Government releases the Disaster Management Plan of Ministry of Panchayati Raj

Context

The government has recently released the Disaster Management Plan of Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

About

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj has developed the Disaster Management Plan.
• Aim: To develop disaster resilience at the grassroots level among the Panchayats and establish a framework to align the disaster management measures in rural areas to that of the National Disaster Management Authority’. 
• Under the Plan, every Indian village would have a “Village Disaster Management Plan” and every Panchayat would have their Disaster Management Plan.

Coverage Areas

• The Disaster Management Plan comprehensively covers areas such as institutional arrangement for Disaster Management; Hazard Risk, Vulnerability and Capacity Analysis; Coherence of Disaster Risk Management across Resilient Development and Climate Change Action; Disaster Specific Preventive and Mitigation Measures-Responsibility Framework; Mainstreaming of Community Based Disaster Management Plan of Villages and Panchayats and so on.

Important Acts/Policies

• The Disaster Management Plan of Ministry of Panchayati Raj (DMP–MoPR) incorporates many innovations in addition to being in compliance with
• Disaster Management Act 2005
• National Disaster Management Policy 2009
• guidelines issued by National Disaster Management Authority

Background:

• India has been vulnerable, in varying degrees, to many natural as well as human-made disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic and socio-economic conditions. 
• Different parts of the country are highly vulnerable to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, etc. 
• Considering the important role that local communities can play in reducing vulnerabilities and early recovery, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) has prepared this Disaster Management Plan (DMP) so that all Panchayati Raj Institutions along with communities can be prepared for any disaster.