Roundup: human rights body, opposition party slam Nepalese gov't for dragging post-quake reconstruction

he Nepalese National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the opposition party in the country have slammed the government for slow action in the post-quake reconstruction.

NHRC pointed out that the earthquake survivors' fundamental human rights are in jeopardy.

In its statement issued Sunday following a study on the situation of the earthquake survivors living in Gorkha, Dhading, Nuwakot and Rasuwa districts of the Central Nepal, the country's constitutional human rights body made such an assessment.

The four districts are among the 14-worst-hit by the earthquake on April 25 and its aftershocks last year in Nepal

The NHRC also expressed deep concerns over the mismanagement of services being provided to the earthquake survivors even more than one year after the devastating earthquake that claimed nearly 10,000 lives in the nation.

Based on its field study, the NHRC assessed that the situation of the survivors have become worse as they have not even been provided with the titular amount of 150 U.S. dollars (Nepalese Rupee 15,000) that the government had pledged for rebuilding houses of the earthquake-hit people.

The NHRC further concluded that the National Reconstruction Authority, the District Disaster Relief Committee, the District Development Committee and other authorities did not exhibit cooperation in their works.

The human rights body also urged the government to collect the data correctly and to manage appropriate living arrangements for the elderly, children and women and also ensure their basic human rights.

Meanwhile, the main opposition party in the Nepal, the Nepali Congress, has slammed the government for not releasing funds to rebuild houses of the earthquake-stricken people even a year after the earthquake.

During a Parliamentary session on Sunday, Parliamentarians from the Nepali Congress lashed out over the government's irresponsibility toward the bad condition of the earthquake survivors who are awaiting the government's funds to rebuild their homes.

"We have been repeatedly raising questions in the Parliament sessions against government's irresponsibility towards the sorry state of affairs of the earthquake survivors who need early release of funds to rebuild their homes. However, the government still seems tight-lipped on the situation of the earthquake survivors," Kamala Pant, a Parliamentarian from the Opposition Party Nepali Congress, said during the House session.

Earlier last month, the Nepalese government in its annual program and policy stated that it will provide money to the earthquake survivors for their housing reconstruction.

In addition to the Rs 200,000 (about 2,000 U.S. dollars) announced to the each family whose house was destroyed in the quake as housing reconstruction fund, the government in its program and policy had decided to provide soft loan of Rs 300,000 (about 3,000 U.S. dollars) to each of the displaced families without collateral.

Addressing to the nation on May 8, Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari unveiled the government's annual policy and program for the fiscal year 2073-2074 (2016-2017), focusing on speedy post-quake reconstruction and economic development.

Similarly, on May 28, the government in its budget for the fiscal 2016-2017 also gave focus on post-earthquake reconstruction of Nepal. Enditem