National
NRA to recover grant from ineligible people
The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has initiated a process to recover the government support obtained by ineligible candidates. The authority said it has initiated such a process following information that people who were not eligible for such a support received Rs300,000 in three instalments.The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has initiated a process to recover the government support obtained by ineligible candidates. The authority said it has initiated such a process following information that people who were not eligible for such a support received Rs300,000 in three instalments.
A public notice issued by the NRA has urged such beneficiaries to return the grant amount they have obtained so far. The notice stated that people with a habitable home apart from the home impacted by the earthquake should return the amount within three months.
Likewise, people who have obtained grant from more than one location have been notified to return the amount. Such beneficiaries can retain government support acquired from one location while rebating all other sanctions. The authority stated that fund from those who were found at fault through government investigation will be recovered by the government as its liability amount.
According to the NRA Deputy Spokesperson Manohar Ghimire, the decision was made by a meeting of the authority’s Steering Committee chaired by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli on the first week of September.
“We have been urging people to return the amount. The notice has made it time bound and more specific,” Ghimire said adding that though the agency does not have an exact figure regarding the number of ineligible people who might have obtained the fund, they have been informed that the number is substantial.
The NRA official said that the entire government mechanism was oriented towards providing the amount to people so they could rebuild their shelter at the possible earliest. “There were no agencies at the local level at that time. With local government in place now, we can identify the beneficiaries and find out the eligible and ineligible ones,” Ghimire added.
Though there are no specific guidelines on how the government would lead the investigation once the allocated time is over, Ghimire said a guideline would be charted out before the deadline providing the agency with a roadmap to carry on with the process.
“The government will recover the fund from movable and immovable assets. It can also deny the households in question the facilities provided by the state,” he added.
The authority has been disbursing Rs300,000 as a grant in three instalments of Rs50,000, Rs150,000 and Rs100,000 for rebuilding initiative. Of the total beneficiaries, 704,223 have received first tranche while 488,603 and 261,745 households have received second and third tranche respectively.