Long-term plan vital, says Clinton

By Mahesh Vijapurkar

MUMBAI, APRIL 6. Mr. Bill Clinton, former U.S. President, and the American-India Foundation today offered to share knowledge on disaster management and related skills gained over years by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Authority, and ``Indianise the concept since U.S. methodologies would not apply in India''. It would help translate the knowledge base to the grassroots to spread its benefits far and wide.

The AIF, which is pooling resources from across the U.S., especially from the Indian Diaspora, said its efforts being steered by well-positioned Indian Americans, was to see disaster management as ``a long-term priority area''. From what was said, funding rehabilitation of some villages was perhaps only an other important element of their endeavour.

What was on offer from them, as articulated by Mr. Clinton was the readiness to ``do whatever we can to help develop an emergency authority for any State or the entire country''. The other feature he stressed was the need to ``help people develop a long-term plan to restore their livelihood after a disaster''. This was conveyed as well by Mr. Kailash Joshi, AIF executive director now touring India to assess, learn and develop ideas to help mitigate consequences of disasters that strike the country off and on. A former chief of the FEMA has already prepared a well-written proposal which is being considered by the Trustees of the Foundation. As Mr. Joshi said, the idea was to make ``it congruent with your intentions here''.

Another idea being discussed within the AIF, Mr. Joshi said, was a ``service corps'', where a American youth would be sent to help assist in the reconstruction of the quake-hit areas. ``We are only six weeks old and still learning to walk but huge work is being done on this,'' he said.

They were speaking at a presentation by Mr. Sharad Pawar, MP and vice-chairman of the National Disaster Management Committee, on the country's efforts to cope with disasters. ``We intend to have a full-fledged plan and a National Disaster Management Authority,'' Mr. Pawar told Mr. Clinton and his team at a breakfast briefing at his residence where only a select few were invited.

Mr. Clinton's visit, Mr. Pawar said, ``was a source of tremendous moral strength to the suffering people'' after the January 26 Gujarat earthquake, and added that it was a good thing that the Prime Minister, Mr. A. B. Vajpayee, and all political parties had decided on a national disaster management plan ``unanimously''. He indicated that it could be on the lines as the FEMA's outline and charter, with a ``think-tank from all disciplines.''

All-encompassing plan

The plan, he said, would not be restricted to natural disasters alone; man-made events such as railway accidents and dam bursts too would come under its purview as well as hazards from biological and chemical accidents.

It will have a national-level plan, one for each State and district and the final level would be for cities and villages. There would be a corps for providing the requisite response at the village level. It would not be restricted to floods and quakes alone but also cover drought, a frequent occurrence in the country.

Mr. Rajivratan Shah, a senior official in the Union Cabinet Secretariat coordinating the efforts in preparing the plan, said ``the common endeavour would be to protect life''. A National Disaster Management Authority may soon come into being.

It could, he said, have a parallel with the structure in place in Japan, where national, prefecture, municipal and locality level plans are drafted and implemented. It may include the synergy seen in the U.S. FEMA where even civil defence reserves are inducted and with the Pentagon's help, military preparedness is built into disaster management.

Tangible aid

Mr. Clinton later said he did not want to be presumptuous but was only trying to help, and thought that inputs from the FEMA experience would provide insights on how to go about in coping with disasters.

``Let us assume a building collapses here in Mumbai. It would not make any sense to the victims if they are told about the education policy; what they actually want at that moment is someone to help, help pick away the rubble, rescue them from the debris, save lives and enable them to restore their lives and livelihoods. Our efforts in this task in the U.S. has paid off richly.''

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