SRINAGAR: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today held a review meeting regarding the functioning of the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction (DMRR&R).
The meeting had a detailed assessment of the measures being taken by the department for disaster mitigation, besides the welfare of different categories of displaced populations.
Principal Secretary, Home and DMRR&R Departments; Principal Secretary, Social Welfare; Commissioner Secretary, FCS&CA; Commissioner Secretary, GAD; Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir/Jammu; Secretary, PWD; Secretary, Law; Relief Commissioner; Chief Engineers and other concerned officers and officials of the Department attended the meeting.
Dulloo asked the department to implement robust measures to make J&K disaster-resilient. He emphasised the need for a proactive approach to mitigate the impact of disasters the UT is prone to, rather than just responding after they
He impressed upon the department to further gear up for action plans regarding different disasters the UT is vulnerable to. He advised for taking mitigation measures after carrying out expeditions to safeguard the region from any Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF).
The Chief Secretary took stock of the updated status of the transit accommodations created for the migrant employees in the Kashmir Valley. He called for the rapid execution of the ongoing works so that all the 6000 flats are allotted to these employees without any further delay.
Dulloo also took appraisal of the implementation of the relief and rehabilitation package being extended to the displaced persons of PoJK/Chhamb and the West Pakistani Refugees by the Central Government. He called for the disbursement of relief amounts to all the eligible families and gave an opportunity to those who had not yet received the benefits despite being eligible for the same.
The Chief Secretary took note of other welfare measures like the onboarding of migrants registered with the Relief Organisation on NFSA, a database for the extension of different social security schemes to them. He called for extending such benefits to them forthwith, for they have right to such benefits like other groups of population.
Principal Secretary, DMRR&R, Chandraker Bharti, informed the meeting about different activities and achievements including strengthening of UT, Divisional and District level disaster management authorities by deploying necessary manpower there.
He also revealed that the department, for first time, has established a Disaster Mitigation Fund earmarking an amount of Rs 39 crore for augmenting the disaster management infrastructure. He also made a mention of the establishment of the Directorate of Disaster Management, for which the necessary approval had been sought from the Finance Department.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the Disaster Management Authority and Disaster Advisory Committee have been constituted to enhance disaster management efforts. Additionally, plans are underway to establish an Institute of Disaster Management & Training Academy to develop a skilled workforce equipped to handle various disasters.
Other initiatives discussed in the meeting included working of Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) with a toll-free number of 112, Common Alert Protocol (CAP) by integrating alert-generating agencies like IMD, CWC, INCOIS, DGRE and FSI, status of IDRN and Decision Support System in the DMRR&R Department.
Earlier, a presentation was made about the benefits and plans devised for the welfare of different categories of migrants from Kashmir and Jammu divisions.
The meeting also discussed in detail the location-wise status of 6000 transit accommodations for Kashmiri Pandit (PM Package) employees, besides the recruitment of the rest of the designated posts. Besides, it took note of the progress on outreach campaigns being conducted to cover PoJK and other West Pakistani Refugees (WPRs) under the Rehabilitation Package.
Other developmental activities reviewed in the meeting included the establishment of ‘PoJK Bhawan’ at Suketar, the community hall at Mini township Jagti and other relief measures being carried out for these displaced communities.