Home Ministry making list of material for disaster relief

NEW DELHI: The Union Home Ministry wants all central ministries, states and nongovernmental organisations to specify what relief material they can supply within the first 72 ‘golden’ hours of a natural disaster and has spelt it out clearly that they cannot subsequently raise bills with the home ministry for relief supplies.

This follows in the wake of "the recent experiences" on sending relief supplies to Nepal, J& K and Uttarakhand, the ministry said in a letter dated May 21. Stressing on quick response in dispatch of relief supplies of food, water and medicines, the ministry said the initial supplies sent within 72 hours "are very crucial".

A damaging assertion in the letter is that agencies in the past demanded cost of the relief supplies, putting the ministry in a "predicament". It has now been impressed upon all that "it is understood" that when emergency supplies are rushed, their expenditure is to be borne by the concerned ministry, state or NGO.

The home ministry has also asked government agencies, state-run companies and NGOs to desist from approaching it with cash assistance for disaster-affected families. "A major impediment in accepting cash is to convert this cash into relief supplies, which is generally not possible given at a short time," the letter said. "One of the major experiences has been that sending relief material was more supply-driven than demand-driven," it said , asking for a list of material that can be supplied within 72 hours of a calamity for preparing a ‘Master Inventory’ for the benefit of all states.