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Against this background of frequent disasters the government
has over the years formulated specific policies to deal
with these disasters.
The various disaster mitigation measures focus on:
- Linkage of disaster mitigation with development
plans
- Effective communication systems
- Use of latest information technology
- Insurance
- Extensive public awareness and education campaigns
particularly in the rural areas
- Involvement of private sector
- Strengthening of institutional mechanisms
- International co-operation
India has taken steps towards regional co-operation
to deal with natural disasters and adopt preparatory
measures. India is a member of the Asian Disaster Reduction
Centre, Kobe, Japan.
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| Relief in the wake of natural calamities is one of
the primary responsibilities of the government. Even though
the states are mainly responsible for relief activities,
the central government supplements and complements these
relief efforts with supportive action in terms of
physical and financial resources and complementary measures
in sectors such as transport, warning and inter-state
movement of foodgrain.
The measures the central government undertakes are
determined by the existing policy of financing relief
expenditure, taking into account factors such as (i)
the gravity of the natural calamity, (ii) the scale
of the relief operations necessary, and (iii) the requirements
of central assistance for augmenting the financial resources
at the disposal of the state government.
The government has formulated appropriate measures
for preventing and mitigating the effects of these disasters.
These measures consist of both long-term preventive
and preparedness measures and immediate nationwide response
mechanisms that are a preset assignment of roles and
functions to various institutions at the centre, state
and district levels.
This nationwide response mechanism is in the
form of an integrated administrative machinery for disaster
management at national, provincial (state), and district
and sub-district levels.
Elaborate procedural mechanisms have been outlined
in relief manuals and codes, and are backed by Contingency
Action Plans along with allocation of resources on a
regular basis.
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A national Contingency Action Plan (CAP) facilitates
the launching of relief operations without delay. It
is updated every year.
The CAP identifies the initiatives required by various
central ministries/departments in the event of natural
calamities. It sets down the procedures and determines
the focal points in the administrative machinery.
District-level contingency plans and the State Action
Plans reviewed annually and updated are available with
the union ministry of agriculture (Control Room)
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| The organisational structure, responsibilities and finance
policy at national, state and district levels for disaster
management are as given below: |
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The central government has constituted a National
Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) in the cabinet
secretariat with the cabinet secretary as its
chairman.
The NCMC oversees all disaster-related efforts
and gives directions to the Crisis Management
Group (CMG) of the ministry. The CMG consists
of nodal ministries and supporting ministries
responsible for dealing with various types of
disasters.
The ministry of agriculture is the nodal ministry
for natural disasters. Within the ministry
the nodal agency is the department of agriculture
and cooperation for natural disaster relief. Other
ministries lend support.
The central relief commissioner as the coordinating
officer in the ministry of agriculture presides
over the CMG. The CMG, which meets in the event
of natural calamities, co-ordinates all efforts
at the central level and liaises with the state
governments. Apart from these responibilities
it has specific functions listed below:
The CMG :
- Reviews every year contingency plans formulated
by the central ministries/departments
- Reviews the measures required for dealing
with a natural calamity
- Coordinates the activities of the central
ministries and the state governments in relation
to disaster preparedness and relief, and
- Obtains information from the nodal officers
on measures relating to the above
The nodal officer of each ministry/department
is responsible for the formulation of a Detailed
Action Plan (DAP) that clearly lays down the channel
and manner of interaction between agencies engaged
in these functions, details of the contact points,
the specific measures and time-frames for their
implementation. The specific action plan of an
individual ministry/department is to be submitted
to the central relief commissioner. The CMG reviews
and updates these action plans every year.
There are nodal ministries depending on the type
of disaster. For biological disasters the nodal
ministry is the ministry of health and for chemical
disasters it is the ministry of environment and
forests.
In the event of a disaster, a multi-disciplinary
central government team, at the invitation of
the affected state, carries out disaster assessment
and makes recommendations for assistance.
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The administrative response at the central government
level broadly relates to:
- Operational requirements, and
- Provision of central assistance according
to existing policy
The operational aspects of the administrative response
consist of :
- Primary relief functions, and
- Secondary relief functions
The central government's primary relief functions
at the administrative level are:
- Forecasting
- Operation and publicity of warning systems
- Maintaining uninterrupted communication
- Providing transport for evacuation and movement
of essential goods
- Ensuring the availability of essential commodities
and medicines at reasonable prices
- Investments in infrastructure; mobilising
financial resources
The secondary relief functions consist of:
- Military aid to the civil authorities
- Contingency plans for health, protection
of crops, cattle and human beings
- Inputs for provision of drinking water
- Co-ordination of the activities of state
and voluntary agencies
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Schemes for financing expenditure on relief and rehabilitation
in the wake of natural calamities are governed by the
recommendations of finance commissions appointed by
the Government of India every five years.
The primary function of the central government to make
financial resources available is performed through the
Central Relief Fund (CRF), which has been constituted
with allocations for each state. The central government
in four quarterly instalments contributes three-fourths
of the amount and the state government concerned mobilises
the balance one-fourth from its own resources. The CRF
also makes it the responsibility of the state to meet
all the expenditure required for relief work.
In the event of a major disaster warranting intervention
at the national level, a provision exists in the form
of the National Fund for Calamity Relief with
a corpus of Rs 7,000 million (for 1995-2000) for the
union government to supplement the financial resources
needed for relief operations.
An expert group constituted on the recommendations
of the Ninth Finance Commission monitors the relief
work done, utilising the CRF. The state-level committees
keep the ministry of agriculture informed of the amount
of damage caused due to drought, floods etc and of relief
measures undertaken.
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Most states have relief commissioners to undertake
relief measures in the event of natural calamities.
In the absence of the relief commissioner, the chief
secretary or an officer nominated by him is in overall
charge of the relief operations.
Each state has a crisis management group headed by
the chief secretary of the government.
Disaster management is usually delegated to the relief
and rehabilitation department or the department of revenue,
with the participation of related agencies.
The State Crisis Management Group (SCMG) comprises
senior officers from the departments of revenue, relief,
home, civil supplies, power, irrigation, water supply,
panchayat (local self-government), agriculture, forests,
rural development, health, planning, public works and
finance. The chief secretary/relief commissioner may
also co-opt into the group, depending upon the requirements
of the situation, one or more persons from other government
agencies and departments including the armed forces.
The SCMG is responsible for acting on instructions
and guidance received from the Government of India and
formulating action plans for dealing with different
natural calamities.
The SCMG has district-level plans for relief formulated
by collectors or deputy commissioners. The state relief
commissioner (or secretary, department of revenue) directs
and controls the relief operations through district
collectors or deputy commissioners.
Finance
Each state has a corpus of funds named the Calamity
Relief Fund (CRF).
A state committee, headed by the chief secretary of
the state government, administers the CRF. The corpus
volume is determined taking into account the vulnerability
of the state to different natural calamities and the
magnitude of expenditure normally incurred by the state
on relief operations. The corpus is built by annual
contributions from the union government and the state
governments concerned in the proportion 3:1.
The aggregate accretion in the states' CRF for 1995-2000
was Rs 63042.70 million. The states can draw upon this
corpus for relief work in the wake of any natural calamity.
State-level control room
The state relief commissioner in the event of a disaster
is required to establish an emergency operation centre
(control room).
The control room has all information relating to the
forecasting and warning of disaster, action plans for
implementation and details of contact points, various
concerned agencies and information about the air force,
navy and army for quick interaction and co-ordination.
Responsibilities and functions
The control room is responsible for:
- Transmitting to the central relief commissioner
information about the development of a crisis situation
arising from a natural disaster
- Receiving instructions and communicating these to
appropriate agencies, for immediate action
- Collection and submission of information relating
to implementation of relief measures to the central
relief commissioner, and
- Keeping state-level authorities regularly apprised
of developments relating to the disaster situation
District-level organisation and response
The district collector or deputy commissioner is chairman
of the district co-ordination and review committee and
hence the focal point at the district level for preparation
of the district-level plans.
He is entirely responsible for all relief operations,
directing, supervising and monitoring relief measures
at the district level. All other related agencies and
departments participate.
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District contingency plans
At the district level, the disaster relief plans
outline and provide for specific actions, identify key
personnel and contact points for different types of
calamities.
The district contingency plan is drawn up by the collector/deputy
commissioner and approved by the state government. The
collector/deputy commissioner co-ordinates and secures
inputs from the local defence forces unit in the preparation
of the contingency plans.
District relief committee
The relief measures are reviewed by a district-level
relief committee consisting of official and non-official
members including the local legislators and members
of parliament
District control room
The district control room is set up whenever a natural
calamity strikes to monitor the rescue and relief operations.
The collector liaises with the central government authorities
in the districts -- namely army, air force and navy,
ministry of water resources etc -- who supplement the
efforts of the district administration in the rescue
and relief operations.
The collector/deputy commissioner also takes steps
to enlist voluntary efforts and channelise NGO activities
involved in disaster relief.
The collector interacts with different implementation
agencies and keeps the state relief commissioner informed
on the implementation of rescue and relief measures.
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A Natural Disaster Management Programme (NDMP) is being
implemented since December 1993. The main objective
of the programme is to enhance the national capability
for disaster reduction, preparedness and mitigation.
The components of the programme are:
i) Human resource development
ii) Activities under International Decade
for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)
iii) Research and consultancy services
iv) Documentation of major events
v) Strengthening of NDM Division
Under this scheme, the National Centre for Disaster
Management (NCDM) at the centre and the natural disaster
management faculties in the states were established.
National Centre for Disaster Management
The ministry of agriculture, Government of India, created
the National Centre for Disaster Management (NCDM) in
the Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi.
As a nodal agency for natural disaster management,
it is engaged in research, training and advocacy.
It focuses on human resource development, creation
of databases and documentation of disaster events, research
studies and networking of the institutions at the national
and international level.
It prepares national, state and district-level administrations
to tackle natural hazards.
The main objectives of NCDM are:
i) To prepare an exhaustive information base on
damage caused, resources spent on mitigation practices
and relief work for various types of natural disasters.
ii) Establish links between the nodal ministry
for natural disasters and various state training institutes
involved in the field of natural disasters; provide
technical assistance and services to the national programmes
on natural disaster management.
The NCDM conducts research in areas of disaster preparedness,
disaster mitigation, cost-benefit analysis of preparedness
plans, environmental impact of floods, droughts, earthquakes,
cyclones and other disasters, and behavioural aspects
of disaster-affected people.
It also conducts surveys to study the impact of disasters
and provide first-hand reports to the ministry and departments
concerned.
The NCDM collects cases from different states of different
categories of disasters, with particular emphasis on
the effect of preparedness on disaster impact reduction,
preparedness vs relief, economics of preparedness plans,
rehabilitation and resettlement issues, effective relief
programmes, environmental degradation and natural disasters,
vulnerability to disasters, medical relief after disasters
and the NGO's role in community preparedness for natural
disasters.
NCDM is supported and assisted in its work by a national
network of state institutes of public administration,
a number of which now have state-level centres for disaster
management.
State centres for disaster management
Sixteen of the 28 states have disaster management
faculties in state training institutes.
In addition states have their own centres on disaster
management in the state training institutes. Apart from
these a large number of other institutes are engaged
in disaster reduction activities. These are:
- Department of Earthquake Engineering, University
of Roorkee
- Building Material Technology Promotion Council,
New Delhi.
- Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee
- National Civil Defence College, Nagpur
- National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad
- Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Kanpur, Mumbai
- Structural Engineering Reseach Centre, Hyderabad
- Central Road Research Institute, New Delhi
- Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,
New Delhi
- Anna University, Chennai
- Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
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