India Should Achieve Zero Casualties During Natural Disaster: Amit Shah

New Delhi: Reiterating the Centre's aim of registering zero casualties during all natural calamities in India, Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday asked the state governments to prepare disaster management plans for all districts within the next 90 days.

"I urge all relief commissioners to prepare a Disaster Management Plan for every district in their state within 90 days. Unless there is a district disaster management plan, it is not possible to fight disaster management with speed. I request everyone to make a state-level action plan against lightning and thunderstorms. All the states and UTs should share it with the Centre within 90 days," said Shah while addressing an annual conference of Relief Commissioners of States, Union Territories and Disaster Response Forces.

Some of the States have already prepared such disaster management plans, but the process is pending in several states, he said. He highlighted the progress made in disaster preparedness, asserting that the government had moved from minimum casualties at the start of the decade to achieving zero-casualty outcomes.

An action plan should be made to tackle heat waves, with its timetable based on the experience of heat conditions, said Shah. "Without environmental conservation, it is impossible to completely avoid disasters; if we do not care for the environment, we will not be able to prevent disasters," added Shah, who is also a senior BJP leader.

Shah also announced to make inter-state mock drills an annual programme for natural disasters like cyclones. "We want to make interstate mock drills an annual programme. I believe it is not possible without the help of states. There are many cyclones, many disasters that require interstate mock drills, and we cannot do this without the help of the states. We want to move forward on this in the coming days," he said.

Referring to Cyclone Biparjoy in 2023, which struck off the coast of Gujarat, Shah said it recorded no fatalities. "When I say zero casualties, that means there were no deaths of even an animal in the cyclone," he said.

Shah said that due to a decade of transformation efforts by India's disaster response forces, India is on the move to become a global leader in crisis management. He highlighted the remarkable progress made in capacity, speed, efficiency, and accuracy in disaster management over the past ten years.

"Speed is critical in disaster response. Our focus on timely action and saving lives has seen significant advancements through workforce training, cutting-edge technology, and robust early warning systems," Shah said.

Shah also lauded the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for earning widespread respect and recognition across the country, noting its pivotal role in training State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) personnel.

During the programme, Shah also inaugurated the Integrated Control Room For Emergency Response (ICR-ER). The ICR-ER setup with technical expertise from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will cater to the requirement of disaster management as well as internal security.

ICR-ER will address the requirement of receipt of information on a near real-time basis, strategic level monitoring, situation awareness, command and control, preparedness and response in the diverse internal security situation and disaster-related emergencies. It will increase the operational effectiveness and will be helpful in rendering timely response and assistance during various emergency situations.