Kathmandu, Aug 1 

Transparency International (TI) Nepal has expressed severe concern over the corruption institutionalized at citizen’s level on the post-quake reconstruction activities.

Already deepening with government malpractices, the corruption was further fomented by those enlisted in the beneficiary after the damage caused by the Gurkha Earthquake of 2015. It was shared at a programme organized by TI Nepal on ‘Post-quake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, Integrity and Public Accountability’ on Friday.

It was informed that the people named beneficiaries claimed grant, arguing that they had no other livable residence than the damaged houses. However, they were found living in other place as well. TI Nepal has termed it a corruption done by the citizens. At the programme, senior officer at TI, Dinanath Bhattarai, admitted that even the civil society were not able to work because the local level and citizen were indulged in corruption.

Legal provision of maintaining good governance as keeping hoarding board to share information on the construction of schools, conducting social audit after the completion of work were egregiously violated. It resulted in sheer corruption and financial irregularities, he added. The citizen’s charter was not found at the ward level of the 14 districts which suffered worst in the earthquake, said Chairman of Citizen’s Association Nation Building Forum, Nirmal Upreti, adding that the earthquake survivors were deprived of real information.

Although efforts were made to make the local levels and wards responsible in the reconstruction activities, it was not implemented well partly because of the dearth of employees. It was found during the onsite monitoring.

Similarly, Deputy Director of Nepal Red Cross Society, Tara Gurung, district officer at TI, Sharada Nepali, Forum treasurer Jiban Poudel and others blamed that the government from the federal to local level failed to maintain integrity in reconstruction activities.