Disaster Management Act, 2005

Disaster Management Act, 2005
Enacted by	Parliament of India
Status: In force

The Disaster Management Act, 2005, (23 December 2005) No. 53 of 2005, was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India on 28 November, and by the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament, on 12 December 2005. It received the assent of The President of India on 9 January 2006. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 has 11 chapters and 79 sections. The Act extends to the whole of India. The Act provides for "the effective management of disasters and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto."

The Act calls for the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with the Prime Minister of India as chairperson. The NDMA may have no more than nine members including a Vice-Chairperson. The tenure of the members of the NDMA shall be five years. The NDMA which was initially established on 30 May 2005 by an executive order, was constituted under Section-3(1) of the Disaster Management Act, on 27 September 2006. The NDMA is responsible for "laying down the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management" and to ensure "timely and effective response to disaster". Under section 6 of the Act it is responsible for laying "down guidelines to be followed by the State Authorities in drawing up the State Plans".

The Act under Section 8 enjoins the Central Government to Constitute a National Executive Committee (NEC) to assist the National Authority. The NEC is composed of Secretary level officers of the Government of India in the Ministries of home, agriculture, atomic energy, defence, drinking water supply, environment and forests, finance (expenditure), health, power, rural development, science and technology, space, telecommunication, urban development, and water resources, with the Home secretary serving as the Chairperson, ex officio. The Chief of the Integrated Defence Staff of the Chiefs of Staff Committee, is an ex officio member of the NEC. The NEC under section of the Act is responsible for the preparation of the National Disaster Management Plan for the whole country and to ensure that it is "reviewed and updated annually".

All State Governments are mandated under Section 14 of the act to establish a State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The SDMA consists of the Chief Minister of the State, who is the Chairperson, and no more than eight members appointed by the Chief Minister. State Executive Committee is responsible (Section 22) for drawing up the state disaster management plan, and implementing the National Plan. The SDMA is mandated under section 28 to ensure that all the departments of the State prepare disaster management plans as prescribed by the National and State Authorities. Recently in September 2014 kashmir-floods NDRF played a vital role in rescuing the armed forces and tourists, for which NDRF was awarded by the government of India.

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