Lok Sabha Question No. 2574 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-09
Subject: Assistance for Disaster Relief
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Ashok Kumar Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2574

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 09 th  JULY, 2019/ ASHADHA 18, 1941 (SAKA)

ASSISTANCE FOR DISASTER RELIEF

2574. SHRI ASHOK KUMAR YADAV:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has been unable to provide adequate funds to the State Governments to compensate for the loss caused due to disasters;
- (b) the details of the amount allocated for NDRF/SDRF from 2014-15 to 201819;
- (c)  the  measures  adopted  by  the  Government  to  provide  assistance  to  the States through the National Disaster Response Force; and
- (d)  the  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  the  level  of preparedness for tackling disasters in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI NITYANAND RAI)

(a) & (b)    Central Government provides adequate funds for disaster relief under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) as per laid down procedure.  The Central Government had significantly enhanced the allocation under SDRF for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20 to Rs. 61,220 crores against the allocation for the period 2010-2011 to 2014-15 of Rs. 33,580 crores.  Further, the Central Government has substantially enhanced the norms of assistance for various items eligible for relief under SDRF/ NDRF for the period 2015-2020.

The  details  of  amount  allocated  &  released  under  SDRF  and  NDRF  to  State Governments for management of relief from 2014-15 to 2018-19 is given below:

(Rs. in crore)

| Years   | Allocation under SDRF   | Center's share of SDRF released   | Amount released from NDRF   |
|---------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------|
| 2014-15 | 7,387.01                | 5,629.45                          | 3,460.88                    |
| 2015-16 | 11,081.00               | 8,756.00                          | 12,451.96                   |
| 2016-17 | 11,635.00               | 8,374.95                          | 11,441.30                   |
| 2017-18 | 12,214.00               | 9,382.80                          | 4,722.53                    |
| 2018-19 | 12,825.00               | 9,658.13                          | 10,000.00                   |
| Total:  | 55,142.01               | 41,801.33                         | 42,076.67                   |

- (c)        The  Central  Government  has  constituted  National  Disaster  Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialized response to a threatening disaster situation or disaster.  NDRF provides assistance to State by various measures as under:-
- (i) 12 Bn of NDRF are strategically located all over the country based on the vulnerability profile of different regions of the country for providing immediate assistance to States.
- (ii) Before start of Monsoon season, NDRF in consultation with the state authorities, and based on the forecast of early warning agencies i.e. India Meteorological Department (IMD) and Central Water Commission (CWC), pre-positions its specialized teams in vulnerable location in the country for prompt response.
- (iii) During  threatening  disaster  situations  such  a  floods,  cyclone  etc., NDRF  teams  are  pre-deployed  to  assist  the  State  administration  in search, rescue, evacuation and relief operations.
- (iv) NDRF  assist  the  state  forces  in  capacity  building  and  community awareness  by  conducting  trainings,  mock  drills  and  school  safety programmes.

- (v) persons.

## LS.US.Q.NO.2574 FOR 09.07.2019

- Since inception, NDRF has conducted 2658 operations successfully and  rescued  1.15  lakh  human  lives  and  evacuated  5.89  lakh
- (vi) Similarly,  since  inception,  NDRF  has  conducted  6111  community awareness programs, 2107 school safety programmes, 1869 Familiarization exercise and 2486 mock exercise.

(d) India with its continuous efforts has significantly improved its preparedness  to  deal  with  natural  calamities.  The  Disaster  Management  Act 2005 articulates the need for mainstreaming Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) into development  planning.  The  National  Policy  on  Disaster  Management  2009 seeks to build a safe and disaster resilient India.  As per provisions of the Act, National  Disaster  Management Authority (NDMA),  National Disaster  Response Force  (NDRF),  National  Institute  of  Disaster  Management  created  in  2006  at national  level.  At  State  level,  State  Disaster  Management  Authority  (SDMA) created  in  all  States  and  District  Disaster  Management  Authority  (DDMA) created  in  more  than  680  districts.    As  per  provisions  of  the  Act,  financial mechanism  for  managing  disaster  response  has  been  set-up  by  creation  of National and State Disaster Response Funds.

Some  of  the  major  measures  taken  by  Government  of  India  for  improving disaster preparedness are given at Annexure.

Statement showing some of the major measures taken by Government of India for improving disaster preparedness

- 
- Release of National Disaster Management Plan in 2016.
-  Publication of 26 guidelines on different disasters by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) including guidelines on management of Earthquakes and Tsunamis.
-  Setting  up  of  National  Disaster  Response  Force  (NDRF)  for  prompt response and pre- positioning of NDRF in disaster vulnerable areas and preposition them across various vulnerable locations in the country.
-  Encouraging States to set-up their own State Disaster Response Forces.
-  Strengthening  of  State  and  District  Disaster  Management  systems through various schemes of central government.
-  Construction  of  multi-purpose  cyclone  shelters  and  training  of  coastal communities.
-  Conducting  mock  drills,  table  top  exercises,  awareness  campaigns, Audio  visual  campaigns  and  workshops  for  effectively  responding  to disasters.
-  Carrying out capacity building of disaster professionals and communities by NDMA, NDRF  and National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM).
-  Organizing Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners and Secretaries of  the  Department  of  Disaster  Management  of  States  and  Union Territories  to  review  their  status  of  preparedness  for  dealing  with  any natural disasters.

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