At its first meeting since the appointment of the chief executive officer, held at Singha Durbar, the Authority decided to select 31 districts as its working area and forwarded the decision to the government for approval. The meeting was held in the presence of Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, who is also chairman of the Authority.The Authority has selected Dolakha, Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha, Nuwakot, Rasuwa, Dhading, Kavrepalanchowk, Ramechhap, Bhaktapur, Okhaldhunga, Sindhuli, Lalitpur, Kathmandu, Makwanpur, Solukhumbhu, Kaski, Parbat, Lamjung, Chitwan, Tanahu, Khotang, Syanga, Palpa, Baglung, Gulmi, Mygadi, Arghakhachi, Nawalparasi, Bhojpur, Dhankuta and Sankhuwasabha for the reconstruction and rehabilitation work.
The Authority has divided the 31 districts into three categories: severely affected, affected and least affected. It said that reconstruction work will be expediated on the basis of the severity of the earthquake damage.
Because of delay on the part of the government in appointing its chief executive officer and other key officials, the Authority had not been able to begin the post-quake reconstruction and rehabilitation ever after two and half months of the disaster. But just 11 days since the appointment of the key officials, the Authority on Tuesday selected its working area. The Authority has said that it will give priority to the use of domestic resources for the reconstruction work.
According to a press statement, the districts have been selected on the basis of the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) report prepared by the National Planning Commission in the wake of the disaster.
On August 14, the government appointed Prof Govinda Raj Pokharel as the Authority's chief executive officer. Right after his appointment, he said that the Authority would complete all preparatory work within a month and subsequently start its work in the field.
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