Disaster control force to be set up on NDRF pattern
Pradeep Sharma
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 24
Following in the footsteps of several states, including Bihar, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu, Haryana is set to launch the Haryana State Disaster Response Force (HSDRF) on the pattern of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to deal with natural and man-made disasters.
The proposal of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department to have one battalion of the HSDRF (about 1,000 personnel) has been sent to the Finance Department following nod from Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. “After approval from the Finance Department, the proposal will be sent to the Central Government for final approval,” a senior functionary of the Haryana Government told The Tribune here on Tuesday.
The proposal of the HSDRF is the offshoot of Central Government’s directive to the state governments to have the disaster response teams in their respective states. The directive was considered at a high-level meeting chaired by Additional Chief Secretary (Revenue and Disaster Management) Keshni Anand Arora and attended by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) SS Prasad and DGP BS Sandhu.
Following deliberations at the meeting, a project report was prepared under which it was proposed to have one battalion of the HSDRF in the first phase, besides equipment, vehicles and other modern gadgets for relief and rescue operations during natural and man-made disasters, including earthquake, floods, fire, industrial mishaps and road, rail and air accidents.
Currently 8th Battalion of the NDRF, located at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, is responsible for undertaking relief operations in Haryana. “In the event of natural calamity, it takes time to mobilise the NDRF personnel and that is the reason why Haryana wanted to have a dedicated disaster management team,” the functionary asserted.
Chief Minister’s Media Adviser Rajiv Jain said the Haryana Government had promptly acted on Central Government’s directive to have the HSDRF. “Once the proposal is approved by the Central Government, the HSDRF would start functioning in the state,” Jain added.
Recently, the NDRF has also decided to set up a new regional response centre in Panchkula with around 50 personnel to oversee and coordinate deployment of its units in times of calamity.
