A cabinet meeting took a decision to this effect, amending and merging the directive on such financial assistance and three other directives last week.[break\
The new provision has revoked the authority of the Finance Section at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) to distribute assistance under the direct recommendation of the prime minister.
Only a few months back, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) had declined to release additional money for financial assistance sought by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, citing budgetary limitations and misuse of such assistance.
The Nepal-led government, after spending within three months the annual budget of Rs 3 million allocated for financial assistance, had sought additional money from MoF under the financial assistance head.
The amended directive has authorized the Ministry of Home Affairs to distribute financial assistance to those recommended by the prime minister after assessing the assistance seeker´s status, living standard and genuine need.
According to Lila Mani Paudyal, Secretary at OPMCM, the government has also fixed a ceiling for the amounts to be released as financial assistance in the names of former presidents and vice-president, former prime ministers, ministers, bureaucrats, litterateurs and national figures.
As per the new provisions, former presidents, vice-presidents and prime ministers will get a maximum of Rs 1.5 million for medical treatment while former chief justices and speakers will get one million for the same purpose.
The amount to be released in the names of former ministers, administrators, litterateurs and national figures will not exceed Rs 500,000. "Earlier, there was no budgetary limitation on such financial assistance for high-ranking national figures," said Secretary Paudyal, adding, "The amended directive aims to control the unsystematic distribution of assistance."
The government only recently decided to bear nearly Rs 20 million in expenses incurred in former prime minister Girja Prasad Koirala´s treatment in Singapore.
The directive has also tightened the release of such assistance in other ways. Government officials will have to release treatment costs only to government hospitals instead of to particular individuals. Assistance seekers are required to produce the hospital bills to claim assistance.
Similarly, the directive has also made it mandatory for the embassies cocncerned to deal with the treatment costs if any national figure undergoes treatment abroad.
The directive has reduced from Rs 1 million to 700,000 the amount to be released in the names of those killed in the line of duty. The government will not provide compensation to individuals killed while attacking security personnel. The government had been providing Rs 300,000 to 500,000 to people killed in police action even if they attacked the police first.
The government directive provides only Rs 150,000 to those killed during the people´s movement period and in any rioting or violence. The government had been providing Rs 1 million to those killed in the above-mentioned circumstances.
The government has also decided to provide scholarships to the offspring of disappeared people. Earlier, it used to provide scholarships only to the offspring of martyrs. According to the new provision, those who claim compensation and assistance after 30 days of the incident will not receive any support.
"The directive, in its bid to check possible anomalies, had brought in a provision that the authorities who issue financial assistance and compensation in violation of the directive will face legal action." Secretary Paudyal said.
Those who submit fake documents to receive assistance will face legal action, reads the directive.
The government last week merged various directives after amending the financial assistance directive, the directive on losses incurred during the conflict period, and the directive on property damage and compensation and conflict-affected people.
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