Role of Local Governments in Disaster Management

Abstract

From the very beginning of the twenty-first century, the world has witnessed many natural disasters. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 has emphasized on formulating disaster management plans at international, national, regional, and local levels. It also urges the use of traditional, indigenous, and local knowledge and practices for the disaster risk assessment and preparation of disaster mitigation plans and management disasters. The national disaster management policy of India 2009 describes that the local authorities should ensure the capacity building of their officers and manage disasters and carry out relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction activities in the affected areas. It also calls for setting up a specific institutional framework for dealing with disasters in megacities. The Odisha government has made provisions to prepare the village-level disaster management plans and national, state, and district-level plans. In this context, we critically appraise the progress of India in empowering the local governments for effective management of disasters at the local level. We argue that it is high time to formally add the responsibility of disaster management by the local governments in the eleventh and twelfth schedules of the constitution. In line with the National Disaster Management Fund and State Disaster Management Funds, local governments should be provided with special Disaster Management Funds. A dedicated department should be created for managing various types of disasters. All disaster-prone villages should have a Village Disaster Management Committee, and panchayats should have a Panchayat Disaster Management Committee.