.

"Due to the constant endeavour of the Central Government for mainstreaming the Disaster Management in the development plans, aligning with the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission, learnings from past disasters, and experience gained during the implementation of the Act, the Disaster Management Act, 2005 has been reviewed in consultation with all stakeholders including State Governments. In view of above, it has become necessary to amend certain provisions of the Act in the form of a Bill, namely, the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill," Home Minister Amit Shah said in the Statement of Objects and Reasons of the bill.

The bill also stated that the disaster database will include details on disaster assessment, fund allocation, expenditure, preparedness and mitigation plan, risk register according to type and severity of risk and such other relevant matters, in accordance with such policy, as may be determined by the Union government. The database authority will be mandated to conduct periodic assessments of the full range of disaster risks in the country, including emerging risks that may occur due to extreme climate events and other factors. End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh and Shahid K. Abbas

Edited by Akul Nishant Akhoury

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