The 5th Joint Project Monitoring Committee (JPMC) meeting on post-earthquake reconstruction projects was held in Kathmandu on January 27. The meeting was co-chaired by Munu Mahawar, Additional Secretary (North) of India, and Padma Kumar Mainalee, Joint Secretary from the Government of Nepal.
India has committed US$ 250 million in grant assistance for post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal, allocated to four critical sectors: Housing, Education, Health, and Cultural Heritage. As part of this commitment, India provided a grant of US$ 100 million for housing, and US$ 50 million each for education, health, and cultural heritage projects. The JPMC, which was set up in August 2017 to monitor the progress of these projects, conducted a comprehensive review of the status and impact of the reconstruction efforts.
The meeting acknowledged the successful completion of housing sector projects in 2021 and education sector projects in 2024. In the health and cultural heritage sectors, both sides expressed satisfaction with the progress and agreed to expedite the completion of remaining projects. Shri Mahawar also visited the Gusthal Mahavihar reconstruction site in Lalitpur to review its progress.
Since the last JPMC meeting in October 2023, India has handed over 26 projects in the education sector, including the Tribhuvan University Central Library in Kathmandu, 32 projects in the health sector, and 3 projects in the cultural heritage sector, with a total value of NPR 335.08 crore. Additionally, 43 health sector projects and 9 cultural heritage projects, amounting to NPR 173.49 crore, have been completed during this period. Both delegations highlighted the positive socio-economic impact of these initiatives, particularly in generating employment and improving health and education services in remote areas.
In other news, Rabi Lamichhane, the former home minister and current president of the Rastriya Swatantra Party, has been released on bail in connection with a cooperative fraud case. Lamichhane is accused of involvement in fraudulent activities at the Butwal-based Supreme Cooperative. The District Court in Rupandehi set his bail at Rs 10 million and scheduled the next hearing for March 10, 2025.
Lamichhane has already paid bail in other related cases, totaling Rs 22.5 million across three districts, with cases still pending in Chitwan and Parsa. In the Kaski District Court, he paid Rs 6.5 million for the Surya Darshan Cooperative case in Pokhara, and Rs 6 million in the Kathmandu District Court for the Swarna Laxmi Cooperative case in Kalimati.
