To fulfill Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of disaster resilient India, Ministry of Home Affairs under the guidance of Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah has taken several initiatives to ensure effective management of disasters in the country. A number of steps have been taken to prevent any extensive loss to life and property during disasters by strengthening disaster risk reduction system in India.
Approval of six project proposals
The High-Level Committee in today’s meeting approved six project proposals in the states of Telangana, Gujarat, Karnataka, West Bengal and Maharashtra at a total cost of Rs. 2514.36 crore for Urban Flood Management in six metro cities, namely Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune. Earlier, HLC, on 27th November 2023, had approved the Project proposal for integrated solutions for flood management for the state of Tamil Nadu in Chennai city at a cost of Rs. 561.29 crore.
Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services
HLC also approved three project proposals under the scheme for “Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the states” for the Assam, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu of a total outlay of Rs. 810.64 crore. Central Government has allocated a total amount of Rs. 5000 crore under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for this scheme, and had already approved the proposals of 11 states at a total outlay of Rs. 1691.43 crore.
A project proposal for GLOF
In addition, High-Level Committee also approved a project proposal for GLOF risk mitigation for the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh at a total outlay of Rs. 150 crore. The GLOF Risk Mitigation Project will provide necessary impetus to these four states in taking necessary mitigation measures to address GLOF risks.
Proposal of Yuva Aapda Mitra Scheme (YAMS)
HLC also approved a proposal of Yuva Aapda Mitra Scheme (YAMS) at an outlay of Rs.470.50 crore from NDRF, which will be implemented in 315 most disaster-prone districts of the country for training of 1300 trained Aapda Mitra Volunteers as Master Trainers and 2.37 lakh volunteers exclusively from NCC, NSS, NYKS and BS&G (Bharat Scouts &Guides) in disaster preparedness and response.
Preparing the community as first responders
This is in line with the vision of Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, of preparing the community as first responders during any disaster. Earlier, the Government has implemented “Aapda Mitra”, scheme under which around 1 lakh community volunteers have been trained for disaster response in 350 most disaster-prone districts of the country.
Rs 6348 crores to 14 states
During the current financial year, Central Government has released Rs 6348 crores to 14 states under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Rs672 crores to 06 states under State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF). In addition, an amount of Rs. 4265 crore has been released to 10 states under National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).