Parliamentary committee recommends action against erring NRCS’s staffers

            -Narayan Dhungana/RSS

Kathmandu: The Committee for State Affairs and Good-Governance here today has instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to take legal action against staffers in Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS) involved in financial irregularities.

The parliamentary committee issued the instruction to the concerned Ministry after deliberating on the complaints filed by some office-bearers of the NRCS regarding the embezzlement of fund.

Furthermore, the Committee has also asked the Ministry to formulate the laws reflecting the international values and principles as well as the spirit of the federal democratic republic of Nepal for the formation of NRCS, its function and regulation as per the federal set up of the country.

Some office-bearers of the humanitarian organization had lodged a complaint in the Committee, claiming that the foreign aid meant for the earthquake victims were embezzled while the fund allocated for constructing buildings was also embezzled. The Committee had summoned Ministry for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa and Home Ministry’s Secretary Maheshwor Neupane today to deliberate on the same.

Minister Thapa during the discussion shared that necessary legal action was forwarded regarding the NRCS’s financial misappropriation case. Committee’s President Sashi Shrestha informed that the sub-committee formed to look into the complaint had minutely probed the matter.

According to her, the Red Cross Society in other countries were regulating as per the laws and regulations of the concerned countries while the NRCS, formed as per the Organization Registration Act 2034 BS was running without complying the laws.

She further said that the NRCS was also found to have not obeying the government’s directives.

Sub-committee member parliamentarian Rekha Sharma informed that they looked into five complaints related to the NRCS and they concluded that the humanitarian organizations was not abiding by the Public Procurement Act and not obeying the District Administration Office’s directive to consider an amendment in their statute.

            Former Minister Lal Babu Pandit, also the member of the parliamentary committee, viewed that any organizations running without adhering the laws should be shut down.

Similarly, another member Pampha Bhusal pressed for forwarding the action after the ministerial level decision on the NRCS’s case. Bijay Subba claimed that NRCS had been receiving foreign aid bypassing the government’s channel. He also blamed that cases of financial irregularities were also found while constructing go-down and blood bank in Jhapa.

Devendraraj Pandey argued that rather than taking action against the organization, the erring officials in the organization should be booked. Dila Shangraula and Meena Pandey underlined the need to examine the case and find out the truth.  —-