Provincial government negligent in preparing monsoon response plan in Far-west

Dhangadhi: The Far West Provincial Government has been criticized for its negligence in preparing this year’s Monsoon Preparedness and Response Action Plan (MPRP), despite the province facing monsoon-related disasters every year.

Meteorologist Dharmaraj Upreti said the provincial government made a serious mistake by failing to prepare the MPRP, which should have been completed before the onset of the monsoon season. The plan is updated and approved annually to minimize the loss of life and property from monsoon-related disasters and to guide search, rescue, and recovery efforts.

The MPRP serves as the basis for preparedness before disasters, search and rescue during emergencies, and rehabilitation and management afterward. However, this year, the Far West Provincial Government did not finalize the plan even after the monsoon had already withdrawn from the province. Experts argue that failing to approve the MPRP is equivalent to pushing citizens back into a state of vulnerability.

A weather expert remarked, “What would the provincial government have done if a disaster like the one in the east had occurred in the west? Not approving the plan is like pushing people back into disaster.”

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law, the MPRP had been drafted but could not be passed due to the need for certain amendments. The action plan must be approved by an executive committee chaired by the Minister of Internal Affairs and Law, which includes members from various thematic ministries. However, differences of opinion among ministry secretaries reportedly delayed the plan’s passage.

Ministry spokesperson and Deputy Secretary Amod Dahal confirmed that the plan was not passed because amendments were deemed necessary. “Initially, the plan was based on a particular monsoon pattern,” Dahal explained. “Later, as the monsoon season changed, we found it necessary to revise the plan. It could not be passed due to the need for those amendments.”

He clarified that the lack of an updated MPRP did not mean there was no framework for disaster management. “We still have the old document,” he said. “We have been working based on that.”

When asked whether the provincial government’s failure to finalize the MPRP before the monsoon’s end reflected serious negligence, Minister for Internal Affairs and Law Hirasingh Sarki, who also chairs the executive committee, expressed ignorance regarding the issue.