Section 4 POLICY MEASURES BY INDIA GOVERNMENT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

4. POLICY MEASURES BY INDIA

GOVERNMENT AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

COVID-19 in India has been handled with legal and constitutional institutions of the country. To control the epidemic, the Indian Government has enacted the National Disaster Management Act (2005), equating the COVID-19 epidemic to a national disaster, laying down the policies, plans, and guidelines for management of the epidemic and ensuring a timely and effective response to the disaster. The National Disaster Management Act (NDMA), 2005 is the legal framework within which activities to contain COVID-19 are being carried out by the Union and State governments. The Central Government, irrespective of any law in force can issue any directions to any authority anywhere in India to facilitate or assist in the disaster management and any such directions issued by Central Government and NDMA must necessarily be followed the Union Ministries, State Governments and State Disaster Management Authorities.

The national lockdown was imposed under NDMA– 2005, as per Order dated 24-03-2020 of NDMA ‘to take measures for ensuring social distancing so as to prevent the spread of COVID 19’ (S 6(2)(i)).31 Additional guidelines were issued on the same day by the Ministry of Home Affairs, being the Ministry having administrative control of disaster management (S. 10(2)(l)). To alleviate social sufferings, NDMA/SDMA are mandated to provide ‘minimum standard of relief’ to disaster affected persons (Ss 12 and 19).32 State governments, in addition to DM Act, have used the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897and the various state specific Public Health Acts (eg: Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939) to deal with the crisis. Taking cue from the ‘Containment Plan for Large Outbreaks (COVID 19)’ issued by the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare which is the Nodal Ministry for biological disaster, several states have issued COVID specific Regulations.33

Some of the key aspects covered in the guidelines, advisories, orders, notifications and circulars at both Union and State Government levels are:

- Supply of foodgrains including PDS - Food and shelters for affected populations - Measures for the migrant- stranded persons - Cash relief/ cash transfers - Income supports including NREGA

31“COVID-19 and the ambit of the Disaster Management Act “; The Week; By M.P. Ram Mohan, Jacob P. Alex April 26, 2020 17:11 IST 32 ibid 33 ibid