The National Reconstruction Authority’s plan of bringing the central level project implementation units (CLPIUs) under its jurisdiction has failed to materialise following reluctance of line ministries.

NRA’s repeated attempts to get the decision endorsed through the Cabinet fell through, keeping the CLPIUs stay put under the command of line ministries—at least for this fiscal year.

The government had formed CLPIUs under the Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Ministry of Education aimed at expediting the post-earthquake reconstruction projects.

The NRA wanted to bring the CLPIUs under its command to streamline coordination and operations in order to quicken the pace of the reconstruction process.

Claiming that the CLPIUs are more inclined to the line ministries, causing much delay in completing the process, the NRA had taken the proposal of bringing those units under its command to the Cabinet of former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal. But it fell through owing to reservations from former chief secretary Som Lal Subedi as well as the line ministries were diffident.

Attempts to get the decision endorsed after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba took over the power did not materialise either.

“We have released budget to most of the agencies for the current fiscal year following assessment that the process of bringing CLPIUs under our authority isn’t going to happen any time soon,” NRA Deputy Spokesperson Bhisma Kumar Bhusal said.

According to Bhusal, bringing the CLPIUs under the NRA would end duplication of decisions, directives and implementation status. It would also help in decision making and project execution.  

Having failed to get the implementation units under its command, the NRA has now started expanding its offices in all the earthquake hit districts for carrying out reconstruction works.

“Projects which are not covered by the implementation units will be covered through such district offices,” Bhusal said, adding that NRA district offices will oversee reconstruction of buildings belonging to security agencies, health centres as well as take charge of  big infrastructure projects like roads in some of the districts during this fiscal year.

The NRA, meanwhile, has stated that it has completed grant agreement for the reconstruction of private homes with 631,082 households of the total 724,895 households identified as beneficiaries.