Disaster risk reduction and management turning into 'Jan Andolan': PK Mishra

Mishra, who has attended all three sessions of NPDRR since 2013, said that with its pan-India presence, the event is turning disaster risk reduction into a Jan Andolan as envisaged by the prime minister.Underlining the importance of the theme of the session Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate, he pointed out that it responds to the need for localising disaster risk management at a time when disaster risks are not only increasing but new patterns of risks are emerging.


PTI | New Delhi | Updated: 11-03-2023 19:53 IST | Created: 11-03-2023 19:31 IST
Disaster risk reduction and management turning into 'Jan Andolan': PK Mishra
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Disaster risk reduction and management are turning into a people's movement as envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his principal secretary P K Mishra said Saturday and called for professionalizing the setup for it.

Addressing the valedictory programme of the third session of the National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR), he expressed happiness about the enlarged scope of conversation and the breadth and depth of the discussions. Mishra, who has attended all three sessions of NPDRR since 2013, said that with its pan-India presence, the event is turning disaster risk reduction into a 'Jan Andolan' as envisaged by the prime minister.

Underlining the importance of the theme of the session ''Building Local Resilience in a Changing Climate'', he pointed out that it responds to the need for localising disaster risk management at a time when disaster risks are not only increasing but new patterns of risks are emerging. Mishra referred to the prime minister's 10-point agenda that emphasizes the need for building local capacities and initiatives, and especially women's leadership in disaster risk management. Learning from the proceedings of the sessions will go into the implementation of the prime minister's 10-point agenda and the Sendai Framework, he said.

The principal secretary suggested two overarching themes for the stakeholders to pursue -- professionalizing the disaster risk management setup at the state and district levels and developing programmes and interventions which are responsive to the needs of the people.

About professionalizing the setup, the principal secretary to the prime minister said, ''All aspects of disaster management functions at all levels -- national, state, and district -- need to be supported by professionally trained staff, a fit-for-purpose structure, administrative infrastructure, modern workspace, and necessary facilities such as emergency operations centres.'' This professionalization needs to cover both State Disaster Management Authorities and District Disaster Management Authorities, he said.

Mishra said disaster preparedness and disaster mitigation need to be professionalized on the lines of professionalization of disaster response that happened with the arrival of the National Disaster Response Force and State Disaster Response Fund. The states have adequate resources and they will be supported by the NDMA, National Institute of Disaster Management, and NDRF in a coordinated manner, he said.

About programme development, Mishra said policies and programmes go hand in hand.

''In the development of programmes, we must work across sectors. This will require combined efforts of disaster management, environment, water resources, education, urban development, agriculture and public health sectors,'' he said The principal secretary asked the NDMA to consider developing inter-sectoral programmes as the appropriate context for advancing the application of disaster management since mainstreaming disaster risk management in development is not possible ''until we know how to apply our regular programmes for risk reduction''. He also highlighted the need of prioritising the needs of the most vulnerable.

Mishra expressed satisfaction with the availability of resources for both the tasks of professionalization and programme development. New technologies, he said, can make disaster management tools and practices more effective in events like cyclones.

''The next three years are very critical and we must pursue this with single-minded focus,'' Mishra said.

The principal secretary concluded by alerting the stakeholders of the slow progress on the Sendai Framework, whose eighth anniversary is in a week.

''More than half of this 15-year Framework's time has passed and the world is way off track from achieving the Sendai targets. We must rededicate ourselves to creating a more effective, more responsive system of disaster risk management to work towards a safer country and safer world with more resilient communities,'' Mishra added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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