A Sociological Perspective on “Institutional Coordination” for Disaster Risk Reduction in India

Abstract

Resilience to natural disasters depends fundamentally on institutional coordination. In India, disaster-related policies and legislation make institutional coordination one of the core processes in emergency governance but real mutual coordination across line ministries, departments, and disaster management institutions remains little and ineffective. Even as the Disaster Management Act 2005 mandates institutional coordination at three levels (national, state, and district), there are gaps which may be attributed to bad governance of disasters. This paper examines institutional coordination sociologically, especially from the functionalist perspective. It explores the multifarious functions served by institutional coordination (manifest, moral, and latent) which contribute to pre- and post-disaster management, deference to ethical principles of duty and willingness, and preservation of social order and values. The paper also enquires about elements which may strengthen institutional coordination. It was found that the 2005 Act was a restitutive law that facilitated organic solidarity among pertinent bureaucracies coordinating in common tasks.