The present arrangements for financing disaster management in the country do not provide for disaster mitigation. They are neither comprehensive nor adequate. There is a dichotomy between the guidelines issued by the Government of India on disaster management and the mandate of the Disaster Management Act. A national consensus is required on how to fund all the three components of disaster management–mitigation, response, and reconstruction. Other issues to be addressed include the scope of disaster management, the creation of mitigation funds, the financing of such funds, the procedure for states to draw from these funds and accepting foreign aid for disaster relief. This article examines these and related issues. It may not be desirable to complicate the GST structure by levying a cess on either state GST or central GST or integrated GST for funding disaster management. The option of increasing the yield of the present national calamity contingency duty or introducing a cess similar to the GST compensation cess may be preferable.
