Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla today inaugurated the Annual Conference of Relief Commissioners and Secretaries of Departments of Disaster Management of States and Union Territories in New Delhi. The two day Conference is being held to review the preparedness of States and Union Territories for dealing with any natural disasters that may occur during the coming South-West Monsoon season. This conference is being held in physical mode after a gap of two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.<br />'' <br />'' In his inaugural address, Mr Bhalla asked officials from the State governments and the Central government to be better prepared, so that losses due to natural disasters such as floods, cyclones, landslides can be minimized. <br />'' <br />'' He stressed on the need for building up capacities and response reflexes to ensure 24×7 preparedness throughout the year. The Home Secretary referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to develop infrastructure for the long term, to prevent disasters not only for ourselves, but also for future generations.<br />'' <br />'' The Home Secretary said, efforts should be made to increase efforts towards risk reduction and mitigation, with the aim to reduce loss of human life to near zero.<br />'' <br />'' He called on the States to undertake capacity building of urban local bodies, their State Disaster Response Forces SDRFs, Fire Service and Civil Defence since they are the first responders during a calamity. Mr Bhalla also emphasised the importance of building capacities at the city and district levels and involving communities.<br />'' <br />'' The Union Home Secretary stressed that the key to effective disaster risk management is to build synergies and effective coordination amongst institutions. Mr Bhalla said, this could be ensured by preparing action plans at local, district and State levels.<br />'' <br />'' During the conference, various States will share their preparedness and experience and best practices evolved for handling various calamities over the years. Representatives of States, Union Territories, National Disaster Management Authority, NDRF, Central Ministries, Central Armed Police Forces, IMD, Central Water Commission, ISRO, DRDO, Geological Survey of India and other scientific organizations along with the Armed Forces are participating in the conference.