What is the Disaster Management Act?
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—
(1) This Act may be called the Disaster Management Act, 2005.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint; and different dates* may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and for different States, and any reference to commencement in any provision of this Act in relation to any State shall be construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision in that State.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “affected area” means an area or part of the country affected by a disaster;
(b) “capacity-building” includes—
(i) identification of existing resources and resources to be acquired or created;
(ii) acquiring or creating resources identified under sub-clause (i);
(iii) organisation and training of personnel and coordination of such training for effective management of disasters;
(c) “Central Government” means the Ministry or Department of the Government of India having administrative control of disaster management;
(d) “disaster” means a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area;
(e) “disaster management” means a continuous and integrated process of planning, organising, coordinating and implementing measures which are necessary or expedient for—
(i) prevention of danger or threat of any disaster;
(ii) mitigation or reduction of risk of any disaster or its severity or consequences; (iii) capacity-building;
(iv) preparedness to deal with any disaster;
(v) prompt response to any threatening disaster situation or disaster;
(vi) assessing the severity or magnitude of effects of any disaster;
(vii) evacuation, rescue and relief;
(viii) rehabilitation and reconstruction;
(f) “District Authority” means the District Disaster Management Authority constituted under subsection (1) of section 25;
(g) “District Plan” means the plan for disaster management for the district prepared under section 31;
(h) “local authority” includes panchayati raj institutions, municipalities, a district board, cantonment board, town planning authority or Zila Parishad or any other body or authority, by whatever name called, for the time being invested by law, for rendering essential services or, with the control and management of civic services, within a specified local area;
(i) “mitigation” means measures aimed at reducing the risk, impact or effects of a disaster or threatening disaster situation;
(j) “National Authority” means the National Disaster Management Authority established under sub-section (1) of section 3;
(k) “National Executive Committee” means the Executive Committee of the National Authority constituted under sub-section (1) of section 8;
(l) “National Plan” means the plan for disaster management for the whole of the country prepared under section 11;
(m) “preparedness” means the state of readiness to deal with a threatening disaster situation or disaster and the effects thereof;
(n) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(o) “reconstruction” means construction or restoration of any property after a disaster;
(p) “resources” includes manpower, services, materials and provisions;
(q) “State Authority” means the State Disaster Management Authority established under subsection (1) of section 14 and includes the Disaster Management Authority for the Union territory constituted under that section;
(r) “State Executive Committee” means the Executive Committee of a State Authority constituted under sub-section (1) of section 20;
(s) “State Government” means the Department of Government of the State having administrative control of disaster management and includes Administrator of the Union territory appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution;
(t) “State Plan” means the plan for disaster management for the whole of the State prepared under section 23.
NOW WHY WE NEED IT…
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a nationwide lockdown for 1.2 billion citizens, PM Modi said. Providing a rationale behind this major step, Modi said that it was necessitated due to the severity of the situation.
"It took 67 days for the number of infected cases to rise to 100,000. But, it took only 11 days for the next 100,000 cases to emerge. And, it took just four days for the 300,000 cases to appear. This indicates the speed at which coronavirus is spreading," Modi added.
He stressed that during the 21-day lockdown no individual was permitted to leave the house. The novel coronavirus, or Covid-19 pandemic has spread across at least 190 countries, infecting nearly 400,000 people across the globe, and claiming over 17,260 lives.
Laws in the time of coronavirus in India
The Disaster Management Act 2005
The stated object and purpose of the DM Act is to manage disasters, including preparation of mitigation strategies, capacity-building and more. In the popular imagination, a disaster is usually associated with a natural calamity such as a cyclone or an earthquake. Even the definition of a “disaster” in Section 2 (d) of the Disaster Management Act states that a disaster means a “catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man made causes…”. To address the current epidemic outbreak, the Central government has included the Covid-19 outbreak as “Notified Disaster” as a “critical medical condition or pandemic situation” .
The Epidemic Diseases Act
Under this law, the Central government as well as state government, have the power to take special measures and prescribe regulations to prevent the spread of a “dangerous epidemic disease”.
An example of this would be the order on March 16 under the Delhi Epidemics Diseases, Covid-19 Regulations, 2020, whereby the Delhi government has restricted gatherings with groups of more than 50 persons till March 31.
What is a lockdown?
A lockdown is an emergency protocol that prevents people from leaving a given area. A full lockdown will mean you must stay where you are and not exit or enter a building or the given area.
This scenario usually allows for essential supplies. All non-essential activities remain shut for the entire period.
In India, the restrictions on movement and services have been enforced by state government, after advisories from the Centre. These restrictions derive their legal basis from the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.
What does the coronavirus lockdown mean for Indian citizens?
We are making efforts that there is no difficulty in daily life. We are taking all steps to ensure continuous essential supplies, Modi has said.
— Under the coronavirus lockdown, essential supplies and grocery stores, pharmacies and banks will be open for public. All non-essential activities remain shut for the entire period.
— Essential activities include: Buying groceries and medical supplies. Visit to the doctor in case of medical emergencies will be permitted.
— Private and government offices will be shut
— Religious institutions, schools, colleges will not be allowed to function.
— Hospitals will be open
What is Section 144?
Section 144 of the Indian penal code states that a gathering of four or more people is prohibited in the concerned area. If a gathering of four or more people is found, then every member of the group can be charged for engaging a riot.
Section 144 is imposed in urgent cases of nuisance or to control the danger of some event that has the potential to cause trouble or damage to human life or property.
What is a curfew?
A curfew is an order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically it refers to the time when individuals are required to return to and stay in their homes.
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