In a bid to strengthen Disaster Management and preparedness at cluster level, the Central Government has agreed to provide ₹1,115 crore to different states for funding their MITIGATION AND CAPACITY BUILDING SCHEMES. This decision strengthens the government’s resilience and fosters the resilience of the nation to disasters including natural ones with the aim of saving lives and property.
Strengthening Disaster Resilience
The approved funds will be spent on a number of activities that aim at enhancing state level disaster management assets and capacities. These projects include various activities such as structural construction; establishment of warning systems and community exercise and drills. In accomplishing goals for lessening the effects of disaster events on vulnerable regions of the community, the government targets at increasing the ability of states to respond adequately to disasters.
Key Areas of Focus
- Infrastructure Development: A significant share of the released money will be used for investments in construction and upgrade of the key facilities. This includes constructions of housing structures that are shock proof and flood proof, cyclone awareness centres and safe houses. There is crucial need to enhance infrastructure development to support clients in addressing the challenge of natural calamities incidences.
- Early Warning Systems: An effective early warning system is highly essential for disasters, therefore the improvement of such systems is important. The amount of money provided will be spent for the modernization of meteorological and hydrological observation systems, for putting into operation early warning systems, and in enhancing the means of communication. Such actions shall facilitate early release of information and subsequent early evacuation and other preventive measures to avoid loss of lives and property.
- Capacity Building and Training: Disaster management skills require that the capacity of disaster response teams be enhanced so as to provide the best services. This funding will go towards the recruitment of the extra personnel in regards to emergency response and rescue as well as first aid training for the present workers. Besides, the development of community disaster management programs that will enhance disaster awareness and capability among the community will also be done.
- Technology Integration: The second area of concern as part of focus is the integration of progressive technologies within disaster management practices. These funds will be utilized to increase the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing and other technologies to support disaster risk assessment and planning and response. The use of these technologies will ensure that valuable and timely data is available to support this, in emergency situations.
Collaborative Efforts
₹1,115 crore has been approved by the Central Government for disaster mitigation and capacity building projects is part of a convenient strategy to develop the relationship between central and state agencies. For these entities, it is easier to combine efforts financially as well as share information and experience as to effective disaster management. Such an approach is important for the development of a coherent system that meets the country’s needs in the case of disasters.
Effect on Other Sensitive Groups
The approved funding will have a direct impact of improving the lot of vulnerable groups most adversely affected by natural disasters. Through these measures, the government aims at alleviating the risks that existed among such communicates and help the societies improve on their preparedness in case of occurrence of a disaster. Resilience and preparedness are likely to enhance the general community welfare and thus will enhance sustainable development.
Future Prospects
Future wise, the Central Government has approved fund for disaster mitigation and capacity-building of projects, which will act as landmark investment in such plans. Since world climate is also changing and the natural catastrophes are increasing and becoming severe more efforts and money is needed to create a nation which is adaptive and responsive to such issues. The commitment of the government to disaster management will therefore be central to the preservation of lives, sustenance of livelihoods and supporting development.
Challenges those are likely to be encountered when undertaking disaster mitigation and capacity-building projects in India.
Indian is prone to nearly all forms of natural disasters due to its geo-climatic characteristics of areas which include floods, cyclones, earthquakes, droughts and landslides. Due to these risks the Indian government has embarked on several disasters mitigation and capacity enhancement projects. However, challenges arise when efforts are made to harmonize these initiatives, as it is realized that their adoption is accompanied by some factors that distort their efficiency and sustainability. Here, we identify the main problems connected with disaster risk reduction and capacity building activities in India and consider how these problems might be solved.
Limited Financial Resources
The greatest issue that any organization faces is the lack of funds that can be used to finance disaster prevention and associated capacity enhancement projects. Although the government assigns resources to such endeavours, the budget is usually limited, which cannot accommodate the huge facilities and standby procedures needed in the nation. This financial constraint averts the timely provision of infrastructure and a degradation of the quality of service delivery on projects.
Solution: In order to meet this challenge the government should consider other sources of funding including; Public Private Partnerships, International Aid, and grants from International Organizations. Also, setting up of specific funds for disaster mitigation can help make continuous flow of funds for projects in the future and now.
Inadequate Infrastructure
The first major disadvantage is that there is no inherent flexibility in the existing structures to effectively deal with disaster prevention. Unfortunately, most areas especially those in the rural and remote areas they do not afford the necessary infrastructure to support them in the event of disaster. The integrated results of a survey confirmed that incomplete structures, lack of proper drainage systems, and insufficient makeshift huts / houses are some of the risks of these communities.
Solution: Building Disaster resistance structures like flood-resistant structures, cyclone centres, and sound drainage systems among others should be done. Other factors that can improve the quality of infrastructure include the adoption of guidelines or regulation concerning the construction of buildings and the adoption of principles that seek to make such building resistant to disasters amongst others. Moreover, through inspections and maintenance done more often, there is a chance to check on the functionality of the infrastructure which is used during the disaster.
Coordination and communication
Disaster management calls for several operators and partners including government bodies, NGOs and the community. However, while responding to these incidents, either through prevention, mitigation, or rehabilitation, gaps of coordination and communication exist and hinder quickly formulated and executed response measures. Disseminated knowledge and absence of structural management system can result in a lot of confusion and time consumption in combating with disasters.
Solution: That is why it is possible to state that the enhancement of structured relations with the elaboration of the unified subordinated disaster management authority possessing clear mandate can facilitate the management of effective cooperation among the stakeholders. Adopting common-problem solving practices and technology platforms, including the emergency communication networks, guarantees flow of information. There are also numerous benefits of performing training and simulation exercises regularly to raise the levels of coordination, and capacity to respond.
Awareness and pre planning of the community
Disaster mitigation involves working towards preventing disasters and because the community is at the center of disaster response, its awareness is fundamental. However, in India today, a vast majority of the communities are ill-informed of potential disaster threats and how they could avoid getting affected. Inability to access education and information also increases this challenge making communities dull in managing emergences.
Solution: Public enlightenment through awareness creating programs and community mobilization such as training programs will increase understanding and appreciation of disaster prone risks and disaster preparedness programs. Using modern technology like micro blogs, a mobile application can share information with many people at once. The participation of the leaders and organizations in such processes can also help improve the participation of communities in these initiatives.
Technological Limitations
Although, technology forms a significant part of disaster management, the effectiveness of mitigation measures can be restricted by technology constraints. Early prevention mechanisms might not be efficient; there are no real time data, and limited access to technologies slow down the efficient disaster response.
Solution: Emergency risk assessment and the capacity to respond can be improved by the acquirement of complex technologies like GIS, remote sensing, and early warning system. Engaging with research organizations as well as technology firms is a way of advancing to implement modern solutions. Further, prior exposure to these technologies makes the disaster management staff more effective after training on how to use them.
Institutional and Administrative Barrier
The challenge of bureaucratic procedures slows down the workflow to implement mitigation in disaster situations. This problem occurs due to the existence of several agencies for the same cause meaning that the agencies end up being ineffective due to confusion towards the duties and arrangement of responsibilities in a timely manner.
Solution: Integration of the activities and disbursement of authority and responsibility inherited in administration can help to improve the work of disaster management. Better combination of means of activities and formalization of relations between agencies can contribute to the reduction of the bureaucratic effect, thus, also the general improvement of the implementation of projects.
Builds trust with communities
To ensure effective implementation of pre-disaster mitigation, there is need to foster an engaging relationship with communities. But in many cases, any previous failures in handling disasters, or any previous broken promises has made it impossible for certain communities to participate in any new projects.
Solution: Developing trust may also need commitments made through consultative community engagement, open discussions and involvement in the decision making processes, and fulfilment of promises. A community participation and leadership plays a certain important role in the preparation and overall involvement towards disaster response.
Integration of Traditional Knowledge
Indigenous people have other culturally relevant information and practices that may be useful for increasing disaster resistance. However, the incorporation of these indigenous knowledge systems into the contemporary disaster risk reduction practices is a stance that is posing much difficulties due to culture constrains and non-recognition of Indigenous people’s contributions.
Solution: Culturally appropriate solutions are achievable by integrating traditional knowledge together with modern planning in disaster management. One way of discovering a connection between conventional and contemporary knowledge is by partnering with indigenous peoples.
Political will and prioritization
Disaster knowledge and political commitment are necessary for the call for financial support and continued attention to disaster management. Inter-party and intra-party dynamics as well as short-term estimations can result in insufficient funding of stand-by long-term planning in response to disasters.
Solution: Encouraging people in all governmental levels to act in support of disaster risk reduction policy means guaranteeing passion and money for its support. Focusing on the long-term GOP of disaster risk reduction for general people can equally find a political champion.
Monitoring and Evaluation
It is therefore crucial and important to incorporate clear and efficient M&E tools in disaster mitigation projects in order to judge how much value they serve in relation to the few acknowledged inadequacies. This is because of an inadequacy of M&E frameworks and lack of reliable data to quantify the degree of overall positive change.
Solution: Establishing sound M&E frameworks with evident indicators for reporting on the progress can improve the disaster mitigation initiatives. It recommended that data collection and analysis should be initiated; system technology for monitoring, data should be collected through interested-party evaluators for further improvements.
Conclusion
Controlling the hazards and implementing the capacity-building projects in India demands a ‘whole of’ approach that includes definite investment, active people’s participation, technological solutions, and political will. If these obstacles are crossed, there would be credible development of a nation that would be ready and respond and recover from disasters. There is a need for sustained efforts and partnership with government Ministries, departments, agencies, and stakeholders to ensure that sustainable disaster risk reduction processes and achievement of the of better standards of living for all citizens are realized.