What can a Civil defence volunteers do?

From being lauded for their work during the pandemic to facing allegations of high-handedness, the role of the civil defence volunteers in the national capital has come under intense scrutiny in the recent past.

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Due to their identical khaki uniform, it often becomes difficult for people to distinguish between police and civil defence personnel, leading to arguments.

The Delhi Police also issued a statement, pointing out that civil defence personnel, also known as Delhi Civil Defence (DCD) volunteers, have no power to stop people using police barricades and prosecute them for violation of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour such as not wearing masks.

In Delhi, these are men and women who work under the command of the district magistrates. The overall command lies with the divisional commissioner, to which the DMs report.

These volunteers are governed by the Civil Defence Act, 1968 which was last amended in 2010, when disaster management was added as one of their roles.

With the Centre invoking the Disaster Management Act in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, the role of these volunteers came under the spotlight.

According to the Civil Defence Act, 1968, civil defence is defined as any measure “not amounting to actual combat, that protects persons, property and places in India from hostile attack”. The 2010 amendment expanded the definition by including disaster management as one of the responsibilities.