Cabinet Approves Relief and Reconstruction Package for Private Sector

The government has unveiled a wide-ranging package of customs relief, insurance payouts, and budgetary reallocations to support the rebuilding of property destroyed during the Gen Z protest in early September.

Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal said on Sunday that the Cabinet has approved up to a 50 percent customs duty waiver on imported materials needed to reconstruct property damaged by arson and vandalism. The Gen Z protests on September 8 and 9 inflicted extensive harm on government and private buildings, with the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) estimating private-sector losses alone at roughly Rs 80 billion.

To help affected businesses resume operations quickly, the Cabinet directed Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) and insurance companies to launch targeted relief programs. Insurance firms will be required to advance up to 50 percent of verified claims. According to the Nepal Insurance Authority, claims totaling Rs 20.7 billion have been filed so far. Birendra Bahadur Chhetri, president of the Nepal Insurers’ Association, said most large claims have already been submitted, making a significant surge unlikely.

The government will also suspend small-scale projects costing less than Rs 30 million to free funds for reconstruction and election-related needs. Projects above that threshold but not entered in the national project bank, or added later through political influence, will also be frozen. Aryal said these moves could save about Rs 120 billion, enabling payment for completed work awaiting contractor settlement and accelerating nationally significant infrastructure projects.

A new Reconstruction Fund will be created to pool contributions from domestic and international sources. Banks, financial institutions, and industrial enterprises will be allowed to channel corporate social responsibility funds into the fund and claim tax deductions. A Physical Infrastructure Reconstruction Committee will oversee its use.

The Cabinet further decided that vehicles and machinery damaged during the protests will be auctioned as scrap. It also formed a high-level commission to investigate the unrest, led by former Special Court chair and ex-justice Gauri Bahadur Karki, with former AIG Bigyan Raj Sharma and legal expert Bishweshwar Prasad Bhandari as members. The commission has three months to submit its report.

In a separate move, the government appointed AIG Manoj KC as chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). KC previously led the probe into the fake Bhutanese refugee scam and had been removed under political pressure after the arrest of former Home Minister Bal Krishna Khand.