Nepal Government agrees to release Rs. 200,000 aid in two tranches

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli addressed the Parliament after a week of deadlock between the ruling and the opposition party over the release of aid for earthquake victims.

The Nepali Congress had been obstructing proceedings in Parliament for the past one week, demanding the government to release the housing aid of Rs. 200,000 to earthquake survivors in one go, instead of three tranches.

Taking the middle path, the Nepal Government agreed to release the housing aid in two tranches (Rs 150,000 and Rs 50,000), instead of in three.

The parties have also reached an agreement to review the verification of earthquake victims, provide housing grants to those who have already built their homes in line with government guidelines and ease the process for quake victims to float a loan, reports the Kathmandu Post.

"The government is ready to provide the housing grant in two tranches instead of three," said Prime Minister Oli in Parliament on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister added, "However, we need to change the existing directives and consult donor agencies before we start distributing the money."

As per the existing directives, formulated on the basis of an agreement with the World Bank, beneficiaries are entitled to housing aid of Rs. 200,000 in three tranches-Rs. 50,000, Rs. 80,000 and Rs. 70,000.

Though the Nepali Congress (NC) on Wednesday let the House resume its business and said it will "wait and see how the government translates its commitment into action".

"We won't tolerate if earthquake survivors do not get the housing aid in line with the agreement," said NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba.