Lessons Forgotten: J&K’s disaster readiness in disarray

Srinagar, Sep 21: In a glaring violation of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, several districts of Jammu and Kashmir continue to neglect their legally mandated obligations for disaster preparedness and response, despite J&K's high vulnerability to natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, landslides, avalanches, and cloudbursts.

Jammu and Kashmir is among the most disaster-prone areas in the country.

With its fragile Himalayan ecology, J&K is especially vulnerable to seismic activities, flash floods, and landslides. Past disasters like the 2014 floods, recurring landslides in Ramban and Doda, and frequent cloudbursts in Kishtwar and Ganderbal have caused extensive damage to life and property.

As per the Disaster Management Act, 2005, Section 31 mandates that every district must prepare a District Disaster Management Plan (DDMP), and Sub-Section 4 clearly stipulates that these plans must be reviewed and updated annually.

Official websites of the J&K Disaster Management Authority, district administrations, and the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction (DMRRR) reveal that numerous districts have not updated their plans for periods ranging from one to four years.

Officials said that the outdated plans in several districts fail to account for evolving risks, changing demographics, and newly available resources.

This indicates a lack of urgency or seriousness, despite the heavy toll past disasters have taken in J&K.

Further, Sub-Section 5 of Section 31 requires that copies of the updated DDMPs be made accessible to all government departments operating in the district, ensuring inter-departmental awareness and coordination.

Moreover, Sub-Section 7 obligates the District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) to periodically review the implementation of the plans and issue necessary instructions for effective execution. These mandates are also being widely ignored.

Almost all districts of J&K have failed to comply fully with these legal provisions. In several cases, plans remain unpublished or inaccessible to stakeholders, rendering them ineffective.

All district-level offices and local authorities are also required to prepare their own department-specific disaster management plans, aligned with the DDMP and coordinated with other relevant entities, including local bodies, civil society groups, and emergency response units.

These departmental plans are meant to outline prevention and mitigation measures, capacity-building initiatives, response protocols during disasters, and regular review and integration with broader district-level efforts.’

However, these plans either do not exist or have not been updated or coordinated across departments in most districts, effectively crippling local preparedness efforts.

Despite the issuance of a circular in December 2024, by the DMRRR – mandating monthly Coordination-cum-Preparedness meetings in the first week of every month - compliance remains poor.

The circular, issued, has directed all J&K-level, divisional, and district authorities to include all key stakeholders in these meetings.

These include line departments, emergency support function departments, Police and Armed Forces, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and Civil Defence, and NGOs.

The districts have also been instructed to submit a monthly Action Taken Report (ATR) to the DMRRR. However, many districts have failed to conduct these meetings or submit the ATRs, defeating the very purpose of coordinated disaster response.

Officials said it was a direct violation of statutory responsibilities.

“Without routine coordination and updated plans, responses to disasters will remain ad-hoc and ineffective,” sources said.

Despite these recurring incidents, there seems to be a lack of institutional memory and proactive governance, experts said.