Kathmandu, Sept 9: Finance Minister Dr Swarnim Wagle has called for a more accurate assessment of the damage and recovery needs arising from the Bhotekoshi floods, saying the government must have reliable figures before planning reconstruction and mobilising resources.
Wagle made the call during a meeting at the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday with officials from the National Planning Commission and the World Bank’s Nepal office. The meeting focused on reconciling two preliminary assessments: the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment being prepared by an NPC-led task force and the Global Rapid Damage Estimation prepared by the World Bank.
Wagle said the assessment should reflect the actual scale of the disaster rather than rely on preliminary or inflated estimates.
“Effective reconstruction and rehabilitation require a realistic assessment of the physical damage and recovery needs caused by the floods. The RDNA and GRADE must be grounded in facts and actual conditions so they can serve as a credible national document, guide government decisions and help mobilise investment,” he said.
The NPC is preparing an initial report covering both physical and human losses, while the World Bank has completed its preliminary damage assessment. Tuesday’s meeting sought to verify the figures in the two assessments and prepare a common initial picture of the disaster.
For the RDNA, the NPC has divided the physical damage into four broad areas: social, productive, infrastructure and cross-sectoral impacts.
The social sector covers damage to private homes and other structures, as well as public infrastructure in education, health and cultural heritage. The productive sector includes losses in agriculture, fisheries, livestock, finance and other economic activities.
The infrastructure assessment covers hydropower projects and transmission lines, household renewable energy systems, roads and bridges, telecommunications, environmental health, irrigation and river management facilities.
The fourth category focuses on cross-sectoral issues, including debris and hazardous waste accumulated in flood-affected areas.
The government plans to combine the NPC and World Bank assessments into a joint RDNA report and release it soon. The NPC task force, coordinated by Joint Secretary Arjun Bhandari, includes representatives from relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport.
The joint assessment will serve as the government’s main reference for decisions ranging from immediate relief and recovery to identifying financing sources and planning reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood-damaged areas.
NPC Vice Chair Dr Gunakar Bhatta and senior commission officials also attended Tuesday’s meeting.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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