Introduction to community response network(CRN)101

About:

Community Response Network (CRN 101) is a simple course designed to give a student a basic understanding of disaster management and how government systems work in general.

Objective:

The objective of CRN 101 course is to educate and create awareness about various government systems involved in the mitigation of disaster management. It covers a brief introduction to various government systems and how these systems coordinate together a Times of disasters.

The topics discussed under CRN101:

• Tiers of panchayat system which included divisions in rural and urban areas
• Health system which included Health care infrastructure and department under health system
• Revenue system which contains 3 levels district, taluk and panchayat level
• Law enforcement and women in police

Tiers of panchayat system

Rural Area:                                                                                                                                                  The smallest unit within a Panchayat System is a ward. From each ward, an individual is elected  by the people in the Panchayat through the Panchayat elections and is known as “Ward Member”. Grama   Sabha is the aggregate of all members in the electoral rolls within the panchayat/ward. The Panchayat System is a 3-Tier system. There is Grama Panchayat, above which is the Block Panchayat. Each Block Panchayat again has a president and a secretary. There are 14 Block Panchayats in Ernakulam and 82 Grama Panchayats under them.

Urban Areas:                                                                                                                                             The Municipalities and Corporations are independent bodies. They have their own department of revenue, health and they have powers to collect taxes. Municipality is headed by the Municipal Chairperson while the corporation is headed by the Mayor. The administrative functions of these Local Self Government bodies are done by the respective Secretaries, while the Presidents are the elected representatives. Each Panchayat will have at least 20 people working under the Secretary alone, in the payroll of the Panchayat. This money comes from the tax (like building tax) collected by the Panchayat. This mechanism is the same for Corporations. By strengthening our ward level, panchayat level and district level systems, the overall system dramatically improves for the local communities where we live. Logo of Corona Safe Network Knowledge Base

Health system

The public-health care system in India is based on a three-tiered health-care system to provide preventive and curative health care in rural and urban areas. It consists of sub-centers, primary health centers and community health centers. Let us take a look at the public health care system of Kerala. The existing healthcare structure in Kerala is a well structured and decentralized system that works in collaboration with other departments at various levels of hierarchy. Understanding of this well planned structure is critical to identify the possible lacunae and create plans to improve our existing public health system.

The Director of Health Services has a District Medical Office (DMO) in every district. Under the DMO, each district will have a General hospital, Taluk hospitals, Primary Health Centers (PHC) and Sub centers. Community Health Centers (CHC) exist between the taluk hospitals and the PHCs. All the various branches of health services at multiple levels work with the Local Self Government Departments(LSGD).The LSGD system also has a detailed structure to ensure smooth functioning. It is important for every individual in the community to understand their respective Local Self Governments.

Revenue system

In pre-independent India, there was one person who was in charge of collecting tax revenues from the public. This person was the “Collector” in the “Revenue” Department. The taxation system in India is such that the taxes are levied by the Central Government and the State Governments. Certain minor taxes are collected by the local authorities too. The Revenue system functions alongside the Local Self Governments.

Panchayat Level:

Each ward has a ward level team. At Panchayat level, this body is supervised by the Panchayat Monitoring Committee (LSG level monitoring committee), comprising of:-

·  Panchayat President
·  Medical Officer
·  ICDS (Integrated Child Development Scheme) Supervisor
·  CDS Chairperson

To support them, there is the

·     Village officer. The village officer has no hierarchical subordinate at a lower level than the panchayat. Village officer is part of the Revenue System. Therefore they have control over all the land, to collect taxes and enable transactions relating to land.

·   Police
·   KSEB Office
·   Water Authority
·    Education Department (Nodal officers of government schools)
·    Agriculture Officer.

Block Level:

At the block level, we have:-

·  The Block President
·   Block Medical Officer
·   CDPO (Child Development Program Officer)

-Tahsildar

-Police

-Assistant. Engineer - KSEB

-Assistant. Engineer - Water authority etc

District Level: Similarly, all corresponding officers at a district level form a committee here. There is the Zilla Panchayat President, ICDS district officer, District Medical Officer, Collector, RTO, Water Authority representative, Police etc.

Law enforcement

The constitution of India delegates the maintenance of law and order primarily to the states and territories. All senior officers in the state police forces and federal agencies are members of the Indian Police Service (IPS)

Consider the example of Kerala to understand the law enforcement system within a state. Kerala State Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Kerala with its headquarters at Thiruvananthapuram (capital city of Kerala).

The head of Kerala police is the State Police Chief and is of the rank of Director General of Police. State Police Chief is assisted by police officers of the rank of the Additional Director General of Police. Together, they manage a multitude of areas such as Law & Order, Crimes, Intelligence, Traffic, Armed Police Battalions, Training, Coastal Policing, Police Head Quarters and State Crime Records Bureau. They are appointed by the Cabinet from the Indian Police Service. 

Women in Police

It is mandatory that each police station has women police officers. The state also has an active Women Cell which is dedicated to the welfare of women. They look into issues pertaining to the atrocities against women in Kerala. Apart from this, they conduct self-defense training classes, women issue awareness classes etc. The response of the Police to a crime.

As and when the police get any information about the commission of a crime, a First Information Report (FIR) is recorded. This commences the investigation. After investigating the facts and circumstances thoroughly, the investigating officer studies all evidence and statements and if the accused is identified, then a charge sheet is filed against the accused before the court. The accused may or may not be in police custody or judicial custody. The court examines the case and evidence and passes a verdict.