How Can States Use Disaster Funds for Heatwaves?

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha that heatwaves and lightning had been added to India’s list of notified natural calamities, taking the total to 14.

The decision follows the recommendation of the Sixteenth Finance Commission (FC-XVI). Combined with the 2024 amendment to Disaster Mitigation Fund guidelines, it makes heatwaves eligible for financing from the full State Disaster Risk Management Fund pool.

Disaster Finance Architecture in India: 

• Under Article 280, the Finance Commission recommends arrangements for financing disaster management.
• The FC-XVI recommended ₹2.04 lakh crore for State disaster funds during 2026-27 to 2030-31, which is around 28% more than the previous Finance Commission’s allocation. It includes:
  • ₹1.6 lakh crore for the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF): For immediate response, relief and assistance following disasters.
  • Remaining allocation for the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF): For long-term interventions that reduce disaster risks.
• Distribution among States is based on a disaster-risk index incorporating the frequency and intensity of hazards, population exposure, vulnerability and expenditure incurred during the previous Finance Commission’s tenure.
• The FC-XVI also recommended ₹79,406 crore for National Disaster Funds. States may seek additional national assistance when a severe disaster exceeds their financial capacity, as Kerala did after the 2024 Wayanad landslides. 

Why was the Change Necessary?

• Previously, a State could declare a heatwave a local disaster and use its SDRF, but expenditure was limited to 10% of the annual allocation. The State also had to formulate separate relief norms, including compensation for deaths and crop losses. 

However, no comparable ceiling applied to nationally notified disasters such as floods and cyclones. The new notification removes this asymmetry at a time when India’s heat exposure is rising:

• An assessment based on 35 indicators estimated that over 57% of Indian districts, containing nearly three-fourths of the population, face high to very-high heat risk.
• The number of hot days, very warm nights and levels of relative humidity have increased.
• Warm nights and high humidity prevent the human body from recovering after daytime heat exposure. 

What can States Fund?

The National Disaster Management Authority has advised heatwave-prone States, districts and cities to prepare Heat Action Plans (HAPs) that map vulnerability and specify short-, medium- and long-term interventions. The notification provides two clear financing routes:

• Through the SDRF: States can finance immediate relief measures, such as:
  • compensation for heat-related deaths and eligible losses
  • emergency drinking-water arrangements
  • temporary cooling and relief centres
  • medical assistance and emergency response; and
  • support for affected livelihoods and crops under prescribed norms.
• Through the SDMF: States can finance long-term risk-reduction measures, including:
  • cooling shelters and cool-roof programmes
  • heat early-warning and public-alert systems
  • urban greening and shaded public spaces
  • heat-resilient health facilities
  • drinking-water infrastructure; and
  • vulnerability mapping and community preparedness.

State Disaster Management Authorities and State Emergency Operations Centres will serve as key nodal institutions for administering these funds.

Implementation Challenges: 

Although around 300 cities and districts across 23 heatwave-prone States have HAPs, implementation remains weak. A 2023 assessment found that 79% of HAPs asked departments to arrange funds from their existing budgets. 

Major constraints include:

• Absence of HAPs across nearly 4,800 urban local bodies and several hundred districts
• Limited technical capacity to prepare fundable mitigation projects
• Fragmented responsibility among health, labour, urban and disaster-management departments
• Inadequate heat-related health and mortality data; and
• Weak monitoring of plan implementation.

The notification of heatwaves as a national disaster category removes a major financial barrier. However, access to funds alone will not protect vulnerable populations. 

States must develop credible Heat Action Plans, strengthen health surveillance and translate plans into locally appropriate projects. Effective use of the SDRF and SDMF can shift India’s approach from temporary heat relief towards sustained climate resilience.