New Delhi: Home Minister, Shivraj Patil moved the Disaster Management Bill 2005 in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The bill proposes the formation of a disaster management body?National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)?which is to be chaired by the Prime Minister.
The NDMA will have eight battalions with personnels drawn from the Border Security Force and other paramilitary bodies, the Home Minister said.
The central disaster response force will be supported by district-level authorities, headed by chief ministers and district level bodies, headed by collectors.
Local authorities like Municipal Corporations and Gram Panchayats will also be involved, said Patil.
The bill includes building laws, which are to ensure that new structures are earthquake resistant. At the same time, he said, states will be free to form their own laws for effective management of disasters.
Participating in the discussion, BJP member, S S Ahluwalia said 60 per cent of India's land mass is prone to quakes, 68 per cent prone to droughts, eight per cent prone to cyclones and 40 million hectares of land prone to floods.
Ahluwalia said the people's participation in the disaster management process is necessary. But as of now, their representatives are being ignored in the proposed NDMA.
Congress member Jairam Ramesh said the NDMA should have experts with technical background. Also, the body should adopt a decentralised approach.
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