Situation Analysis

The Indian sub continent is highly prone to natural disasters. Floods, droughts, cyclones and earthquakes are a recurrent phenomenon in India. Susceptibility to disasters is compounded by frequent occurrences of manmade disasters such as fire, epidemics etc. Between 1988 and 1997, disasters killed 5,116 people and affected 24.79 million every year. The changing topography due to environmental degradation has also increased the vulnerability of the country. In 1988, 11.2 % of total land area was flood prone, but in 1998 floods inundated 37% geographical area. Two major disasters that India has experienced in the recent past are the Super cyclone in Orissa (1999) and the Earthquake in Gujarat (2001). Frequent disasters lead to erosion of development gains and restricted options for the disaster victims. Physical safety—especially that of the vulnerable groups—is routinely threatened by hazards. These two major disasters have very clearly illustrated that we need multi-hazard prevention, response and recovery plans for natural hazards so that threat to human life and property is minimized. Disaster risk management is essentially a development problem and thus any preparedness and mitigation planning will have to be taken up in tandem with environmental concerns that the country is facing today. The Government of India has set up a National Committee on Disaster Management (NCDM) under the Chairmanship of the Prime Minister. The recommendations of this National Committee would form the basis of national disaster risk management programme and strengthening the natural disaster management and response mechanisms. The High Powered Committee [HPC] on Disaster Management was earlier constituted in August 1999. The mandate of the HPC was to prepare Disaster Management Plans at National, State and District level and also suggest strengthening of existing arrangements. The recommendations of the HPC relating to the distribution of relief and human resource development that primarily concerns the States have been communicated to the States for appropriate action. The Ministry of Home Affairs in the National Government is the new nodal ministry for disaster management.Disaster management is deemed to be a ‘state subject’ and different states have initiated efforts to strengthen their agencies responsible for disaster management. Orissa State Disaster Mitigation Authority (OSDMA) and Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority (GSDMA) were constituted after two major disasters that the respective states experienced.

They are autonomous agencies of the respective state governments, and UNDP has been working closely with both these agencies. UNDP’s partnerships with the national and state institutions have been based on the links that natural disasters have with scarcity, inequality and vulnerability. This Programme essentially aims at strengthening community, local self-governments and district administrations’ response, preparedness and mitigation measures in some of the most vulnerable districts [ref: Vulnerability Atlas, GoI] along with states’ and national response.

The key element of this programme is establishing linkages between the Government and civil society response plans and capacity building of Government institutions and the local self-governments in disaster mitigation, preparedness and recovery. Panchayati Raj and Urban Planning Institutions  at all levels in the selected districts would be directly involved in the planning process to ensure sustainability of these initiatives. A wide representation of women is envisaged in this project during the planning process. Selfhelp groups of women in the programme areas would be directly involved in the disaster risk management programme. This project will work closely relevant Government departments and institutions at the national and State levels. Learnings from this programme will feed into the national capacity building programmes of the Govt of India, and the global knowledge base on disaster risk management.