Lok Sabha Question No. 2636 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-09
Subject: Loss due to Flood
Ministry: HOME AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dulal Chandra Goswami, Subhash Chandra Baheria

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2636

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

2636. SHRI DULAL CHAND GOSWAMI: SHRI SUBHASH CHANDRA BAHERIA:

Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state:

(a) whether the country is facing heavy losses due to flood every year; and

(b)  if  so,  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government to strengthen the Early Warning System  for  floods  and  the  measures  taken  to  deal  with  disasters  caused  by monsoon in the country?

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) Yes Sir.   The subject of flood management comes under the purview of States and various schemes for flood control are formulated and implemented by concerned States as per their priority. The Union Government supplements  their efforts by providing technical guidance and financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas.

Central Water Commission (CWC) is the nodal agency for flood forecasting in the country. CWC maintains 325 flood forecasting stations spread across 22 State  and  UTs  covering  20  major  river  systems  in  the  country.    The  early warning on flood is provided by CWC on real time basis to all the concerned stakeholders for taking appropriate precautionary measures. In order to meet the requirement of real-time forecast, CWC has undertaken modernization of its data  collection  and  flood  forecast  network.  The  hydro-meteorological  data  is automatically received in various modeling centers across the country.

## LS.US.Q.NO.2636 FOR 09.07.2019

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 steps taken by Government of India for dealing with natural disasters including those caused by monsoon are given at Annexure.

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Statement showing some of the major steps taken by Government of India  for  dealing  with  natural  disasters  including  those  caused  by monsoon.

-  Release of National Disaster Management Plan in 2016.
-  India Meteorological Department (IMD) improved significantly its forecasting system  against  the  advancement  of  southwest  monsoon,  cyclones  and severe  weather  phenomena  like  heavy  rains  etc.  and  issues  warnings  and advisory bulletins in the country.
-  IMD  has  started  thunderstorm  and  lightning  forecast  from  April 2019  for which they have installed 48 lightning sensors. A mobile application named Damini for lightning prediction has also been developed to disseminate the information.
-  Publication  of  26  guidelines  on  different  disasters  by  National  Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) including guidelines on management of flood and cyclone.
-  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, 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).
-  Apada Mitra scheme with the objective to train 6000 community volunteers in  disaster  response  in  30  most  flood  prone  districts  (200  volunteers  per district)  of  25  States  of  India of  the  identified  districts  falling  under  the scheme.
-  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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