 bill  no 231  of  2018 the disaster management (amendment) bill, 2018 bydr shashi tharoor, mpa billto amend the disaster management act, 2005be it enacted by parliament in the sixty-ninth year of the republic of india as follows:— 1 (1) this act may be called the disaster management (amendment) act, 2018short title and commencement(2) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notificationin the official gazette, appoint2 after section 46 of the disaster management act, 2005, the following section shall be inserted, namely: —insertion of new section46a"46a (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute a fund to be called the national rehabilitation and reconstruction fund for meeting the expenses for post disaster rehabilitation and reconstructionnational rehabilitation and reconstruction fund(3) the central government shall make adequate budgetary allocations towards the national rehabilitation and reconstruction fund5(4) when a state government is unable to meet expenses for post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction, the central government shall, on a request made by a state government, within thirty days from the date of request, allocate funds in accordance with the guidelines framed under sub-section (2):provided that where the central government fails to allocate funds as requested by the state government, the reasons for doing so shall be clearly communicated to the state government concerned10explanation—expenses for post disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction shall include expenses for long term reconstruction and rehabilitation measures" statement of objects and reasonsthe disaster management act, 2005 established a legal regime to govern various facets of disaster management in the country through the co-operation and co-ordination between the central government and the state governments the act established the state disaster response fund and the national disaster response fund to meet the expenses for emergency relief workhowever, under the existing state disaster response fund and the national disaster response fund guidelines, there is no provision to provide for any financial assistance to the state government for rehabilitation and reconstruction measures, even though rehabilitation and reconstruction are integral components of disaster management people displaced and adversely affected by a disaster should not be deprived of their right to life and dignity as guaranteed under article 21 of the constitution due to lack of resources with the state government for rehabilitation and reconstruction measures therefore, a separate statutory fund with sufficient resources needs to be established by the central government to assist state governments for this purpose the report of the task force, 2013 which reviewed the disaster management act, 2005 had recognized that the act does not provide a specific mechanism to support post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, and therefore recommended inserting a regular provision in the act for this purposein situations where the state government does not have adequate funds to meet the expenses arising for rehabilitation and reconstruction works, it is the responsibility of the central government to provide adequate additional assistance in a time bound manner guidelines are required to be framed by the central government to govern the procedure for the allocation of such funds to ensure uniformity and objectivity in policyhence this billnew delhi;shashi tharoornovember 18, 2018 financial memorandumclause 2 of the bill provides for constitution of a national rehabilitation and reconstruction fund for meeting the expenses for post disaster rehabilitation and reconstructionthe bill, therefore, if enacted would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of india it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about rupees ten thousand crore per annum would be involved from the consolidated fund of indiano non-recurring expenditure is likely to be involved———— a billto amend the disaster management act, 2005————(dr shashi tharoor, mp)mgipmrnd—2053ls(s3)—19-12-2018