KATHMANDU, April 24: The devastating earthquake of Baisakh 12, 2072 BS (April 25, 2015) left Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in ruins, prompting a drastic reevaluation of how buildings are constructed across Nepal. In the wake of the tragedy, both government agencies and the public have worked to reinforce the nation's buildings, integrating earthquake-resistant techniques and modernizing building codes. Despite the billions spent on improving housing safety, challenges remain, and the goal of creating truly resilient structures persists.
After the 2015 earthquake, apartment construction activities have nearly come to a halt, while the revised new and old standards issued to make government and private buildings earthquake-resistant have shown some progress.
Dr Ramesh Prasad Singh, a member of the National Planning Commission and former secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development, who holds a PhD in earthquake studies, said that since the 2015 earthquake, positive changes have occurred not only in rules, laws, and building standards, but also in public awareness about earthquake risks, construction styles, and the importance of open spaces.
He said that after 2015, masons and carpenters building houses have also learned the skills to build earthquake-resistant structures. “Guidelines have been made after 2015 on what to do before, during, and after an earthquake. It is necessary to effectively implement those guidelines,” Singh said.
The apartment business, however, has collapsed since the earthquake. Even some apartments built before the quake have not come into full operation afterward. Businesspersons have faced losses even in completed ones. After 2015, people started fearing to live in apartments.
Rabindra Bohara, Deputy Director General at the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, said people fear living in apartments due to the potential risk of earthquakes and fire. “It is said fire trucks can reach only up to five stories. Beyond that, fire trucks can’t reach. Also, there is no culture of living in apartments among Nepalis. We have a tradition of building separate houses if possible,” he said.
After the 2015 earthquake, the Basic Building Code 2072 related to settlement development, urban planning, and building construction, has been implemented to construct safe buildings. This code has been amended twice.
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According to an official at the ministry, after the constitution was promulgated in 2015 and the concept of a three-tier government came into place, the code was revised for the first time to set basic rules for all three levels of government and to include issues related to heritage settlements in the code.
In 2021, when the building construction standards introduced by Kathmandu Metropolitan City clashed with the standards made by the federal government, the code was revised for the second time after studying the standards introduced by the metropolis and incorporating them as much as possible.
Among the 23 points of the building code, three points were revised after the 2015 earthquake. These three points are related to earthquake technology and building construction. Even now, the Model By-laws for Building Construction, 2071 (2014) and the Building Bylaws 2007 related to municipalities and emerging municipalities within Kathmandu Valley still exist. These two codes were made to construct strong buildings.
After the 2015 earthquake, to keep open spaces and build safe houses, the government introduced the Basic Building Code related to settlement development, urban planning, and building construction in 2015.
That code has provisions regarding open spaces. The law states, “The local body shall protect public land and open spaces within its area. It shall declare the public land within its area as open spaces and convert them into public green parks. Public, unregistered, and barren lands shall not be transferred in ownership or leased or rented without the decision of the Government of Nepal (Council of Ministers).”
Even after the 2015 earthquake, aftershocks have continued in Kathmandu and across the country. According to scientists, the capital is an extremely sensitive area in terms of earthquake vulnerability. The risk of large earthquakes occurring here is ever-present. After the 2015 earthquake, on November 3, 2023, an earthquake of magnitude 6.4 centered in Jajarkot, Karnali Province occurred. More than 150 people lost their lives in that earthquake, and physical structures worth billions of rupees were damaged. Even after that, small earthquakes centered around the Kathmandu area have continued. Therefore, the belief that earthquake-resistant and safe building construction is essential has been growing stronger among the public.
Rs 11 billion spent in the name of safe housing
In the name of making citizens' housing safe, more than Rs 10.86 billion has been spent by the state so far. However, questions have been raised about what has been achieved from this. Even after the 2015 earthquake, the loss of lives of ordinary citizens due to unsafe housing has not stopped. The Jajarkot earthquake destroyed unsafe houses and caused significant human casualties.
Even after spending billions of rupees, the houses of citizens have not become risk-free from an earthquake perspective under the Safe Citizen Housing Program. According to the Ministry of Urban Development, in the fiscal year 2022/23 alone, Rs 3.41 billion was spent under the Safe Citizen Housing Program. According to the ministry, agreements were signed with 132,728 beneficiaries to implement the program during that year, and by then, the housing construction of 52,938 beneficiaries had been completed.
Likewise, Rs 791.035 million was spent in the fiscal year 2023/24. According to the ministry, 87,210 families have benefited so far. Under this program, citizens will dismantle houses with thatched roofs and will receive Rs 75,000 for it.
The Safe Citizen Housing Program was initiated with the objective of replacing straw and thatched roofs with zinc sheet roofs through the budget statement of fiscal year 2018/19. Under that program, Rs 50,000 per household was provided as a grant to purchase materials like zinc sheets and wood.
Since fiscal year 2021/22, Rs 75,000 per household has been provided as a grant. The Safe Citizen Housing Program has been implemented through local levels based on the decision of the Council of Ministers on February 19, 2021.
According to the Ministry of Urban Development, under the Safe Citizen Housing Program, Rs 1.2342 billion was spent in FY 2018/19, Rs 4.90 billion in FY 2019/20, Rs 3.3654 billion in FY 2021/22, Rs 3.4006 billion in FY 2022/23, and Rs 3.4116 billion in FY 2023/24.
Strengthening program for abandoned houses
During the tenure of then Urban Development Minister Ram Kumari Jhakri, the government announced a program to strengthen public buildings and citizens’ housing in the policy and program presented by the President in FY 2022/23.
It was announced that this program would be implemented from FY 2023/24. Under this program, the government itself would first strengthen school, court, college, and hospital buildings to make them earthquake-resistant, and awareness programs would be launched to encourage people to build earthquake-resistant houses and strengthen existing houses at the citizen level.
This program was named the Citizen Housing Program. However, that program is currently stalled. The government has not yet even formulated procedures to implement the program. As a result, the houses of all citizens have not been made earthquake-resistant.
