The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs has suggested that the Center should include “new and emerging” disasters, such as heatwaves, in its disaster management plans.
The panel, in a report tabled recently in the Rajya Sabha, recommended establishing a formal mechanism for the periodic review and update of the notified disasters list to ensure it remains relevant and responsive to emerging disaster risks through consultation with experts, stakeholders, and affected communities.
The 31-member committee, headed by BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Radha Mohan Das Agrawal, also urged the ministry to study and plan for long-term disaster preparedness, considering climate change and the increasing frequency of disasters.
It recommended greater investment in disaster-resistant infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, and transport systems, to reduce damage and speed
up recovery.
Currently, the notified list of disasters eligible for National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) assistance includes cyclones, droughts, earthquakes, fires, floods, tsunamis, hailstorms, landslides, avalanches, cloudbursts, pest attacks, frost, and cold waves.
However, state governments can use up to 10 percent of their annual SDRF allocation, subject to certain conditions, to provide immediate relief for natural disasters they consider significant within the local context, even if they are not included in the centrally notified list.
According to government data, extreme heat and sunstroke claimed 10,635 lives in India over the 10-year period from 2013.
India experienced an exceptionally harsh summer last year, recording 536 heatwave days, the highest in 14 years, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Official data showed that during one of the hottest and longest heatwaves, India recorded 41,789 suspected heat stroke cases and 143 heat-related deaths.
The IMD has forecast above-normal maximum and minimum temperatures across most parts of the country this summer as well.
