Lok Sabha Question No. 2071 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-12
Subject: Death Caused by Heatwave
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Shri Sudama Prasad, Shri Raja Ram Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2071 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 12 TH  MARCH, 2025

## DEATH CAUSED BY HEATWAVE

## 2071.   SHRI SUDAMA PRASAD: SHRI RAJA RAM SINGH:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any plans to declare heatwave as a natural disaster;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has any data about the number of people who died in the recent heatwave especially informal and gig workers;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  provide  compensation  to  people  who  died during the heatwave and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a)-(b)  Currently,  the  notified  list  of  disasters  eligible  for  National  Disaster  Response  Fund (NDRF)/State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) assistance includes 12 disasters, namely cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, tsunamis, hailstorms, landslides, avalanches,  cloud  burst,  pest  attack,  and  frost  &  cold  wave.  The  issue  of  inclusion  of more  calamities  in  the  existing  notified  list  of  calamities  was  considered  by  the  15th Finance Commission. The Commission, in para 8.143 of its report, had observed that the list of notified disasters eligible for funding from the State Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (SDRMF) and National Disaster Response Mitigation Fund (NDRMF) covers the needs of the State to a large extent and thus did not find much merit in the request to expand its scope.

However, a State Government can use up to 10% of the annual fund allocation of the SDRF, subject to the fulfillment of certain prescribed conditions and norms, to provide immediate relief  to  the  victims  of  natural  disasters  that  they  consider  to  be  'disasters' within the local context in the State and which are not included in the centrally notified list of natural disasters.

- (c)-(d)  The  latest  details  of  the  overall  number  of  deaths  due  to  heatwaves  are  given  in Annexure-1  as  per  the  National  Crime  Record  Bureau.  (NCRB),  Ministry  of  Home Affairs (MHA).
- (e) The  State  disaster  management  authorities  have  their  resources  available  through  the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) for support.  If  there  is  a  request  from  the  States  for  financial  assistance,  the  Central Government considers it in accordance with the relevant guidelines for National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).

State/UT wise deaths due to Heat/Sun Stroke during 2022:

| SN         | State/UT                   |   2022 |
|------------|----------------------------|--------|
| 1          | Andhra Pradesh             |     47 |
| 2          | Arunachal Pradesh          |      0 |
| 3          | Assam                      |      1 |
| 4          | Bihar                      |     78 |
| 5          | Chhattisgarh               |     11 |
| 6          | Goa                        |      0 |
| 7          | Gujarat                    |      5 |
| 8          | Haryana                    |     27 |
| 9          | Himachal Pradesh           |      0 |
| 10         | Jharkhand                  |     47 |
| 11         | Karnataka                  |      2 |
| 12         | Kerala                     |      0 |
| 13         | Madhya Pradesh             |     27 |
| 14         | Maharashtra                |     90 |
| 15         | Manipur                    |      0 |
| 16         | Meghalaya                  |      0 |
| 17         | Mizoram                    |      0 |
| 18         | Nagaland                   |      0 |
| 19         | Odisha                     |     38 |
| 20         | Punjab                     |    130 |
| 21         | Rajasthan                  |     12 |
| 22         | Sikkim                     |      0 |
| 23         | Tamil Nadu                 |      2 |
| 24         | Telangana                  |     62 |
| 25         | Tripura                    |      2 |
| 26         | Uttar Pradesh              |    130 |
| 27         | Uttarakhand                |      0 |
| 28         | West Bengal                |     18 |
|            | TOTAL STATE(S)             |    729 |
| 29         | A &NIslands                |      0 |
| 30         | Chandigarh                 |      0 |
| 31         | D&N Haveli and Daman&Diu@+ |      0 |
| 32         | Delhi UT                   |      1 |
| 33         | Jammu &Kashmir@*           |      0 |
| 34         | Ladakh@                    |      0 |
| 35         | Lakshadweep                |      0 |
| 36         | Puducherry                 |      0 |
|            | TOTAL UT(S)                |      1 |
| TOTAL (ALL | INDIA)                     |    730 |

As per data provided by states/UTs

'+' Combined data of erstwhile D&N Haveli and Daman&Diu UT during 2018 and 2019

'*' Data of erstwhile JAMMU & KASHMIR State Including Ladakh during 2018 and 2019

'@' Data of newly created Union territory

Source:  Accidental  Deaths  &  Suicides  in  India,  National  Crime  Record  Bureau  (NCRB), Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)

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## Annexure-1