Advertisement

Updated March 24th, 2020 at 22:43 IST

Coronavirus outbreak: Why India invoked the Disaster Management Act and what it means

The government, through the invocation of the Act, has a free hand to spend the money coming from the fund and take decisions in relation to it.

Reported by: Nalini Sharma
India
| Image:self
Advertisement

The Prime Minister in his second address to the nation in five days, today invoked the National Disaster Act to deal with the growing problem surrounding the COVID-19 virus. The Disaster Management Act, which is one of the two legislations that the Central government is relying on to tackle the pandemic, was enacted in 2005 with an intent to “effectively manage disasters in India”.

The term “Disaster” has been defined under Section 2(d) of the Disaster Management Act and means “a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence arising from natural or man-made causes, by accident or negligence”. The definition also states that the disaster should have resulted in “substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to property and environment to such an extent that it is beyond the coping capacity of the affected area”.

Read: PM Modi Cites 'Social Distancing' As The Only Way To Avoid Coronavirus Spread

The government can access funds under the Act

The Act has usually been enforced in parts of the country in the past to tackle natural disasters. This time around, however, the government has declared the pandemic as a “Notified Disaster” which allows the government to dip into the “National Disaster Response Fund” to contain the immediate concern of rise in positive COVID-19 cases.

Despite doing better than most other countries in taking immediate steps to curb the pandemic, India still lags behind in conducting enough tests on a daily basis on the suspected cases.

The funds under the Act which can now be accessed by the government will go a long way to deal with concerns regarding the number of testing laboratories, establishing quarantine facilities, manufacturing and supply of masks, sanitisers and other essential services to the patients and other citizens.

The government, through the invocation of the Act, has a free hand to spend the money coming from the fund and take decisions in relation to it.

Read: Coronavirus Outbreak: PM Modi Announces 21-day Pan-India Lockdown Starting From Midnight

The Act also provides for setting up of administrative authorities like the National Disaster Management Authority and the State Disaster Management Authority.

The Disaster Management Act has been invoked retrospectively by the government in tandem with the Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897. This law came into being as a consequence of the Bombay plague which had struck the city of Bombay in the late nineteenth century.

The Epidemic Diseases Act is one of the shortest legislation passed by the Indian Parliament. It has 4 sections and extends to merely two pages which only talk about the powers of the Central government under the Act and the penalty that can be imposed on any person disobeying the rules and protection of the persons who come under the Act.

Quite obviously, the Epidemic Diseases Act invoked in isolation would have had little to no impact on status quo, which is what made it pertinent for the government to invoke the Act along with the Disaster Management Act.

Read: 'COVID-19 Has Destroyed Most Able Countries, Only Solution Is Social Distancing': PM Modi

Read: Coronavirus LIVE Updates: PM Announces 21-day Pan-India Lockdown; COVID-19 Cases Cross 500

Advertisement

Published March 24th, 2020 at 22:43 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Abhay Deol
a few seconds ago
Mukhtar Ansari Death
a minute ago
delhi cm arvind kejriwal
2 minutes ago
MEA Responds To China’s Comment On Sikh Separatist Gurupatwant Singh Pannun
4 minutes ago
David Warner
7 minutes ago
Dhara Gujjar
16 minutes ago
The ICJ has ordered Israel to ensure the smooth flow of aid to the people of Gaza.
22 minutes ago
UFC Exclusive Erin Blanchfield
24 minutes ago
Indian pharma sector
26 minutes ago
WWE Bloodline
26 minutes ago
Ramya on Uttarakaanda sets
31 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo