'Draft bill for disaster mangement ready'

Mumbai, July 30 (UNI) Officer on Special Duty for the Government of Maharashtra S C Mohanty today informed that a draft bill for Disaster Management is ready and would be tabled soon in the State legislature.

Mr Mohanty was speaking at the ongoing two-day workshop for western and southern states on 'Disaster Management' under the National Disaster Management Policy and Guidelines Earthquake (NDMPAG-EQ), which concluded here today.

The consultation is being attended by bureaucrats and eminent academicians. It is part of a series of consultations being undertaken by the newly formed National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

Prof N V C Menon, an NDMA member, while speaking on the occasion stressed that information, communication, awareness and preparedness, sensitisation, education, training and capacity building were prime factors that would guide the nation towards the vision of ''zero tolerance to avoidable deaths''.

While advocating the need for a paradigm shift from relief to mitigation and preparedness, he said the Centre proposed to establish a National Disaster Mitigation Fund and State Disaster Mitigation Funds to implement the programmes and initiatives in mitigation and preparedness.

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