Staying in a state of ever readiness

The twin cities, of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, were having a relatively quiet day when, all of a sudden, mobile phone alerts appeared in multiple languages, sent by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), apparently, as part of a nationwide testing exercise. City dwellers who received the messages became anxious, with the suspicious lot among them wondering whether a malware attack, or a phone hacking attempt, was happening on a large scale. They were, however, reassured when official sources confirmed that the messages were part of an NDMA exercise for Android phones. The exercise was by way for a rehearsal, for a natural disaster or an attack like situation which might happen in the future.

Readers will probably recall that an article, on the subject of Disaster Management (DM), had appeared earlier in this column. Still, the subject is considered important enough, from the point of view of public welfare and national security, to be revisited, albeit from a different point of view. An attempt is made in this article to take stock of the major achievements of the country in DM, to evaluate the country’s contribution to global developments in the field and see what India has, on the drawing board, by way of a vision for the future.

At the outset, I wish to express my sincere appreciation, of the ready and willing response of Kamal Kishore, Member, NDMA, to my request for input on recent developments on the subject. Extremely valuable information was provided at very short notice by this remarkable young man who, with his vast international experience, highly impressive academic credentials and deep interest in the subject, has been making a significant contribution to DM in the country.

The points made, and the views expressed, have benefitted from inputs obtained not only from the earlier article but also the points covered in the articles written by this columnist earlier, for the ‘Parliamentarian’ magazine, and the ‘The Journal of Governance’ of the Initiative of Change (IC) Centre for Governance, New Delhi.

The preparation of the National Disaster Management Plan, released by the Prime Minister of India in 2016, was a major milestone in the history of DM in the country. Revised in the year 2019, it provided a framework for covering all aspects of the DM Cycle, such as risk reduction, mitigation, preparedness, response, recovery and better reconstruction. It also recognised that effective DM necessitated a comprehensive framework encompassing multiple hazards.

A clear signal, of enormous significance, that members of the G20 group had recognised the importance of comprehensive strategies to make countries disaster resilient, was emerged from the proceedings of G20 meetings in India under India’s Presidency. As a part of that exercise, a Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) working group had been constituted, which held three meetings, the final one being in Chennai, in July this year.

One notes, at the outset, that among the many major accomplishments of the country, in the field of DM, has been the ability to reduce loss of lives on account of disasters, substantial improvement in harnessing modern technology and increasing the penetration of Early Warning Systems (EWS), significantly enhancing public awareness. There has also been the satisfaction of creating greater local capacity and promoting use of volunteerism. Other notable achievements include acquiring the ability to prepare improved and easily accessed disaster risk maps and promoting professionalisation in the field, resulting in more than two dozen institutions offering higher degree courses in DRM. Staying in a state of readiness to embrace emerging technologies, and investing substantially in social protection, for those who are most vulnerable to disasters, through measures such as providing insurance cover for loss of lives as well as property and direct benefit transfer, also were welcome fallout. An emphasis on putting in place resilient infrastructure has also provided satisfactory results.

Realising that the impressive progress made by the system, over the last several decades, notwithstanding, the contribution to the field of DM by institutions and individuals had not received recognition proportionate to its magnitude and value, the government of India in October 2018, instituted the Subash Chandra Bose Aapada Prabandhan Puraskar. Instituted in the name of the great freedom fighter and firebrand rebel of the Indian Independence movement, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, the award was expected to instill a sense of courage, determination and persistence, in the thousands of selfless individuals, and institutions, working towards securing safety, and protection, to the lives and livelihoods of the people of the country. It was also the first of its kind in the area and clearly showed that DM had now become a cornerstone of national development priorities.

The country has also made significant and substantial contributions to global effort in the field of DRM. The India-led ‘Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure’, for example, has 36 members from across the world. The ‘Tsunami Early Warning System for the Indian Ocean Rim Countries’ of the Hyderabad-based ‘Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information Services’ (INCOIS), serves not only India but two dozen other countries as well. In a major international initiative in the field of DM, India has hosted bilateral exercises with countries belonging to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) and The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). India can also proudly claim to have deployed its National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to other countries such as Japan in 2011 after the Fukushima disaster and Nepal in 2015 for rescue operations. Another feather in the cap for the country has been the launching of the South Asia, Geo-Stationary Communication Satellite in 2017 to help improve communications, weather forecasting etc., among the South Asian countries.

The Prime Minister of India, in 2016, at the Asian Ministerial Conference on DRR, outlined a 10-point agenda of national and global action on DRM. While considerable progress has been registered to build on the takeaways from that conference, there is still a long way to go. Especially if the targets India has accepted under the Sendai Framework for DRR are to be achieved.

The important thing to remember, in DM strategies, is that those that are most vulnerable to disasters and, therefore, need the greatest protection, are given priority, in the plans and their implementation. In that context, the acceptance by the Government of India of the recommendations of the 15th Finance Commission has opened up unparalleled opportunities for comprehensive action. Taking that historic decision forward will require massive people’s participation or true ‘Jan Bhagedari’!

An amusing anecdote to end this rather serious discussion.

G. K. Chesterton, the legendary philosopher, writer and art critic was a tall and burly man. He once remarked to his good friend, the somewhat lean and hungry looking George Bernard Shaw, “To look at you, anyone would think a famine has struck England.” The irrepressible Shaw retorted, “To look at you, anyone would think you had caused it.”

(The writer is formerly Chief Secretary, Government of Andhra Pradesh)