Govt's 100-day Progress

The incumbent government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has completed 100 days. Going by the progress made and initiatives taken during this period, it's unequivocally clear that the government is committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the people. To that end, concrete steps have been taken towards good governance and holistic development. For good governance, corruption control and ensuring the rule of law is indispensable, as is acting decisively to address the popular discontent. The persisting issue of cooperative scam has been one such issue. Over 600 persons involved in cooperatives fraud have been punished, with over 550 still serving prison terms, and establishment of Cooperative Credit Information Centre and Debt Recovery Tribunal is in progress. 

The matter of rehabilitating recent victims of floods and landslides, providing compensation, and restoring of damaged infrastructure and critical services has been another issue. The government has fared pretty well in this regard. Besides rescuing thousands of people at risk, it has provided financial support to those impacted. As an immediate measure, Rs. 20,000 each to 391victim families has been distributed, Rs. 45 million was allocated to support 2,555 affected families, and Rs. 43 million has been allocated to 71 local levels in crisis-hit areas. Because of the government's swift response, no disruption in transportation routes and essential services as widely feared actually happened.

The reconstruction of houses damaged by last year's earthquake is now poised to proceed alongside the housing efforts for the recently affected citizens. Likewise, steps have been taken to address issues facing farmers. Nearly 1.5 million dairy farmers have received overdue payments. The government has allocated Rs. 600 million for this purpose. Around 75,000 sugarcane farmers who had not been paid for their hard work for years, have also received their subsidy payments. Rs. 800 million has been injected into the agriculture, crop and livestock insurance's account for settling insurance claims of thousands of farmers. Arrangements have also been made for the chemical fertilisers needed for winter crops.

In an effort to promote entrepreneurship, to address the concerns about the acute dearth of decent jobs for youths and to give a dose of momentum to the economy, the Ministry of Industry has provided loans up to Rs. 2.5 million to 165 youths, who has already launched their businesses and begun repaying their loans. The work to provide more of such loans is underway. The establishment of the Economic Advisory Commission, aligned with the private sector demands, has boosted business confidence, leading to investment commitments of around Rs. 34 billion in 200 industries.  

Justice is the cornerstone for lasting peace. The government has succeeded in bringing the remaining tasks of the peace process, initiated 17 years ago, to a final conclusion with the unanimous approval and certification of the bill to amend the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Act, 2071. As for health sector, the progress is self-evident. Cost for non-cosmetic burn treatment for the impoverished has been waived in all seven provinces. What's more, cancer treatment services have been expanded to all seven provinces from previous three. Likewise, compensation for families of Nepalis who died abroad has been increased to Rs. 1 million from Rs. 700,000. 

Regarding infrastructure, Kirtipur Cricket Stadium is being upgraded with floodlights for night time matches. Also, significant progress has been made in the breakthrough of the Dhedre tunnel along the Kathmandu Terai/Madhes Fast Track project in Makwanpur district. The lining of the main Nagdhunga tunnel has also been successfully completed.