Lok Sabha Question No. 29 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-29
Subject: Climate Vulnerability Index
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Ravi Kishan Shukla, Sanjay Sadashivrao Mandlik, Subrata Pathak, Shrirang Appa Barne, Sudheer Gupta, Manoj Kumar Tiwari, Bidyut Baran Mahato, Prataprao  Jadhav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 29

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2021

## Climate Vulnerability Index

## 29. SHRI RAVI KISHAN:

SHRI SUBRAT PATHAK

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRI SANJAY SADASHIVRAO MANDLIK:

SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE:

SHRI PRATAPRAO JADHAV:

SHRI MANOJ TIWARI:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether as per the report of Climate Vulnerability Index published by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water that 80 percent of the Indian people across various states live in dangerous districts and if so, the details thereof and the reasons for the same;
- (b) whether it is true that out of 640 districts of the country 463 districts are vulnerable to extreme flood, drought and cyclone and out of these 45 percent are facing changes in basic structure and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  set  up  a  new  climate  risk  commission  at  the district level to prevent the physical and ecological basic structure from the danger of climate change;
- (d) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e) whether as per the report, only fewer districts have district emergency management scheme(DDMP) with them and if so, the details  thereof  and  the  steps  taken  by  the Government to set up DDMP in more districts?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a) & (b) Climate Vulnerability Index is calculated and published by various organizations based  on  different  sets  of  parameters  with  corresponding  variable  results.  One  such report titled 'Mapping India's Climate Vulnerability-A District level Assessment ' was published  in  October  2021  by  the  Council  on  Energy,  Environment  and  Water (CEEW), a non-governmental organization. It covers floods, droughts, cyclones and their compounding impacts.

The  Department  of  Science  and  Technology  in  collaboration  with  Swiss Agency of Development and Cooperation, and research teams from the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and Indian Institute of Science  Bengaluru,  have  studied  the  nation-wide  vulnerability  assessment  and  have released a report titled 'Climate Vulnerability Assessment for Adaptation Planning in India Using a Common Framework'. Based on an all-India assessment, it identifies the most vulnerable States and districts in India with respect to the current climate and the main drivers of vulnerability based on a set of common indicators (biophysical, socioeconomic,  and  livelihood-based  indicators)  and  common  methodology.    The  States with a relatively high vulnerability, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Assam, Bihar,  Arunachal  Pradesh,  and  West  Bengal  are  mostly  in  the  eastern  part  of  the country.  Assam,  Bihar,  and  Jharkhand  have  over  60%  districts  in  the  category  of districts which are highly vulnerable.

- (c) No, Sir. The extant legal and promotional measures adequately cater to the concerns of climate change. Further, the relief, recovery, and rehabilitation related to disasters in India  are  governed inter alia by the relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act,  2005  and  the guidelines, directives, and  orders of the National  Disaster Management  Authority  (NDMA)  and  the  State  Disaster  Management  Authorities. Furthermore, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) is responsible for monitoring, detection and forecasting of weather and climate including early warning for  severe  weather  events  such  as  cyclones,  heavy  rainfall,  extreme  temperature, thunderstorms, etc.
- (d) Does not arise.
- (e) Based  on  the  inputs  received  from  NDMA,  contrary  to  the  statement  made  in  the aforesaid  CEEW report,  673  districts  of  the  country  have  prepared  District  Disaster Management  Plans  (DDMP).  NDMA  has  issued  guidelines  for  the  preparation  of DDMP.  In  addition,  the  National  Disaster  Management  Plan  (NDMP)  prepared  by NDMA in 2019 and the respective State Disaster Management Plans (SDMP) provide the overall framework and guidance for the preparation of DDMP.

Further, the Government is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) through National Missions that address climate change mitigation and adaptation across a range of sectors. Thirty-three States /Union Territories have prepared  their  State  Action  Plans  on  Climate  Change  (SAPCC)  in  line  with  the NAPCC considering the State specific issues relating to climate change.

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