Govt Set to Rejig OSDMA 25 Years

Bhubaneswar (Ajoy Kumar Misra): The Odisha government has announced a restructuring of the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) 25 years after it was established after the 1999 super cyclone. According to official sources, the focus will shift towards disaster risk reduction and resilience, aligning with national frameworks. The 1999 super cyclone had killed more than 10,000 people.
A formal notification has been issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department in this regard.

In the light of changing landscapes, it has become crucial to strengthen the organisational structure of OSDMA (Odisha State Disaster Management Authority) in line with national frameworks and guidelines and build its own capacity with a view to move from mitigation, preparedness, response and reconstruction to disaster risk reduction and resilience in a holistic manner,” the notification read.

As per the notification, OSDMA will now have four division-general, capacity building, project & technology, and a finance division with each division headed by an executive director. The executive director (general) and executive director (capacity building) will be in the rank of IAS or OAS. The executive director (projects & technology) will be from the engineering departments of the government of Odisha or on deputation from the Telecom department, Government of India.

The executive director (finance) will be in the rank of OFS (SS/SAG) to be sourced from the Government on deputation. In case of OFS (SG) cadre officer is posted, he/she will be designated as chief general manager (F&A). Out of the total 102 staff positions of OSDMA, 10 posts have been abolished and 37 posts have been created. Notably, Odisha was the first state in the country to set up a disaster management authority after the 1999 super cyclone– six years before the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) was established in 2005.