Does it matter what Covid is called? It’s both a disaster and a calamity. But nomenclature matters when there’s big money involved
What’s in a name? Well, several hundreds of crores for one. Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to declare the coronavirus pandemic a natural calamity. Why does this matter? A natural calamity will allow states to use the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to provide individual benefits to the affected.
It’s a disaster now
According to the Disaster Management Act, a disaster is defined as: “A catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area”.
It’s a disaster now
According to the Disaster Management Act, a disaster is defined as: “A catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life or human suffering or damage to, and destruction of, property, or damage to, or degradation of, environment, and is of such a nature or magnitude as to be beyond the coping capacity of the community of the affected area”.