The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers has said that Rs 18.31 billion had been deposited in the Prime Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund as of October 30.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Rs 1 billion was released from the fund on September 1 to the Disaster Management Fund under the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The fund subsequently distributed the money to local governments.
Apart from that amount, the government has not disbursed any further funds from the relief fund.
Following the Bhotekoshi-Trishuli flood on August 26, members of the public, organizations, and various donor countries and institutions contributed money to the fund.
Jensen Huang, founder and chief executive officer of US technology company Nvidia, made the largest contribution, donating US$10 million – equivalent to more than Rs 1.5 billion.
Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle had announced that Rs 10 billion had been collected in the fund within eight days of the flood. However, the government has yet to use the money collected for relief and rescue operations for flood victims.
The main opposition Nepali Congress has accused the government of failing to spend the money collected in the name of flood victims and of having forgotten the disaster.
Bhishma Raj Angdembe, leader of the main opposition party, criticized the government while speaking to journalists after meeting the speaker of the House of Representatives.
“The state has treated the Bhotekoshi floods as though they were a story from a faraway land,” Angdembe said. “Such a huge amount of assistance has been collected, but no one knows where or how it has been used. It was said that flood victims would receive Rs 15,000 for accommodation, but they have yet to receive the money.”
The Nepali Congress has also called for Parliament to be convened soon.
