Cabinet declares Madhes Province as disaster-hit zone

Kathmandu, July 24: The government has declared Madhes Province a disaster-hit zone.

A meeting of the Council of Ministers held on Wednesday made the decision, according to government spokesperson and Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, who shared the update at a news conference on Thursday. As per the decision, Madhes Province will be considered a disaster-affected area for three months from the date the notice is published in the Nepal Gazette. Minister Gurung stated that the province is facing a severe crisis due to drought.

“This decision was taken to immediately address the problems,” he said. With the declaration, the government aims to ensure water supply to every household and find solutions to issues affecting people’s livelihoods. On Tuesday, the Madhes Province Government had recommended to the federal government that the province be declared a crisis-hit region.

Minister Gurung emphasized that national prosperity is incomplete without the prosperity of Madhes. He added that education, healthcare, and infrastructure development are crucial for the region and highlighted the importance of achieving progress in harmony with environmental conservation.

Additionally, the Cabinet meeting decided to designate Rukumkot—Wards 5 and 6 of Sisne Rural Municipality—as the district headquarters of Rukum East.

The meeting also approved the visit of the Koshi Province Chief, Parshuram Khapung, to attend the Fourth Convention of the Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities to be held in Malaysia on August 3.

Moreover, the Cabinet approved the visit of Secretary Phanindra Gautam and four other officials to participate in the Asia-Pacific Joint Group Face-to-Face Meeting under the International Cooperation Review Group of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), scheduled for September 3–4 in Macau, China.

The Cabinet also endorsed the visits of other secretaries to attend various international events.

Minister Gurung further informed that the Cabinet approved the acceptance of a $100 million loan from the OPEC Fund for International Development for Nepal’s Power Grid and Distribution Project.

Additionally, the Cabinet granted permission to Marchabari Rural Municipality in Rupandehi to use nine bighas of government land—previously part of Silautiya VDC-6—for the construction of an administrative building. Similarly, Aurahi Municipality in Mahottari district was allowed to use land formerly under Aurahi VDC-5 for the construction of its administrative building.

Furthermore, some hydropower projects were authorized to utilize land within national forests to facilitate their development.