INTRODUCTION:

India has been traditionally vulnerable to natural disasters on account of its unique geo-climatic conditions. Floods, droughts, cyclones, earthquakes and landslides have been recurrent phenomena. At the global level, there has been considerable concern over natural disasters. Even as substantial scientific and material progress is made, the loss of lives and property due to disasters has not decreased. Over the past couple of years, the Government of India has brought about a paradigm shift in the approach to disaster management. The new approach proceeds from the conviction that development cannot be sustainable unless disaster mitigation is built into the development process. This project discusses the roles that government and various agencies that play an important role in managing disasters. We too as citizens of India can play a major role. We can also be a volunteer and also a skilled personnel and save lives of our near and dear country men/women in any disaster scenario. At the time of disaster various agencies both government and non - government organizations play a crucial role in preparing the society. Home Guards,Civil Defence, Volunteers of national Service Scheme,Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan too play a major role at the time of crisis. This chapter tries to understand the functions and role of these agencies in disaster management, who make the society a better place to lives.

INSTITUTION AND POLICY MECHANISM:-

The institutional and policy mechanisms for carrying out response, relief and rehabilitation have been wellestablished since Independence. These mechanisms have proved to be robust and effective insofar as response, relief and rehabilitation are concerned. However, the increasing frequency and ferocity, the rising extent and sweep as well as the mounting human and economic toll has necessitated a reappraisal and re-orientation of existing institutional and policy frameworks along with creation of newer frameworks for holistic disaster management. The changed policy/approach mandates a priority to pre-disaster aspects of mitigation, prevention and preparedness and new institutional mechanisms are being put in place to address the policy change. Although, the primary responsibility for disaster management is of the concerned State governments, the Central Government plays a key role by providing financial and logistic support in case of major disasters and co-ordinate the effort of all Central Ministries/Departments/Organizations. At the apex level, the Cabinet Committee on Drought Management has been re-constituted and converted into a Cabinet Committee on Natural Calamities. The scope of the Committee has been enlarged so as to address mitigation and preparedness measures also.

NCMC AND CMG:-

A High Level Committee of Ministers under the Chairmanship of Minister of Agriculture deals with financial support required to be provided to the State Governments from the National Calamity Contingency Fund, if the funds available with the State Governments under Central Relief Fund are not adequate. The matters relating to nuclear, biological and chemical emergencies are looked after by the Cabinet Committee on Security. Cabinet Secretary, who is the highest executive officer, heads the National Crisis Management Committee (NCMC). Secretaries of all the concerned ministries/Departments as well as organizations are the members of the Committee. The NCMC gives direction to the Crisis Management Group as deemed necessary. The Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for ensuring that all developments are brought to the notice of the NCMC promptly. The NCMC can give directions to any Ministry/Department/Organization for specific action needed for meeting the crisis situation.The Central Relief Commissioner in the Ministry of Home Affairs is the Chairman of the Crisis Management Group (CMG) consisting of senior officers (called nodal officers) from various concerned Ministries. The CMGs functions are to review every year contingency plans formulated by various Ministries/Departments/Organizations in their respective sectors, 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 above. The CMG, in the event of a disaster, meets frequently to review the relief operations and extend all possible assistance required by the affected States to overcome the situation effectively. The Resident Commissioner of the affected State is also associated with such meetings.
MITIGATION,PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE:-

Mitigation, preparedness and response are multidisciplinary functions,involving a number of ministries/Departments. Institutional mechanisms which would facilitate this inter-disciplinary approach are being put in place. It is proposed to create Disaster/Emergency Management Authorities, both at the National and State levels, with representatives from the relevant ministries/Departments to bring about this coordinated and multi-disciplinary approach with experts covering a large number of branches. The National Emergency Management Authority is proposed to be constituted. The organization will be multi-disciplinary with experts covering a large number of branches. The National Emergency Management Authority is proposed as a combined Secretariat/Directorate structure a structure which will be an integral part of the Government while, at the same time, retaining the flexibility of a field organization. The Authority will be headed by an officer of the rank of Secretary/ Special Secretary to the Government

in the Ministry of Home Affairs with representatives from the Ministries/Departments of Health, Water Resources, Environment & Forest, Agriculture, Railways, Atomic Energy, Defence, DRDO, External Affairs, Space, Information and Broadcasting, Chemicals, Science & Technology, Telecommunication, Urban Employment and Poverty alleviation,Rural Development and Indian Meteorological Department as Members. The authority would meet as often as required and review the Status of warning systems, mitigation measures and disaster preparedness. When a disaster strikes, the Authority will coordinate disaster management activities. The Authority will be responsible for: Providing necessary support and assistance to State Governments by way of resource data, macro-management of emergency response, specialized emergency response teams, sharing of disaster related data base etc. Coordinating/mandating Governments policies for disaster reduction/mitigation Ensuring adequate preparedness at all levels in order to meet disasters Coordinating response to a disaster when it strikes Assisting the State Governments in coordination post disaster relief Coordinating resources of all Central Government Departments/agencies involved. Monitor and introduce a culture of building requisite features of disaster mitigation in all development plans and programmes.

 Any other items of work which may be entrusted to it by the Government. The States have also been asked to set up Disaster Management Authorities under the Chief Minister with Ministers of relevant Departments [Water Resources, Agriculture, Drinking Water Supply, Environment & Forests, Urban Development, Home, Rural Development etc.] as members. 11 States and UTs Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Orissa, Gujarat, Kerala, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Delhi, A&N administration and Chandigarh Administration have notified the authority. The other States are in the process of setting up similar authorities.
RE-STRUCTURING OF THE RELIEF DEPARTMENT IN THE STATES:-

At the State level, the work of post calamity relief was being handled by the Departments of Relief & Rehabilitation. The Government of India is working with the State Governments to restructure the Departments of Relief & Rehabilitation into Departments of Disaster Management with an enhanced area of responsibility to include mitigation and preparedness apart from their present responsibilities of relief and rehabilitation. The changeover has already happened in 11 States/UTs - Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan Tamil Nadu, Uttaranchal, Nagaland, Andaman & Nicobar Administration, Sikkim and Lakshadweep. The change is under process in other States. The States have been advised to restructure/re-group the officers/staff within the Department of Disaster Management with definite functions to pursue the holistic

approach to disaster management. The four functional groups to be assigned with specific tasks within the departments are as indicted below:- 10 > Functional Group 1: Hazard Mitigation > Functional Group 2: Preparedness and Capacity Building > Functional Group 3: Relief and Response > Functional Group 4: Administration and Finance At the district level, the District Magistrate who is the chief coordinator will be the focal point for coordinating all activities relating to prevention,mitigation and preparedness apart from his existing responsibilities pertaining to response and relief. The District Coordination and Relief Committee is being reconstituted/re-designated into Disaster Management Committees with officers from relevant departments being added as members. In view of its enhanced mandate of mitigation and prevention, the district heads of the departments engaged in development are now being included in the Committee so that mitigation and prevention is mainstreamed into the district plan. The existing system of drawing up preparedness and response plans will continue. There will, however, also be a long term mitigation plan. District Disaster Management Committees have already been constituted in 256 districts and are in the process of being constituted in the remaining districts.Similarly, subdivisional and Block/Taluka level Disaster Management Committees are also being constituted. At the village level Disaster Management Committees and Disaster management Teams are being constituted. Each village in a multi-hazard prone district will have a Disaster Management Plan. The process of drafting the plans at all

levels has already begun. The Disaster Management Committee which draws up the plans consists of elected representatives at the village level, local authorities; Government functionaries including doctors/paramedics of primary health centres located in the village,primary school teachers etc. The plan encompasses prevention, mitigation and preparedness measures. The Disaster Management Teams at the village level will 11 consist of members of youth organisations like Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) and National Service Scheme (NSS) and other non-governmental organisations as well as able bodied volunteers from the village. The teams are provided basic training in evacuation, evacuation, search and rescue, first aid trauma counseling etc. The Disaster Management Committee will review the disaster management plan at least once in a year. It would also generate awareness among the people in the village about dos and donts for specific hazards depending on the vulnerability of the village. A large number of village level Disaster Management Committees and Disaster Management Teams have already been constituted.

NATIONAL LEVEL:-

The response from the Central Government is based keeping in view the following factors: 1. The gravity of the disaster 2. The scale of the relief operations 3. The requirements of the Central assistance for augmenting financial resources and logistics support at the disposal of the State Government. The Ministry of Home Affairs is the Nodal Ministry at the centre for coordinating disaster management activities for all natural hazards except drought which is taken care by Ministry of Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation. Other Ministries are assigned the responsibility of providing emergency support in case ofm disasters that fall within their preview.
STATE:-

The responsibility to cope up with natural disasters is essentially that of the State Government. The role of the Central Government is to support in terms of physical and financial resources. The Chief Minister or the Chief Secretary of the State heads a state level committee which is in overall charge of the relief operations at the State and the Relief Commissioner who is in charge of the relief and rehabilitation measures in the wake of natural disasters. In many of the states, Secretary, Department of Revenue is also in charge of relief operations. The states have the relief manual called as the State Relief Codeand the State Contingency Plan which guides them to manage disaster scenarios.

DISTRICT:-

A Disaster Management Committee has been set up at the district level headed by the District Magistrate and officials from the health department, Irrigation Department, Veterinary Department, Department of Water and Sanitation, Police, Fire Services, representatives from National and International NGOs, etc. The Disaster Management Committee which is basically the decision making body takes the help of the Disaster Management Teams, like the Fire Services, Police, Health practioners etc. are:
BLOCK:

The Block Development Officer/ Taluka Development Officer is the nodal officer at the Block level for all the disaster management activities. The Disaster Management Committee at the Block/ Taluka level is headed by this Nodal Officer. The main functions of Block Disaster Management Committee are: helping the Block administration in preparation of the Block Disaster Management Plan coordinating training for the members of the Disaster Management Teams Carry out mock drills
VILLAGE:

At the village level, the Village Disaster Management Committee headed by the Sarpanch/ Village Headman is responsible for preparing the Village Disaster Management

Plans and also coordinating with various agencies for providing training to the Disaster Management Teams. The members should see to it that mock drills are carried out by the villagers at regular intervals by the villagers for various hazards.
ORGANISATIONS THAT PLAY A VITAL ROLE DURIND DISASTER:-

The police and Para-military forces, Civil Defence and Home Guards, fire services, National Cadet Corps (NCC), Youth Organizations, UN agencies, International and National voluntary groups,public and private sector enterprises, media etc. play a major role in managing disasters. Functions of some of the organizations have been mentioned below:
1.UN DISASTER MANAGEMENT TEAM (UNDMT) INDIA:

UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), has been made responsible by the UN General Assembly mandate for all International disaster response. The UNDMT has representation from various UN Agencies such as FAO, ILO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WFP and WHO which act together whenever there is a disaster. The primary purpose of the UNDMT is to ensure prompt, effective and concerted country level disaster preparedness by the UN system, and the response when appropriate.
2. INDIAN ARMED FORCES:

The Armed Forces are the core of the governments response capacity. They intervene and take on

specific tasks only when the situation is beyond the capacity of civil administration. Due to their ability to organize action in adverse ground circumstances, speed of operational response and the resources and capacities at their disposal, the armed forces have historically played a major role in emergency support functions such as communications, search and rescue operations, health and medical facilities, transportation, power, food and civil supplies, public works and engineering, especially in the immediate aftermath of disaster.
3. NATIONAL CADET CORPS (NCC):

The National Cadet Corps, a body formed in 1948 aims at: developing qualities of character, courage, comradeship, discipline, leadership, secular out look, spirit of adventure and sportsmanship and the ideals of selfless service among the youth to make them useful citizens. This it does by creating a human resource of organized, trained and activated youth. Providing leadership in all walks of life including the Armed Forces and making themselves available for the service of the nation.
4. CIVIL DEFENCE:

Civil Defence aims at saving life, minimizing damage to the property and maintaining continuity of industrial production in the event of a hostile attack. The two war emergencies faced by the count ry in 1962 and 1965

compel led the Government of India to reorient its emergency training activities from natural disasters to those concerning protection of life and property against enemy action.
5. NATIONAL SERVICE SCHEME (NSS):

Ever since independence there has been growing awareness of the desirability of involving students in national services. The first Education Commission (1950) recommended the introduction of national service by students on a voluntary basis.Ministry of Education introduced the National Service Scheme during 1969-70. The motto of NSS is NOT ME BUT YOU. It underlines that the welfare of an individual is ultimately dependent on the welfare of the society as a whole. The NSS symbol is based on the Rath Wheel of the Konark Sun Temple of Orissa.
6. NEHRU YUVA KENDRAS:

The Nehru Yuva Kendras were launched in the year 1972 as part of the Silver Jubilee celebration of Indias Independence. This was on the recommendation of the National Advisory Board on Youth with the objective of providing the non-student rural Youth avenues to take part in nation building activities and also to provide opportunity for the development of their own personality and skills.
7. HOME GUARD:

Home Guard is a voluntary force, first raised in India in December 1946, to assist the police in controlling civil

disturbance and communal riots. Subsequently, the concept of a voluntary citizens force was adopted by several States. The function of Home Guards is to: Serve as an auxiliary to the police in maintenance of internal security Help the community in any kind of emergency such as air raid, fire, cyclone, earthquake, epidemic etc. Help in maintenance of essential services Promote communal harmony and assist the administration in protecting weaker sections Participate in socio-economic and welfare activities and perform Civil Defence duties.
CONCLUSION:-

It is accepted that the Government alone cannot take on the entire responsibility of Disaster Management. Apart from national, state, district and local levels there are various institutions who are involved in disaster management at various levels in the country. This includes the police and Para-military forces, Civil Defence and Home Guards, fire services, National Cadet Corps (NCC), Youth Organizations, UN agencies, International and National voluntary groups, public and private sector enterprises, media etc. play a major role in managing disasters. Lets join hands and be prepared. Students are the future generation of the country and they can make a difference by helping the community for a safer place to live.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:-

1. http://cbse.nic.in/DM%20ENGLISH.pdf 2. http://www.ndmindia.nic.in/GoIUNDP/ReportPub/DM-Statu-%20Report.pdf 3. http://www.indiastudychannel.com/resources/67723-SHARINGRESPONSIBILITY-ROLE-OF-LOCAL-AND-STATE.aspx

4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_management 5. http://www.ask.com/ 6. http://mha.nic.in/ch13.html 7. http://www.iitd.ac.in/~nss/ 8. http://www.annauniv.edu/nss/aboutnss.htm 9. www.nyks-india.org 10. class 10 dm text book