Centre approves Rs 201.10 crore for Odisha to enhance fire safety infrastructure

Editor Editor
Nov 11, 2024 - 20:35
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Centre approves Rs 201.10 crore for Odisha to enhance fire safety infrastructure

Bhubaneswar, Nov 11: A high-level committee led by Union Home Minister Amit Shah has sanctioned three projects worth Rs 725.62 crore to enhance and modernize fire services in Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and West Bengal.

According to an official statement released on Monday, Rs 147.76 crore has been allocated to Chhattisgarh, Rs 201.10 crore to Odisha, and Rs 376.76 crore to West Bengal. The committee, which includes the Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister, and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, oversees the funding.

The Central Government has set aside Rs 5,000 crore under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for improving fire services across states. So far, proposals worth Rs 2,542.12 crore from 15 states have already been approved.

“To realize Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of a disaster-resilient India, the Ministry of Home Affairs has implemented various measures to enhance disaster management capabilities,” the statement read. The government aims to reduce loss of life and property during disasters by strengthening India’s disaster risk reduction framework.

This year alone, over Rs 21,026 crore has been distributed to states under different disaster response and mitigation funds. This includes Rs 14,878.40 crore from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for 26 states, Rs 4,637.66 crore from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for 15 states, Rs 1,385.45 crore from the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF) for 11 states, and Rs 124.93 crore from the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) for three states.

The Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services initiative was introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in July 2023 to bolster fire safety infrastructure nationwide. Its objectives include establishing new fire stations, upgrading state training centers, procuring modern firefighting equipment, enhancing state and urban fire services, adopting advanced technologies, and incentivizing reforms in legal and infrastructure frameworks.