The former CEO chief of National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali has filed a writ petition at the Supreme Court on Monday demanding his reinstatement, stating that he was appointed for a period of five years, but was removed illegally. He was sacked by the Cabinet on 11 January for delaying post-earthquake reconstruction work.

Gyewali told Nepali Times: “I was removed due to political reasons, the government had praised me for my performance in the past, but all of sudden it took me out. This proves that the NRA is influenced politically.”

Gyewali himself was brought in by UML Prime Minister K P Oli after sacking Govinda Raj Pokharel who was appointed by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala of the Nepali Congress.

Gyewali has been defending himself against the government’s allegation and further claims that he did not receive enough support from the government during his tenure. Last week he directly blamed Prime Minister Dahal for obstructing his work.

Almost two years after the 2015 earthquake, only 452, 887 families have received the first tranche – Rs 50,000 – of the Rs 300,000 housing grant. The government has identified 6, 26,036 households in 14 earthquake affected districts as beneficiaries.

Pokharel was lauded for his performance as the first CEO of the NRA for producing a Needs Assessment Report in a short time and conducting a donor’s conference in July 2015 that pledged $4.2 billion for earthquake relief. Pokharel will have a friendly government when the NC takes over in April from the Maoist-Centre and is also regarded as a do-er.