7.5 percent Province 3 quake victims yet to sign contract for housing grant

Published On: April 30, 2018 07:14 AM NPT By: ASHOKSUJAN SHRESTHA

MAKWANPUR, April 30: In Province 3's 13 districts, which are among the most affected ones by the devastating 2015 Gorkha earthquake, only 364,476 beneficiaries of housing reconstruction grant have started rebuilding their houses. This is only 61.4 percent of the total quake victims of 593,516 in the province.

Of the total victims, only 549,497 have signed contracts with the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) regarding the housing grant. Among them, as many as 185,021 beneficiaries, i.e. 33.67 percent, have not begun reconstructing their houses.

According to NRA deputy secretary Manohar Ghimire, 538,197 beneficiaries of the province have claimed their first tranche of the reconstruction grant while a total of 11,300 beneficiaries have not done so.

“All the beneficiaries from Sindhupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk and Nuwakot of the province received their first tranche while some of the beneficiaries from Dolakha, Makwanpur and Chitwan are yet to claim theirs,” informed Ghimire.

The lack of necessary documents, land and other factors have prevented 7.42 percent victims from signing the contract, according to the NRA.

Province 3 is the most affected one by the earthquake among the seven provinces. Of the 14 most affected districts by the quake, 12 are in Province 3. Sindupalchowk, Kavrepalanchowk and Dhading districts of the province have some of the highest numbers of beneficiaries.

In a provincial level interaction held recently in Hetauda by the NRA, provincial ministers, lawmakers and representatives of District Coordination Committees expressed dissatisfaction over the slow pace of the reconstruction.

While expressing disappointment, Province Chief Minister Dormani Paudel claimed that the speed of reconstruction would have been much faster had the responsibility been given to the provincial government.

“The distribution of housing grant in three phases is impractical. If this pace of reconstruction works continues, it will not complete even in the coming five years,” he claimed.

On the other hand, NRA Chief Executive Officer Yuwaraj Bhusal said the reconstruction works have gathered pace after the local elections. “Although we are facing lots of problems and delays, we are confident that the reconstruction works would be over within three years,” he said.