Centre announces ₹1500­cr. aid to T.N. and A.P. after cyclone wreaks havoc

Centre announces ₹1,500­cr. aid to T.N. and A.P. after cyclone wreaks havoc

Subject: Polity

Section: National body

Context:

• The Union government on Thursday released ₹493.60 crore to Andhra Pradesh and ₹450 crore to Tamil Nadu in the wake of the damage inflicted by severe cyclonic storm Michaung this week.
• The Prime Minister has approved the first urban flood mitigation project of ₹561.29 crore for ‘Integrated Urban Flood Management activities for Chennai Basin Project’ under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).

About Cyclone Michaung

• Severe Intensity: December cyclones in the North Indian Ocean typically do not reach high intensities.Michaung, with its severe storm classification, is an exception.
• Upgraded Intensity: Initially predicted as a tropical cyclone, IMD upgraded Michaung to a ‘severe’ storm due to its unexpected intensification.
• Heat Index Contribution: The intensification is attributed to the above-normal heat index values off the southern Andhra Pradesh coast.

How Is a Cyclone Named?

• Rotational Basis for Naming: The naming of cyclones is done by countries on a rotational basis, following certain existing guidelines.
• Responsibilities of RSMCs and TCWCs: Worldwide, there are six regional specialized meteorological centers (RSMCs) and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centers (TCWCs) mandated for issuing advisories and naming of tropical cyclones.
• IMD’s Role: IMD is one of the six RSMCs providing tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 member countries under the WMO/Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) Panel.
• Naming Authority of IMD: RSMC, New Delhi, is also mandated to name the tropical cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean, including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
• Guidelines for Naming: Some rules are to be followed while naming cyclones, such as being neutral to politics, religious beliefs, cultures, and gender, avoiding offensive or cruel names, and keeping the name short and easy to pronounce.
• Future Naming: After ‘Michaung’, the next cyclone as per India’s suggestion will be named ‘Tej’.

About

The Disaster Management Act, defines National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) is constituted under section 47(1) of the DM Act, 2005.

This fund is exclusively for the purpose of mitigation projects in respect of disasters covered in National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) Guidelines only.

The Mitigation Fund shall be used for those local level and community-based interventions, which reduce the risks and promote environment-friendly settlements and livelihood practices.

Large-scale mitigation interventions such as construction of coastal walls, flood embankments, support for drought resilience etc. shall be pursued through regular development schemes and not from the mitigation fund.

Mitigation measures can be both structural and non- structural.

Structural measures: Structural mitigation measures include any physical construction to reduce or avoid possible impacts of hazards, or the application of engineering techniques or technology to achieve hazard resistance and resilience in structures or systems. These measures attempt to strengthen buildings to better endure future disasters like cyclones and earthquakes.

Non- Structural measures: It does not involve physical construction but use of knowledge, practices, policies, laws / regulations etc. e.g. building codes and laws, location specific planning/strategies, forest management / restoration of mangroves, awareness campaigns etc.

These guidelines are issued under sections 47 and 62 of the DM Act, 2005 and shall be called ‘National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) guidelines and will be operative from the financial year 2021-22 to 2025-26, and will continue till further orders.

Technical Guidelines:

For the guidance of the State Governments/implementing partners etc., National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) will issue technical guidelines separately, within the broad framework of these guidelines and with the concurrence of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). Further, Hazard specific mitigation guidelines and detailed procedures for project execution will continue to be issued by the NDMA from time to time in consultation with MНА.

Long Term Mitigation Strategy:

At the national and state level, the Disaster Management Authorities will conduct a risk assessment, which presents an assessment of hazards, exposure and vulnerability and their likely impacts. Based on the risk assessment, the Disaster Management Authorities will prepare long-term mitigation strategy for their respect jurisdiction.

National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF):

The NDMF will be constituted with the nomenclature of “National Disaster Mitigation Fund” in the Public Account in the sub-section (b) Reserve funds not bearing interest of Government of India under Major Head 8235-‘General and Other Reser Funds’-145- ‘National Disaster Mitigation Fund’.

The NDMF will be operated by the Department of Expenditure, Ministry Finance (MoF) in consultation with Ministry of Home Affairs with an objective to release Grants-in-aid to the State Governments for mitigation projects as approved by High Level Committee (HLC).

The NDMF will be applied by NDMA for appraisal, monitoring and supervision o mitigation projects.

Contribution/Allocation to the NDMF:

Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV-FC) has recommended Rs. 13,693 crore [20% of National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF) of Rs.68,463 crore] for NDMF for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26. The details of annual allocations for the period from 2021-22 to 2025-26 is given in Annexure-1.

The Central Government can mobilize and pool funds in the NDMF from various other sources viz reconstruction bonds, contingent credit/standby facilities with international financial institutions, counterpart funding from implementing partners, crowd funding platforms and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) window etc.

Funds will be credited into the NDMF established in the Public Account of India by operating Major Head “2245-Relief on account of Natural Calamities-07-Disaster Management-797-Transfer to Reserve Funds/Deposits Accounts, in accordance with the provisions of section 47(1) of the DM Act, 2005. The budget provision for transferring funds to the NDMF shall be made in Demand for Grants No.40 ‘Transfers to the State of Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance.