KATHMANDU, March 22: The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) on Tuesday approved six more earthquake-resilient designs of houses suitable for the rural areas.

 “We have launched six additional designs of houses for the quake-affected people in the rural areas,” said Yam Lal Bhoosal, spokesman for NRA, “We have already provided several designs before and the new ones, too, will be implemented soon.”

As per the new designs, stones and mud, along with cement can be used to build quake-resilient one-storey houses in the rural areas.

Bhoosal said the government's designs in the villages will help the victims to get the reconstruction grant. “These designs are made as per the building code and also are quake-resilient,” he said.

According to NRA officials, the buildings based on each of the six new designs will have two rooms, requiring a minimum investment of Rs 292,000. Of the six designs, five were prepared with the help of the Society of Nepalese Architecture and one with the help of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The government earlier had prepared 17 house designs for the April 2015 earthquake victims who have been reconstructing their houses across the quake-affected areas.

NRA's executive committee on Tuesday decided to approve the six designs. “Building houses based on the new designs, too, is economically viable for the victims,” reads a statement released by NRA on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the committee also decided to provide Rs 200,000 each to the earthquake victims who want to shift their shelter from danger areas to safe sites and to submit the proposal to the cabinet for approval.

 
• national reconstruction authority
 
• earthquake-resilient designs
 
• rural areas