PM seeks clarification from NRA chief

Published On: November 16, 2016 12:20 AM NPT By: Republica  | @RepublicaNepal


Prime Minister Dahal called Gyewali to the former's official residence at Baluwatar Tuesday morning and vented his anger against Gyewali for failing to expedite reconstruction and rehabilitation works as per public expectations.
KATHMANDU, Nov 16: Expressing serious dissatisfaction over the snail-paced progress of the reconstruction and rehabilitation works, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday sought written clarification from the Chief Executive Officer of National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali. Gyewali has been asked to submit the clarifications by Sunday. 

On Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Dahal called Gyewali to the former's official residence at Baluwatar on Tuesday morning and vented his anger against Gyewali for failing to expedite reconstruction and rehabilitation works as per public expectations, informed Govinda Acharya, press advisor of the prime minister. 

"Prime Minister Dahal said Gyewali that the authority was supposed to speed up the works by bypassing bureaucratic red-tapesim but it has stuck in bureaucratic hassle, delaying the overall tasks of reconstruction and rehabilitation. And the prime minister sought written clarification with Gyewali explaining what has been hindering NRA to expedite the reconstruction works," he added. 

He said that Gyewali has been asked to submit the report to Dahal during meeting of the NRA's steering committee on Sunday. 

Of the total 533,182 victims identified as eligible for the grant amount of Rs 300,000 in the 14 most-affected districts, the NRA has been able to distribute the grant amount to only 431,905 victims so far. Following an instruction from the prime minister, the NRA had announced a 45-day-long special campaign to provide the first installment of the grant amount to the quake victims. But the NRA missed the deadline of the campaign a month ago and it has yet to distribute the grant amount to all the identified quake victims.  

Likewise, as many as 94,022 households in Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu have been finalized as eligible for the grant amount. However, the NRA has yet to begin the grant distribution in the three districts of the Kathmandu Valley.  

Similarly, as many as 183,872 complaints have been registered by the quake victims in the 14 most-affected districts but not a single complaint has been resolved. Officials at NRA have said that it will take more than three months to address all the problems.  

An official close to the prime minister said that Gyewali told the prime minister that the delay was mainly due to lack of cooperation from civil servants.


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