The government formed taskforce has so far identified 3,347 families as the liberated Haliyas in 12 districts of the far western and mid-western regions. However, the number does not match with the figure suggested by Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction (MoPR). [break]
According to the peace ministry, there are a total of 19,059 families of Haliyas in the two regions.
“Of the total 3,347 verified families, we have distributed identity cards to 1,572 families,” said Bikram Pandey, section officer at the Ministry of Land Reforms and Management. “No families came in Jumla district to take the identity cards,” he said, adding, “And there was a very low turnout in Surkhet district.”
However, taskforce coordinator Hari Shreepaili attributed the delay in verification to geographical remoteness of the regions. He said the process of verification is under way. “The delay in verification is due to geographical remoteness of the regions,” said Shreepaili.
However, sources at the land reform ministry said that not all the families suggested by the peace ministry are genuine Haliyas. “It has been learnt that some officials filled the forms with fake names in order to get more incentive. The officials were provided Rs 20 per form as incentive,” said the source on condition of anonymity.
The taskforce had begun the process of verification and distribution of identity cards to the liberated Haliyas from Kanchanpur in October last year.
Though, the taskforce was mandated to complete distributing identity cards by mid-March, officials say they need two more months to conclude the process. “The taskforce will conclude the task by mid-July,” said MoLRM Spokesperson Krishna Bahadur Raut.
According to Shreepaili, the taskforce has been working on a three year action plan for the rehabilitation of the liberated Haliyas. “The action plan will focus on improving health, education and livelihood of the liberated Haliyas,” he added.
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