Nature spoke loudly in 2013 in U'khand & now in Kerala

The year was 1980. The embankment on Rapti river in Gorakhpur was under stress because of heavy rainfall and there were points on the embankment which had started seeping. There was imminent danger of the embankment getting breached. The Army was called in to take preventive action and ensure that breach did not take place, as Gorakhpur city would have been flooded. My father who was posted in Gorakhpur sent a company led by late Major H Ghosh. The emerging breach in the embankment was plugged and Gorakhpur city saved. Preventive action had been taken with close coordination of civil administration and army. Later Major Ghosh was awarded Vishisht Seva Medal (VSM) for his efforts.

In Kerala, the effect of floods could have been lessened if the State had released water from its 39 dams from July 2018 when the levels had reached 85 per cent of the capacity. Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that heavy rainfall was very likely. The damage from the floods could have been lessened by 30 to 40 per cent if the water had been released from the dams earlier. The water was released from the dams only when danger levels were reached. This was irresponsible and responsibility ought to be fixed.

The floods in Kerala have brought to fore again the importance of preventive measures, policy decisions vis a vis development and environment. It has also shown how civil administration, fishermen, citizen groups, NGOs, citizens and armed forces in a coordinated way can provide relief efficiently and effectively. The social media is full of brave stories of rescue and relief by citizens and fishermen.

But relief is an action after the disaster has taken place. We as a nation have to take a hard look on the preventive measures. The suggestions of environmentalists, natural disaster experts cannot be ignored any longer. Most of the areas affected by the floods have been classified as ecologically-sensitive zones (ESZs) by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), also known as the Gadgil Committee. Madhav Gadgil is an ecologist and is founder of the Centre for Ecological Sciences at Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru. The committee had suggested that the total area of 129307 Sq km of Western Ghats should be classified into three zones in accordance with the required environmental protection. The committee in some parts suggested that restrictions should be put on mining and quarrying, use of land for non-forest purposes etc. But the report was rejected by the Kerala Government. Gadgil has called the floods as “manmade calamity”. (Report is available at http://www.moef.nic.in/downloads/public-information/wg-23052012.pdf )

A glaring example is that of Kochi airport. The airport which became operational in 1999, is located near Periyar river. During the construction of the airport, a creek (Chengal Thodu) which served as a distributary of Periyar river was realigned to make space for the runway. The creek became narrow after realignment. The short point is that the airport has been built on a floodplain of Periyar river and was a disaster in making. Similar decisions have been taken in respect of other airports. Extensions of runway over Adyar river in Chennai airport and one of the runways of Mumbai Airport is built on Mithi river. A new airport slated to come up in Navi Mumbai also plans to reclaim marshy land and divert the course of the Ulwe river.

The “National Disaster Management Plan” was presented by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in May 2016. The National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) provides a framework and direction to the government agencies for all phases of disaster management cycle. The NDMP is a “dynamic document” in the sense that it will be periodically improved keeping up with the emerging global best practices and knowledge base in disaster management. It is in accordance with the provisions of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, the guidance given in the National Policy on Disaster Management, 2009 (NPDM), and the established national practices. (NDMP is available at https://ndma.gov.in/images/policyplan/dmplan/National%20Disaster%20Management%20Plan%20May%202016.pdf )

One area in which the NDMA needs improvement is on Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) with respect to non-structural measures for floods. Non-structural measures include regulation and enforcement of laws, norms, regulations and guidelines, regulations to promote flood resilient buildings and infrastructure, wetland conversation and restoration, catchment area treatment/afforestation. It has become imperative in view of Kerala floods, to include recommendations of Gadgil Committee in NDMP.

I discussed the issue with Professor Vinod K Sharma. He took sessions on Disaster Management when I was undergoing training in Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). He is a senior professor, Disaster Management, IIPA and Vice Chairman, Sikkim State Disaster Management Authority.

According to Prof Sharma, “The impact of climate change is visible with a series of unprecedented events like recent floods in Kerala. The combination of heavy rainfall and unsystematic/unscientific release of water from dams caused this severe disaster. Tamil Nadu (Chennai) and now Kerala floods are unprecedented/unexpected phenomena and both are not natural but man made disasters. Each disaster is living laboratory for the experts, practitioners and common man to learn. From Chennai floods, many lessons were learnt by Tamil Nadu but other states could not learn anything. Today, Kerala disaster is providing another opportunity to learn and making suitable changes in the State Disaster Management Plans and District Disaster Management Plans of all coastal States. This type of unprecedented events will happen again and again in coming years. We will have to take Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction (CCA and DRR) together and plan for risk reduction. Sendai Framework (2015-2030), Paris Agreement 2015 and Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030) as well as Prime Minister's 10 point programme for the nation should be the base for any development planning to reduce disaster risk. There is need of Sikkim like environment centric DRR policy for all ecologically sensitive States otherwise every year we will be counting human life, livestock and other economic losses due to natural disasters. Community efforts for DRR should be promoted and Panchayats should be trained for disaster preparedness, mitigation and in disaster risk reduction. Each disaster of this magnitude costs us more than Rs 20,000 crores. This has become a regular phenomenon in the country. To make India a strong economy, focus should be on Disaster Risk Reduction and climate change adaptation.”

I couldn’t agree more with Prof Sharma. Kerala flood is a wake up call.

The landslides in North Kerala were a result of rampant mining and quarrying. Uttarakhand can take lessons from that. In 2013, flashfloods and landslides wiped out settlements and hundreds of people lost lives in Uttarakhand. The relief and rescue work was shoddy because the authorities had nothing to guide them. The Disaster Management Act of 2005, under which the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the SDMAs were set up, gives broad guidelines for disaster management. Every State has to frame its own disaster management Act keeping local conditions and dangers in mind. The Uttarakhand Government failed to do so. Since there was no such Act then, the District Magistrates did not know the standard operating procedure in 2013. The nodal office for disaster management in Uttarakhand is called Disaster Mitigation and Management Centre.  The website does not show any District Disaster Management Plan (DDMP). Kerala was able to respond better to the floods as each district has a District Disaster Management Plan.

It has to be understood that the Himalayas are the world’s youngest mountain range. They are prone to erosion and landslides. Seismic activity and rainstorms lash the region. Mindless development on this ecologically fragile mountain range is one of the biggest reasons the floods were so devastating in Uttarakhand in 2013. The Nature spoke, and more loudly in 2013 in Uttarakhand and in 2018 in Kerala and we cannot afford not to listen to it any longer.

(A civil servant, the writer is presently posted as Controller, Communications, Uttarakhand. He belongs to Jaiharikhal village in Pauri Garhwal. Views expressed are personal)