#dnaEdit: Rebuilding Nepal

World nations have come forward to help the earthquake-devastated Nepal in its search and rescue operations. But it is nonetheless worrying that help is yet to reach many of the rural areas and remote villages including Gorkha district, the epicentre of the quake. Besides the intermittent aftershocks and rainfall — a significant challenge facing the teams engaged in the search and rescue work — is the country’s historic economic backwardness. The roads, already in decrepit condition due to poor upkeep, have been further damaged, hindering rescue efforts. Without specialised equipment that could have expedited their efforts, rescue personnel are left digging with their bare hands. Thankfully, India, China, and the US are rushing in rescue personnel, doctors, medicines, and aircrafts. But the bigger and the more difficult task requiring greater commitment after the short-term imperative of saving lives is to help the ravaged country rebuild itself and restore livelihoods to thousands of displaced people.

According to estimates, the economic losses and the cost of reconstruction will run up a bill of $5 billion which may ultimately account for nearly 20 per cent of Nepal’s gross domestic product. The earthquake could shave off a couple of points or more from Nepal’s GDP which was expected to grow at 5 per cent this year. This, in turn, could have a disastrous effect on per-capita incomes. Nepal’s per-capita income at $694 is less than half of India’s and nearly a tenth of China’s per-capita income. These figures are hardly surprising. Nepal — after all — is yet to experience the benefits of good governance. China and India, on the other hand, do have their own, even though flawed, models of governance. In the sphere of human rights, employment and infrastructure development, Nepal has been an abject failure, forcing people to move to India in search of menial jobs. After putting up with decades of monarchy led by a pampered elite, and then battling a Maoist insurgency that fed off structural inequalities, the people have now vested their faith in political parties that have shown greater commitment to democracy.

The massive reconstruction efforts that followed in the wake of the 2008 Sichuan quake in China, the Japan earthquake and tsunami as well as the Thailand floods in 2011, and the 2013 super-typhoon that wrecked Philippines gave a fillip to economic growth through the creation of jobs that went into constructing roads, buildings and repairing damaged structures. However, such rebuilding efforts require a robust state exchequer, which Nepal does not have. In addition, Nepal’s leadership must display exemplary political will in order to pull their people out of this terrible situation. For quite some time, India and China have been engaged in a complicated tussle to gain strategic influence in Nepal. Both should now step up their investments in the beleaguered country, even if only for reasons of brinkmanship. In response to China committing billions in investment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had offered $1 billion in loans besides harping on longstanding cultural ties. The World Bank has commitments totalling $1.39 billion in the country. Interestingly, most of these are just commitments, billions that are mostly — as of now  — on paper. The earthquake — one can only hope — will soon lead to fructifying these commitments. The powerful nations and organisations as well as Nepal’s government of the day now face the acid test of fulfilling their commitments to the ordinary people. Every natural calamity comes with a great human and social toll. Experiences of past disasters indicate that governments tend to lose their focus after the immediacy of the tragedy is over. But it is the NGOs, social activists and private entities that continue to work steadfastly among dispossessed individuals, families and communities, desperately trying to stitch up a new life.