The Disaster Management Act, 2005, (23 December 2005) No. 53 of
2005, was passed by the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of
the Parliament of India on 28 November, and the Lok Sabha, the
lower house of the Parliament, on 12 December, 2005. It received the assent of
The President of India on 23 December, 2005. The Disaster
Management Act, 2005 has 11 chapters and 79 sections. The Act extends
to the whole of India. The Act provides for "the effective management
of disasters and for matters connected there with or incidental thereto.
National Authority
The Act calls for
the establishment of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), with
the Prime Minister of India as chairperson. The NDMA may have no more
than nine members including a Vice-Chairperson.
National Executive Committee
The Act under
Section 8 enjoins the Central Government to Constitute a National Executive
Committee (NEC) to assist the National Authority. The NEC is composed of
Secretary level officers of the Government of India in the Ministries
of home, agriculture, atomic energy, defence, drinking water supply,
environment and forests, finance (expenditure), health, power, rural
development, science and technology, space, telecommunication, urban
development, and water resources, with the Home secretary serving as the
Chairperson, ex officio.
State Disaster Management Authority
All State
Governments are mandated under Section 14 of the act to establish a State
Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The SDMA consists of the Chief Minister
of the State, who is the Chairperson, and no more than eight members appointed
by the Chief Minister.
District Disaster Management Authority
The Chairperson of
District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) will be the Collector or District
Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner of the district. The elected representative
of the area is member of the DDMA as an ex officio co-Chairperson,
(Section 25).
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