Telangana state government has declared heat waves, sunstrokes, and sunburns as “State-Specific Disasters.” This classification will allow victims’ families to receive an ex-gratia compensation of 4 lakh per rupees under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF).
Special Chief Secretary in the Revenue Department Aravind Kumar has issued a Government Order (G.O.) to this effect to tackle the rising toll in such extreme events. The government noted that heat waves are a ‘hidden hazard’ with a devastating yet under-recognised impact, especially on vulnerable groups like the elderly, children, outdoor workers, and those in the construction sector.
Citing recent studies and forecasts by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the government said the state experienced unusually high temperatures last year, with 28 out of 33 districts recording over 15 days of heatwave conditions.
It also noted that lack of disaster classification had limited relief measures. Until now, families of heatwave victims have received only 50 thousand rupees. With the new order in place, the State can now use up to 10 per cent of the annual SDRF allocation to provide relief to victims of such state-specific disasters.
A government order to this effect (GO No. 5) was issued by special chief secretary (revenue-disaster management) Arvind Kumar.
According to the GO, heatwave remains a “hidden hazard” whose impacts are under-recognised due to measurement and valuation challenges. There is under-reporting of deaths and severe impact of heatwaves, especially among the vulnerable sections of the population, including old-aged, women, children and farmers and workers, especially those in the construction sector who are directly exposed to heatwaves. While storms, floods and earthquakes destroy physical assets such as houses, factories, roads and hospitals whose replacement cost can be quantified quickly, there is no such mechanism to measure deaths due to sunstroke or heatwave, it added.
As per the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the criteria of heatwave is when the maximum temperature of a station reaches at least 40°C and there is a departure from the normal by 5°C to 6°C; likewise severe heatwave is considered when there is a departure from the normal by 7°C or more. The IMD also specifies that when the actual maximum temperature remains 45°C or more, irrespective of normal maximum temperature, heatwaves should be declared.