Question : DEFINITION OF NATURAL CALAMITIES

(a) Whether after handing over the responsibility to deal with the natural calamities to the Ministry of Home Affairs the work of re-defining the natural calamities by the Ministry is going on;

(b) If so, the calamities which have been kept under the definition of natural calamities at present and the details of the suggestions contained in the proposals under consideration regarding inclusion of certain calamities in the definition of natural calamities;

(c) Whether Twelfth Finance Commission has also made recommendations for inclusion of certain calamities in the definition of natural calamities;

(d) If so, the details thereof;

(e) Whether recommendations have also been made in the Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners of the States in this regard; and

(f) If so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI S. REGUPATHY)

(a) to (d) : The Scheme of Calamity Relief Fund (CRF) and National Calamity Contingency Fund (NCCF) has been notified by the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) based on the recommendations of the Twelfth Finance Commission (TFC). TFC had considered the proposals submitted by some States for inclusion of some calamities in the list of natural calamities eligible for assistance under CRF/NCCF.

The TFC has extended the definition of natural calamities eligible for assistance under CRF/NCCF to cover the calamities of land slides, avalanches, cloud burst and pest attacks to the existing list of cyclone, drought, earthquake/Tsunami, fire, floods and hailstorm.

Inclusion of any calamity in the list of natural calamities to be eligible for assistance from CRF/NCCF comes under the purview of the Finance Commission.

(e) to (f) : The issue of inclusion of new calamities in the approved list of natural calamities for assistance under CRF/NCCF was discussed in the Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners of the States and the position as mentioned above has been apprised.