As more than a month has passed since the devastating floods in Nepal, the government is set to significantly shorten the waiting period for declaring over 5,000 missing persons as deceased, allowing for death certificates to be issued soon.
On October 10, local time, President Ram Chandra Paudel announced that "a decree implementing disaster-related laws has been issued."
While the presidential office did not disclose specific details of the amendments, it previously indicated that the government had sent a proposal to President Paudel to reduce the waiting period for legal death declarations of disaster missing persons from the existing 12 years to approximately 45 days.
The individuals missing since the floods that struck on August 26 have now reached 45 days of being unaccounted for. Therefore, with this decree, it is expected that the current 5,285 missing persons from the floods will soon be declared deceased.
Currently, the death toll from the floods stands at a minimum of 1,455, but only 112 bodies have been identified and handed over to families.
Families of the missing have faced significant challenges in receiving death certificates due to the existing law requiring a 12-year wait, complicating their ability to claim compensation or resolve property issues.
The Nepalese government is providing compensation of approximately 200,000 Nepalese Rupees (about $1,740) for the first victim in each family, and 100,000 Nepalese Rupees (about $868) for each additional deceased family member, along with funeral expenses of up to 25,000 Nepalese Rupees (about $217).
* This article has been translated by AI.
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