Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr. P. K. Mishra today highlighted that preparedness and awareness are crucial for tackling increasing uncertainty on disaster occurrence. He added that the hazard and vulnerability landscape are changing, and so should enhance the preparedness level of the states. Mr Mishra said this while chairing the valedictory session of an annual Conference of Relief Commissioners and State Disaster Response Force of States and Union Territories organised by Ministry of Home Affairs in New Delhi. He said that for better transition from relief and response approach to the preparedness and mitigation approach, states need to institutionalise the lessons learnt. Highlighting India’s vast geography, he said that states should assess and invest in the capacity augmentation of agencies involved in the disaster relief operations.
Mentioning that disaster preparedness is not a matter of hours but is a matter of minutes, as every minute taken in mobilisation and starting relief operation counts, he directed the States and Union Territories to improve the speed of response. The Principal Secretary also asked states to focus on low cost but high impact interventions to mitigate disaster risks. He emphasised on volunteer mobilisation like the involvement of community through Aapda Mitra for enhancing the effectiveness of disaster response. He highlighted the importance of data in disaster management.