KATHMANDU, Dec 7: Quake-hit households will get Rs 60,000 in the first installment to rebuild their houses.
Officials say they will begin releasing first installment of Rs 200,000, pledged for quake-hit households, once National Planning Commission (NPC) approves budget prepared by the concerned ministries. But it may take several weeks as we have to approve design of the buildings and make other preparations, NPC officials say.
Guru Prasad Sharma, senior divisional engineer of Department of Local Infrastructure Development and Agricultural Roads (DoLIDAR), however, said first installment will be released very soon.“"Officials from the local authority will follow household survey teams deputed by Central Bureau of Statistics while distributing the amount”" added Sharma.
DoLIDAR, on Sunday, submitted its plan of distributing Rs 25.10 billion, which includes administrative cost, to a little over 400,000 households as per the data collected by district authorities.
NPC has decided to release the amount without conducting a separate household survey. “
"Once the households spend the amount released in first assistance and furnish bills, they will receive next installments accordingl”," Sharma said, saying that a separate team will be mobilized to monitor proper use of resources“ "Also the buildings should be built in the prescribed desig”."
The government has endorsed guidelines of building designs. It will encourage people to use locally available resources whenever possible. The buildings should be quake-resilient and the design should be approved by the local authority, according to officials.
Officials, Rs 80,000 will be released in second installment and Rs 60,000 in third installment.
The government assigned reconstruction tasks to NPC for the time being after it failed to forge consensus to form National Reconstruction Authority.
NPC Spokesperson Tulsi Prasad Gautam told Republica that the commission will approve all reconstruction programs of 16 ministries and DoLIDAR within two weeks“ "But it may take some more weeks to release the amount as local bodies must approve building designs submitted by the quake-hit peopl”," he added.
NPC had given ministries until Sunday to submit their programs. Gautam said they will start reviewing Rs 49.33 billion worth of programs submitted by the ministries from Monday.
The government is also working to provide additional Rs 300,000 per households as concessional loans as the cost to build quake-resilient homes might rise up to around Rs 500,000.“
"Such loans are optional and will be provided through designated banks by Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). Income status of people and collective guarantee are the conditions for such loa”s," Gautam said, adding that the central bank was working in this direction.
NPC had asked the ministries to set programs in such a way all expenditures will be productive. It has barred the ministries to spend in recurrent headings like seminar, foreign trips, vehicles, furniture and so on.
The government has earmarked Rs 91 billion for reconstruction.
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