Forest Fires
Forests face many hazards but
the most common hazard is fire.
Forests fires are as old as the forests
themselves. They pose a threat
not only to the forest wealth but
also to the entire regime of fauna
and flora seriously disturbing the
bio-diversity and the ecology and
environment of a region. Forest
fires are usually seasonal. They
usually start in the dry season
and can be prevented by adequate
precautions. State Governments
are aware of the severe damage
caused by fires not only trees but
also to forests and ecology of the
area. Successive Five Year Plans
have provided funds for forest fire
fighting.
National disaster management
system in india
Indeed, concurrent to these
occurrences, the government at
various levels too, has responded
by taking appropriate measures
for prevention and mitigation of
the effects of disasters. While long
term preventive and preparedness
measures have been taken up, the
unprecedented nature of the disasters
has called in for a nationwide
response mechanism wherein there
is a pre-set assignment of roles and
functions to various institutions at
central, state and the district level.
The Administrative Response
In the federal set-up of India,
the responsibility to formulate the
Governments response to a natural
calamity is essentially that of
the concerned State government.
However, the Central Government,
with its resources, physical and
financial does provide the needed
help and assistance to buttress
relief efforts in the wake of major
natural disasters. The dimensions of
the response at the level of Central
Government are determined in
accordance with the existing policy
of financing the relief expenditure
34
and keeping in view the factors
like:
(i) the gravity of a natural
calamity,
(ii) the scale of the relief operation
necessary, and
(iii) the requirements of Central
assistance for augmenting
the financial resources at
the disposal of the State
Government.
The Division of Disaster
Management of Ministry of Home
Affairs, Government of India i H