Union home ministry had directed NDMA to draft a policy based on the 15th Finance Commission’s report
Photo: iStock This article has been updated
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) received the final inputs February 17, 2023 from disaster management officials and researchers on the draft of India’s first national policy for the mitigation and rehabilitation of the people affected by river and coastal erosion.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs had directed NDMA to draft a policy based on the 15th Finance Commission’s report for 2021, in which it had for the first time emphasised on rehabilitation and resettlement for people displaced by the river and coastal erosion, in view of the increasing threat due to climate change. Until now, most policies in the country only address displacement after sudden rapid-onset disasters such as floods and cyclones.
Over the last two years, NDMA held national-level consultations with central ministries and state government departments as well as online consultations with non-governmental organisations. They also spoke to some 24 focus group and surveyed approximately 600 households in the coastal and riverine districts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Assam, West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
“The urgency is there to take it to the logical conclusion at the earliest, which would involve the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ stamp of approval,” a senior consultant with NDMA told Down to Earth (DTE) on the condition of anonymity.
The 15th Finance Commission’s report considers two aspects related to the new policy. First, it introduces mitigation measures to prevent erosion under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF), with an allocation of Rs 1,500 crore for 2021-26. Second, for the resettlement of displaced people affected by erosion, it allocates R 1,000 crore for the same period under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). This is being taken out of the recovery and reconstruction window introduced for the first time under NDRF in 2021.
An NDMA official involved in drafting the policy told DTE:
The total allocation of Rs 2,500 crore is a committed resource for implementation and is a national recognition of the problem. This is not just for structural solutions such as the construction of sea walls and embankments, but also for non-structural solutions such as the rehabilitation of displaced persons while providing them livelihood opportunities..
For both funds, state governments will have to avail resources on a cost-sharing basis, contributing 25 per cent to the costs of mitigation and resettlement associated with coastal and river erosion; however, northeastern states have to only pool 10 per cent of state funds.
“NDMA will coordinate the allocations and expenses under NDRF and NDMF at the national level for mitigation and rehabilitation,” said a summary of NDMA’s draft policy accessed by DTE.
The commission’s report emphasised that states must follow timelines for mitigation and rehabilitation projects without delays. Along similar lines, the summary of the draft policy said, “Projects under NDRF and NDMF should be sanctioned in such a manner that they can be completed within the award period of the Commission.”
District disaster management authorities would be the nodal agency to implement the measures, aided by other district agencies and a specific panchayat-level committee, NDMA’s draft policy stated. It put in place some institutional mechanisms to manage displacement due to coastal and river erosion, which can be enacted under the Disaster Management Act of 2005.
The DDMA will prepare mitigation and rehabilitation plans and submit them to the SDMAs, from where the proposed measures will be appraised by NDMA and finally submitted to the home ministry. A high-level committee of the ministry will then approve the disbursal of funds.
After plans are approved and implementation begins, DDMAs will also be responsible for organising, monitoring and evaluation of the efforts under the supervision of their state and national counterparts.
A qualified disaster managenement professional must be included in all teams, the NDMA consultant said.
Erosion-linked displacement is considered in the policy, but there is displacement owing to the deposition of eroded materials which leads to significant loss of crops, sanitation needs and physical infrastructure, member-secretary of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority, Sekhar Lukose Kuriakose, told DTE. This also needs to be addressed in the policy framework explicitly, along with soil piping (tunnel erosion).
Kuriakose said it is not currently clear what the financial allocation will be under the policy. At present, funds are allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis for the states. Population density should be a factor considered during allocation, he added.
Detailed hazard assessments carried out by central agencies such as the National Centre for Coast Research, National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Central Water Commission and, high-resolution LiDAR data available with National Remote Sensing Centre should be made available to the SDMAs. These should be made available in easy-to-access in geographic information systems (GIS) formats by the NDMA.
The new draft policy did, however, insist on “mapping coastal and river erosion impacts and coming up with a database of diverse challenges confronted by the affected and vulnerable habitations”.
Mapping of fallow areas must be taken up for rehabilitation with discussions with the affected and vulnerable communities for their acceptability, it noted. The draft policy also recommends impact and vulnerability assessments of regions threatened by coastal and river erosion to be undertaken periodically, which will be spearheaded by SDMAs in coordination with the state departments and DDMAs
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
.png)
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.