Positing Indian military for disaster response: comparative analysis of military involvement pre- and post-adoption of National Disaster Management Framework 2005

Abstract

ABSTRACTIndian military has been traditionally part of government mechanism for dealing with natural disasters. This was due to lack of local administrations’ capacity to cope with increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters. To address this dependence on military and for a holistic approach to disaster management, the Disaster Management Act, 2005 was enacted. The Act established a specialized civilian response agency, namely National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and other institutional mechanisms. However, the dependence on military has not shown any decline. On the contrary, the dependence continues to increase in terms of both its extent and its frequency. Quantitative data in terms of quantities of rescue material distributed, number of people evacuated and so on, clearly establishes the continued dependence on military. A comparison of response operations by the military and the NDRF shows NDRF’s inadequacies in terms of its total number of personnel and geographical location. Hence, for the foreseeable future, dependence on military for disaster response will continue. The study underscores the critical need for civilian policymakers to re-define the role of military within the Disaster Management framework and for military planners to re-examine their own training and operational doctrines to play an effective role in disaster management.