DISASTER JUSTICE: MEANING, SIGNIFICANCE, CHALLENGES, WAY FORWARD

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Picture Courtesy:  DOWNTOEARTH

Context

The Kerala State Cabinet has set a precedent for disaster justice by deciding to take over and repay the private bank loans of the survivors of the July 2024 Wayanad Landslide.

What is Disaster Justice?

Disaster Justice reframes disasters as "socio-natural" events, arguing that a hazard becomes a disaster because of pre-existing social inequalities.

Shift in Perspective: It moves the focus from "Acts of God" to failures in policy and planning that expose vulnerable communities to risk. Safety is viewed as a human right, not a privilege.

Core Principles: It integrates three core principles of justice into the disaster management cycle:

• Distributive Justice: Fair and equitable allocation of resources, aid, and compensation.
• Procedural Justice: Inclusive and fair decision-making processes where vulnerable groups are consulted.
• Restorative Justice: Measures to heal long-term social, economic, and psychological harm, restoring communities to a state of well-being.

Structure of Disaster Injustice

Inequality is not just a side effect of disasters; it is built into every stage of the disaster cycle, from who is forced into high-risk zones to who is allowed to rebuild first.

Pre-Disaster: The Inequality of Exposure

Geography of Class & Caste: The urban poor are often forced to live in high-risk zones like floodplains or unstable slopes. 

• In Mumbai, 55% of the population lives in slums on just 6% of the land, often in flood-prone areas. (Source: World Bank Report on Urbanization)
• In rural areas, Dalit communities are frequently located in low-lying parts of villages, making them the first victims of floods.

Policy Failures: Ignoring scientific warnings for economic reasons increases vulnerability. 

• The Wayanad Landslides (2024) occurred in areas the Madhav Gadgil Committee Report (2011) had identified as Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ-1), where hazardous activities like quarrying should have been banned.

Asset Vulnerability: While wealthier households can afford to retrofit homes to modern safety standards, low-income families often live in "light material" (wood, bamboo) housing that is inherently less resilient.

The Insurance Gap: Access to financial safety nets like national flood insurance is often a privilege of those with documented land titles and surplus income.

During Crisis: The Inequality of Survival

Digital Divide in Warnings: Smartphone-based early warning systems fail to reach 51.6% of rural women aged 15 and above who lack mobile phones, resulting in gendered mortality disparities. (Source: GSMA Mobile Gender Gap Report).

Forced Exposure: Low-income workers often lack the mobility capacity to evacuate quickly, as they may lack private vehicles or be forced to remain mobile to maintain their daily livelihoods.

Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwD): During the 2020 Assam floods, reports highlighted that PwDs were left behind due to a lack of accessible boats and shelters, exposing that evacuation infrastructure is rarely disability-friendly.

Institutional Bias: Government response sometimes prioritizes affluent areas for rescue and utility restoration, leaving marginalized zones neglected.

Post-Disaster: The Inequality of Recovery

The Compensation Trap: Relief and compensation often require proof of land ownership, excluding tenant farmers, slum dwellers, and forest communities who lack formal titles.

The "Build Back Better" Paradox: Reconstruction projects often displace the poor to urban peripheries, severing them from their livelihoods. 

• After the 2004 Tsunami, fisherfolk in Tamil Nadu were relocated inland, destroying their economic lifeline.

Poverty Traps: Wealthier households often "bounce back" by using savings, whereas the poor may be pushed into a cycle of losses, spending their last savings on basic survival instead of rebuilding.

Displacement as "Reorganization": In some cases, discriminatory rebuilding policies prevent low-income residents from returning to their original neighborhoods, effectively using the disaster to permanently displace marginalized populations.

Key Case Studies of Disaster Injustice

Systemic Drivers of Disaster Injustice

Technocratic Governance

Policymakers often view disasters as engineering problems (e.g., building higher flood walls) instead of addressing the root social issues like poverty and exclusion.

Erosion of Local Democracy

District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) are led by bureaucrats, often sidelining elected local bodies (Gram Panchayats) who possess local knowledge about vulnerabilities.

Global Climate Injustice

Developing nations like India bear the severe impacts of climate change caused by the historical emissions of developed nations. 

Way Forward 

Amend the Disaster Management Act, 2005: Include statutory provisions for "Post-Disaster Financial Protection" to create a national framework for debt relief.

Create a Catastrophe Insurance Pool: As recommended by the 15th Finance Commission, this would shift the financial burden from the state exchequer to a structured insurance mechanism.

RBI Mandate: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) should formulate guidelines for "Disaster-Stressed Assets" to ensure banks automatically implement relief measures like interest waivers.

Learn lesson from Kerala's Model of Disaster Justice

• Intervention: The Kerala Cabinet approved an ₹18.75 crore plan to take over and repay 1,620 bank loans for 555 victims of the July 2024 Wayanad Landslides.
• Funding Source: The initiative is funded through the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund (CMDRF).

Conclusion

Kerala's disaster management sets a precedent for recovery through physical and economic rehabilitation, necessitating a national policy to integrate financial protection and free survivors from debt and debris.

Source: DOWNTOEARTH