Institutional Arrangements

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Institutional arrangements are formal or informal institutional, legal or procedural agreements between the national disaster management agency and other governmental institutions. They play an essential part in the entire process of disaster management. Institutional arrangements refer to the policies, systems and processes used by organizations to legislate, plan and manage their activities efficiently and effectively coordinate with supporting agencies thereby fulfilling the purpose of their creation.

In India, the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DMA) set institutional and coordination mechanisms for effective disaster management at the national, state and district levels. By this act, the Government of India (GoI) created a multi-tiered institutional system consisting of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) headed by the Prime Minister, State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA's) headed by the chief ministers and the District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA's) by the district collectors and co-chaired by elected representatives of the local authorities of the respective districts. All these bodies have been setup to facilitate the fundamental shift from relief-centric approach to a proactive, holistic and integrated approach of strengthening disaster preparedness, mitigation and emergency response.

1. At the national level, the ministry of home affairs is the primary point of contact for all matters concerning disaster management
1. Under the MoHA (Ministry of Home Affairs) the NDMA has been constituted for coordination of disaster management at the national level under the Disaster Management act of 2005
2. The Prime Minister of India is the chairperson of the NDMA
3. NDMA is the apex body for management of disasters in India
4. The National Response Plan and National Mitigation Plan are prepared by the GoI.
5. Various Ministries and departments also prepare their own response plans that are approved by the NDMA
6. A National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) functions in the MoHA with sophisticated equipment and most modern technology for disaster management
2. The Crisis Management Group (CMG) consists of officers from various ministries.
1. The functions of the CMG are reviewed every year and contingency plans are formulated by various departments/ministries/organizations in their respective sectors along with required measures to handle disasters
2. The CMG coordinates activities of central ministries and state governments in relation disaster preparedness and relief
3. In the event of a natural disaster, the CMG meets frequently to review relief operations and extend all possible to overcome the situation effectively
4. All the secretaries of concerned ministries are its members
5. CMG implements the decisions of the cabinet committees