Highlighting the urgency of the new act, the NHRC has said the government could bring such an act through ordinance to address the crisis following the devastating April 25 earthquake.
The NHRC, making its report on relief and rescue public, highlighted the importance of updating existing legal provisions."The experience of the people at the implementation level has shown that the existing act and legal provisions are inadequate to deal with rescue and relief efforts following a natural disaster. Thus such legal provisions should be made practical and we suggest to the government to initiate the amendment process," said Mohana Ansari, spokesperson for the commission.
"There is dire need of a new act on disaster management. Considering its urgency, the government could bring it even through ordinance but we should see whether the ordinance has basic legal features and guarantees justice," said NHRC Chairman Anup Raj Sharma.
Nepal Bar Association (NBA) has also seconded the NHRC's proposal.
NBA General Secretary Sunil Kumar Pokharel said if the it takes time to pass the bill through parliament, the government could bring an ordinance to address problems in the post-quake situation.
"An act with a superseding cause could be introduced since people are suffering due to legal complications," said Pokharel.
Pokharel gave the example of Public Procurement Act and some other legal provisions to prove the urgency of a superseding act. "No government office can purchase things without calling for bids as per the Public Procurement Act," Pokharel said. "We can also take the example of court cases. People, who could not take court dates, did not get an excuse despite suffering from post-tremor trauma," he added.
The NHRC monitoring report claimed that there was lack of coordination between the government agencies, NGOs and political parties in rescue and relief efforts. The existing legal complication has also resulted in lack of coordination.
The government had registered "Disaster Management Bill" in parliament just ahead of the earthquake. However, the government has withdrawn the bill to upgrade it in the changed context.
The bill envisaged forming a Disaster Management Fund, a Disaster Risk Reduction Committee and a National Disaster Management Center at the national level to deal with natural disasters.
"It was registered as just another bill in parliament. In the latest context, the government should revisit the bill and come up with a superseding act," said advocate Pokharel.
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