Role of Revenue Department in Disaster Management

The activities of the Revenue Department also include giving land to the homeless and safeguarding government property in addition to resolving people’s land-related issues. The task of providing emergency help to those impacted by natural disasters including floods, droughts, cyclones, hailstorms, earthquakes, fire accidents, etc. falls under the purview of this Department. Additionally, it makes efforts toward restoration and rehabilitation projects.

In Pre Disaster Phase:

• Convene the meetings of the District Disaster Management Authority to take stock of mitigation and preparedness activities undertaken.
• Development and updation of District Disaster Management Plan streamlining Hazard, Vulnerability, Risk, and Capacity Analysis (HVRCA) of the district with proactive participation of agencies and local authorities of the district.
• The District Collector, District Magistrate and Deputy Commissioner should have sufficient staff.
• District and Subdivision control rooms should be managed.
• For exchanging the information, a District Control Room should be established.
• Mediate early warnings at local and district levels.
• Public infrastructure and all types of buildings must follow the Building Codes.
• Relief camps locations should be identified.
• A list of staff assigned to each site operation centre should be prepared.
• For the improvement of capacity building, a training calendar and training facilitation of various stakeholders of various departments should be designed.
• Keep a record of regular inventories of the resources.
• With the regular drills and exercises, the capabilities of the community and departments are enhanced.
• Supply of food grains to the Public Distribution System (PDS) should be ensured with a periodic review of the godown’s conditions.
• Prepare a list of supplies that will be distributed for various hazard zones and situations.
• It is imperative that all relief items, including rates and suppliers, be open to tenders/ quotations.
• Teams/groups of volunteers for transportation and supplies should be organised.

During and in Post Disaster:

• Take an inventory of the situation at an emergency meeting.
• Proper evacuation plans should be followed.
• Consult local authorities on the establishment of relief camps and the organization of relief materials and also develop a list of temporary transit shelters and determine if they can accommodate people.
• NGOs, youth clubs, and self-help groups in the district should be given exclusive responsibilities for providing relief items and for recovery and rehabilitation.
• Participate in forming village-level preparedness teams with assistance from Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and local NGOs.
• Prepare an evacuation plan for people living in dangerous buildings in case of pre earthquake vibrations and an advisory by central agencies, and coordinate with the Army, Air Force, and Navy to ensure that residents of these buildings are evacuated, rescued, and helped.
• Make sure important staff members come back from vacation and remind them that there are divisional and ward offices and departments that need to be manned, and plan for proper disposal of corpses and dead bodies with the police, NGOs, Medical, Public Health and Forest Departments.
• For a better water supply and sanitation, the entire city should be cleaned as soon as possible with the help of municipal corporations and public health departments.
• Ensure that sanctions and audit expenditure accounts are collated and payments are disbursed.
• Develop rehabilitation plans for displaced populations and activate the helplines through the police and health departments, as well as the district public relations offices. In addition to that, the District Public Relations Officer should provide appropriate media briefings.
• It is important to provide adequate nutrition for those who are suffering from disasters and provide privacy to young girls, pregnant women, and elderly individuals.

Thus, Revenue department is responsible for for not only land related issues but also play active role in disaster management.