As per UNICEF, India is among the world’s most disaster-prone countries with both its States and Union Territories exposed to recurrent natural hazards. Thus, the role of local bodies like Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) becomes imperative in disaster management as they being nearer to the people and more familiar with the local requirements, are in a better position to undertake relief tasks. Further, with both, they can help effectively in spreading awareness and ensure people’s participation in fighting the crisis.

Challenges faced by PRIs in tackling disasters

• Lack of clarity regarding roles and responsibilities of PRIs in disaster management. For instance, even with respect to the National Disaster Management Act 2005, the powers and responsibilities of panchayats are inadequately defined and left to be determined by respective State governments.
• The low level of devolution of powers and functions by the States leads to a lack of a system, resources, and capacity to act independently by PRIs, especially in the field of disaster management.
• The Panchayats are not given enough funds and are often bypassed by State-controlled line departments.
• Lack of training of elected representatives and official functionaries regarding mechanisms and strategies of Disaster Management.

Considering the important role that local communities can play in reducing vulnerabilities and early recovery, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj has prepared the Disaster Management Plan so that all Panchayati Raj Institutions along with communities can be prepared for any disaster. It can address the above challenges faced by PRIs in the following way:

• Institutional arrangement: It calls for constituting a village committee on Disaster Management in each village and a working group on disaster management in each Panchayat for planning, implementation and monitoring of the plan.
• Mainstreaming of Community-Based DMP of Villages and Panchayats: Every Indian village would have a Village Disaster Management Plan. These plans would be the basis for preparation. of respective Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) and subsequently the formulation of Block Development Plan (BDP) and District Development Plan (DDP).
• Hazard Risk, Vulnerability, and Capacity Analysis: It involves vulnerability mapping, and zoning for natural disasters such as cyclones, floods, drought, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. for respective Panchayats.
• Socially Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction in Rural Areas: The plan calls for incorporating socially inclusive disaster risk needs of Vulnerable Groups like Sexual Minorities, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, Children, and Specially Abled Persons in each Panchayat.
• Capacity Building Framework: The plan envisages competence-based training for two members of every village committee on disaster management, members of the working group on disaster management for each Panchayat, etc.
• Coordination, Convergence, and Collective Action: The plan advocates functional coordination with multiple agencies, convergence with structure and system of disaster management.

• • Implementation of the plan will be in convergence mode with the ongoing scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), schemes of Central Government and State Governments and Disaster Management Authorities (DMAs), and Grants on the basis of the recommendation of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

The Disaster Management Plan of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj aims to build 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.