35 cities to get radiation meters

Wiser from the Japanese experience, the government is set to mandate installation of dosimeters — that measure radiation — in 35 large cities, apart from stipulating that home loans and infrastructure lending be available only to projects compliant with national disaster preparedness norms. These are expected to be finalized at a special meeting of the (NDMA) on Wednesday to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The meeting will review and approve several measures for nuclear disaster preparedness, including all the safety issues being looked at by Department of Atomic Energy and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The government will also approve several new responses to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threat. The government proposes to install dosimeters in 1,000 police stations across 35 cities with over a million population in the first phase, officials said. Besides, the number of personnel trained to tackle CBRN disasters will also be significantly stepped up by NDMA.

Sources said NDMA will present a nationwide exercise calendar to prepare at various levels for major disasters such as a radiation leak, an earthquake or a terrorist attack. According to a detailed calendar thus drawn up, the NDMA is set to carry out exercises in northern states in the first phase.
Sources said NDMA, under the chairmanship of the PM, has already prepared draft guidelines to link bank finance for housing projects to National Building Codes that stipulate safety measures including earthquake resistant construction. Earlier this month, RBI circulated the guidelines to banks, suggesting that housing loans be linked to compliance with building codes.

Sources said the PM-chaired meeting could now take it to the next level by deciding to issue guidelines on bank finance for all infrastructure projects to disaster preparedness. The move would be of particular relevance for power, ports and airports, which are worst hit in case of calamities.

Apart from lending, there is also focus on enhancing disaster risk coverage through moves such as catastrophe bonds and specific reinsurance which would be used to pay compensation to victims. Already, countries such as Japan, Indonesia and Turkey have a dedicated catastrophe risk pool, which is tapped by insurers to pay claims. General Insurance Corporation of India, that provides reinsurance for all non-life and high value life insurances, is already in talks to be part of the Afro-Asian catastrophe pool that is in the works. A catastrophe risk pool could also push up the annual insurance premium.

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