According to Diwase, the SDRF will have 428 personnel in the first phase, with new officers recruited annually from every district. Plans are also being worked out for setting up SDRF centres in various cities, for which the state government has already started identifying land.
The Maharashtra government is planning to set up a State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) on the lines of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), which will be stationed at Nagpur and Dhule.
"We have completed the recruitment of officers and personnel for the SDRF. The units will have their own set-up and equipment. They will be ready for action in the next six months," said state Disaster Management Department director Sunil Diwase.
According to Diwase, the SDRF will have 428 personnel in the first phase, with new officers recruited annually from every district. Plans are also being worked out for setting up SDRF centres in various cities, for which the state government has already started identifying land.
The SDRF units will be trained and armed by the NDRF and will combat natural and man-made disasters. "There's a need to establish SDRF units in Maharashtra to effectively deal with climatic conditions and rise in man-made disasters," the officer said.
Currently, the SDRF personnel are being given training by the NDRF in Nagpur.
It was in July 2014 that Fadnavis government gave clearance to the proposal for setting up the SDRF. Fadnavis had taken into consideration the annual floods, landslides, drought and other calamities taking a toll in 15-20 districts of the state.
In 2016, the government gave its approval to the comprehensive disaster management plan to supplement the set-up of the SDRF, which included dedicated staff for disaster management cells from every district of the state and orientation training programme in 100 schools of every district.
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