Disaster Management (Removal of Difficulty) Order, 2026

REGD. No. D. L.-33004/99 The Gazette of India CG-DL-E-02032026-270614 EXTRAORDINARY PART II-Section 3-Sub-section (ii) PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 1052] NEW DELHI, MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026/PHALGUNA 11, 1947 MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS ORDER New Delhi, the 2nd March, 2026 S.O. 1104(E).— Whereas, sub-section (3) of section 5 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005) (hereafter referred to as the said Act) provides that the salaries and allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of officers, other employees, experts and consultants of the National Authority shall be such as may be prescribed by the Central Government; And whereas, sub-section (1) of section 75 of the said Act provides that the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purpose of the Act; And whereas, clause (aa) of sub-section (2) of section 75 of the said Act provides that in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the forgoing power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:- (aa) the salaries, allowances and other terms and conditions of service of officers, other employees, experts and consultants of the National Authority under sub-section (3) of section (5); And whereas, the officers and other employees, who are appointed on a regular or deputation basis against sanctioned posts, are governed by the Recruitment Rules, and paid salary and allowances as per the Central Government norms; And whereas, the experts and consultants, who are engaged by the National Authority on a contractual basis for a specific purpose and defined duration, are paid a consolidated remuneration, with terms and conditions governed by individual contracts; And whereas, such engagements require flexibility in remuneration, tenure, deliverables, and performance linked conditions, which cannot be effectively captured through statutory rules without undermining the very objective of engaging short-term expertise; And whereas, the prescribing uniform rules under sub-section (3) of section 5 of the said Act for experts and consultants, who are engaged for diverse, highly specialised and time-bound assignments, are not administratively feasible or desirable and the Ministry is facing a lot of problem and inconvenience for the same; And whereas, there is a need to rectify the said provision of sub-section (3) of section 5 and clause(aa) of sub-section (2) of section 75 of the said Act and to remove the difficulty of prescribing the salaries and allowances payable to, and other terms and conditions of service of experts, and consultants of the National Authority; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1A) of section 79 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (53 of 2005), the Central Government hereby makes the following Order to remove the above said difficulty, namely: 1. Short title and commencement.- (1) This Order may be called the Disaster Management (Removal of Difficulty) Order, 2026. (2) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. 2. In the Disaster Management Act,2005, - (i) in section 5, in sub-section (3), the words "experts and consultants", shall be omitted. (ii) in section 75, in sub-section (2), in clause (aa), the words "experts and consultants", shall be omitted. [F No 30-1/2025-DM-II] Dr. RAJESH GUPTA, Jt. Secy. Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring Road, Mayapuri, New Delhi-110064 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi-110054.