Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba calls on States for better preparedness ahead of Monsoon
New Delhi-Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba has called on the States and Union Territories to step up their preparedness by advance planning and deployment of human, physical and financial resources ahead of the monsoon season.
Inaugurating the annual conference of Relief Commissioners and Secretaries to review Preparedness for South West Monsoon-2019 in New Delhi, Gauba said, Centre will provide all possible assistance under the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF) and the State Disaster Relief Fund (SDRF) besides mobilization of Central Forces.
He said, Centre had released more than seven thousand crore rupees under SDRF and an additional ten thousand crore rupees under NDRF last year to the States for Disaster Relief. The Home Secretary also called upon the States to undertake capacity building of urban local bodies, State Disaster Response Force, Fire Service and Civil Defence since they are the first responders during a calamity.
He urged the States to increase coverage of farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana crop insurance scheme to provide immediate relief to farmers in the event of natural disasters. During the recent Cyclone Fani, Gauba said loss of human lives was minimal due to accurate and early weather forecasting by India Meteorological Department and timely mobilization of resources besides better coordination among Centre, State Governments and other relevant agencies.
Citing a UN Report, Gauba said disasters had caused economic losses of three trillion dollar globally during the last two decades. He said, India alone suffered losses to the tune of 80 billion dollar during 1997 to 2017.
AIR-May,21
