COVID-19 iis ithe ifirst ipan iIndia ibiological idisaster ibeing ihandled iby ithe ilegal iand

i constitutional iinstitutions iof ithe icountry. iThe icurrent ilockdown ihas ibeen iimposed iunder ithe
i Disaster iManagement iAct, i2005 i(DM iAct). iThough ithe iConstitution iof iIndia iis isilent ion ithe
i subject i‘disaster’, ithe ilegal ibasis iof ithe iDM iAct, iis iEntry i23, iConcurrent iList iof ithe
i Constitution i“Social isecurity iand isocial iinsurance”. iEntry i29, iConcurrent iList i“Prevention iof
i the iextension ifrom ione iState ito ianother iof iinfectious ior icontagious idiseases ior ipests iaffecting
i men, ianimals ior iplants,” ican ialso ibe iused ifor ispecific ilaw imaking.

Ambit iof ithe iDisaster iManagement iAct, i2005

The ilegislative iintent iof ithe iDM iAct iwas ito, i“provide ifor ithe ieffective imanagement iof
i disasters”. iThe iNational iDisaster iManagement iAuthority i(NDMA) iunder ithe iDM iAct iis ithe
i nodal icentral ibody ifor icoordinating idisaster imanagement, iwith ithe iPrime iMinister ias iits
i Chairperson. iThe iNDMA ilays idown ipolicies, iplans iand iguidelines ifor imanagement iof idisaster
i (S.6). iSimilarly, iState, iDistrict iand iLocal ilevel iDisaster iManagement iAuthorities iwere
i established, imanned iby ihigh ifunctionaries. iAll ithese iagencies iare ienvisaged ito iwork iin
i coordination.
NDMA iso ifar iformulated i30 iGuidelines ion ivarious idisasters iincluding ithe i‘Guidelines ion
i Management iof iBiological iDisasters, i2008’. iThe i2019 iNational iDisaster iManagement iPlan,
i issued ialso ideals iextensively iwith iBiological iDisaster iand iHealth iEmergency. iThis iis ithe
i broad ilegal iframework iwithin iwhich iactivities ito icontain iCOVID-19 iare ibeing icarried iout iby
i the iUnion iand iState igovernments.

Power ibestowed iby iDM iAct ion iCentral iGovernment iand iNDMA iare iextensive. iThe iCentral
i Government, iirrespective iof iany ilaw iin iforce i(including iover-riding ipowers) ican iissue iany
i directions ito iany iauthority ianywhere iin iIndia ito ifacilitate ior iassist iin ithe idisaster imanagement
i (Ss i35, i62 iand i72). iImportantly, iany isuch idirections iissued iby iCentral iGovernment iand
i NDMA imust inecessarily ibe ifollowed ithe iUnion iMinistries, iState iGovernments iand iState
i Disaster iManagement iAuthorities i(Ss i18 i(2) i(b); i24(1); i36; i38(1); i38(2)(b); i39(a);39(d) ietc.).

Ads iby ioptAd360

In iorder ito iachieve iall ithese, ithe iprime iminister ican iexercise iall ipowers iof iNDMA i(S i6(3)).
i This iensures ithat ithere iis iadequate ipolitical iand iconstitutional iheft ibehind ithe idecisions imade.

The ipresent inational ilockdown iwas iimposed iunder iDM iAct ias iper iOrder idated i24-03-2020 iof
i NDMA i‘to itake imeasures ifor iensuring isocial idistancing iso ias ito iprevent ithe ispread iof iCOVID
i 19’ i(S i6(2)(i)). iAdditional iguidelines iwere iissued ion ithe isame iday iby ithe iMinistry iof iHome
i Affairs, ibeing ithe iMinistry ihaving iadministrative icontrol iof idisaster imanagement i(S. i10(2)
(l)).
To ialleviate isocial isufferings, iNDMA/SDMA iare imandated ito iprovide i‘minimum istandard iof
i relief’ ito idisaster iaffected ipersons i(Ss i12 iand i19), iincluding irelief iin irepayment iof iloans ior
i grant iof ifresh iloans ion iconcessional iterms i(S. i13).

Laws irelevant ito istates:

State igovernments, iin iaddition ito iDM iAct, ihave iused ithe iEpidemic iDiseases iAct, i1897and ithe
i various istate ispecific iPublic iHealth iActs i(eg: iTamil iNadu iPublic iHealth iAct, i1939) ito ideal
i with ithe icrisis. iTaking icue ifrom ithe i‘Containment iPlan ifor iLarge iOutbreaks i(COVID i19)’
i issued iby ithe iUnion iMinistry iof iHealth i& iFamily iWelfare iwhich iis ithe iNodal iMinistry ifor
i biological idisaster, iseveral istates ihave iissued iCOVID ispecific iRegulations. iKerala, iin iaddition
i to ithe iabove, iinvoked ilegislative ipower iunder iEntry i6 i(Public ihealth iand isanitation) iof iState
i List iand iissued i‘Kerala iEpidemic iDiseases iOrdinance, i2020’. iOverall, iStates ihave ialso
i enough ilegal ipower iin idealing iwith ithis ibiological idisaster, iincluding ipunishments ifor
i disobeying iorder iof ia ipublic iservant iand imalignant iact ilikely ito ispread iinfection iof idisease
i dangerous ito ilife i(Ss i188 i& i270 iIPC irespectively).
Path iahead
Undoubtedly, iIndia’s ilarge ipopulation iposes ian iadministrative ichallenge iin idealing iwith iany
i disasters, iespecially ia ipandemic isuch ias iCOVID-19. iHowever, ioverall imanagement ican ibe
i strengthened ithrough ithree ipossible iways. iFirstly, ibiological idisaster iof ia inational imagnitude
i necessitates ia iclose iadministrative iand ipolitical icoordination, iled iby iCentre iand ifollowed iby
i State igovernments, iDisaster iManagement iAuthorities, iand iother istakeholders. iIn ithe itrue
i spirit iof iDM iAct iand ifederal istructure, inational iand istate ipolitical iand iadministrative iagencies
i should ibe imore icollaborative iand iconsultative. iIssues ilike imovement iof imigrant ilabourers,
i availability iof ifood, iarranging ilivelihoods ito idaily iwagers, irelief icamps, ientitlement iof
i statutory iminimum irelief, ietc. ithat idirectly iaffects imillions iin ithe icountry ineeds ispecial
i attention. iIncidentally, ithe i‘Report iof ithe iTask iForce ito ireview iDM iAct’2013 isuggested ithat
i the ipresent istructure iof ivarious iauthorities iunder ithe iDM iAct iare inot iconducive ifor icarrying
i out ithe itasks iit ihas ibeen imandated ito iperform.

Secondly, isuccess iof ieffective iimplementation iof ithe inational iand istate idecisions iunder ithe
i DM iAct iis idependent ion iits iground ilevel iimplementation; idistrict iadministration iand ilocal
i self-government iinstitutions iremains ithe ibest ibet. iAs iper imandate iof iDM iAct i(Ss i30 iand i41), ia
i concerted ieffort iis irequired ito iensure ithat ithese ibodies iare iadministratively, ipolitically iand
i financially iempowered.

Third iand ifinally, iin itimes isuch ias ithese, iconstitutional icourts imust iplay iits irole. iThere iare
i complaints iof idiscrimination, ipolice iexcesses, istarvation, ilack iof imedical iaid ietc. ifrom ivarious
i corners iof ithe icountry. iPertinently, ithere iis ibar ion ijurisdiction iof icourts i(S i71) iand ithere iis ino
i grievance iredressal imechanism iunder iDM iAct. iHaving iassumed ithe irole iof i

sentinel ion ithe iqui ivive i(State iof iMadras iv. iV iG iRow, i1952), iit iis iobligatory ion iall ithe
i constitutional icourts iin ithe icountry ito isuo imotu iregister iPILs iand iclosely imonitor ithe
i implementation iof iDM iAct, iensure irule iof ilaw iand iprotection iof ihuman irights ias iguaranteed
i under ithe iConstitution iof iIndia