Seven months after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated central Nepal, the much-delayed bill for formation of National Reconstruction Authority has finally been passed by a parliamentary committee.
The parliament's bill committee on Wednesday approved the reconstruction bill, which was stuck there for months due to differences between the ruling UML and the main opposition NC.
The NC had refused to agree on the bill, demanding continuity of Govinda Raj Pokhrel as the authority's Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Pokhrel was appointed as the authority's CEO by the previous NC government. But when the ordinance through which he was appointed expired, the UML showed interest to have its own man at the helm of the authority responsible for spending US$ 4.1 billion pledged by donors for Nepal's reconstruction.
The NC-UML face-off dragged on for months, forcing the earthquake survivors to live in temporary shelters during the harsh Himalayan winter.
The NC finally gave its nod to the reconstruction bill after the UML agreed to include President of the main opposition party as Vice Chair of the authority's advisory board. The NC still disagrees with some of the clauses of the bill, but it says it will not obstruct the bill.
Once the bill is passed by the parliament, the much-awaited authority will be formed and reconstruction work will begin.
The April earthquake not only killed 8,617 people but also destroyed 473,000 houses and displaced 2.8 million people. Hundreds of thousands of people still live in temporary shelters and they are waiting for reconstruction grants – distributed through the yet-to-be -formed authority – so that they can start building their houses.
As per the bill, the authority's advisory committee will have 14 parliament members representing various parties from the 14 most-affected districts as its members.
The advisory committee will be the apex body of the authority, and the board of directors will be under it. The Prime Minister will lead the board, and the main opposition can recommend some of its leaders for the post of the board's Vice Chair. But the leader must have served as Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister or Speaker in the past to qualify for this job.
At the moment, NC leaders Sher Bahadur Deuba, Ram Chandra Poudel, Krishna Sitaula, Prakash Man Singh and Sujata Koirala are qualified for this job.
As per the bill, the authority's new CEO must have master's degree in infrastructure, engineering, economy, social development or archeology with at least 15 years of experience in the related fields.