New Delhi, Nov 29 (IANS): As many as 673 districts of the country have prepared District Disaster Management Plans (DDMP), as per inputs by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the Parliament was informed on Monday.

Replying to a question by a bunch of Parliamentarians regarding 80 per cent vulnerable districts as mentioned by a study done by think tank Council for Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), Minister for State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ashwini Kumar Choubey told the Lok Sabha: "Contrary to the statement made in the aforesaid CEEW report, 673 districts of the country have prepared District Disaster Management Plans (DDMP)."

The NDMA has issued guidelines for the preparation of the DDMP, he said, adding, in addition, the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) prepared by NDMA in 2019 and the respective State Disaster Management Plans (SDMP) provide the overall framework and guidance for the preparation of the DDMP.

The MPs had asked whether as per the report of Climate Vulnerability Index published by the CEEW, 80 per cent of the Indian people across various states live in dangerous districts and whether it was true that out of 640 districts of the country, 463 districts are vulnerable to extreme flood, drought and cyclone and out of these 45 per cent are facing changes in basic structure.

Choubey also said: "The government is implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) through National Missions that address climate change mitigation and adaptation across a range of sectors. Thirty-three states/Union Territories have prepared their State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with the NAPCC considering the State specific issues relating to climate change."