The Haryana government has announced to comprehensively strengthen the state’s civil defence set-up to ensure all preparedness to handle any emergency, be it natural or man-made, with swiftness.

Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Dr Sumita Misra said on Tuesday that the government has launched Civil Defence (CD) volunteer registration camps throughout the state at the district and subdivision levels to begin with.

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Currently, drills are being conducted in 10 districts and will soon be expanded comprehensively to all districts. The volunteers will be provided with standard jackets and uniforms to ensure they are easily identifiable and ready to act in emergency situations.

She further informed that the existing Paper Plan in each district will be revamped and updated with focus on vulnerability mapping of key public infrastructure such as government buildings, schools, universities, hospitals, power grids, industries and water systems both in urban and rural areas. “No high-risk areas will be left unmapped,” Dr Misra asserted.

Dr Misra further informed that all new CD volunteers will undergo a mandatory training based on the official national module issued by the Government of India. In order to strengthen local emergency response, a platoon of 30 trained Home Guard volunteers (on paid basis) will be placed on standby at the district level.

She further informed that for the first time, livestock evacuation has been made a formal part of disaster drills. CD volunteers with experience in animal care will be involved to ensure full-scale community protection. At the same time, the state is working with defence forces to develop a response plan for unexploded ordnance (UXO).

Dr Misra reaffirmed that Haryana is committed to building a trained, equipped, and alert Civil Defence force. “Haryana is fully equipped and prepared, as disaster readiness is not just a priority, it is the need of the hour,” she added.

Community-based efforts reduce risk and create opportunities for local development and sustainable livelihoods. By localising disaster risk reduction, we will also optimise the utilisation of indigenous knowledge and conventional best practices.

In addition, under the National Disaster Management Authority Scheme of the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, 2,300 volunteers have already been trained as ‘Aapda Mitra’ in nine districts, namely Ambala, Panchkula, Rewari, Kurukshetra, Faridabad, Nuh, Gurugram, Sonipat, and Yamunanagar, with fundamental skills such as search and rescue, evacuation, first aid, etc., necessary to address the immediate needs in case of any sensitive situation.