NEW DELHI: Urging the Centre to withdraw the Disaster Management (Amendment) Bill 2024, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said that it would bring greater centralisation of power in the hands of Centre.The bill was moved by Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha.Initiating the debate on the bill, Tharoor said that Centre rejected Kerala government’s demand for declaring the rains, floods and landslides in Wayanad, that took place in July, as a national disaster.He claimed that the legislation is constitutionally untenable as it lacks on various fronts, is “ill thought out”, and will lead to “overlapping”. It seeks to weaken the national executive committee and state executive committees related to disaster management, he said.Seeking its withdrawal, the Congress MP said that the MPs will have no voice in disaster management once the legislation is passed.While moving the Bill, Rai said the government is working on the policy of “zero casualties” during disasters in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge of making India a developed country by 2047.The minister said that since the Modi government has come to power, losses have come down due to able disaster management techniques, but asserted that the legislation was framed to address the difficulties flagged by the states.“India faces a variety of disasters across seasons. The government is working on the policy of ‘zero casualties’ in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pledge of making India a developed country by 2047,” Rai said.
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