Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in reconstruction works carried out by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), particularly in the distribution of the first tranche of rebuilding aid to the earthquake-affected families.

Dahal held a meeting with Acting Chief Secretary Tankamani Sharma on Wednesday evening and discussed the government’s failure to provide rebuilding aid to all the 533,182 registered households by Monday—the deadline set for the purpose.

PM Dahal expressed serious concerns over the authority’s failure to implement the 45-day deadline as more than 150,000 households are yet to receive the cash. “He [PM Dahal] is dissatisfied with the work of the NRA CEO and that of ministers in the government. The rebuilding works are not moving as expected, as hundreds of thousands of families are still without help 17 months since the earthquake,” said Govinda Acharya, PM’s press advisor.

An estimated 800,000 households are eligible for the rebuilding aid in the 14 districts hardest hit by last year’s devastating earthquake. The government has registered 533,182 households in 12 districts. Of the total 450,528 households that have signed tripartite agreements, 381,501 have received the first instalment of the aid as of Thursday.

“The steering committee’s meeting scheduled for Sunday is expected to come up with some crucial decisions,” Acharya said. On Thursday, the NRA chief met with PM Dahal and said the aid distribution was “exciting” and the authority is expediting the process. The authority has prepared a 45-day work plan to ensure aid to the remaining households, the NRA stated.