Parliament Question: Modernisation of Fire Services

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3931 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 17TH MARCH, 2026/ PHALGUNA 26, 1947 (SAKA) MODERNISATION OF FIRE SERVICES 3931. SHRI SHANKAR LALWANI: SHRI PRADEEP KUMAR SINGH: SHRI DULU MAHATO: SHRI KALI CHARAN SINGH: SHRI TAPIR GAO: SHRI TEJASVI SURYA: SMT. KRITI DEVI DEBBARMAN: SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM: SHRI PARBHUBHAI NAGARBHAI VASAVA: SHRI PRAVEEN PATEL: SHRI ANUP SANJAY DHOTRE: DR. K SUDHAKAR: SHRI BALABHADRA MAJHI: Will the Minister of HOME AFFAIRS be pleased to state: (a) the criteria adopted for allocation of funds to States under the Scheme for Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services through the National Disaster Response Fund, including weightage to population, urbanisation and hazard vulnerability including provisions made in this regard, State-wise including Odisha and the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency; (b) the manner in which the Scheme will strengthen preparedness and capacity-building of Fire Services under the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), particularly in Odisha and the Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency; (c) the details of legal, administrative and institutional reforms required from States to avail the incentive component under the Scheme; (d) the details of funds approved and released, allocated and utilised, State- wise including Odisha and Nabarangpur Lok Sabha Constituency and the details of incentive funds earmarked for legal and infrastructural reforms; and-2- L.S.US.Q.NO. 3931 FOR 17.03.2026 (e) the number of major fire incidents and disasters reported during the last three years in major States, the estimated loss of life and property and whether the Government has assessed if inadequate manpower, outdated equipment and shortage of fire stations contributed to such losses and human lives, if so, the details thereof? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS (SHRI NITYANAND RAI) (a) The following criteria have been adopted for allocating funds to the States under the Scheme for Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services, through the National Disaster Response Fund : Sl. Criteria Weightage No. percentage 1 Population of the State 50% 2 Area of the State 25% 3 Urbanization of the State 25% State-wise allocation of funds including Odisha is attached herewith at Annexure. No fund is allocated exclusively for any particular Lok Sabha Constituency. (b) The Scheme attempts to fill the exiting gaps in terms of fire stations, state training centres and capacity building and provisioning of modern firefighting and rescue equipment in the States, including Odisha. The Scheme components are as under: 1. Expansion of Fire Services (35%) (i) Setting up of New Fire Stations: (ii) Strengthening of State Training Centre and Capacity Building.-3- L.S.US.Q.NO. 3931 FOR 17.03.2026 2. Modernization of Fire Services (50%) (i) Provision of Modern Fire fighting equipment (ii) Strengthening of State Headquarter and Urban Fire Stations 3. State Specific Demands (15%) (c) The reforms envisaged under the Scheme to avail the incentive component include strengthening the overall governance, infrastructure and operational capacity of fire services in the States. (d) The details of funds approved and released state wise including Odisha as on date is attached herewith at Annexure. Under the Scheme, Rs. 500 crore have been earmarked to incentivise States for undertaking legal and infrastructure based reforms in fire services. However, State- wise/constituency-wise funds have not been allocated under this component. (e) Central Government does not centrally maintain any data regarding fire incidences and loss of life and property. Fire Service is a State subject and has been included as a Municipal function in the XII Schedule of the Constitution of India under Article 243(W). It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments to ensure strengthening of Fire & Emergency Services under the area of their jurisdiction. *****ANNEXURE L.S.US.Q.NO. 3931 FOR 17.03.2026 State-wise details of the approved financial outlay, central financial assistance and funds released by Central Government under the Scheme (Rupees in crores) Sl. List of States Approved Central financial Commensurate Fund No Financial assistance from State Share released outlay P&CB funding window under NDRF 1 Andhra Pradesh 252.86 189.65 63.21 189.65 2 Arunachal 63.95 57.56 6.39 34.54 Pradesh 3 Assam 107.47 96.74 10.73 29.02 4 Bihar 340.90 255.68 85.22 76.70 5 Chhattisgarh 147.75 110.81 36.94 33.24 6 Goa 42.16 31.50 10.66 31.50 7 Gujarat 339.18 254.13 85.05 76.24 8 Haryana 117.19 87.47 29.72 26.24 9 Himachal 65.33 58.80 6.53 41.16 Pradesh 10 Jharkhand 147.97 110.98 36.99 77.69 11 Karnataka 329.90 247.43 82.47 74.23 12 Kerala 162.25 121.07 41.18 36.32 13 Madhya Pradesh 397.54 297.15 100.39 89.15 14 Maharashtra 614.09 460.30 153.79 138.09 15 Manipur 45.00 40.50 4.50 40.50 16 Meghalaya 44.37 39.94 4.43 11.98 17 Mizoram 40.00 36.00 4.00 25.20 18 Nagaland 40.05 36.05 4.00 36.05 19 Odisha 200.38 150.29 50.09 105.20 20 Punjab 131.56 98.67 32.89 69.07 21 Rajasthan 388.94 291.71 97.23 87.51 22 Sikkim 32.25 29.03 3.22 29.03 23 Tamil Nadu 373.27 279.95 93.32 195.97 24 Telangana 190.14 142.61 47.53 99.83 25 Tripura 42.36 38.12 4.24 26.69 26 Uttar Pradesh 768.67 576.50 192.17 172.95 27 Uttarakhand 78.89 71.00 7.89 21.30 28 West Bengal 376.76 282.57 94.19 84.77 -------