NRA gears up to form a panel for aid management
Oct 4, 2016- The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is preparing to set up a committee to manage, mobilise and coordinate financial resources from development partners and donor agencies in post-earthquake reconstruction efforts.
The NRA will be tabling the proposal at its Advisory Council meeting schedule on Tuesday for establishing the committee under its chief executive.
The proposed committee will also include representatives from donor partners and civil society to effectively mobilise financial resources for reconstruction activities, particularly building shelters for around 800,000 quake-affected households.
The Advisory Council for Reconstruction chaired by Prime Minister is represented by ministers, leaders of the main opposition and other parties, representatives of the National Planning Commission, the NRA chief executive officer, bureaucrats, former prime ministers and representatives of the Nepal Rastra Bank, among others.
“We have felt the need to form the committee to ensure the effective mobilisation and management of the pledged and additional foreign aid from donors and development partners for reconstruction projects,” said NRA Spokesperson Ram Prasad Thapaliya.
The donor community had pledged $4.4 billion for Nepal’s rebuilding efforts at the international conference held here in June last year, two months after the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the country. The donors have so far rolled out around $2.7
billion.
“There is a major funding gap for the housing sector, along with school and heritage sectors, for rebuilding. The government needs to do more to ensure the adequate funding as pledged to the affected families,” said Thapaliya. PM Dahal has already decided to increase the private housing grant from existing Rs200,000 to Rs300,000 to each of the earthquake-affected households, along with an additional Rs500,000 in loan.
The Directive Committee meeting chaired by PM Dahal last week decided to hold the Advisory Council meeting on Tuesday to discuss on the progress of NRA’s activities and possible changes to the
existing policies and programmes to expedite the distribution of the first tranche of instalment.
During last week’s meeting, PM Dahal expressed serious concern over the failure to complete the distribution of first tranche of the aid money to the affected families within 45 days as promised on August 4. PM Dahal had set the October 6 deadline to complete the distribution of the first instalment to the remaining households—over 100,000—who have signed the agreement.
Out of the total 430,458 households that have signed tripartite agreement, 410,000 have received the first instalment as of Monday. The NRA has so far registered 533,182 households as true beneficiaries out of an estimated 800,000 in the 14 worst affected districts, including three in Kathmandu Valley.
Published: 04-10-2016 08:43
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