Chandigarh, May 11 – The Haryana Government has initiated a comprehensive state-wide preparedness exercise aimed at strengthening emergency response mechanisms across all departments and districts.
Financial Commissioner Revenue & Disaster Management Department, Dr. Sumita Misra has issued detailed directives to senior officers across Haryana for the effective implementation of the Haryana State Disaster Response Manual under the Incident Response System (IRS).
The initiative is being seen as a significant administrative reform designed to ensure quicker, more coordinated and efficient response during disasters and emergencies.
The Incident Response System, constituted under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, has already been notified at both State and District levels in Haryana. The framework provides a structured mechanism for command, coordination and resource management during emergencies.
Dr Misra informed that the IRS framework clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of every stakeholder, enabling departments to function in a synchronized manner during situations such as floods, heatwaves, industrial accidents and other emergencies.
The Haryana State Disaster Response Manual has been prepared in line with the guidelines of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of India, and serves as a comprehensive operational guide for officers involved in disaster management across the State.
As Incident Commander at the State level, Dr. Sumita Misra has written to Administrative Secretaries of 24 key stakeholder departments, directing them to ensure that designated officers are fully acquainted with their responsibilities.
The departments include Home, Environment & Forest, Transport, Civil Aviation, Finance, Police, Irrigation, Agriculture, School Education, Health, Energy, Urban Local Bodies, Fire & Emergency Services, Public Health Engineering and Women & Child Development, among others.
The move is expected to strengthen inter-departmental coordination and institutional readiness across the State administration. In another important direction, Dr. Misra has also written to all 23 Deputy Commissioners of Haryana, who function as Responsible Officers under the IRS framework at the district level. The Deputy Commissioners have been asked to ensure that all designated officers understand their assigned responsibilities and that regular training programmes and mock drills are conducted to maintain operational readiness.
Officers have also been instructed to strengthen district-level disaster response capabilities to ensure prompt action and better coordination during emergencies. The initiative aims to minimize loss of life, livelihood, infrastructure and property through better preparedness and quicker administrative response. The State Government believes that a well-trained and clearly defined response system will significantly improve Haryana’s ability to tackle future emergencies in an organized and efficient manner.
Dr. Misra further informed that the State Government, in coordination with the National Disaster Management Authority, Government of India, is conducting a State-level Mock Exercise on a flood disaster scenario on 14 May 2026 across 13 flood-prone districts of Haryana, namely Gurugram, Ambala, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panchkula, Panipat, Palwal, Sirsa, Sonipat, and Yamunanagar. An Orientation and Coordination Conference was successfully conducted on 06 May 2026. On 12 May 2026, a Table Top Exercise will discuss various response scenarios in detail, along with strategies to ensure success during the upcoming mock drill.
With all major departments and districts now aligned under a unified disaster response framework, Haryana is positioning itself as one of the leading states in institutional disaster preparedness and coordinated emergency management.
