Kathmandu -The government has been making preparations to form ‘National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority’ by incorporating the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology.
The ‘disaster risk reduction and management regulation’ is being formulated for the formation of ‘National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority’ by incorporating the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Department of Water Induced Disaster Management under the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, and the National Emergency Operation Centre under the Home Ministry.
Secretary at Home Ministry Prem Kumar Rai said the government is preparing to form the authority as mentioned in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act 2074. The Act states about the formation of council, executive committee and authority.
Prime Minister will be the chairman of the council, and Home Minister will be the chairman of executive committee, the chief executive officer (CEO) of the committee will be appointed by the Cabinet office. The regulation should be endorsed.
“The draft regulation is being finalized. Discussions are being held on the modality of the authority,” said Rai.
Secretary Rai the government is doing homework to adopt the system whereby the tasks of conducting study, research, forecast, search, rescue and relief management, data collection, analysis and storage are done by a single body. He added the structure of the authority has not been finalized, though the formation of such a body has been mentioned in the act.
“The central office of the authority will remain in Kathmandu and the branch offices will be set up in other places depending on their necessity,” reads the Act. Discussions are being held on how to open other offices of the Authority.
On June, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa had said that a Disaster Risk Reduction Authority would be formed with executive authority.
The authority will be empowered with the authority to approve national policy and plans on disaster management, direct executive committee and the authority on essential plans and policies on disaster management, and provide necessary policy-related guidelines to provincial and local levels.
The Authority formed as central resource body on disaster risk reduction and management will conduct study and research on river control, floods and landslides, earthquakes, global warming, climate change, possible causes of disaster and ways to reduce them.
The task done by Disaster and Conflict Management Division under the Home Ministry in the earlier governing structure will be done by the authority in the federal, provincial and local level.
Likewise, Province disaster management committee will be formed under Chief Minister, district disaster management committee will be under chief district officer, and local disaster management committee will be under chief of rural municipality or municipality.
In the new set-up, the authority of disaster risk reduction, relief and rehabilitation given earlier to district disaster management committee has been given to the local level. The district disaster management committee under CDO will coordinate in mobilizing security personnel for rescue operation.
According to Home Ministry data, around 900 people die every year on average due to approximately 500 natural disasters such as flooding, and landslides. The Act, which hadn’t been amended in the past 10 years due to the controversy over forming such an authority, was finally approved by the president on October 22, 2017.
