The Punjab government is yet to set up district disaster management authorities (DDMAs) across the province as envisaged in the National Disaster Management Ordinance, despite warnings from the Meteorological Department and various NGOs of an imminent threat of floods, Pakistan Today.
The federal government promulgated the National Disaster Management Ordinance 2006 after the 2005 earthquake, replacing the Reactive Emergency Response (Calamity Act of 1958). The ordinance provides for legal and institutional arrangements and envisaged setting up of disaster management authorities at the federal, provincial and district levels for putting up an “efficient” response to any kind of natural disaster. Sources privy to the developments told Pakistan Today that the Balochistan government was the first one to set up a provincial disaster management authority (PDMA) followed by Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.
They said then Punjab chief minister Pervaiz Elahi managed to delay setting up the PDMA, saying the Rescue 1122 was already at work and the province did not need a separate authority. But after last year’s floods, the incumbent Punjab regime finally decided to set up a PDMA as envisaged in the NDMO to coordinate and regularise flood relief efforts. However, the Punjab government is yet to act on the plans, with the Met Department already having issued a flood warning for this year. Chief Meteorologist Riaz Khan said the department had given a detailed briefing to CM’s Senior Adviser Sardar Zulfiquar Khosa and the chief minister himself about possible floods.
Low floods: “The daily position of floods is updated on the website as well… floods cannot be ruled out until the end of summers this year,” he said,
adding that low to medium floods were already coming in. As per the details, the DDMA was to be headed by the district nazim and tasked with preparing disaster management plans, including a district response plan, as well as coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the national, provincial and district policies and plans. DDMAs were to be further tasked with organising and coordinating specialised training programmes for district-level officers and voluntary rescue workers and facilitate community training and awareness programmes for prevention of disaster, or its mitigation, with the support of local authorities, government. A senior government official seeking anonymity said disaster management needed response at the micro level, as a few officers at the provincial metropolitan could not carry out relief efforts in the province having a population of 90 million.
The official said the government had recently earmarked Rs 50 million for the PDMA and a first response force had been set up, however, “every district has its own specific needs which can be best addressed by a DDMA”. The absence of DDMAs is against the mission of NDMA, which is to “manage complete spectrum of all types of disasters through a paradigm shift.” Senior Adviser to the Punjab CM Zulfiqar Khosa said although DDMAs were not there, committees at the district level had been notified. “The impression that the entire process is being governed by a handful of people in Lahore is wrong. Various departments are coordinating and districts are sending reports on a daily basis and all DCOs are coordinating these efforts,” Khosa said.
