National Disaster Response Force

• Arunachal Pradesh got its first permanent battalion of National Disaster Response Force as headquarters of its 12^th battalion has been inaugurated at Hollongi.
• The battalion will serve the needs of both Arunachal Pradesh and state of Assam in times of natural calamity and human made disasters.

What is National Disaster Response Force?

• It is a force of 12 battalions with 1149 persons each dedicated for rescuing and protecting human lives and property during the natural as well as human made disasters.
• Out of 12 battalions, three each from the BSF and CRPF and two each from CISF, ITBP and SSB. Each battalion have 18 self-contained specialist search and rescue teams of 45 personnel each including engineers, technicians, electricians, dog squads and medical/paramedics.
• All battalions have been equipped and trained to respond natural and man-made disasters including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) emergencies.
• It works under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

How has NDRF come into being?

• The mid nineties and the subsequent decade saw much international debate & discussion around Disaster Response & Preparedness. Some of the notable and more impactful ones were the Yokohama Strategy Plan (1994) & the Hyogo Framework for Action (2005), adopted by the UN. During the same period India faced some of its most severe natural calamities like Orissa Super Cyclone (1999), Gujarat Earthquake (2001) and Indian Ocean Tsunami (2004).
• This succession of events and the International environment brought to fore, the need of comprehensive disaster management plan. This led to the enactment of the Disaster Management Act on December 26th, 2005. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was constituted to lay down the policies, plans and guidelines for disaster management.
• The Disaster Management Act has statutory provisions for constitution of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for the purpose of specialized response to natural and man-made disasters.
• Accordingly, in 2006 NDRF was constituted with 8 Battalions. In the beginning, the personnel of NDRF were deployed for routine law and order duties also.
• In 2007, the need of NDRF being made a dedicated force was highlighted and accepted.
• This led to the notification of NDRF Rules on February 14th, 2008, making NDRF a dedicated force for disaster response related duties, under the unified command of DG NDRF.

What has been NDRF since its inception?

• The practice of “proactive availability” of this Force to the States and that of “pre-positioning”, in a threatening disaster situations have immensely helped minimise damage, caused due to natural calamities in the country.
• It has done exceptional work at the time of natural calamities such as Cyclone Hud Hud in eastern India, Floods in Jammu and Kashmir 2014, Cyclone in Japan 2011 etc. Since its inception NDRF has continued to win hearts of millions of countrymen, by demonstrating its expertise and compassion while handling disaster situations.