Addressing development partners at the Ministry of Finance in Kathmandu, he said that the restriction has made Nepalis suffer due to shortage of fuel and essential supplies. "Tourism has gone down, trade is suffering, and factories have been closed due to restriction," he said, adding that it is the heavy blow to the economy that has been looking to recover after the devastating earthquake.Mahat also said that the country is losing revenue to the tune of billions of rupees every day. "Revenue mobilization has come down to 5 percent from what used to be collected earlier. It is also a setback to the reconstruction work," he added.
The agitating parties in Tarai-Madhes have been using force, intimidating people to close down their business, Mahat informed the local representatives of development partners in Kathmandu.
Explaining various inclusive and forward looking articles of the new constitution, the finance minister also briefed the development partners that the constitution has been able to institutionalize the republic and federated Nepal into seven provinces. "It is very difficult to reconcile the various philosophies, and aspirations, but the constitution has included most of the voices," Mahat said, adding that the constitution is an amalgamation of various interest groups, communities, representative and inclusive. "The constitution has also responded to the minority groups and is the best possible compromise."
Since it is the first constitution that is written by the people, and also outcome of the Madhes movement that called for federation, it has addressed most of the 'possible aspirations' of Tarai-Madhes, he clarified.
Mahat also briefed development partners about the demand placed by Tarai-Madhes parties and explained how it can be explained. "Informal talks with leaders of Madhes-based parties are going on," he added.
Showing indifference to the suffering of Nepalis, representatives of development partners called on the government to form Nepal Authority for Reconstruction at the earliest. Speaking on behalf of International Development Partners Group in Nepal, Ambassador of Switzerland to Nepal Thomas Gass said the development partners have serious concern over delay in formation of reconstruction authority.
He said that they have been very active in supporting the response to the tragic earthquakes that affected vast swathes of the country. "After three months of the conference, and five months since the first earthquake shattered lives and livelihoods of millions of Nepalis, legislation for the Nepal Authority for Reconstruction is not yet in place and the appointment of a chief executive officer needs to be reconfirmed," he read a written statement, calling the government and the parliament to finalize, as a matter of urgency, the appropriate legislation and take the necessary steps and decisions as soon as possible to establish the Nepal Authority for Reconstruction.
The International Development Partners Group in Nepal had taken active part in the comprehensive Post-disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) and the successful reconstruction conference held in June. "The Nepal Authority for Reconstruction is crucial to effectively oversee the huge reconstruction tasks," Gass said, asking to focus and give attention for timely delivery of quality support to the affected people, notably the most vulnerable, and by applying the 'build back better' principle to foster resilience.
The devastating earthquake in April and May and subsequent aftershocks have floored down thousands of houses, schools, police posts and heritage sites. The government had promised to form a reconstruction authority to expedite the reconstruction works in the quake-hit districts.
However, the government's plan to pass the bill on reconstruction of quake-hit structures for operating the reconstruction authority has been obstructed due to dispute among the three major political parties -- Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and the main opposition UCPN (Maoist).
Responding to the development partners, Mahat said that the bill will be approved by the parliament soon.
British ambassador to Nepal John Ranking said that the development partners will leave the two countries to solve the current problem as bilateral issues.
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