SPEED UP
The Kathmandu Post
27 October 2017
SPEED UP
More than two years have passed
after the earthquake devastated Nepal in April 2015, killing more than 8,000
people and destroying thousands of houses and historic monuments. Most of the
affected people were forced to take shelter in make- shift camps and they are
still in these temporary shelters waiting for support from the government. The victims suffered severely during the last
two winters and monsoons.
The government formed the National
Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to take charge of the reconstruction process. It
took several months for the NRA to become operational due to politicisation of this
organisation. The UML led government appointed its favoured candidate Shushil
Gyewali as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who was subsequently criticized
for not working affectively. He was replaced by the pro-Nepali Congress
candidate Govind Raj Pokharel soon after the NC-Maoist coalition partnership
toppled Oli led government. Now, Yubaraj Bhusal, close relative of NC senior
leader Ram Chandra Poudel, has been appointed as the CEO following the
resignation of Pokharel (“Yubaraj Bhusal
appointed new chief executive officer of NRA” October 24, Page1).
The NRA has identified 737,705
household as beneficiaries of the housing reconstruction grant. Of them,
620,646 households have so far received the first instalment of aid. Likewise,
85,332 have received the second tranche, while 12,726 have collected the third
instalment of the rebuilding grant. These figures show that the reconstruction
process is moving very slowly. The reason behind this is the lengthy
bureaucratic process for claiming the aid amount, and inefficient management
and administrative system of NRA. It is hoped that there will be substantial progress
in the reconstruction process in the coming days as claimed by the new CEO.
Rai
Biren Bangdel
Via
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