KATHMANDU, May 24: Earthquake victims who are under the process of getting reconstruction grant of Rs 300,000 will now get an additional financial support Rs 300,000 as collateral-free loan.
As per the decision made by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal in September last year, the cabinet meeting, around a week ago, has approved the 'guidelines on collateral-free loan 2074' to provide additional financial support to the victims who lost their houses in April 2015 earthquake.
The loan of Rs 300,000 is in addition to the reconstruction grant of Rs 300,000. The government so far has distributed the first tranche of Rs 50,000 to 559,657 victims out of the total 725,190 identified as eligible for the grant across 31 quake-affected districts.
However, distribution of second tranche of Rs 150,000 and third of Rs 100,000 is moving in a snail's pace.
“If the reconstruction grant of Rs 300,000 is not sufficient to complete the houses, the quake victims will get Rs 300,000 as collateral-free loan,” said Govinda Raj Pokharel, chief executive officer of National Reconstruction Authority (NRA).
Low-income families such as farmers, laborers, and landless people will be benefited with this decision. According to NRA officials, the banks and financial institutions (A, B, C and D class banks) will provide loans without interest.
The guidelines have also provisioned that victims will have to return the collateral-free loan within three to five years. It has also stated that the banks and financial institutions should provide the loan in quick and easy process.
NRA officials further informed that the banks and financial institutions have so far released over Rs 500 million as soft loan to quake victims in the existing financial support program.
The government had earlier announced to provide soft loan of Rs 2.5 million in the Kathmandu Valley and Rs 1.5 million in other quake-hit districts from different banks and financial institutions at subsidized interest rate of 2 percent. Such loans will be refinanced by the central bank at zero percent interest.
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