Mumbai: Ten years after the Mumbai terror attacks, the Maharashtra government has set up a committee to strengthen coordination between state agencies in the event of calamities, crises, and natural disasters. The 17-member panel will be headed by the additional chief secretary, home department.
Keeping in the mind the geographical limitations and the floating population, it is important to have a standard operating procedure for natural and man-made disasters, Shrirang Gholap, senior secretary, revenue department, said in his order. “The committee will give suggestions and extend support to the government in order to prepare for emergencies.”
Senior government officials said the move comes after the Supreme Court had warned Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, and Gujarat, for slow implementation of the National Disaster Act, 2015. A public interest litigation in 2013 had claimed that the delay in setting up the committee and implementing provisions of the Act will endanger lives of citizens.
Under the National Disaster Act, the States were asked to set up a state disaster management authority (SDMA). “The SDMA will be headed by the Chief Minister and the chief secretary,” said an official of the home department.
The SDMA mandates all departments to prepare a disaster management plan, while the new committee will assist in formulations. The committee will include senior bureaucrats from departments such as relief and rehabilitation, public health, and urban development, police commissioner, traffic commissioner, the commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
