NRA readies for signing reconstruction grant agreement

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Kathmandu / April 1: The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has made preparations for signing grant agreement for reconstruction in 10 districts except the Kathmandu Valley within April 12.

The Authority has readied for the agreement in connection to the grant assistance that the government is providing to the people for reconstruction of private houses. It has forwarded the reconstruction-related survey works in the Kathmandu Valley amidst complaints of delay in the reconstruction works. Fourteen districts have been designated as the worst earthquake-affected districts.

Before this, the NRA started providing grant to the earthquake-affected people of the Lamidanda and Laduk VDCs from the Singati resource centre in Dolakha district. Grant agreement has been reached with 641 house owners in the two VDCs so far.

The survey of around 500 thousand quake-damaged houses has been carried out under the Earthquake-affected Houses Reconstruction Particulars Collection Programme.

As per the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment report, 498 thousand 697 private houses were completely damaged and 256 thousand 697 houses were partially damaged by the powerful earthquake that hit the country on April 25 and its aftershocks.

In the meeting of the Good Governance and Monitoring Committee under the Legislature-Parliament today, the Chief Executive Officer of the NRA Sushil Gyawali said that the National Reconstruction Authority was working vigorously and with commitment towards fulfilling its responsibility so that the reconstruction of the earthquake-damaged infrastructure is completed on time in a planned and organised manner.

The NRS has set up the central project implementation unit at the Ministry of Urban Development for building and house reconstruction, at the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation for the reconstruction related to archaeological heritages, at the Ministry of Education for the reconstruction of school buildings, at the Ministry of Health for the reconstruction of health posts and sub-health post and at the Ministry of Local Development for the reconstruction of the VDC buildings.

The NRA stated that home work is on regarding preparing the work procedure on mobilisation of NGOs for reconstruction and rehabilitation, the work procedure to be adopted while registering land for the reconstruction of earthquake-damaged structures and the work procedure on human resource management.

The committee also acquired information from the secretaries of the Ministry of Urban Development, the Ministry of Local Development and the Authority regarding the progress in reconstruction works.

On the occasion, lawmakers stressed on the need to expedite the reconstruction works while addressing the public grievances.

Committee chairman Mohan Singh Rathour said the lawmakers have voiced the public concerns that the reconstruction was not making a headway as per the people’s aspirations. He said another meeting would be convened on Sunday to discuss the solution to the problems seen in the reconstruction.

Lawmakers Arjun Narsingh KC of the Nepali Congress, Rajendra Pandey of the CPN (UML) and Hitraj Pandey of the UCPN (Maoist), among others had expressed concern over the tardy pace of the post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation works. RSS