Govt considering amending act to revamp civil defence

New Delhi, Apr 1 (UNI) The government is considering amending law to revamp the Civil Defence system and making it more effective especially during natural calamities.

A high level meeting would be held here tomorrow in which measures to strengthen civil defence system, by increasing participation of people so that they could play a crucial role in providing relief during natural calamities like tsunami, earthquake, would be discussed.

Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Defence Minister A K Antony, Finance Minister P Chidambaram and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, who are members of the Civil Defence Advisory Committee, would participate in the meeting.

They would deliberate on the M Singh Committee's recommendations in this regard. The Committee had recommended that the Civil Defence Act 1968 should be amended so that people's assistance could be taken during natural calamities.

Once the recommendations are accepted by the meeting then they would forward it for further action by the government.

The meeting would be attended by the senior officials of the home ministry and the National Disaster Management Authority respresentatives.

The meeting would also be attended by senior officials of Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi.

UNI AJ SG KN1925