GORKHA, Sept 17: Village Development Committee (VDC) secretaries in various parts of Gorkha are unaware about the activities being carried out by I/NGOs. 

More than 70 I/NGOs have been working in the 60 VDCs and a municipality of the district, according to District Development Committee. 

On average, there are about a dozen national and international NGOs working in a single VDC. 

These developmental organizations, however, do not coordinate with the local authorities. 

"We have heard that Eco Nepal and other NGOs have been working in this VDC, but none of them care to inform the VDC office about their activities," said Surya Baral, secretary of Tanglichowk VDC. “It seems that most I/NGOs think they need not cooperate with the local authorities.” 

He claimed that the activities being carried out by non-government organizations will not be effective if they bypass local bodies. 

The situation is of no different in Barpak VDC, the epicenter of last year's earthquake, according to VDC secretary Chet Prasad Amgain. 

"The VDC has no record of the activities of I/NGOs," he said. "We are even unaware about drinking water and school construction projects being carried out by them. I/NGOs should have at least submitted information on the number of projects and budgets to local bodies for better and effective results." 

Secretary of Laprak, an adjoining VDC, also lamented about non-cooperation from development organization. 

These organizations would have acted more responsibly had there been election representatives, he said. “Local bodies are running without elected representatives,” he said. “I/NGOs do not obey us and there is no one to hold them accountable.”

There are also some instances of false promises. Paddhati Bikas Sewa Kendra pledged to provide three projects worth Rs 2.3 million to Jauwari last year. 

The VDC selected projects related to irrigation and road and passed it from the VDC council held last year. Later, the NGO did not provide the budget. “We reminded the NGO time and again to abide by the promises it made. But all efforts went in vain,” said Rajya Babu Shrestha, secretary of Jaubari VDC. 

Most of the NGOs directly approach the locals and promise them with support for reconstruction, he said. “There is no agency to oversee whether NGOs deliver on such promises.”

 Currently, NGOs are working with assistance from various INGOs and UN agencies such as World Vision, Save the Children, UNICEF, PIN, OXFAM, UNDP, Care Nepal, CRA, IOM, among others. 

District Disaster Relief committee had developed a working procedure to ensure effective coordination between government and non-government organizations. The procedure makes it compulsory for NGOs to submit name, expenditure and employees details of the project to government agencies. But most of NGOs have not followed it. “We will work to increase cooperation between local bodies and INGOs in the days to come,” said Narayan Bhatta, Chief District Officer of Gorkha.  

 
• village development committee
 
• i/ngos
 
• gorkha