A year has already gone by since the heart aching catastrophe hit the country of Nepal. Since then, a series of aftershocks or new waves of earthquakes have become a part of our daily lives. This definitely calls for a reminder to every person about the basic reasons behind such disasters and things that can be done in order to prevent or mitigate losses to life and property if such catastrophe strikes again.India and her neighboring areas are among the world’s most disaster prone areas. Almost 57% of the land is vulnerable to earthquake (high seismic zones lll-V). The biggest quakes occur in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kutch, Himachal and the North-East. The Himalayan regions are particularly prone to earthquakes.Today, all nations agree that legal frameworks are a critical tool for governments to shape their choices, both for themselves and for others. 168 United Nations member statesadopted the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters (HFA), and remains so today, as states and other stakeholders discuss its successor agreement. HFA’s first Priority for Action is to ensure that disaster risk reduction is a national and a local priority with a strong institutional basis for implementation, notably through policy, legislative and institutional frameworks for disaster risk reduction.As for the Indian legal scenario, we have the National Disaster Management Act, 2005 (referred to as the Act) which came into force on 23rd December, 2005.Disaster Management may be described as an effort to inquire into the process of a hazard turning to disaster to identify its causes and rectify the same through public policy. The Act provides for a three- level mechanism for Disaster Management that includes National Disaster Management Authority as the nodal agency with the Prime Minister as its chairperson, State Disaster Management Authority with the Chief Minister as its Chairperson and District Disaster Management Authority. Further, there is the National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009 which was approved by the Government in November 2009. There are still significant gaps in the regulatory frameworks for safety in building and construction, as well as land use and spatial planning. This requires an investment of resources and capacity building for technical experts at the local level, public awareness for example, carrying out of mock drills, awareness camps etc and education campaigns on how the laws promote safety, and possibly, an increased use of sanctions for non-compliance in major developments. Most disaster management plans have thus far focused on the post-seismic period of rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction (RRR). Tragically, there is no activity during the pre-seismic and co- seismic period.Sustainable Development preparedness can reduce hazard. There is need to link disaster management and development plans. Planned improvement in legal framework is needed.More effective international cooperation and use of it is needed for disaster warning system.
Mrs. TrishnaGurung,
Asst. Prof. in Law,
IILS.
