KATHMANDU, JUN 19 - The Parliamentary Special Committee on Thursday directed the government to provide immediate cash relief to the families of people who have gone missing after the April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks.
Committee members said people who cannot be rescued from the rubble of damaged structures should be declared dead and relief should be provided to their family members.
The relief amount, according to the committee, should be on par with what has been provided to the families of those killed in the earthquake. The government has been providing Rs40,000 to the families of quake victims for performing the last rites and Rs100,000 as relief.
The committee took the decision after lawmakers, during their recent visits to the quake-hit districts, received complaints from family members of the missing people. Stating that the troubled families are deprived of aid, the committee directed the government to immediately provide relief to such families even if there are legal hurdles.
According to the Home Ministry, 221 people have not been accounted for since the disaster. According to ministry spokesman Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, the government has already initiated the process to provide relief to the families of the missing people.
Lawmakers during the committee meeting on Thursday criticised the government saying that preparations to relocate people living in areas vulnerable to disasters were too slow.
The lawmakers also expressed dissatisfaction over tasks performed by the special committee itself. Lawmaker Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal said the committee is failing to properly document and handle reports on field visits submitted by its subcommittees.
They also criticised the government for not implementing the committee's directives. They said that the government had done little to implement their directives on several issues. The government, for instance, had decided to provide only Rs15,000 to a quake-affected family for constructing temporary shelter despite the panel's recommendation to provide Rs50,000.
Lawmaker Prem Suwal of Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party said the committee should issue another directive to the government for effective implementation of its earlier directives.
The committee was formed on the basis of a common resolution motion endorsed by Parliament to monitor the rescue, relief and recovery tasks undertaken by state agencies.
The committee said it was working to compile reports submitted by its subcommittees on the state of rescue, relief and recovery works in 19 quake-hit districts.
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