New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday announced the launch of the “Scheme for Expansion and Modernization of Fire Services in the States” with a total budget of Rs. 5,000 crore.
The scheme, part of the preparedness and capacity building funding window under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), aims to strengthen fire services across the country.
Out of the allocated amount, Rs. 500 crore has been reserved for incentivizing states based on their legal and infrastructure-related reforms. Chief secretaries and head of fire services of all states have received a letter regarding the scheme.
The initiative was announced by Union home minister and minister of cooperation, Amit Shah, during a meeting with ministers of disaster management from states and union territories in New Delhi on 13 June, 2023.
The primary objective of the scheme is to expand and modernize fire services at the state level through the preparedness and capacity-building components of the NDRF. To avail funds under the scheme, state governments are required to contribute 25% of the total project cost from their own budgetary resources, except for the North-Eastern and Himalayan (NEH) states, which have to contribute 10%.
According to the ministry, this scheme is derived from the recommendation of the fifteenth finance commission (XV-FC), which allows an allocation of 12.5% from both the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) for the Funding Window of Preparedness and Capacity Building.
Additionally, Rs. 5,000 crore from the total NDRF corpus has been designated for the priority area of “Expanding and Modernization of Fire Services”. It should be noted that any commitments made for projects sanctioned within the earmarked allocation will not extend beyond the award period.
