Exploring Disaster Mitigation in India: A Financial Viewpoint

Abstract

Disaster management is a multidimensional and multistage process. It broadly includes preparedness, rescue, relief rehabilitation and mitigation. Disaster mitigation is an integral part of disaster management. In fact, it is an act of pre disaster stage. It involves the material and social activities to convert disaster-prone areas into disaster resilient one. Disaster mitigation requires proper vulnerability mapping and funds to carry out disaster specific mitigative activities. It is for this reason that Disaster management Act 2005 provides for creation of Disaster Mitigation Funds at national, state and district levels. Irrespective of the consistent demands from states various finance commissions did not recognizing mitigation as an integral part of disaster risk funding as mitigation was left up to the centrally sponsored schemes. However, this task was performed by 15th Finance Commission by creating and allocating the disaster mitigation funds. The FC-XV replaced the earlier expenditure based allocation of funds and devised a new formula based on physical and socio-economic factors like vulnerability of a state to selected disasters like flood and drought and its ratio of poverty. It is under this background that the present research article makes a modest attempt to explore the financial perspective of disaster mitigation in India. Methodologically speaking this paper applies qualitative and qualitative research tools. It is analytical and descriptive in approach and exploratory in its findings. Major part of the present research is based on the primary sources like reports and acts of government of India and texts of international agreements. In addition, it also includes secondary sources like books and journals.