I have gone through the research article published in the Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) on “Disaster Management Plan Preparation by Panchayats: The Case of Kerala” (December 14, 2024) by K R Sastry. He was formerly with the Kerala Institute of Local Administration, Dr Marri Chenna Reddy Human Resource Development Institute, and the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Hyderabad.
Almost every country has witnessed disasters, so the United Nations defines disaster as “the occurrence of sudden or major misfortune which disrupts the basic fabric and normal functioning of the society or community.”
A disaster is an event of nature or man-made that leads to sudden disruption of the normal life of a society, causing damage to life and property to such an extent that typical social and economic values available are inadequate to restore normalcy after a disaster.
In the context of the research article, I would like to mention a few points. The author has rightly mentioned that in the aftermath of the 2018 floods, the State Government approved a policy document under the Rebuild Kerala Development Programme (RKDP), which emphasised activities aimed at enhancing resilience through a participatory approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR). In Kerala, many types of Disasters take place from time to time. Some of these are- a) 1999 Sabarimala stampede b) 2011 Sabarimala crowd crush c) 2015 Kerala meteoroid d) Great fire of Cochin e) Kadalundi train derailment f) 2002 Kumarakom boat disaster etc. While describing the case of the Kerala Floods of 2018, the author has mentioned that floods are a common phenomenon generally caused by heavy rainfall, rapid snowmelt, or a storm surge from a tropical cyclone or tsunami. Severe spells of rainfall were experienced at several places on 8, 9, and 16 August 2018. As a result, relentless floods affected Kerala, due to unusually high rainfall during the monsoon season. In total, 483 people lost their lives, and 15 went missing in the aftermath of the disaster. Despite the calamity, the gram panchayats endured the fury of the floods reasonably well in both 2018 and 2019. According to James and Anand (2018), three factors stood out during the 2018 Kerala floods: (a) Poor dam management, (b) Clogged channels, and (c) People caught unaware. It is pertinent to mention that according to the author, the objective of the Kerala State Disaster Management Policy is to institute structures and systems and to establish directive principles for effective risk reduction and crisis management to minimise human, property, livelihood, and environmental losses and to contribute to the developmental sustainability of the State.
Before the conclusion, the author, under the subtitle “The Present Status and the Way Forward,” has highlighted many issues. Some critical issues are presented here. Issues like deforestation, encroachment, and unplanned construction are obvious priorities from the viewpoint of climate-resilient water management systems. And there are three criteria for this endeavour to bring fruition. First, there is a need to use the best available information for decision-making. Second, the administrative system should prioritise buffers, flexibility, and adaptability. Third, the State must reduce the vulnerability of the poor, who pay a disproportionately higher price for catastrophes. One crucial information presented by the author is that 1,034 local self-government institutions from 14 districts, including corporations, municipalities, and panchayats, submitted Disaster Management Plans (DMPs)to the district planning office along with their annual plans for 2020–21. Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA), the local self-government department alongside the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA), has appointed local self-government Disaster Management Plan (DMP) coordinators in all the districts. Their role is to review the prepared plans, provide guidance on project formulation, and offer suggestions for periodically enhancing and upskilling the plans.
I appreciate the author for presenting a thought-proving research article on Disaster Management.
Prof Shankar Chatterjee, Hyderabad
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