KATHMANDU: The government has officially declared all eight districts of Madhesh Province as a disaster crisis zone, citing severe drought conditions and acute shortages of drinking and irrigation water.
The decision was approved by the Cabinet following a proposal by Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak.
Due to prolonged dry spells, the groundwater recharge in the region has been insufficient, and over-extraction has led to the depletion of water sources, affecting both public drinking water supply and agricultural irrigation systems. Rivers and canals have also dried up, compounding the crisis.
The Madhesh Province government had earlier recommended to the federal government that the entire province be declared crisis-hit.
Acting on the recommendation, the federal Cabinet approved the declaration and has decided to publish a notice in the Nepal Gazette, officially placing the region under the crisis category for the next three months.
According to the Office of the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers of Madhesh Province, only 46 percent of the cultivable land has been planted this year. With agriculture in the region heavily reliant on the monsoon, the drought has severely impacted seasonal crop production.
The declaration follows Article 14 (2d) of the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, 2017, which mandates the government to declare disaster-affected areas as crisis zones when necessary. The Madhesh Province government has emphasized that the shortage of drinking water, irrigation failures, and looming threats to food security justify this declaration.
The three-month designation as a crisis zone will facilitate urgent interventions in water supply, agricultural support, and disaster relief measures across the region.
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