Government Launches Three-Year Plan to Rebuild Buildings Damaged in Ginjee Movement, Physical Losses Nearly NPR 10 Billion

According to government data, 2,671 buildings were damaged during the Ginjee movement, with an assessed value of NPR 8.45 billion. The government has devised a three-year strategy for the reconstruction of damaged buildings, allocating NPR 1 billion annually from the federal budget for the current and coming fiscal years. Despite significant damage to structures such as the Parliament building, Singha Durbar, and the Supreme Court, officials report that the reconstruction process is progressing slowly. Kathmandu, 8 October 2025 – The physical damage caused by the Ginjee movement on 8 and 9 October 2025 has approached NPR 10 billion. During those days, 2,671 buildings sustained damage. The government formed a committee led by Ravilal Panth, then Secretary of the National Planning Commission, to assess the damage to public property, physical assets, and private establishments, and to draft a reconstruction plan for government consideration. The estimated physical damage was NPR 8.45 billion, accounting for 1.38 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and 4.30 percent of the annual budget for fiscal year 2025/26.

During reconstruction of physical structures, many government buildings fell into ruin. The government has already conducted immediate technical inspections of damaged buildings. Structures deemed usable were promptly repainted and reopened. In the previous fiscal year, repair work commenced on 904 buildings, with 494 already restored and operational. However, 35 percent of damaged buildings remain fully nonfunctional. The current fiscal year’s budget has been allocated for necessary repairs and reconstruction efforts, which have begun. Nonetheless, reconstruction of large government buildings severely affected during the movement remains slow. The Parliament building in Baneshwor is a key example. While the ministerial residence in Bhaiseput is being rebuilt, the Prime Minister’s main office in Singha Durbar remains in ruins. According to Prakash Aryal, Deputy Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, a decision on repairing or rebuilding the Parliament building has not yet been finalized, delaying progress.

Progress has been noted in other structures. The design work for the conference hall at Godavari has been completed and construction is set to begin. Retrofitting has started at Kathmandu District Court, and the design for the Kathmandu District Administration Office building is complete with construction slated to commence soon. Severe damage to the View Tower in Damak is under reconstruction. Deputy Director General Aryal stated that although some programs in the Ministry of Infrastructure lost budget allocations, these will be resubmitted to the Cabinet to reinstate funding. Preliminary reconstruction has begun only on the most severely damaged buildings in Singha Durbar. A detailed project report is underway for rebuilding the former Ministry of Home Affairs building, and reconstruction of the Supreme Court building is also advancing. Officials in the Ministry of Infrastructure assured that these costly and valuable structures will be rebuilt gradually as multi-year projects.

The Nepal Police lost many buildings during the movement; some have since reopened under local community leadership, while others remain under construction. The movement damaged the President’s office, Federal Parliament, Central Secretariat at Singha Durbar, Supreme Court, other courts, constitutional commissions, ministries, and subordinate agencies, as well as provincial governments and their agencies. Additionally, damage extended to local bodies, security forces’ buildings, private residences, political party offices, and commercial establishments. Another reason for delays in rebuilding government and community structures is the lack of insurance on damaged buildings. Studies show that out of 2,671 damaged buildings, only 130 had insurance—19 government and 111 private structures. The government had previously provided funding for urgent repairs to restore buildings, and this year has allocated budget for full reconstruction. The Ministry of Infrastructure plans to proceed with many new contracts this year. Despite 2,671 buildings being damaged, exact data on how many have been rebuilt or remain in ruins is unavailable. The National Planning Commission reports that among damaged buildings, 53 percent belong to the public sector, 40 percent to private sector, and 7 percent to community or other sectors.

By province, Bagmati Province experienced the greatest damage. Of the 2,671 damaged buildings, 79.8 percent were public structures. Damage to buildings alone was valued at roughly NPR 3.93 billion. Vehicles worth NPR 1.3 billion were destroyed during the movement, and other physical assets suffered losses of NPR 2.04 billion. The National Planning Commission found losses of NPR 281 million in cash and valuables, and NPR 902 million in temporary and private property. The private sector’s damage totaled NPR 3.35 billion, including NPR 2.75 billion in establishments and NPR 650 million in households. Political party offices, community organizations, and associated assets sustained about NPR 597 million in losses. The movement also directly impacted goods and service production valued at NPR 1.39 billion and affected employment of approximately 2,999 individuals, with 2,353 losing jobs entirely. As per the Commission’s reconstruction plan, the estimated expense for repairing and rebuilding public buildings, vehicles, and other physical assets is approximately NPR 3.63 billion.

Following the earthquake reconstruction, arson during the movement caused substantial damage. About half of the structures in the previous year’s movement epicenters had been rebuilt post-earthquake. The country had incurred significant public debt during that period. However, those rebuilt buildings were damaged again in this movement. According to data presented by the Commission, among the damaged buildings, 46 percent were constructed within the past 10 years, 48 percent were 10 to 49 years old, and 6 percent were over 50 years old. Most damage occurred to government buildings. Among 57 structures costing over NPR 10 million each, damages exceeded NPR 10 million. Arson incidents involved 921 buildings valued between NPR 100,000 to NPR 1 million and 1,114 buildings valued between NPR 1 million and NPR 10 million.

The government has prepared a three-year strategy to complete reconstruction of partially or fully damaged government buildings and structures within the coming fiscal year. In March 2025, the National Planning Commission unveiled the Reconstruction and Physical Asset Management Work Plan 2082, which includes this three-year strategy. The plan outlines budget allocations for reconstruction by federal, provincial, and local governments. According to the strategy, reconstruction efforts are targeted for completion across the previous, current, and next fiscal years. The plan will be integrated into the National Planning Bank, medium-term expenditure framework, and ministry-level budget systems for implementation. The federal government has decided to allocate NPR 1 billion per year in the current and next fiscal years for rebuilding essential physical assets necessary for service operations. Provincial governments plan to allocate NPR 150 million annually, while local governments will allocate NPR 330 million annually to implement reconstruction works. Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle announced during the current fiscal year’s budget speech that priority will be given to renovation and reconstruction of government buildings damaged during the Ginjee movement. Accordingly, the Ministry of Infrastructure Development has earmarked an approximate budget of NPR 600 million for the ongoing fiscal year.