HARISH GUPTA

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 18: The Union Home Ministry has lost the battle for control over disaster management to the Union Agriculture Ministry.

After prolonged discussions at various levels for months, it has finally been decided that no separate department for disaster management will be created under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The idea had been mooted in the wake of Gujarat quake in January and the hijacking of the IA plane last year.

According to highly placed sources in the Government, no proposal to amend the rules which assign the subject of handling natural calamities to the department of Agriculture and Cooperation, is in the offing.

This, according to the sources, puts an end to moves by the MHA to take control of the National Centre for Disaster Management.
It was also decided that man-made disasters such as hijacking of aircraft or the kind of attacks that shook the USA on Tuesday last, will continue to be handled by the Crisis Management Group (CMG) headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

The CMG would report to the Prime Minister directly or the Group of Ministers or the Cabinet Committee on Security.

The idea had first been suggested to the Prime Minister after the failure of the state governments and the Ministry of Agriculture to respond effectively to the Orissa supercyclone and the Gujarat quake.

It was also suggested that the entire disaster management machinery be placed directly under the MHA which has vast resources at its command.

The Agriculture Ministry, in recent times, has been unable to respond quickly to disasters and also failed to mobilise support from other agencies to provide quick relief.

But predictably, the proposals led to a turf war. The Agriculture Ministry opposed the move on the ground that it has been doing the job for the past several decades.

‘‘Unprecedented nature of calamities cannot be met merely by changing the GOI rules and handing over the department to the MHA,’’ argued Nitish Kumar who held the Agriculture portfolio until recently.

His successor Ajit Singh also took the same position and after a series of discussions it was decided to let the existing arrangement continue.

The National Centre for Disaster Management (NCDM) will not be handed over to the MHA. The Central Relief Commissioner who is also an additional secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, holds an annual meeting of state relief commissioners and continuously monitors the preparedness level to adequately respond to disasters.

The NCDM has suggested that each state set up an independent Disaster Management Authority to handle such calamities and the Centre will help by formulating an action plan.

It was on the basis of these parleys that Gujarat has set up such a body.