DEVELOPMENT VERSUS DISASTER RISK: THE ROLE OF THE NATIONAL DISASTER MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY IN ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE FOR ECOLOGICALLY FRAGILE ZONES IN INDIA

This paper asks whether the National Disaster Management Authority can make disaster risk binding in environmental clearance for fragile zones such as the Himalayas and the coast. The Disaster Management Act, 2005 gives the NDMA a wide mandate, but it has no formal role in the clearance process under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Courts have partly filled the gap, but only project by project. A comparison with the US and Japan supports statutory amendments to the EIA framework and the Act.