The national disaster management plan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is something that the country needs. The vision behind the plan is to create a disaster-resilient India to reduce risk, loses, environmental damage and maximize the ability to cope with disasters. The plan deals with all cycles of disaster management “ prevention, mitigation, response and recovery. The question is how much weightage will be given to prevention? A close examination of the 2013 Uttarakhand flash flood which claimed over 5,000 lives and the 2015 Chennai floods reveals that rampant illegal constructions along river banks and filling of water
bodies contributed to the damage and loss of life. Planning for
possible disasters is important, but a national disaster management
plan would make sense only if it imposes certain restrictions
on State governments and local bodies just like the
coastal regulation zone rules. So far the national disaster plan
is replete with good intentions, but for it to become an effective
instrument a comprehensive set of laws and rules will have to
be formulated. Without teeth even the best plan will remain
only on paper. Having laid down the ground rules and formulated
the basic framework for managing disasters, the Centre
must now work on implementation.
