Question

Which section in India was discriminated against? How is the government trying to repair that damage???

Answer 1

Answer:

PART A

I.INTRODUCTION:

‗Disaster‘ can be defined as – ‗a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any

area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in

substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or

damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be

beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area‘1

. Disaster occurs when the

dimension of an emergency situation grows to such an extent that the impact of the hazard is

beyond the coping capability of the local community and/or the concerned local authority.

India‘s geographical condition is such that it is vulnerable to a number of natural disasters. 55

per cent of the country‘s total area is in Seismic Zones III-V and is vulnerable to earthquakes,

68 per cent of net sown area is vulnerable to drought, 4 crore hectare mass is vulnerable to

floods, sub-Himalayan/Western Ghat is vulnerable to landslides and the coastal States are

vulnerable to cyclones.2

Even other than natural disasters, the country is also prone to man-

made disasters.

The high susceptibility of the country makes it imperative to have thorough disaster

management plan in place. ―Disaster Management‖ is not expressly mentioned in any of the

entries in Schedule VII of the Constitution (List I). However, the State Governments are

provided financial assistance for meeting expenditure on identified natural calamities on the

basis of the recommendations of the Finance Commission.

The two entries in the State List that are remotely related to the subject of disaster

management are entry 14, which deals with agriculture, including protection against pests and

plant diseases, and entry 17 which deals with water, including water supply, drainage and

embankments. The High Power Committee appointed by the Government of India, strongly

felt that this is grossly inadequate, and that Disaster Management needs to be included in the

7

th schedule of the Constitution under which ever list is felt most appropriate. However, the

legislation on disaster management has been related to entry 23 (social security and social