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dna special: The secret - Why no tragedy can be a National Calamity

There is nothing in the statutes to declare a disaster, howsoever big it may be, a National Calamity.

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While the debate goes on why Uttarakhand flash floods have not been declared a National Calamity, the truth is that there is nothing in the statutes by which a disaster can be termed as a National Calamity or a National Disaster.

“There is nothing in the manuals or statutes to declare a disaster, howsoever big it may be, a National Calamity and none has been declared as a National Calamity till date. At the most, it is an expression used in general parlance,” said a top-level government functionary dealing with disaster management.

None of the disasters in India —  the 1999 super cyclone of Orissa, the Kosi floods that ravaged Bihar, or the catastrophic tsunami in 2004 which killed thousands and left lakhs homeless — was declared a National Calamity.  

A disaster can be considered big when it attracts large-scale movement of defence forces and other central government agencies and invokes MPLADS guidelines where all MPs can give 50 lakh of their MPLAD fund to the concerned state like Uttarakhand.

“The philosophy behind not keeping such nomenclature was that India did not want to go to other countries with a begging bowl or be seen in distress.

Declaring a disaster as National Calamity gives a handle to big economic powers to show their benevolence and big brotherly attitude. The architects of our Constitution and statutes wanted to shield India from such influences. That is why even during the worst of the disasters, India has not sought international help,” the official said.

Then why was there hyperbole accusations against the Centre by several parties, including the BJP, the Samajwadi party and the Bahujan Samaj Party for not declaring Uttarakhand flash floods disaster as National Calamity?

The answer lies in the politics. “In times of a disaster occurring on such a magnitude, all political parties want to show that they are more concerned about it than the ruling government and want to attract public opinion in their favour,” said the official.

Incidentally, after the 1999 super cyclone devastated Orissa, the Congress was in the forefront demanding that the Vajpayee government declare it as a National Calamity.  Similarly, after the 2004 tsunami, BJP leader LK Advani made a similar demand. Neither the Vajpayee government nor the Manmohan Singh government could name the disasters a National Calamity.

However, the trend is continued by every party when it is in the opposition or not part of the government.

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