Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released India’s first-ever National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) for a comprehensive strategy to deal with any kind of disaster.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday released India’s first-ever National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) for a comprehensive strategy to deal with any kind of disaster.
Union home minister Rajnath Singh. MoS for home Kiren Rijiju and senior officers from the Prime Minister’s Office, home ministry and National Disaster Management Authority were also present at the release of the NDMP.
The NDMP’s main purpose is to make the country disaster-resilient, achieve substantial disaster risk reduction, and significantly decrease loss of life, livelihood and assets by maximising the ability to cope with disasters at all levels of administration as well as among communities.
The response part of the plan will help prepare an early warning system, along with proper maps and satellite inputs, and will also focus on faster dissemination of information and evolving better coordination among multiple agencies.
The plan also deals with faster evacuation of people and animals, medical care, food and essential supplies, power, housing and temporary shelters and supply of drinking water, logistics and transportation in a disaster situation.
The plan also looks into the role of various agencies at the Centre and state levels during a disaster. It provides a framework and direction to multiple government agencies for all phases of the disaster management cycle.
According to home ministry officials, the NDMP is a dynamic document in the sense that it will be periodically improved, keeping up with emerging global best practices and knowledge bases in disaster management. Globally, the approach towards post-disaster restoration and rehabilitation has shifted to one of “betterment reconstruction”. The NDMP provides a generalised framework for recovery since it is not possible to anticipate all possible elements of betterment reconstruction.
The plan emphasises that disaster risk reduction will be achieved by mainstreaming the requirements into the developmental plans. “It (NDMP) focuses on disaster resilience and reducing damage during disasters. The comprehensiveness of this plan is noteworthy. It covers all phases of disaster management — prevention, mitigation, response and recovery,” Mr Modi tweeted.
Box
* Early warning, maps, satellite inputs, information dissemination
* Evacuation of people and animals
* Search and rescue
* Medical care
* Drinking water, de-watering pumps, sanitation facilities, public health
* Food and essential supplies
* Communications
* Housing and temporary shelters
