Pakistan suggests Nepal not to mix post-quake reconstruction with regular development

Pakistan has suggested quake-ravaged Nepal to learn from their reconstruction and rehabilitation operations carried out after a deadly earthquake of October 2005.

Since the size of destruction is high, Nepal should not regard reconstruction as the normal development task, Pakistan's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA) said on Wednesday.

Lieutenant-General Nadeem Ahmad, who had headed Pakistan's ERRA, suggested the executives of Nepal's National Reconstruction Authority, "Regular development doesn't require specific time-frame, but reconstruction should be carried out on fast-pace to bring back every infrastructures and facilities to normalcy."

Ahmad, who had executed the first earthquake operations in Pakistan from 2005 to 2008, is in his third-visit to Nepal to share experiences about post-quake rebuilding.

He said National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) should adopt dynamic mind-set, special procedures and hire the experts to carry out the rehabilitation drive.

NRA, which was formed after eight months of the disaster under the leadership of a civil engineer Sushil Gyawali, formally launched a five-year long reconstruction campaign on Jan. 16.

Though the neighboring countries and development partners pledged a financial support of nearly 4 billion U.S. dollars for the reconstruction of this Himalayan country, NRA is yet to decide on the utilization of support.

"Fund provided by donors should never be mixed with other development budget. Transparency of fund is a key essential during reconstruction", Ahmad said, highlighting on the need of preparing guidelines for other concerned ministries and stakeholders. Endit