Context:
The Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill, 2024, raises serious concerns. Instead of filling in the gaps in the Disaster Management Act (DMA), 2005, the Bill has removed scope for participatory governance, accountability, and efficiency from the Act.
Inconsistencies in the Bill
- The Bill employs top-down guarded terminology, such as ‘monitor’ and ‘guidelines’, which might have helped build trust and bonding with communities and local governments.
- The definitions of ‘hazard’, ‘resilience’, and ‘vulnerability’ are insignificant and do not recognize the functions of local communities, panchayats, wards, and NGOs in the management of disasters.
