Functions Of Ministries Don't Get Transferred To NDMA During National Disaster : Supreme Court

In the loan moratorium case, the Supreme Court observed that the powers and functions of Ministries do not get transferred to the National Disaster Management Authority in the event of a national disaster."...on conjoint reading of the relevant provisions of the DMA 2005... it cannot be said that the functions of all the Ministries are to be discharged by the NDMA which should take decision qua the area in each Ministry. It also cannot be said that the functions of the Ministries will stand transferred to the NDMA and will have to be discharged by the NDMA either directly or indirectly for the purpose of disaster management. Various Ministries under the Central Government have to take various relief measures within their respective spheres for remedying the effects of the disaster", the Court observed.The Court further observed that the National Disaster Management Plan would be for a long term and even with respect to disaster to happen in future, while rejecting the contention that that there is no "National Plan" drawn up for the disaster management due to Covid19 pandemic and that National Disaster Management Authority has not performed its duty under the Disaster Management Act. The bench comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R Subhash Reddy and MR Shah made these observations while disposing off a batch of petitions which sought various reliefs such as waiver of interest, extension of moratorium etc.Supreme Court Bars Charging Compound Interest Or Penal Interest On Any Borrower During Loan Moratorium; Refuses Moratorium ExtensionIn this case, the contention raised was that the Section 11 mandates duty to draw up a plan for disaster management for the whole country, but there is no national plan prepared while considering the disaster- Covid19 pandemic. Opposing this argument, the Centre contended that the National Plan made in November, 2019, envisages rarest of the rare "global catastrophe risk events" which includes Covid-19 pandemic.To address these rival contentions, the bench referred to various provisions of the Act and observed thusTherefore, on conjoint reading of the relevant provisions of the DMA 2005, which are referred to hereinabove, it cannot be said that the functions of all the Ministries are to be discharged by the NDMA which should take decision qua the area in each Ministry. It also cannot be said that the functions of the Ministries will stand transferred to the NDMA and will have to be discharged by the NDMA either directly or indirectly for the purpose of disaster management. Various Ministries under the Central Government have to take various relief measures within their respective spheres for remedying the effects of the disaster. From the pleadings, it is borne out that in fact there is already a National Disaster Management Plan prepared even prior to the Covid19 pandemic. Under the National Plan, there is a National Disaster Management Institutional Mechanism, which is reproduced hereinabove. The said plan also envisages nodal ministries for management of different disasters. For example, if the disaster is due to drought, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare would be the nodal agency; if the disaster is due to floods, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs would be the nodal agency and if the disaster is due to "biological emergencies", the Ministry of Health and Welfare would be the nodal agency. The disaster due to Covid19 pandemic would fall under disaster due to "biological emergencies". However, it appears that Covid19 pandemic disaster is of such a nature that it could not be confined to one nodal ministry and whatever measures/reliefs are required to be taken/given are provided by every Ministry in each and every day needed. Therefore, various reliefs/packages are provided by different Ministries, such as, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare etc. It also appears that even considering the very nature of the pandemic which would have PAN India impact, empowered groups were constituted by the National Disaster Management Authority.The bench observed that when there is already in existence a National Plan, which might have been prepared even prior to the Covid19 pandemic, it cannot be said that there is no National Plan by the NDMA at all. "National Plan would be for a long term and even with respect to disaster to happen in future. For every disaster, there shall not be a new National Plan. National Plan would be comprehensive in nature which is already there in existence. Therefore, the submission of Shri Sibbal, learned Senior Advocate that there is no National Plan at all and therefore the NDMA has failed to perform its duty cannot be accepted."Yet another contention raised was that the National...

Functions Of Ministries Don't Get Transferred To NDMA During National Disaster : Supreme Court

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