Pls. help-Disaster Mgt. project....

[vedaant08]

i am a class 10 student

need help on "Role of govt. non govt. functionaries in ur locality"
which is my topic

pls. only 15 days are left for submission

[Sonal Agrawal]

FUNCTIONING OF DISASTER MANAGEMENT ORGANISATION AND METHODOLOGY TO COPE WITH DISASTERS IN INDIA

VINOD K. SHARMA*
SUMMARY
In VIEW of the frequency of natural disasters in the country, a well-structured and integrated disaster administration mechanism has evolved over the years. Besides, a number of organisations who supplement the efforts of the government at Central, State District levels provide vital input during emergencies and for preparedness and rehabilitation measures have also been now being institutionalised. This article provides an overall view of the disaster administration mechanism in the country at the Central, the State and the District level also highlighting the role played by the secondary institutions.

INTRODUCTION

The unique geo-climatic conditions of the Indian subcontinent make this region among most vulnerable to natural disasters in the world. Disasters occur with amazing frequency and while the community at large has adapted itself to these regular occurrences, economic and social costs continue to mount year after year.

Indeed, concurrent to these occurrences, the government at various levels too, have responded by taking appropriate measures for prevention and mitigation of the effects of natural disasters. While long-term preventive and preparedness measures have been taken up, the unprecedented nature of the disasters has called in for a nation-wide response mechanism wherein there is a preset assignment of roles and functions to various institutions at Central, State and the District level.

India has a parliamentary democracy with a federal structure. An integrated disaster management mechanism exists within this government framework. The essential responsibility of disaster management lies with the State Government where the disaster has occurred, however, in event of disasters which are spread over several states and with uncontrollable proportions, the Central Government may be required to supplement taking appropriate measures in rescue, relief and preparedness. At the Central level, the National Crisis Management Committee oversees all disaster-related efforts. The committee comprises the nodal ministry and other support ministries. For natural disasters, the nodal ministry is the Ministry of Agriculture.

The Indian subcontinent is highly vulnerable to Drought, Floods, Cyclones, and Earthquakes, though Landslides, Avalanche and Bush fire too frequently occur in the Himalayan region of northern India. Among the 35 total States/Union Territories in the country, 25 are disaster-prone. The States are further sub-divided into administrative units called districts—there are a total of 443 districts, of which 271 are most disaster-prone.

On an average 4,888 people are killed and 59 million get affected annually from various types of disasters ( World Disasters Report, 1994).

Floods:

Of the total annual rainfall in the country, 75 per cent is concentrated over short monsoon season of three to four months. As a result there is a very heavy discharge from the rivers during this period causing widespread floods. As much as an average of 67 million hectare of land is flooded annually. The maximum affected area by floods was 17.53 million hectare in 1978.

Drought:

It is perennial feature in some states of India. Sixteen per cent of country's total area is drought-prone and approximately 50 million people are annually affected by droughts. In fact, drought is a significant environmental problem too as it is caused by a less than average rainfall over a long period of time. In India about 68 percent of total sown area of the country is drought-prone. Most of the drought-prone areas identified by Government of India lie in the arid, semi-arid and sub-humid areas of the country.

Cyclones:

India has a very long coastline of 5,700 km, which is exposed to tropical cyclones arising in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. The Indian Ocean is one of the six major cyclone-prone regions of the world. In India cyclones occur usually between April and May, and also between October and December. The eastern coastline is more prone to cyclones as about 80 per cent of total cyclones generated in the region hit there. In the recent past the Andhra Pradesh cyclone of November 1977 is considered as one of the worst, in which about 10,000 people lost their lives and about 230,000 cattle were killed. In this cyclone wind speeds measuring 200 km/hr, accompanied by tidal waves over 15 meters high, moved inland up to 12 km, affecting 3.4 million inhabitants.

Earthquakes:

These are considered to be one of the most dangerous and destructive natural hazards. The impact of these phenomena is sudden with little or no warning, making it just impossible to predict it or make preparations against damages and collapses of buildings and other man-made structures. About 50-60 per cent of total area of the country is vulnerable to seismic activity of varying intensities. Most of the vulnerable areas are generally located in Himalayan and sub-Himalayan regions, and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The memories of recent earthquake of Latur (September 30, 1993) are still fresh in the minds of the people for the heavy damages due to house collapses and heavy loss of human lives.

THE ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSE MECHANISM
CENTRAL
In the federal set-up of India, the responsibility to formulate the Government's response to a natural calamity is essentially that of the concerned State Government.

However, the Central Government, with its resources, physical and financial does provide the needed help and assistance to buttress relief efforts in the wake of major natural disasters. The dimensions of the response at the level of Central Government are determined in accordance with the existing policy of financing the relief expenditure and keeping in view the factors like:

(i) the gravity of a natural calamity,

(ii) the scale of the relief operation necessary, and

(iii) the requirements of Central assistance for augmenting the financial resources at the disposal of the State Government.

The Department of Agriculture and Cooperation (DAC) in the Agriculture Ministry is the nodal Department for all matters concerning natural disasters relief at the Centre. In the DAC, the Relief Commissioner functions as the nodal officer to coordinate relief operations for all natural disasters.

The Central Relief Commissioner receives information relating to forecast/warning of the natural calamity from the Director-General, India Meteorological Department (IMD) or from the Central Water Commission on a continuing basis. Besides, he also monitors the developments taking place and provides the necessary feedback, through the Agriculture Secretary to the Agriculture Minister, Prime Minister and the Cabinet.

The entire network of natural disaster management at Central level and the interaction pattern among various functionaries during emergency period is shown in fig.1.

Various other committees working at the national level for the disaster management are the following:

Cabinet Committee:

The Cabinet may set up a committee for effective implementation of relief measures in the wake of natural disaster. The Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture acts as the Secretary of this committee. In the absence of such a committee, all the matters related to the relief shall be reported to the cabinet secretary.

[Sonal Agrawal]

National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC) :

Under the chairmanship of the cabinet secretary the NCMC has been constituted in the cabinet secretariat. The other members of this committee include the Secretary to Prime Minister, Secretaries of Ministry of Home Affairs, Defence, Research & Analysis Wing
fig. I NATURAL DISASTERS INTER-ACTION PATTERN AT CENTRAL LEVEL

INFORMATION-

INSTRUCTION/DIRECTION FEED BACK—»-*->

IMD CWC NCMC AM. P.M. A.&C. N.DM.

India Meteorological Department, Central Water Commission, National Crisis Management Committee Agriculture Minister Prime Minister Agriculture & Cooperation Natural Disaster Management.



and Agriculture Cooperation along with Director Intelligence Bureau and an officer of cabinet secretariat. The NCMC gives direction to the crises management group as deemed necessary.

Crisis Management Group (CMG) :

A group under the chairmanship of the Central Relief Commissioner comprising the senior officers from the various ministries and other concerned departments to review every year contingency plans formulated by the Central Ministries/Departments; to review the measures required for dealing with a natural disaster, coordinate the activities of the Central Ministries and the State Governments in relation to disaster preparedness and relief and to obtain information from the nodal officers on measures relating to the above. The Joint Secretary (NDM) and Additional Central Relief Commissioner is the convener of CMG. The CMG meets every six-month.

At the State level, the State Relief Commissioner (or Secretary, Department of Revenue supervises and controls relief operations through Collectors or Deputy Commissioners who are the main functionaries to coordinate the relief operation at district level.

state
As pointed out earlier, the Central Government only supplements the efforts of the State Governments. The State Governments are autonomous in organising relief operations in the event of natural disaster and in the long-term preparedness/ rehabilitation measures.

The States have Relief Commissioners who are in-charge of the relief measures in the wake of natural disasters in their respective States. In the absence of the Commissioner, the Chief Secretary or an Officer nominated by him is in overall charge of the Relief operations in the concerned State.

The Chief secretary is the head of the State Administration. The State Headquarters has, in addition, a number of secretaries, heads of the various Departments handling specific subjects under the overall supervision and coordination of the Chief Secretary. At the level of the State Government natural disasters are usually the responsibility of the Revenue Department or the Relief Department. While important policy decisions are taken at the State Headquarters by the Cabinet of the State headed by the Chief Minister today decisions involving policy matters are taken or exercised by the Secretary in the Department.

States Crisis Management Group:

There is a State Crisis Management Group (SCMG) under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary/Relief Commissioner. This group comprises Senior Officers from the Department Revenue/Relief, Home. Civil Supplies, Power, Irrigation, Water Supply, Panchayat (Local self-Government), Agriculture, Forests, Rural Development, Health Planning, Public works and Finance.

The SCMG is required to take into consideration the infrastructure and guidance received, from time to time, from Government of India and formulate actions plans for dealing with different natural disasters.

It is also the duty of the Relief Commissioner of the State to establish an emergency operation Centre as soon as a disaster situation develops. Besides having all updated information on forecasting and warning of disaster. The Centre would also be the contact point for the various concerned agencies.

DISTRICT
States are further divided into districts, each headed by the District Collector (also known as the District Magistrate or Deputy Commissioner). It is the District Collector who is the focal point at the District level for directing, supervising and monitoring relief measures for disaster and for preparation of District level plans.

The Collector exercises coordinating and supervisory powers over functionaries of all the Departments at the District level. During actual operations for disaster mitigation or relief, the powers of the Collector are considerably enhanced, generally, by standing instructions or orders on the subject, or by specific Governments orders, if so required. Sometimes, the administrative culture of the State concerned permits, although informally, the collector to exercise higher powers in emergency situations and the decisions are later ratified by the competent authority.

A District is sub-divided into sub-divisions and Tehsils or Talukas. The head of a sub- division is called the Sub-Division Officer (SDO) while the head of a Tehsils known as the Tehsildar (Tulukdar or Mamlatdar in some States). Contact with individual villages is through the Village Officer or Patwari who has one or more villages in his charge. When a disaster is apprehended, the entire machinery of the District, including officers of technical and other departments, swings into action and maintains almost continues contact with each village in the disaster threatened area. In the case of extensive disasters like drought, contact is maintained over a short cycle of a few days.

The various measures undertaken by the District Administration area are as follows :

Contingency Plans:

At the district level, the disaster relief plans are provide for specific tasks and agencies for their implementation in respect of areas in relation to different types of disasters.

A contingency plan for the district for different disasters is drawn up by the Collector/Deputy Commissioner and approved by the State Government. The Collector/Deputy Commissioner also coordinates and secures the input from the local defence forces unit in preparation of the contingency plans. These contingency plans lay down specific action points, key personnel and contact points in relation to all aspects.

District Relief Committee:

The relief measures are reviewed by the district level relief committee consisting of official and non-official members including the local legislators and the members of parliament.

District Control Room:

In the wake of natural disasters, a Control Room is set up in the district for day to day monitoring of the rescue and relief operations on a continuing basis.

Coordination:

The Collector maintains close liaison with the Central Government authorities in the districts, namely, the Army, Air Force and Navy, Ministry of Water Resources, etc., who supplement the effort of the district administration in the rescue and relief operation.

The Collector/Deputy Commissioner all coordinates voluntary efforts by mobilisation the non-government organisations capable of working in such situations.

The entire hierarchy right from the Central Government (the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation in the Ministry of Agriculture) to the District level, and even the sub Divisional/Tehsil level, is connected with a telecommunication system. The normal mode of telecommunications is overland telephone and telegraphy, but in times of stress and if there is a breakdown of the overland system, radio communication is resorted to. The wireless network is generally run and maintained by the police organisation in the country.

Besides the district officials, a host of other bodies too supplement their efforts in disaster situations-particularly the armed forces and the non-government voluntary organisations.

THE ARMED FORCES
The armed forces of the country have played a vital role during disaster emergency providing prompt relief to the victims even in the most inaccessible and remote areas of the country. The organisational strength of the armed forces with their disciplined and systemized approach, and with their skills in technical and human resource management make them indispensable for such emergency situations.

Besides, when disasters occurs over large areas, it is usually beyond the capability of the administration to organise the relief activities, the armed forces are then called upon too organise the relief measures.

Related to the efforts of the armed forces, are the Civil Defence and the Home Guard organisations. These organisations are voluntary in nature and character and come in handy m emergency situations like natural disasters. A network of these is over the country . Their aim, while not actually taking part in actual combat operations like in army, is firstly to save lives, to minimise damage to property and to maintain continuity of production. Thus, while disaster situations often lead to chaotic conditions where rescue and relief work is severely affected. These organisations are able to co-ordinate and support efforts in a disciplined manner so that both the army and the district officials are able to carry out their respective activities efficiently.

[Sonal Agrawal]

NON-GOVERNMENT VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS
Emerging trends in managing natural disasters have highlighted the role of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) as one of the most effective alternative means of achieving an efficient communication link between the Disaster Management agencies and the affected community. Many different types of NGOs are already working at advocacy level as well as grassroots level; in typical disaster situations they can be of help in preparedness, relief and rescue, rehabilitation and reconstruction and also in monitoring and feedback.

The role of NGOs is a potential key element in disaster management. The Non-Governmental sector that operate at grassroots level, can provide a suitable alternative as they have an edge over Governmental agencies for invoking community involvement. This is chiefly because, the NGO sector has strong linkages with the community base, and can exhibit great flexibility in procedural matters vis-a-vis the government.

Based on the identified types of NGOs and their capabilities, organised action of NGOs can be very useful in the following activities in different stages of disaster management.

Stage Activity

Pre-Disaster: * Awareness and information campaigns

* Training of local volunteers

* Advocacy and planning

During Disaster: * Immediate rescue and first-aid including psychological aid

* Supply of food, water, medicines, and other immediate materials

* Ensuring sanitation and hygiene

* Damage assessment

Post-Disaster: * Technical and material aid in reconstruction

* Assistance in seeking financial aid

* Monitoring

RESEARCH AND TRAINING INSTITUTIONS
In India, a number of Research Institutes are conducting active research in the field of disaster management. Valuable inputs in technical, social, economic as well as management areas of the field are being looked into.

Research activities are being coordinated by different ministries depending on the type and level of research. An important role is played by the Universities too in this sector who, besides running programmes on disaster management, also serve as think tanks for the government. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is going to start a certificate course on disaster management from 1998. Institutes spread geographically across the country have developed specialisation in terms of particular regions where most of their research is concentrated and also in terms of particular disasters. Notable Universities are the University of Roorkee, The Indian Institutes of Technology Delhi and Chennai and the Anna University, Chennai.

The Department of Science ( Ministry of Science & Technology ), Government of India coordinates activities through a network of scientific institutes, e.g., the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee. The Ministry of Urban Development carries out research through the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council, on subjects such as appropriate building materials for disaster-prone areas. These institutes, besides providing technical assistance to implementing and engineering organisations also train field level officers and other concerned role players.



The Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation too has set up a National Centre for Disaster Management to look into administrative training activities in the field of disaster management.

The National Centre for Disaster Management:

The Centre was established by Ministry of Agriculture in March, 1995 at the Indian Institute of Public Administration , New Delhi. The NCDM, besides gearing up the national, state and district level administrations to tackle natural disasters, is also coordinate various research and training programmes and build a data-base on natural disasters.

THE COMMUNITY
Recent trends have revealed that the community as an institution in itself is emerging as the most powerful in the entire mechanism of disaster administration. In event of actual disasters, the community, if well aware of the preventive actions it is required to take, can substantially reduce the damage caused by the disaster. Awareness and training of the community is particularly useful in areas which are prone to frequent disasters.

It is laudable, the efforts in certain areas where communities have formed their own organisations which are take the right initiative in such situation. One such Community based organisation is the Village Task Force formed in villages of Andhra Pradesh (South Indian State prone to tropical cyclones) by the Church Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA). The Village Task Force has been trained in emergency evacuation and relief within the village. It is elected by the people themselves and during disasters it serves as the nodal body at village level which has to mobilise resources for the community and disseminate necessary information passed on by the outside agencies.

While the community as an effective institution is yet to take shape in this country with low literacy levels and widespread poverty, considerable efforts are being made to form and strengthen community based organisations at grassroot levels.



conclusion

In disaster situations, a quick rescue and relief mission is inevitable, however considerable damage can be minimised if adequate preparedness levels are achieved. Indeed, it has been noticed in the past that as and when attention has been given to adequate preparedness measures, the loss to life and property has considerably reduced. Preparedness measures such as training of role players including the community, development of advanced forecasting systems, effective communications and above all a well-networked institutional structure involving the government organisations; academic and research institutions, the armed forces and the NGOs would greatly contribute to the overall disaster management of the region. The government's recent policy changes too reflect the changing approach from rescue and relief to preparedness.



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* The Author is a Professor with National Centre for Disaster Management, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. Presently, he is on deputation to USAID project, Nepal.

[vedaant08]

thanks seniors
you are too good and helpful

May God Bless you all and prevent any disaster from happening

[Tejas]

PROJECT 6 - Communication facilities for Disaster Management
Choose any one method of communication from various means of communication like radio/satellite/television/ Ham radio which are used by Government departments such as the Indian Meteorological Department to disseminate information. Find out how the information is disseminated by them at various levels during disasters. Prepare a report.
(Note for the Teachers: The students can visit the government departments such as the All India Radio, Doordarshan etc. Principals are expected to issue a letter to the concerned Government Department so as to inform the department that the information collected will be solely for project purpose. Case studies can also be collected to make the project more interesting).


Could someone help me out with this?
The Problem is that one can do it for all the means of communication but not for just one, because it depends on the disaster.

Please help. Thanks in advance! :)