BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Monday said state government’s Disaster Management Plan was itself “disastrous” after it learnt that the government had held only one meeting in the past 11 years since the Disaster Management Authority came into existence.
The stinging observation was made by a division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Mohammad Nawaz, which noted that the state had held just one meeting on August 2, 2019, though the Disaster Management Authority was established on May 16, 2008.
The court was hearing a PIL filed by Karnataka State Legal Services Authority and another seeking direction to the state government to take up drought-relief works and implement the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It pointed out that the Disaster Management Plan was not approved and rules have not been framed for effective implementation of the Disaster Management Act.
The State Disaster Mitigation Fund has remained only on paper, although it is a key component of the Disaster Management Plan, it said.
The court expressed displeasure with the government after learning that only a couple of meetings were held by the State Executive Council in the last six months when the state was reeling under severe drought and floods.
The court directed the state to place records of the meetings conducted by the District Disaster Management Authorities and adjourned the hearing to September 13.