Himachal Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (HPSDMA) has facilitated the formation of a government organisation and non-government organisation (GoV-NGO) coordination platform for disaster response.
The platform will function both during and after disaster and normalcy, especially disaster preparedness, special secretary revenue-cum-director disaster management DC Rana said.
Rana said the Disaster Management Act 2005 mandates every state government, SDMA and district DMA for collaboration with stakeholder agencies including NGOs for the purpose of improving the effectiveness of disaster management.
The act mandates NGOs to act in an equitable and non-discriminatory manner for the purpose of assisting or protecting the disaster-affected communities or for providing relief, said Rana.
Considering the current public health crisis prevailing due to Covid-19, it is important to involve voluntary organisations in the efforts related to emergency response, he added.
Rana said the state has the Inter-Agency Groups (IAGs) at state as well as district level that can be of immense help in a well-coordinated emergency response.
To date, a total of 51 NGOs have already joined the network (www.hpiag.in), said Rana adding that NGO leaders from the District Inter-Agency Group (DIAG) would be of great assistance for effective execution and coordination of response efforts.
He said that other than the NGOs, several individuals were ready to volunteer for the social cause and they may register online on www.hpsdma.nic.in.
{{/usCountry}}He said that other than the NGOs, several individuals were ready to volunteer for the social cause and they may register online on www.hpsdma.nic.in.
{{/usCountry}}Rana added that SDMA and DDMAs were training the volunteers at the Panchayat level for disaster management and their database is also available for utilisation.
He said that DDMAs would appoint a nodal officer from the department of youth services and sports or department of home guards and civil defence to supervise the government-NGO coordination for better facilitation of the emergency supplies and services in the district.