Modernisation of Fire Services
Modernisation of Fire Services
Fire Service is a State subject and has been included as a Municipal function in the XII Schedule of the Constitution of India under Article 243(W).
It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to ensure strengthening of Fire & Emergency Services under the area of their jurisdiction including in the Gram Panchayats.
Recognizing the need for expansion and modernization of fire services in the States, Fifteenth Finance Commission recommended a provision of Rs.5000 crore for strengthening the fire services at a state level. Therefore, Central Government has launched the “Scheme for Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services in the States” on 04.07.2023. The detailed scheme is available at https://www.mha.gov.in/en/commoncontent/policies-guidelines.
Under the Scheme, the concerned State Governments shall have to contribute 25% (except for North-Eastern and Himalayan (NEH) States which shall contribute 10%) of the total cost of projects / proposals from their respective States resources.
Under the Scheme, the States are permitted to undertake following activities in order to strengthen the fire services in their respective states.
The State-wise details of funds allocated to the States under the Scheme is at Annexure-I. As on date, proposals of eighteen (18) states have been approved by the Ministry of Home Affairs for financial assistance under the Scheme as per details given below: –
(Rs in crore)
Sl No.
States
Total Allocation
1
Andhra Pradesh
252.86
2
Manipur
45.00
3
Meghalaya
44.37
4
Telangana
190.14
5
Uttar Pradesh
768.67
6
Himachal Pradesh
65.33
7
Punjab
131.56
8
Sikkim
32.25
9
Tripura
42.36
10
Uttarakhand
78.89
11
Assam
107.47
12
Karnataka
329.90
13
Mizoram
40.00
14
Tamil Nadu
373.27
15
Chhattisgarh
147.745
16
Nagaland
40.05
17
Odisha
200.384
18
West Bengal
376.76
ANNEXURE –I
State-wise details of funds allocated to the States under the scheme for expansion and modernization of Fire Services in the States
(Rs in crore)
Sl. No
List of States
Central Share
State Share
Total Allocation
1
Andhra Pradesh
189.7
63.23
252.93
2
Arunachal Pradesh
57.57
6.39
63.96
3
Assam
96.73
10.74
107.47
4
Bihar
255.69
85.23
340.92
5
Chhattisgarh
110.82
36.94
147.76
6
Goa
31.63
10.54
42.17
7
Gujarat
254.27
84.75
339.02
8
Haryana
87.48
29.16
116.64
9
Himachal Pradesh
58.8
6.53
65.33
10
Jharkhand
111
37.00
148.00
11
Karnataka
247.42
82.47
329.90
12
Kerala
122.41
40.80
163.21
13
Madhya Pradesh
298.15
99.38
397.54
14
Maharashtra
461.61
153.87
615.48
15
Manipur
40.5
4.50
45.00
16
Meghalaya
39.94
4.43
44.37
17
Mizoram
36
4.00
40.00
18
Nagaland
36.05
4.00
40.05
19
Odisha
150.83
50.27
201.10
20
Punjab
98.67
32.89
131.56
21
Rajasthan
293.73
97.91
391.64
22
Sikkim
29.03
3.22
32.25
23
Tamil Nadu
280
93.33
373.33
24
Telangana
142.61
47.53
190.14
25
Tripura
38.15
4.23
42.38
26
Uttar Pradesh
577.43
192.47
769.90
27
Uttarakhand
71.03
7.89
78.92
28
West Bengal
282.57
94.19
376.76
Total
4499.84
1387.99
5887.83
This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Nityanand Rai in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha.
- Expansion of Fire Services by setting up of new fire stations, strengthening of state training centres and capacity building of the firefighter, volunteers and community in fire prevention measures, awareness programme etc. 35% of the fund has been allocated for this activity, out of which 5% is for capacity building.
- Modernisation of fire services by procuring modern firefighting equipment and strengthening of state headquarters and urban fire stations. The equipments to be purchased includes hydraulic platform, turntable ladders among others as given in the indicative list circulated to the States alongwith the Scheme guidelines dated 4th July, 2023. 50% of the fund has been allocated for modernisation of fire services.
- Provision has also been made for any State specific demand underwhich not only the states can raise their demand to top-up their respective ongoing projects requiring additional financial assistance, but also flexibility has been given to them to meet the states specific requirements. 15% of the fund has been allocated for State specific demand.
- Out of the total allocated fund of Rs.5000 crore under the Scheme, an amount of Rs.500 crore has also been kept for incentivising the States on the basis of their legal and infrastructure-based reforms.