Amid rain havoc in hills, Centre constitutes National Crisis Management Committee

In the wake of persistent rain wreaking havoc across hilly areas of the country, including Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Union Government on Wednesday night constituted the National Crisis Management Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

A notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs said that the committee will have four members, including the union home secretary, defence secretary, secretary coordination in the Cabinet Secretariat and head of department of the National Disaster Management Authority.

The committee will be the apex committee for dealing with situations arising out of major disasters with national ramifications, the MHA notification said.

The notification added that the chairperson of the national crisis management committee can co-opt any expert or any officer either from the central or the state government or any organisation, depending on the nature of the crisis, to assist the committee in performing its functions during a threatening disaster situation or an emerging disaster situation or a disaster.

The committee will evaluate preparedness for the purpose of responding to any threatening disaster situation, emerging disaster, situation or disaster and give directions for enhancing such preparedness.

The committee will also coordinate and monitor the actions of ministries concerned or departments of the Government of India, state governments, national authority, state authorities, government, and non-government organisations in relation to disaster response, the notification said.