Rebuilding Local Communities in the Wake of Disaster by Martin Mulligan Yaso Nadarajah

Author:Martin Mulligan, Yaso Nadarajah [Martin Mulligan, Yaso Nadarajah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Google: 9QhEswEACAAJ
Publisher: Routledge India
Published: 2012-01-15T05:05:36+00:00

Until about the year 2000, disaster management in India was primarily in the hands of state governments, with funding and relief support from the national government. However, it has become increasingly clear that the nation as a whole is vulnerable to multiple disasters that are being compounded by population growth, rapid urbanisation, growing disparity in incomes, and depletion of natural resources, and thus there has been a paradigm shift towards an integrated national approach. The shift was prompted in particular by the 2001 Gujarat earthquake and it puts new emphasis on prevention, mitigation and preparedness (Government of India 2009). The Disaster Management Act (2005) lay down institutional and coordinating mechanisms with the formation of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs) and District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs). An Oxfam-BEDROC1 study (2009) reports that many of the districts and states have yet to set up their DMAs, and those that have been established are not clear about their roles and responsibilities.

1 BEDROC (Building and Enabling Disaster Resilience of Coastal Communities) was created as a forum of Indian NGOs operating in southern India.

The TNSCB was given the responsibility of creating new settlements for tsunami survivors under the Emergency Tsunami Reconstruction Project that was established by the state governments of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. As already mentioned, there was an in-built assumption that tsunami survivors needed to be moved into more ‘acceptable’ housing and this very top-down approach to needs assessment meant that more detailed and varied needs were barely considered. While the TNSCB aims to cater for the housing needs of lower income communities, the Voiceless No More report (Kothari 2007) argues that it is basically a government agency charged with the responsibility of clearing objectionable slums, particularly those located in flood-prone or vulnerable areas. The strategy is to move slum-dwellers into more hygienic, self-contained units with basic amenities, within urban limits. ‘However TNSCB’s habitation plans for the tsunami survivors are devoid of people’s participation and consultation,’ the report argued. ‘It has created un-planned artificial habitations which are not only far away from the people’s original places of habitation but also outside urban limits. Such habitat planning is devoid of an in-depth understanding and analysis of the socio-cultural and livelihood aspects of the coastal communities and therefore has presently turned detrimental in the survival of these communities’ (Kothari, 2007: 3).

Political rivalry between the two big political parties that have dominated politics in Tamil Nadu for the last 50 years created particular difficulties for tsunami survivors. At the time of the disaster, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) was in power, with Dr J. Jayalalitha as Chief Minister. There is a firm belief among tsunami survivors that the land on which the first temporary settlement — Kargil Vetri Nagar — was built was owned by a supporter of the AIADMK. Following elections in 2006, there was a change in government and M. Karunanidhi and his Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) came to power. However, VOC Nagar falls within

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