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New Delhi: Delhi govt plans to establish a functional incident response system that will be activated during disasters and set up a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) for managing emergencies in the national capital, senior officials said.
The administration is developing a proposal for implementing the incident response system, which will include representatives from various departments. "The response protocol would involve moving affected individuals to safety, relocating them to temporary accommodation facilities, and ensuring that their nutritional and medical requirements are met," said an official.
The system will have nodal officers marked for all kinds of situation, and will have people under them. Through this system, there will be better coordination and govt will not be found wanting in case of a disaster, the official added.
Delhi, being the national capital, faces significant vulnerabilities. In addition, the city's location in seismic zone IV, the second-highest risk category on India's seismic zoning map, poses substantial concerns. The devastating fire incidents and the flooding events in 2023 highlighted the city's susceptibility to disasters. The Yamuna reached an all-time high of 208.66 metre on July 13, 2023. The situation led to flooding in several parts of the city, including Northeast, East and Southeast districts.
These incidents led the authorities to contemplate implementing a coordinated system to enhance communication and response capabilities among various departments.
A proposal on SDRF will also be presented to chief minister Rekha Gupta. SDRF, like National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), will be involved in rescue efforts in man-made or natural disasters and will provide the authorities with the required manpower to handle rescue operations in critical situations.
Both proposals are in the works. CM Gupta proposed setting up an emergency operations centre for better crisis management in her maiden budget speech this year.
Delhi lacks a unified command and control centre to coordinate disaster response among various agencies. Currently, NDRF works in case of such a tragedy in Delhi. NDRF is also the apex body to lay down policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management to ensure timely and effective response to disasters. SDRF's mandate will be to work in coordination with NDRF.
"SDRF will further deal with technicalities like whether the construction in any area is done keeping the disaster management planning in mind. The planning should be in a way that officials can respond to the disaster swiftly and also expedite relief measures, if needed," the official said.
