The semantics of Kerala’s ‘national disaster’

There is no provision to notify any disaster as a “national disaster” or “national calamity”, according to India’s Disaster Management Act, 2005, and its policies. E Chandrasekharan, Kerala’s revenue minister, told Newslaundry there’s no reported precedence, and that the “tag” is not what matters.

There has been a lot of hue and cry about the need for Kerala to be called a national disaster, and leaders publicly called for it—including Rahul Gandhi, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Sitaram Yechury, Congress Working Committee member AK Antony, and Lok Sabha member KC Venugopal. Finally, on August 21, the Centre categorised the Kerala floods as “L3 Level of disaster”.

As per the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP), 2016, and established national practices, disasters in India are categorised into three levels, taking into account the vulnerability of the disaster-affected area, and the capacity of authorities to deal with the situation. The categories are:

Level – L1: The level of disaster that can be managed within the capabilities and resources at the district level. However, the state authorities will remain in readiness to provide assistance if needed.

Level – L2: This signifies the disaster situations that require assistance and active mobilisation of resources at the state level and deployment of state-level agencies for disaster management. The central agencies must remain vigilant for immediate deployment if required by the state.

Level – L3: This corresponds to a nearly catastrophic situation or a very large-scale disaster that overwhelms the state and district authorities.

The NDMP also says that L0, or Level 0, is a period of normalcy which “should be utilised for disaster risk reduction”.

However, this categorisation into levels is not mentioned in the Disaster Management Act.

The question of international aid

India has been refusing to accept bilateral aid from 2004, and has in fact been positioning itself as an aid donor, helping out other neighbouring nations during disasters. In 2004, after the tsunami which killed more than 12,000 people, the then United Progressive Alliance government led by Manmohan Singh said, “We feel that we can cope with the situation on our own and we will take help if needed.”  

In July 2013, Syed Akbaruddin, then the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “As a general policy in case of rescue and relief operations, we have followed the practice that we have adequate ability to respond to emergency requirements.”

The National Policy on Disaster Management (NPDM), 2009, placed the onus on the Centre to facilitate coordination with UN agencies, international organisations, and foreign governments in the field of disaster management—through the Ministry of External Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Home Affairs. The NPDM also said, “It will be the national endeavour to develop close cooperation and coordination at the international level in all spheres of disaster management.”

On August 20 and 21, Shashi Tharoor, Congress MP and former diplomat, visited Geneva in his personal capacity, to brief the UN, WHO and International Red Cross on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Kerala. He wanted to identify avenues through which international organisations could support relief and rehabilitation in the state.

A statement issued by him on August 22 said he had consulted personally and directly with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the “utility of these discussions, their nature and purport, and the specific areas of priority for the Chief Minister”. It said, “Once the scale of reconstructions needs have been identified, and if these cannot be met from the Central government resources, the possibility of convening a reconstruction conference to ‘rebuild Kerala better’ was mooted, along the lines of that held after Gujarat earthquake in 2001.”

Tharoor suggested that the state government “examine whether it requires a multi-sector needs assessment by UN agencies”, and ask the WHO for cholera vaccines to tackle water-borne diseases. The statement also said, “Since the Government of India does not wish to request assistance directly, it is entirely feasible to operationalise any and all of the above [his recommendations] by negotiating with the UN system to have the UN offer what we need, on a no-objection basis from the GoI.”

The challenge of rehabilitation and recovery

E Chandrasekharan, the revenue minister—who is also the vice chairman of the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA)—told Newslaundry the disaster is very severe. He said, “We are still trying to figure out the magnitude of loss, in all sectors. Many people have lost their livelihoods, many their homes, cattle, crop and what not. We have to reconstruct roads and bridges. We are doing all that is possible for the rehabilitation and recovery of the state. After a thorough estimation, we are to seek a complete relief package from the Centre to tide over the situation.”

Chandrasekharan said international aid can only be accepted in “accordance with national policies and guidelines“ and there was no point in crying for a label. “We hope the Centre supports us in all ways and if required, allow us to get funds from the international agencies too in the process of rehabilitation.”

Later, in a press conference on August 22, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the NDMP of 2016 has “provision to accept foreign aids if it is voluntarily offered in times of severe calamity”. He said the confusion existing in case of accepting the help will be discussed with the Centre and a decision will be taken. He added that the state government will accept any help that is offered from any parts of the world.

On the same day, Muralee Thummarukudy, Chief, Disaster Risk Reduction, UN Environment—who has been discussing the possibilities of rehabilitation with the Kerala Chief Minister, and officials associated with the Kerala Disaster Management department in Thiruvananthapuram—wrote in a Facebook post that the rescue activities are just getting over, in dealing with the biggest floods witnessed by Kerala this century.

The post, which was written in Malayalam, loosely translates to, “More than 10 lakh victims remain in rescue camps, and the few who have returned home have to deal with knee-deep muck and highly poisonous snakes, including cobras, in their devastated homes. The government officials, who are responsible for anything from reconstructing roads, bridges to preventing fever and epidemics, and everything in between, are working relentlessly day and night … The public, without differences, are all out to cooperate with the state in the process. It is not a time for the blame game.”

Thummarukudy’s post added that the focus needs to be on relief and rehabilitation—studying the problem and suggesting corrections can come later.

Pankaj Anand, Director, Programmes and Humanitarian Response, Oxfam India, said considering the magnitude of the floods, the Centre could make higher allocations from the NDRF, and that all stakeholders had to work together.

Speaking to Newslaundry, Anand said,  “Even in the absence of a provision to call it a ‘national disaster’, foreign governments, foundations, trusts and private individuals can still allocate large amounts to humanitarian agencies for rebuilding Kerala. The government of India is unlikely to issue an open appeal seeking assistance, if precedence is anything to go by. I understand the Centre takes a call based on its own capacity to meet the financial requirement, technical capacity and human resources. The government has itself assisted Nepal earlier.”

Newslaundry also spoke to MK Muneer, the deputy leader of the Opposition in Kerala, who called this the gravest calamity Kerala has experienced since 1924. He said,  “Despite differences of opinion on various aspects with the LDF government, which can be discussed later, this is the time to act as one. At the assembly scheduled on August 30, we will discuss all aspects, and pass a unanimous resolution seeking what we need from the Centre. We would also try to convince the Centre on the gravity and the estimated requirements. I hope all the countries and the agencies are willing to help us, and there is nothing wrong in receiving aid when needed.”

Ramesh Chennithala, the leader of the Opposition, Kerala, however, alleged that the calamity is man-made, pointing to the lack of preparedness and mitigation efforts by the government. Citing the UPA government’s denial of bilateral aids in 2004, he told this reporter, “It is considered that our country is not capable of handling the situation on our own if we seek aid, and is looked down upon. The Centre should understand the gravity and cooperate in all its capacities to rebuild our State.”

Asked about the discord regarding the term “national disaster”, Chennithala admitted that he realised only later about the absence of such a provision in the Disaster Management Act. He said, “Still, the Centre can involve and ensure that all assistance is facilitated to the state through its recovery.”   

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party state president PS Sreedharan Pillai said refusal of bilateral aid has been a “policy and practice” since 2004. Pillai told Newslaundry, “As of now, we can only follow the same. Anything more, on whether it would be changed, can be discussed only after the Centre decides on it.”