Home Minister Sudhan Gurung Pledges Sustainable Peace and Good Governance

Kathmandu. Home Minister Sudhan Gurung has pledged to maintain the country's peace and order and advance the home administration as a foundation for sustainable peace, good governance, and prosperity. He expressed this view on Tuesday while responding to questions raised by members of the National Assembly on the budget and policy of the Home Ministry under the upcoming fiscal year's appropriation bill. Home Minister Gurung stated that the home administration would be refined in line with the spirit of human rights and the rule of law, not just limited to traditional security agencies. He claimed that the future home administration would deliver concrete results in security, good governance, and impartiality that citizens can directly experience, rather than just paper assurances and speeches. The Home Minister informed that the government has given high priority to the reconstruction of private houses and government buildings damaged by the earthquake in districts including Jajarkot and Rukum West. According to him, a source of agreement of Rs 5 billion has been obtained from the Ministry of Finance to complete the reconstruction work in the upcoming fiscal year. According to the detailed damage assessment report prepared by the technical team in the earthquake-affected areas, 41,297 houses need reconstruction, 11,996 houses need retrofitting, and 21,994 houses need minor repairs in both districts. He clarified that the process of identifying additional beneficiaries is currently underway through local and district disaster management committees, after which the amount will be disbursed by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. Expressing serious concern over the fact that reconstruction works initiated in the past have not been completed to date, Home Minister Gurung stated that he has already instructed the Chief District Officers of the concerned districts to achieve a 'break-through' in performance. He also expressed his commitment to continuously improve based on the suggestions received, as he himself is monitoring by visiting various districts.