The Odisha government has disbursed around Rs 388 crore as an ex gratia for disaster relief to around 10,000 affected families in the last three years through the Disaster Assistance Monitoring and Payment System (DAMPS) application, according to Revenue and Disaster Management Department officials.

The coastal state, which has been appreciated by United Nation agencies for successfully carrying out massive evacuation of vulnerable people during cyclones and cyclone man-management with zero casualties, has developed DAMPS for online payment of ex-gratia through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). The online payment has been introduced to maintain transparency in ex-gratia payment and prevent possible embezzlement of funds

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During the last three years, Rs 387.166 crore has been disbursed to 9,816 families. DAMPS Portal has been awarded Gems of Digital India Award, 2019 and 19th SIG e-Governance Award, 2021 for excellence in e-Governance.

Recognizing the achievement of the state in the sphere of disaster management system, the Centre has conferred prestigious award “Subhas Chandra Bose Apada Prabhandan” 2023 to Odisha government, the officials said.

The state government has installed 122 alert siren towers at vulnerable locations along the coastline for warning dissemination and SMS alerts to people. The State Emergency Operation Center (SEOC) has been integrated with the Emergency Response Support System. Now, due to technological interventions, impact-Based Forecasting is possible with Web-enabled Decision Support System, they said.

16,442 disaster-resilient houses have been constructed under Odisha Disaster Recovery Project (ODRP) & with State funding in Ganjam, Khorda and Puri districts.

Rs 33.81 crore has been provided for the development of Bagapatia under Rajnagar block, where 571 displaced families of Satabhaya (Rajnagar) have been relocated & rehabilitated due to submergence of their villages under the sea. 20 ODRAF units have been strengthened with state-of-the-art equipment and buildings.

32,633 community volunteers have been trained in Search & Rescue and First Aid to assist the community during disasters. ‘SATARK’ mobile app is being used as a single window for disaster-related alerts. Community-led Disaster Management Plans have been prepared in 10,000 villages. Disaster Management has been included in the Education Curriculum.

Under a special project named ‘swayamsiddha’, Ganjam district administration is imparting training to Women self-help groups in disaster management. This will be replicated in other districts with the support of the Mission Shakti department, they added.