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The amendment bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, was cleared by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha, with several opposition-moved amendments being negated by the Upper House
Union Home Minister Amit Shah (Photo: Sansad TV)
Parliament on Tuesday passed amendments to the Disaster Management Act, 2024, with Home Minister Amit Shah asserting that there will be no centralisation of powers or discrimination with states in handling disasters.
Replying to the debate on the bill in the Rajya Sabha, Shah launched a sharp attack on the Congress party’s past management of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund, alleging a lack of accountability and transparency during the previous UPA regime.
“This bill ensures transparency, trust credibility and accountability,” he said and asserted that the amendments to the Act take forward the fight against disaster from a “reactive approach to pro-active and innovative approach”.
Listing various initiatives, he said that India is now well regarded in handling disasters and the world is recognising its capabilities.
The amendment bill, which was passed in the Lok Sabha in December 2024, was cleared by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha, with several opposition-moved amendments being negated by the Upper House. About 24 members participated in the debate on the amendment bill.
Shah assured the Upper House and the state governments that there would not be “centralisation of power”.
“Our fight against disasters cannot be done without strengthening the institutions. Unless the institutions are made more accountable and responsible. If one looks at the bill, you will find we have done both things,” he said.
The amendments were needed to tackle the new kinds of disasters emerging in the wake of global warming and climate change, he said.
“Due to climate change, the nature and scale of disasters have changed. With that, we have to change the way we tackle them… To address these problems in an effective manner, we have to make our institutions accountable and provide powers also.” The amendments have been discussed with all stakeholders and the government accepted 89 per cent of the suggestions it received and incorporated them in the bill, he added.
Highlighting key amendments, Shah said both National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) will become “more effective”, bringing more clarity and convergence among stakeholders working in the field of disaster management.
A national and state database will be created, state will be empowered to establish Urban Disaster Management Authorities (UDMAs) and State Disaster Response Forces (SDRFs), he said.
“This bill ensures transparency, trust credibility and accountability,” he said.
The minister said Section 13 of the bill removes the unnecessary provisions for the sake of transparency. “Certain members asked why Section 13 has been removed. Since Section 12 has been added, the section 13 becomes unnecessary.” He further said that sections 6 and 10 have been included through which the responsibility of NDMA has been fixed.
Sections 18 and 22 also fix the responsibility of the state executive committees, while Section 6 talks about disciplinary action if there is a case of negligence and Section 68 specifies the penalty for non-compliance.
The funds will be released as per the 15th Finance Commission, he added.
Addressing concerns about fund utilisation, Shah criticised the previous Congress regime’s management of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
“Under the Congress regime, only one family had control over the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The Congress party president used to be a member of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund,” he alleged.
He contrasted this with the current PM-CARE Fund, pointing out that five top ministers, including finance and defence ministers, are trustees, and no political party president is involved in its management.
“People will decide who has more accountability,” the minister said, challenging the Congress party to explain its previous fund management practices.
On financial assistance, Shah highlighted significant the increases in disaster management funds.
SDRF budget rose from Rs 38,000 crore (2004-14) to Rs 1.24 lakh crore (2014-24), while NDRF budget increased from Rs 28,000 crore to Rs 79,000 crore in the same period Overall, the central funds to states tripled from Rs 66,000 crore to Rs 2 lakh crore, he added.
Listing out new initiatives, Shah said the Modi government has created the first national disaster plan, the Subhas Chandra Bose Disaster Management Award, and National Cyclone Mitigation (Phase-I) in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.
Shah said that inter-ministerial consultation now submits reports much faster compared to the previous regime. He also noted that 16 battalions of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) are now operational and have conducted relief operations in countries like Nepal, Turkey, and Vietnam.
The Home Minister asserted that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, India is advancing towards achieving zero casualties during disasters.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
