Govt distributes Rs. 2 million out of Rs. 6 bln disaster fund

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, July 11: Experts have said that hundreds of people die and many go missing in Nepal in monsoon disasters every year, but the government has been slow to provide relief to the affected families.

Although the government has already projected that about 1.2 million people are vulnerable to monsoon disaster, the government’s process of providing relief and cash relief to the needy is slow because of various technical and administrative hassles and rules to abide by different acts and regulations, they told on Monday.

According to Spokesperson for the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Authority (NDRRMA) Dhruba Bahadur Khadka, the federal government has so far distributed Rs. 2 million relief in cash as of July 8. So far, 64 districts have already been affected by the landslides and floods. 

Likewise, 200 tarpaulins, 34 tents and 150 blankets have been sent from Kathmandu to Taplejung, Panchthar and Sankhuwasabha.

“It takes time to distribute relief cash to the disaster hit families because we can only do so only after receiving the recommendation of the beneficiaries from the local and provincial levels,” said spokesperson Khadka. District-based disaster management committee led by Chief District Officer needs to recommend the name list of the beneficiaries. But, the district-based disaster management can provide the relief directly to them if they have sufficient cash in the fund. 

Dr. Ganga Lal Tuladhar, expert member for the NDRRMA on disaster risk reduction and management, said that there is one-door system adopted by the government in relief distribution of all goods, including cash. It is sure that this process seems to be lengthy as different layers of process have to be completed while sending the federal government’s cash relief to the district and province, he said. He said that flood and landslide victims affected during the last year monsoon had not even able to get their cash relief this year too after the province and district-based relief recommendation committee failed to provide the name list in time.

Rs. 6.31 billion in Disaster Response Fund

According to the Authority, it is estimated that 1.25 million people are expected to get affected by the disaster this year. It is estimated that one third of those who may be affected, i.e. 418,060 people (95 thousand and 665 households) need humanitarian assistance including food. 

It is estimated that 301,000 people will be most affected by the monsoon in Koshi Province and about 35,000 people are likely to get affected in Karnali Province.

According to the Authority, Rs. 6.31 billion is currently available in the Central Disaster Management Fund for disaster, search, rescue work and relief distribution. 

Similarly, there is Rs. 3.1 billion in the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund, Rs. 513 million in the Provincial Disaster Management Fund, Rs. 592 million in the District Disaster Management Fund of 77 districts and Rs. 1.81 billion in the Disaster Management Fund.

34 die, 25 go missing 

Meanwhile, in the last 26 days since the onset of monsoon on June 14, 34 people have lost their lives while 25 have gone missing in disasters. During the period, 54 houses were completely damaged and 20 houses were partially damaged, while hundreds of domestic animals died. 

According to the Authority, 66 places, including nine bridges in various highways, were damaged incurring losses of Rs. 400 million to the government. 

According to the data of the Ministry of Home Affairs, 22 suspension bridges, 11 each, in  Taplejung and Panchthar districts were swept away by floods. The loss of these 22 bridges cost Rs. 121 million.

According to Anil Pokhrel, chief executive officer for the Authority, among the large hydropower projects under construction, 17 projects with a capacity of 326.86 MW have suffered losses worth Rs. 2.62 billion and 13 projects with a capacity of 132.74 MW which are running have faced a damage worth Rs. 5.92 billion. Pokhrel revealed this statistics during his presentation at the 11th National Council meeting of the NDRRMA. 

Similarly, 31 small hydropower projects have suffered losses worth Rs. 449 million rupees. The government has not released the details of the damage to agricultural land and crops.