Government Suspends Flood Search Operations, Approves Immediate Reconstruction Plan

The government has decided to suspend, for the time being, the search and rescue phase following the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli floods, except for essential operations.

The 21st meeting of the National Council for Disaster Risk Reduction and Management, held today at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers under the chairmanship Prime Minister Balendra Shah, decided to direct the concerned authorities to expedite reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts alongside essential search operations.

The decision was made based on recommendations from the District Security Committees, District Disaster Management Committees, the Executive Committee of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA), as well as findings from on-site inspections.

Similarly, the meeting decided to recommend to the Ministry of Finance the approval of a budget amounting to NPR 559 billion 17 crore 72 lakh 27 thousand for 504 plans and programs proposed by various ministries and agencies for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected areas.

Resources for these plans, approved in accordance with the Financial Procedures and Fiscal Responsibility Regulations, 2077 (2020), will be arranged through the Ministry of Finance.

Likewise, the NDRRMA has been directed to recommend the necessary budget allocation to the Ministry of Finance once details are received for projects whose cost estimates have not yet been determined and which are yet to be prioritized.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister stated that disaster management efforts are being carried out through coordination among the federal, provincial, and local governments, and that reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts would also proceed in the same manner.

Leaders of the opposition parties, the parliamentary party leader of the Nepali Congress, and the Chief Ministers of Bagmati, Gandaki, Madhesh, and Koshi provinces expressed their full support for these efforts.