A failed institution, NDMA must be overhauled
The Prime Minister's decision to reconstitute the National Disaster Management Authority could not have come at a better moment. This time last year, as Uttarakhand was being ravaged by torrential rains and flash floods, the country's worst natural disaster since the 2004 tsunami, the Government's apex body for disaster management was caught napping. Even when it got to work, the NDMA stumbled repeatedly and exposed itself as inept and incompetent. While no human endeavour can perfectly predict or protect from the wrath of nature, there is a lot that man and state can do to mitigate its effects. This is the NDMA's job in India — and the Uttarakhand tragedy proved how spectacularly it had failed. Neither had the Authority put in place the crucial infrastructure needed to contain the damage from such a calamity, nor could it craft an effective post-disaster response. Indeed, it was the Armed forces that stepped up to the plate and carried out a huge search and rescue operation that ultimately saved thousands of lives. The NDMA, meanwhile, busied itself with blame games. It pointed fingers at the India Meteorological Department for failing to issue timely warnings; it alleged that the Indian Space Research Organisation had not sent an alert to the Uttarakhand Government regarding the cloud burst; and finally, even held State-level disaster management authorities responsible for the tragedy. Yet, the fact is that the NDMA itself has been a failed institution. In the seven years that it had been in existence, the Authority had not been able to prepare a national disaster management plan or establish the National Disaster Mitigation Fund. In fact, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on disaster preparedness, produced in April 2013, noted that none of the important projects undertaken by the NDMA were ever completed. Most, including some related to controlling the impact of floods and landslides, were either abandoned or brought back to the drawing table to be re-designed. A satellite-based communication system that was to be developed by the NDMA is yet to materialise. Critical equipment needed for disaster management is yet to be procured. That not one of the 12 doppler radars, which were supposed to have been set up after the tragedy, have been installed in the Himalayan region speaks volumes. The NDMA's inefficiency has also affected the National Disaster Response Force which has a shortage of skilled manpower due to the absence of proper training facilities.
Moreover, the problems with the NDMA are not just administrative but also structural. For instance, the national body's rules, the few that exist, are merely suggestive and cannot be forced upon the States. Incidentally, the NDMA had framed some guidelines on how to protect river plains, which are environmentally fragile areas, but these have been ignored by State Governments including the one in Uttarakhand — at their own peril.