The state-sponsored institute, which will function from a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) owned disaster management training centre at Parel, will be called the City Institute of Disaster Management (CIDM). Officials from BMC disaster management cell said that CIDM will offer a one-year course in disaster preparedness.
The course will be affiliated to Mumbai University and have an initial intake capacity of 40 students. The course will begin from the next academic year, said a senior official. The course will also have command recognition with the National Disaster Management Academy (NDMA). It will be open to all graduates.
The syllabus will involve four papers which will cover various aspects of disaster management, including fundamentals of different types of disasters, their classification and categorisation, pre-disaster perspective including means to mitigate a disaster and post-disaster response. Disasters more likely in Indian and urbane scenario have been covered, the officials said. The course duration would be 350 hours. This will include field visits.
The BMC has plans to rope in national and international experts in disaster management as faculty members. Apart from the course, CIDM will also hold workshops and counselling sessions for resident groups.
The institute will also house a separate training centre for BMC employees. This centre will serve as a back-up data centre for the central disaster control room located at the municipal head office.
The civic administration has appointed contractor ME Infraprojects Pvt Ltd for providing the infrastructure needed for CIDM. The proposal will be put before the standing committee on Wednesday and is expected to get the nod.