Reconstruction Responsibility to Local Govts

Reconstruction responsibility to local govts | Singati rises again | Patan heritage rebuilding in full swing Cover: Sushila Bisural of Mangaltar of Rainas Municipality, Lamjung is happy to have rebuilt a three-room house. Municipality, Rainas athree-room rebuilt Lamjung ishappy tohave Mangaltar of Sushila Bisural of Cover: NEPAL : STRUCTURES DAMAGE GRADE AT 14 EQ AFFECTED DISTRICTS National Reconstruction Authority (NRA)

House Damage Grading by Districts: District Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Total Bhaktapur 1,045 1,132 4,647 13,128 10,968 30,920 Dhading 4,951 7,526 15,218 26,080 35,346 89,121 CHINA ¯ Dolakha 1,353 2,993 6,520 14,409 35,364 60,639 Gorkha 4,351 8,555 15,507 22,536 27,125 78,074 Kathmandu 1,918 2,173 6,106 16,099 24,835 51,131 Kavrepalanchowk 8,330 11,726 25,130 28,974 23,859 98,019 Lalitpur 1,746 2,125 5,282 11,152 12,788 33,093 Makwanpur 32,540 21,135 18,525 10,928 7,866 90,994 Nuwakot 2,615 2,745 8,209 23,284 40,295 77,148 K a s k ii Okhaldhunga 7,961 8,605 9,220 7,946 5,620 39,352 Ramechhap 2,127 7,151 16,945 20,910 11,490 58,623 Rasuwa 277 343 782 2,064 9,178 12,644 INDIA Sindhuli 13,089 14,468 17,086 15,918 8,191 68,752 Sindhupalchowk 1,233 2,009 3,271 10,796 71,432 88,741 TOTAL 83,536 92,686 152,448 224,224 324,357 877,251 L a m jj u n g G o rr k h a Note:

This map highlights the areas by Damage Grade present in 14 most affected districts of Nepal.

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S ii n d h u ll ii Photo: Chandra Shekhar Karki

B h o jj p u rr K h o tt a n g

Legend

Damage Grade 1

Damage Grade 2

Damage Grade 3

Damage Grade 4 Creation Date: 26 DEC 2016; Projection: WGS 84; Map Data Source: NRA; 0 10 20 40 Web Resource: www.nra.gov.np;

Damage Grade 5 Map Doc Name: DamageGrade Datum: EVEREST 1830; Geo Data Source: DoS, MoFALD; Kilometers Feedback: [email protected] ;dod} sfd ;Sg] l;Ocf] 1jfnLsf] k|lta4tf u'd]sf] klxrfg vf]Hb} af/kfsL ;Dkbf k'glg{df{0fn] ult lnFb}

NRA is also publishing a Nepali bi-monthly ‘Punarnirman’. You can obtain the copies from the NRA office.

For all matters related to the National Reconstruction Authority www.nra.gov.np A mason rebuilding a house in Rainaskot of Rainas Municipality in Lamjung. Many of the rebuilt houses have been turned into homestay facilities.

For more information:

National Reconstruction Authority Singh Durbar, Kathmandu Ph: 01-4211482, 01-4211465 | Fax: 01-4211473 Helpline: 1660-01-72000 (NTC) | 9801572111 (NCell) Mail: [email protected] www.nra.gov.np

National Reconstruction Authority

@NRANepal

Editorial Team: Pitambar Ghimire, Manohar Ghimire, Bhuwan KC, Dinesh Pandeya, Dipak Sapkota Editorial Advisor: Kosmos Biswokarma

Our mailing address: [email protected] | [email protected]

This news magazine is published with support from the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, NDI/USAID NRA update

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli presiding over the Steering Committee meeting of the National Reconstruction Authority on September 6, 2018. NRA NRA Steering Committee meeting Local governments to be mobilized The National Reconstruction Authority Poush (mid-January 2019). Similarly, those struction and rehabilitation would complete (NRA) has decided to mobilize the local who have received the second tranche within the next two years and four months. governments to speed up the post-earth- should collect the third tranche (of Rs. A mid-term review of the reconstruction quake reconstruction of private houses and 100,000) by the end of Baisakh 2076 (mid- work till now will also be carried out. other physical infrastructures destroyed by May 2019). As per the decision, all the government the April 2015 earthquake. However, the deadline would differ as staff working on the reconstruction will The NRA Steering Committee meet- per the decision of the NRA’s Executive now be brought under the NRA and will ing held on September 6, 2018 decided to Committee for those who have been con- be mobilized by the NRA. Besides, the con- give the responsibility of monitoring and sidered after hearing the grievances, those cerned ministries would immediately pro- recommending for government grant assis- who are identified as vulnerable groups, vide necessary staff for the NRA and con- tance to the local governments. those who are included after re-survey, sent would be sought from the NRA while The meeting, chaired by Prime Minister those living in traditional places and for transferring these staff. and Chairman of the Steering Committee those who needed to be resettled in safer It has decided to begin the necessary KP Sharma Oli, made the decision to mo- places. process to reimburse the government grant bilize the local governments to speed up the To facilitate the availability of the gov- from those who have already received the reconstruction process in a more effective ernment-announced subsidized loan of Rs. first tranche despite having a house else- manner. 300,000 to the earthquake-affected families, where and has not begun the reconstruc- After the meeting, Chief Executive Of- guideline has already been approved by the tion. ficer of the NRA Sushil Gyewali said, “The cabinet, according to CEO Gyewali. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli direct- Authority will facilitate and monitor the re- Similarly, the Steering Committee has ed the NRA to speed up the reconstruction construction work undertaken by the local also decided to provide the government’s work as per the work plan presented at the governments.” private housing grant of Rs. 300,000 to the meeting by CEO Gyewali. The NRA Steering Committee also de- landless quake-affected families as per the The meeting also discussed about invit- cided new deadlines to receive the govern- place and criteria set by the local govern- ing the concerned Members of the Federal ment’s private housing grant. ments. Parliament, Provincial Assembly members, As per the decision, the beneficiaries CEO Gyewali also told the meeting Chairperson of District Coordination who have received the first tranche (of that the process of developing a detailed Committee and concerned heads of local Rs. 50,000) should now collect the second work plan, along with the financial plan, governments at the Reconstruction District tranche (of Rs. 150,000) by the end of has already begun to ensure that the recon- Coordination Committee meetings.

Rebuilding Nepal 1 NRA update This is why NRA wants to engage local governments If we can capacitate the local governments in reconstruction, it will be an important contribution for the future in terms of institutional memory on disaster mitigation and management.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority at his office in Singha Durbar. Photos: NRA

Sushil Gyewali mitigation and management. to deploy engineers from the NRA at the For example, today the government is supervision of rural municipalities and When the Act of the National Recon- giving grants to construct houses through municipalities. Likewise, the beneficiaries struction Authority (NRA) was formulated the NRA. But according to the Constitu- who earlier had to take files to the district and the Authority was set up, Nepal had a tion, the local governments have the juris- headquarters for verification will now could centralized form of governance. Now, we diction of recording and monitoring private get services from the concerned local gov- have already adopted a federal structure. houses. The local governments have the ernments. We have already advanced the The provincial and local governments are jurisdiction to ensure that all the structures process to deploy a senior engineer at each already in place. As some of the district to be constructed in the future are earth- of the rural or urban municipalities for this level offices under the federal government quake-resilient, and to approve building process. Once they reach their working ar- have already been dissolved, we are now designs etc. If we can engage local govern- eas, the second level inspection will happen coordinating with the offices related to re- ments on reconstruction of remaining pri- at the local level. construction according to the new struc- vate houses, schools, health institutions and We have developed a third party mon- ture. We should not only link it with the re- cultural heritages, it will make things easier itoring mechanism for criteria inspection. maining reconstruction work, but also link in the future. The mechanism does random sampling it with the longer term disaster mitigation As the Constitution itself has given lots through district project implementation and management plan. of responsibilities to the local governments, units and monitors whether houses have Therefore, we have already advanced an we have also started giving all other possi- maintained required quality or not. Al- action plan to delegate as much responsible responsibilities to them. We are trying to though we had more focus on inspection bilities as possible to the local governments have each local government make their own and monitoring before this, we are taking (rural municipalities and municipalities). If separate action plan for advancing recon- the approach of capacitating local levels by we can capacitate the local governments struction of private housing, neighborhood providing them as much technical support in the course of reconstruction, it will be resettlement and developing integrated as possible. We are trying to provide sup- an important contribution for the future in housing plan and addressing the grievances. port by providing advice on whether hous- terms of institutional memory on disaster We have also worked out a mechanism es meet technical standards or not, when

2 Rebuilding Nepal NRA update the houses of beneficiaries are being con- will now engage the local governments on structed. We are in favor of handing over handling these grievances, as we are prepar- responsibility as well as providing technical ing proper mechanism to settle them at the support to the local governments. local level. We will hear and decide on the When reconstruction started many received grievances by conducting a re-sur- wanted–and still want–scattered houses to vey and mobilizing technicians deployed in be constructed as integrated settlements. In the concerned local governments under the my first tenure, I had also advanced some supervision of local representatives. concrete plans for this. Even now, we are Likewise, we are also engaging the local working to develop at least one integrated governments in providing housing grants settlement in each rural municipality and to many landless beneficiaries and those municipality. We will advance work related who do not have land titles. We will provide to integrated settlements based on the de- housing grants, at the recommendation of mand of the local communities and upon the respective local government, to those approval from the concerned rural munici- who have been living on unregistered land palities and municipalities. We will not only since generations to build a house on the delegate the responsibility of implementing same plot or other plots identified by the these plans to the local government but will local government. This provision will end also disburse money to develop necessary We will hear and the problem of barrier in grant agreement infrastructure at the local level. The engi- due to land problem, and such beneficiaries neers deployed from the NRA will provide decide on the will be able to rebuild their houses. technical assistance. So far, we have already received grievances The NRA has already made a decision approved preliminary plans of developing by conducting a re- to provide a total housing grant amount to about 29 integrated settlements. those houses which meet the criteria, and to We are trying to activate the local gov- survey and mobilizing provide grants by supporting them to fulfil ernments for the resettlement of vulnerable technicians. criteria for the houses which do not meet settlements. The local governments have the criteria yet. The local governments have jurisdiction to identify necessary and appro- to play a role to ensure this. The technicians priate land required for resettlement. If ben- house in the mountainous region for the deployed at the local governments will pro- eficiaries who want to be resettled buy land construction of their infrastructures. vide the necessary support on this. collectively or if they want to construct in- The grievance handling is an import- We have already attained a certain stage tegrated settlement in land identified by the ant aspect of the NRA’s scope of work. of physical reconstruction. Out of over local government, then we will provide the Most grievances received in our database 800,000 beneficiaries, over 300,000 have grant of Rs. 300,000 per house in the Tarai, till now have already been addressed. But already started living under safe roofs. An- Rs. 400,000 in the hills and Rs. 500,000 per some grievances have still missed out. We other over 250,000 houses are being re-

Private House Reconstruction Progress

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Start Reconstruciton Applied for 2nd Tranche Approved for 2nd Tranche Applied for 3rd Tranche Approved for 3rd Tranche

Rebuilding Nepal 3 NRA update constructed, which can be expected to be completed within the coming few months. Now, we are focusing on economic and social recovery of the quake-affected com- Local governments vow to munities. The local governments can play an important role on this, especially by identifying feasibilities and expectations of support reconstruction beneficiaries in the districts. In the changing context, the local governments will now be our center of economic and social recovery program. After seeing our success on physical reconstruction, we believe that the development partners and non-governmental organizations will also be ready to provide support on this. Likewise, there are beneficiaries who could not construct their houses even after taking grants from the government. Some non-governmental organizations are supporting in house reconstruction of old, disabled and underage beneficiaries. Aid is yet to reach many beneficiaries even now. NRA Hence, the local governments will have an NRA CEO meeting the Representatives of Municipality Association and Federation of Rural Municipalities. important role in providing support to their house reconstruction. Representatives of Municipality As- provision to provide subsidized loan to Among the ‘beneficiaries’ who have sociation and Federation of Rural Mu- those who have not been able to rebuild not constructed house even after taking the nicipalities have vowed to assist in the their houses, Shrestha said this facility first instalment, we have reports that there government’s efforts to rebuild after the should also be given to those who have are people who have submitted wrong de- earthquake. already received the second and third in- tails and have livable house elsewhere or At a meeting held on October 9 at stalments of the government grant. He have taken grants from two places. We have the NRA, the representatives assured the also requested the NRA to give last op- issued notice to them to return the mon- NRA Chief Executive Officer that the portunity to present the grievances who ey within three months. After that, we will local governments would step forward to have been left out of the process. have to proceed with taking action and tak- assist as the post-earthquake reconstruc- CEO Gyewali said that the local gov- ing back the money as liability to the gov- tion is the government’s top priority. ernments have been given more respon- ernment. Therefore, the local governments Chairperson of Municipality Asso- sibilities to promote their active involve- will have to play a role to acquire money ciation and Mayor of Dhulikhel Munic- ment in the reconstruction. Informing from such people, and take action against ipality Ashok Kumar Byanju said that as that the NRA is soon sending senior them if they do not return the money on the process of distributing the govern- engineers at the local governments to their own, because they are the ones who ment grant is too long, the responsibil- monitor purposes, Gyewali said that the will have information on households at the ities of distributing the grant should be authority to handle the grievances has local level. We are, therefore, working on given to the local governments. also been given to the local governments. developing a provision to allow the local He also said that instead of just mo- He further said that the NRA is look- governments to spend a certain proportion bilizing the technical manpower through ing towards the local governments’ role of the returned money in its infrastructure the local governments, the latter should in forming local reconstruction coordi- development. be given the right to nominate them too, nation committees, community commit- And, an action plan to form recon- as it would help monitoring and rec- tees at each settlement, taking forward struction Community Committees in every ommending process effective. He also the work of developing integrated set- neighborhood and Toles of the local gov- requested the NRA to provide all social tlement in recommendation of the local ernments will also be advanced to conduct and technical services at the local govern- governments and resettling the vulnera- works like advancing regular reconstruction ments. ble population to the places that the local works, helping house construction of vul- Chairperson of the Federation of governments suggest. nerable groups of beneficiaries, address- Rural Muncipalities and Jugal Rural Mu- Executive Members of the NRA ing remaining grievances and returning nicipality Hom Narayan Shrestha said Dr. Chandra Bahadur Shrestha, Dhurba amounts from those who took it by fur- that lack of necessary manpower at the Prasad Sharma and Dr, Hariram Parajuli nishing wrong details. local government has slowed down the and Joint Secretary Prakash Thapa were (Gyewali is Chief Executive Officer of the National reconstruction process. Welcoming the also present at the meeting. Reconstruction Authority)

4 Rebuilding Nepal NRA update NRA to take initiative to bridge budget gap Rs. 600 billion more is required to complete the overall reconstruction work

NRA NRA CEO Sushil Gyewali and NRA Secretary Arjun Kumar Karki interacting with the donors at the Development Assistance Coordination and Facilitation Committee (DACFC) meeting held on September 21, 2018 at Singha Durbar. The Chief Executive Officer of in the reconstruction. Representatives try to acquire the amount pledged by the National Reconstruction Authority of about 25 donor agencies and inter- the donor community during the inter- (NRA), Sushil Gyewali, said on Septem- national development partners attended national donors’ conference held soon ber 21 that the NRA would take initia- the meeting. CEO Gyewali informed the after the April 2015 earthquake. The do- tives at the national and international meeting that about Rs. 600 billion more nor agencies had pledged Rs. 410 billion level to manage resources to meet the is required to complete the overall re- and the agreements have been signed for financial requirement to complete the construction work. Rs. 262 billion till now, out of Rs. 353 post-earthquake reconstruction. The cost of the five-year reconstruc- billion allocated for the reconstruction “The NRA will bridge the financial tion work had earlier been estimated at after spending Rs. 67 billion in relief and gap by coordinating with the Nepal gov- Rs. 938 billion. The total budgetary ex- rescue work. ernment and the donor community,” penditure till date and the projected ex- Highlighting the progress on the Gyewali said, while addressing the 8th penditure this fiscal year would come to overall reconstruction till date, CEO meeting of the Development Assistance around Rs. 336 billion. He, however, said Gyewali also informed the development Coordination and Facilitation Commit- that the actual monetary requirement partners that the NRA is set to review the tee (DACFC), the body to coordinate would be confirmed after the review in Post-Disaster Recovery Framework, pre- between the government and the donors the five-year reconstruction plan. pared after the detailed damage assess- to oversee the international contribution He also said that the NRA would ment survey in 2016, as the post-earth-

Rebuilding Nepal 5 NRA update

The representatives of the donor community stressed New timeline for on the need to focus more on the marginalized groups private housing grant who have not been able to rebuild their The NRA Steering Committee ing the grant instalments for ben- meeting held on September 6 has set eficiaries to be added from future houses. a new timeline to receive the govern- grievance hearings and resurveys, ment private housing grant. vulnerable groups, traditional settle- quake reconstruction reaches a mid-way. As per the latest timeline, the ben- ments and beneficiaries from resettled The NRA, with the support from the eficiaries who have taken the first in- households will be as determined by donors, had published the PDRF 2016- stalment before July 16 2018 should the executive committee. 2020 to implement the post-quake re- now take their second instalment by The NRA has adopted a flexible construction work in a systematic and January 14, 2019 and the third instal- timeline as per the goal determined structured manner. ment by May 14, 2019. by the government through its bud- “As we are half-way through our ten- Likewise, the deadline for grant get. The beneficiaries who have tak- ure, this is the right time to review and agreement and release of first instal- en their first instalment but have not (re)design the future priorities,” Gyewa- ment for all beneficiaries identified started construction yet should start li further said, adding, “This would be through grievance hearing has been construction as soon as possible. The done by learning from the experiences stipulated for November 16, 2018. NRA has requested all remaining till now and best practices we have.” Such beneficiaries should take their beneficiaries to start reconstruction Gyewali also informed about the second instalment by Feb 12, 2019 as soon as possible because it will be recent decision of the NRA Steering and the third instalment by June 15, difficult to extend the deadline this Committee to hand over the respon- 2019. time although the deadlines used to sibility of reconstruction to the local However, the deadline for receiv- be revised in the past. governments and the recent cabinet decision to provide Rs. 300,000 loan in a subsidized interest rate. S.N. Topic Deadline The representatives of the donor community praised the NRA’s work on A. Beneficiaries who have taken their first installment private housing reconstruction in the vil- Beneficiaries who have taken first instalment before 1. January 14 2019 lages and stress the need to focus more July 16 2018 to receive second instalment on the marginalized groups who have not been able to rebuild their houses. Beneficiaries who have taken second instalment by Jan 2. May 14 2019 They basically raised issues con- 14 2019 to receive third instalment cerning retrofitting of damaged houses, monitoring and evaluation of construct- B. Beneficiaries yet to receive the first instalment ed houses, availability of engineers at All identified beneficiaries to complete grant - agree November 16 1. the community level, reconstruction of ment and receive first instalment 2018 houses for vulnerable groups, third-par- Beneficiaries who will have taken the first instalment by ty monitoring and the capability of the 2. February 12 2019 local governments to implement the re- November 16 2018 to receive second instalment cent government decision to hand them Beneficiaries who will have taken the second instal- over the responsibility. June 15 2019 ment by February 12 2019, to receive third instalment The representatives from the World Bank, the United Nations, the Europe- The deadline for receiving the grant for beneficiaries to an Union, Japan International Cooper- be added from future grievance hearings and resurveys, ation Agency, the United States Agency C. vulnerable groups, traditional settlements and benefi- for International Development, the UK ciaries from resettled households will be as determined Aid, the Swiss Agency for Development by the executive committee later. Cooperation and various other international organizations attended the meeting.

6 Rebuilding Nepal NRA update Beneficiaries to get subsidized loan Beneficiaries who have signed agreement with the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to reconstruct their houses but have not been able to start the construction due to lack of money can now avail the subsidized loan of Rs. 300,000. According to the “Integrated Guide- line on Concession of Interest for Sub- sidized Loan, 2018” approved by the Council of Ministers on September 26, the earthquake victims who have not been able to construct their houses can take loan for a maximum of five years. The concerned banks and financial institutions can charge an interest rate not exceeding two percent above their base rate on the credit whose interest will be subsidized by the government. The banks and financial institutions cannot take any additional service charges apart from this interest on such credit. The banks and financial institutions will provide private house construction NRA Archive loan for earthquake victims on group se- Beneficiaries of Rasuwa queue up at a bank in Kalikasthan of Rasuwa in this recent photo. curity or other collateral security. Spokesperson of the NRA Pitambar will begin from Dashain and Tihar festi- cept the private housing grant. Likewise, Ghimire said the subsidized loan will be vals,” Ghimire said. “This credit will pro- only the earthquake victims who have not useful for beneficiaries who have not been vide relief to these beneficiaries.” been able to start the construction process able to begin construction of the house But the guideline has stipulated some till now due to lack of money will be eli- due to lack of money, especially those Terms and Conditions to avail such credit. gible for this credit. Also, the creditor or from the lower middle strata. The beneficiaries taking such loan should their family should not have a livable house “Private house reconstruction season not have taken any institutional grant ex- in any place.

Number of beneficiaries increase from grievance hearing

The NRA Executive Committee ceive the government grant to retrofit nical engineers in the field to conduct has analyzed the data of the recent re- their houses. Out of the total grievanc- a resurvey. survey in 14 most affected districts and es, 28,574 applicants have been found Likewise, the NRA has added 263 sorted out 118,780 grievances. ineligible to receive the government applicants to the reconstruction bene- As per the data compiled till Sep- grant. ficiary list and 1,395 applicants to the tember 16, 42,422 applicants have “The data of the remaining appli- retrofitting beneficiary list in the 16 been added to the list of those eligi- cants have been sent to the local levels least affected districts. ble for the government’s private hous- for further verification,” said Ghimire. Similarly, it has also decided for ing grant of Rs. 300,000, according to “The remaining grievances are be- field verification of 3,617 applicants Manohar Ghimire, deputy spokesper- ing studied by the technicians at the and to verify from the chief adminis- son of the NRA. NRA.” trative officer of the local level wheth- And 35,505 households have been The NRA had collected 129,408 er the other 220 people have a livable listed as the beneficiaries eligible to re- grievances last year by deploying tech- house elsewhere or not.

Rebuilding Nepal 7 Voices New happiness Millions of earthquake affected people in central hilly region of Nepal are currently in the rebuilding process after the massive earthquake in April and May 2015 damaged their houses. Hundreds of thousands of private houses have already been built while many more are under construction phase. Here we look into the experiences of some of the beneficiaries and the government officials and the people’s representatives involved in the rebuilding process. Happy to live in a safe house

Photos: Chandra Shekhar Karki/NRA Sushila Bisural instalment of the government’s private her house. Though she had to take Mangaltar, Ward no. 6, housing grant of Rs. 300,000. loans from a local cooperative and some Rainas Municipality, Lamjung “We had a hard time living in make- amount was contributed by her husband shift tents for so long,” says Sushi- who is working in Saudi Arabia, she Sushila is visibly-elated to have com- la. “But, it has been five months since feels that the government grant of Rs. pleted her three-room earthquake-resil- we moved to this four-room concrete 300,000 made it much easier to rebuild. ient house. She has received the second house.” “You can’t imagine how happy I am to instalment and is waiting for the third She spent about Rs. 800,000 to build live in a safe house,” she shares.

Visibly-happy Batti Batti Khand Beneficiary, Waling-8, Syangja

Forty five-year-old Batti Khand of Ward no. 8 of Waling Municipality, Syangja has recently completed a four-room earthquake-resilient house. She has a family of five with three sons and a daughter. “As some of my children are working abroad, we spent around Rs. 1.2 million to complete this house,” she said. Visibly-happy Khand thanked the government for its support in rebuilding her house.

8 Rebuilding Nepal Exemplary ability of the differently-abled

Del Bahadur BK, 40 er’s family, wife and three children. He to transport the construction material Bhusundanda, Ward 4, Waling, Syangja taught at Rambhadevi Basic Primary and cost him Rs. 750,000 to build the School for 20 years but has retired now. two-room house. He is waiting for the Del Bahadur lost his leg in an acci- He was away to Syangja Bazaar third instalment of the government dent when he was five years old. De- when the earthquake damaged his grant. spite being a differently-abled, he has house. Like many others, he too took Though limited in amount, he already built his earthquake-resilient shelter in a make-shift tent for many welcomed the government’s support house and is now waiting to receive days. to rebuild the private houses. “I sin- the third instalment under the govern- Rebuilding his house was not easy, cerely hope that the government too ment’s private housing grant. he said. Due to its location up in the does something to uplift the different- He lives with his parents, broth- hill, he had to spend Rs. 370,000 just ly-abled people like me,” he said. Government grant helped rebuild Ram Bahadur Gurung, 67 Beneficiary and member, Ward no. 6, Lumle, Annapurna Rural Municipality, Kaski

Ram Bahadur is giving final touches to his quake-resilient house. As one of the elected members of his Ward, Gurung has been actively supporting fellow villagers to rebuild after the April 2015 earthquake. When the earthquake occurred, he rushed to the society building to check if it was still standing. But he never realized his own house had already crumbled. His old house had stone walls and slate roof but now has constructed a strong earthquake-resilient house. He has managed to build a five-room house, as three of his sons are working abroad. About nine houses damaged in the earthquake in his ward, people are never satisfied, as they always want more. “But,” says and all of them have rebuilt. Welcoming that the government Gurung, “The government needs to help rebuild the houses of grant of Rs. 300,000 helped him a lot, Gurung feels that the those who can not afford themselves.”

Rebuilding Nepal 9 Grant helped the poor

Tikaram Devkot, 71 Ward no. 6, Lumle, Annapurna Rural Muncipality, Kaski

Tikaram has finished reconstruction of his house. His stone-walled and slate- roofed house got totally damaged in the earthquake. As four of his sons have parted ways, he is by himself now. He sells milk and ghee, as he has a buffalo. Taken two instalments, waiting for the third Tikaram says he might not have considered rebuilding his quake-dam- Ate Pariyar, 64, and Puja Pariyar, 22 in-law Puja shared that their family of five aged house if the government had not Banjhkhet, Ward no. 10, is still living in the dilapidated quake-af- provided the financial support of Rs. Beshisahar Municipality, Lamjung fected house by repairing it. 300,000. Though he had to take loan of “We have taken two instalments of the Rs. 225,000 from the bank, he says, “The Though Ate has begun to rebuild his government grant,” says Puja. “But, we government’s grant has definitely helped house, he is facing the financial constraint have never heard of the subsidized loan. poor people like us.” to complete it. Both Ate and his daughter- Wish we could have access to that loan.” Lamjung leads the way Shiva has been working in DLPIU, Lamjung since its establishment. There are almost 14,000 beneficiaries whose houses have been fully damaged while the number of houses that need to be retrofited is about 540. Lamjung is first among the 17 least affected districts in disrtributing the government grant, says Shiva proudly. And thousands of houses are currently under construction and thousands have already been constructed. “But,” says Shiva, “Many of these houses do not fulfil the government guidelines on the earthquake-resilient buildings.” This has made his work difficult. “And, many people do not have enough technical knowledge on the quake-resilient structures,” he further said, adding, “We even do not have enough technicians to work on the ground.” Though many people have applied for re-survey, there is a dearth of technicians. “It would be better if we have Shiva Regmi one technician in each ward,” he says. “And, we also lack Focul Person, trained masons in the district, as many skilled labor have District Level Project Implementation Unit, Lamjung come from other districts in search of work.”

10 Rebuilding Nepal Annapurna Rural Muncipality focus on retrofiting

Yubaraj Kunwar, Chairperson Annapurna Rural Muncipality, Kaski A house being built in Lumle has been found against the government guideline. Engineers have asked the house owner to amend to make it quake-resilient. Yubaraj recalls how the initial survey conducted in the rural municipal- Sheshkant Poudel ity was done in a hurry. “There were Chief Administrative Officer, mistakes in the initial survey,” he said. Annapurna Rural Municipality, Kaski “We need to have stringent laws to ensure that the earthquake affected build Sheshkant says the government strong houses and to return the govern- guidelines on private housing recon- ment grant from those who have not struction came only after many people started building their houses.” rebuilt their houses taking loans. This Yubaraj says the rural municipality has made reconstruction work in the has requested the Authority (Nation- rural municipality difficult. al Reconstruction Authority) to send The responsibility of identifying more engineers, sub-engineers and as- the genuine beneficiaries and distrib- still are many genuine quake victims sitant sub-engineers to speed up the uting the government grant should be who are yet to be enlisted as beneficia- post-quake reconstruction. given to the local governments, as there ries, he said.

Jamuna Bhattarai, Engineer Annapurna Rural Municipality, Kaski

Jamuna has been working at the office of the rural municipality in Naundada since eight months. One of the major issues she has been facing is the number of houses that have already been constructed but do not meet the government guidelines. There are about 50 houses that need to be cor- rected through retrofiting, according to Jamuna. “But it is so difficult to convince the people that their newly built houses are not safe,” she said. “It involves extra money and the people do not want to spend more on it.” Jamuna feels that the government needs to provide mason training focusing on retrofitting.

Rebuilding Nepal 11 In search of more support

Bishnu Gurung, 45 Rainaskot, Ward no. 9, Rainas Municipality, Lamjung

There used to be old houses with tin roofs before in Rainaskot. And, people there were so frustrated that most of the young ones left the village in search of better life abroad. Then came the April 2015 earthquake and things changed drastically. Though the quake damaged the houses there, it also gave the opportunity to the villagers to rebuild – not only their houses but also their livelihood. Today, Rainaskot has built itself, and for better. Thirteen houses have already been built and one is under construction. These newly-built quake-resilient houses have been Lila Kunwar, 17 Srijana High School. Another sister, San- used for homestay facilities and both Beneficiary, Ward no. 1, gita (above right) who used to study in domestic and foreign tourists are Annapurna Rural Municipality, Kaski Grade 9 quit school, as she couldn’t con- thronging to this place. tinue studying due to lack of resources. Almost 4,000 people have already Eighty-year-old Chandra Bahadur Even the rented house is a dilapidat- visited this place since we introduced Kunwar has received the first instalment ed one. “There’s no light and water leaks the homestay, says visibly-happy Bishnu of the government grant of Rs. 50,000 when it rains,” she says. “It’s become so Gurung. Her younger sister lives in the and even raised the DPC and the pillars difficult to focus on studies.” United States while the elder one in the with some extra loan. But he has not been “Wish we had our own house,” says United Kingdom. But she stay put in the able to go up further due to the financial Lila. “Even the two-room house we had village to change the lives of villagers. crisis. started to rebuild after the quake would “We were in a dilemma wheth- “We have been living in rented house not be enough for our family.” er to leave from here or to live here,” just below our house,” says his daugh- “I really don’t understand how are says Bishnu. “We decided to live here ter Lila (above left). She used to study in we going to rebuild our house,” she says. and change the village and began to re- Grade 8 and her sister, Mina, in Grade “Wish the government helps us rebuild build.” 10 at the local government school called the houses of poor people like us.”

12 Rebuilding Nepal Bishnu leads the revival of Rainaskot

Some donors gave them bricks, cement, sand and tin roofs for reconstruction. And, the homestay buildings got ready. Sarbodaya Sewa Sram, a local non-governmental organization, helped the village rebuild even before the government grant reached them. The organization gave an engineer who helped them build quake-resilient buildings. Bishnu recalls how the locals never believed that they would receive the government’s private housing grant of Rs. 300,000, as they did not wait for any formal procedure before the reconstruction. After some delays, they have now been enlisted as the beneficiaries to receive the grant. “As the engineers from Sarbodaya Sewa Sram had provided us an engineer to rebuild quake-resilient houses, there was no problem when the government cess of getting the second. person of the homestay committee. engineers came to check,” says Bishnu “We decided to run homestay from “With the 360 degree view of the moun- with all smiles. They have now received mid-April to improve our livelihood,” tains, more and more domestic and for- the first instalment and are in the pro- says Bishnu, who is also the vice-chair- eign tourists are coming here.”

Rebuilding Nepal 13 Active Mayor ready to lead post-quake rebuilding Dilip Khand Mayor, Waling Municipality, Syangja

Waling Municipality in Syangja com- prises 12 Village Development Com- mittees of the erstwhile system and has 14 wards. With all the residents of the municipality having an access to education, Waling is working towards the goal of a Smart Waling, according to Dilip Khand, Mayor of Waling Municipality. Mayor told the visiting journalists that the municipality has identified 22 sectors for development, including an innovation center, digitization of information of all households, providing all services through mobile app, cleaning campaign, black-topping of roads by producing bitumen from waste plastics and ensuring that one village produc- es one product. Besides, Waling is also Khand said that the municipality is fully possible.” working towards promoting vocational cooperating with the National Recon- The NRA has sent four technicians training and education, providing drink- struction Authority (NRA) to complete to the municipality but the existing 4-5 ing water and irrigation by pumping wa- the rebuilding process. engineers at the local body too are help- ter from Aandhi Khola river, develop- Many people in the district did not ing in the reconstruction work which is ing orange zone, setting up of a factory wait for the government private housing enough to complete the task. by Patanjali with investment of Rs. 10 grant to rebuild, according to Khand. “As the government’s decision pro- billion which also includes an Ayurve- This led many houses not fulfiling the cess is too bureaucratic, it has to simpli- dic hospital and providing subsidized NRA’s guidelines on earthquake-resil- fy it,” he said. “Instead, if the responsi- paint to make Waling the Pink City. ient structure. “But,” says Khand, “The bility is given to the municipality, we can As for the post-quake reconstruc- people here are ready to amend the mis- sort out any issue immediately.” tion in and around Waling, Mayor takes by resorting to retrofiting as far as Waiting to be heard Suku Maya Darji, 45 Waling-8, Syangja

Thirteen members of Suku Maya’s family are currently living in a makeshift tent. Her family suffered twice – first the April 2015 earthquake swept off their house and barely had they managed to rebuild a two-room house, a massive landslide damaged it five months ago. This forced them back to live in a tent nearby. “We had taken loans to rebuild our small house after the earthquake, besides Rs. 50,000 of the government’s grant,” said Suku Maya. “I don’t know how we would going to pay back the loan now.” The technicians have already sent her file to the concerned office. “But,” says Suku Maya, “We are yet to receive any assistance, besides Rs. 5,000 provided by the municipality as medicine expenses.”

14 Rebuilding Nepal Satisfied technicians at work

Laxman GC Sujan Dulal, Engineer lages, says Sujan. “People shout at us and Engineer, Central Level Project Madhukant Thakur, Engineer complain that they can not rebuild their Implementation Unit Milan Pandey, Assistant Sub-Engineer house with the government grant of Rs. Kaski, Syangja and Lamjung District Level Project Implementation 300,000.” “We try our best to convince Unit, Lamjung them that this is just the limited support The reconstruction in the districts the government has provided.” of Kaski, Syangja and Parbat began only These young engineers have been “We are working towards ensuring about six months ago. But things are taking up the challenge of post-quake that the people here rebuild quake-resil- moving in the right direction, according rebuilding in Lamjung. ient houses,” says Madhukant. “We are to Laxman GC, an engineer who coor- It is quite challenging to reach out to really happy to work in this challenging dinates other technicians in the three all the people in each of the far-flung vil- conditions.” districts. “We have managed to distribute the government grant to about 45 percent of the beneficiaries,” he said, “This Hemanta Ayer is not too bad given the time we have Sub-engineer, Waling, Syangja been working.” Many of the people have already “Many of the beneficiaries have built their houses without waiting for the managed to receive the second in- government grant, according to Laxman. stalment of the government’s pri- “But many of them have not fulfiled the vate housing grant but the process government guidelines,” he said. “They is yet to begin to provide the third built houses taking loans and there is no instalment,” says Hemanta. way we can ask them to dismantle and “Many people built their houses build another house as per the guideline.” long before receiving the govern- About 30-40 percent of the rebuilt ment’s grant,” he said. “However, houses are not according to the guideline, many of these houses do not meet he said. “The only way now is to loosen the technical guideline set by the the guidelines a bit and support them to government. This has made our retrofit and improve their houses.” work very difficult.” Recognize already built houses

Kamal Subedi son. “The government engineers Chairperson, Ward 8 arrived late here. And, when they Waling, Syangja arrived, many of the houses had already been built,” he said. “Many Though all the damaged hous- of these people now say that they es have been rebuilt in this Ward, would be able to pay back some of many of them have failed to meet their loans if the government pro- the government guidelines, accord- vides the grant.” ing to Kamal, the ward chairper-

Rebuilding Nepal 15 Nepal Abroad

Photos: Arun Karki/Thomson Reuters Foundation Women masons help build stronger homes in quake-hit Nepal Launched in 2015 and due to end in 2020, the Skills for Reconstruction project teaches Nepalis in earthquake-hit areas how to build disaster-resilient houses.

Arun Karki an earthquake shook the country three quake killed about 9,000 people and left years ago. more than 785,000 families homeless in RAIGAUN, Nepal: On a recent sum- “Sometimes we don’t sleep, (but) rath- one of the world’s poorest nations. mer morning, Suntali Rai was busy count- er keep our eyes open for the entire night The government set up the National ing and stacking zinc sheets as she prepared when there happens to be heavy rainfall, Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to fix or to lay them on the roof of the house she because the rainwater keeps coming inside rebuild the homes of all affected residents had started building a month earlier. the house,” said Rai, 28. by 2020. If it didn’t rain, she planned to finish “We can’t stay here anymore.” But progress has been slow, in part due the roofing in a couple of days. Within a Rai’s house in Raigaun, a village in to a lack of materials and skilled labor, with week, she said, she should be done with the Makawanpur district, nearly 200 km (125 thousands of men leaving the country each two-room concrete house. miles) southeast of Nepal’s capital Kath- week to look for work, according to the Then her family would finally be able to mandu, has been standing only precarious- United Nations. move out of their wrecked wooden home, ly since April 2015. Tired of waiting for someone else to which has been almost uninhabitable since That is when a 7.6-magnitude earth- build her a safer home, Rai enrolled in a

16 Rebuilding Nepal A woman sweeps dust from the front yard of her new house in the village of Raigaun, Nepal, August 5, 2018 (Left). Kanchhi Rai cleans up the grass around her recently- erected home in the village of Raigaun, Nepal, August 5, 2018 (Right).

50-day mason training course through the Employment Fund, a program run by the non-profit Helvetas Swiss Intercoopera- tion Nepal. When she was done, she joined with four other course graduates to build her family a new house. This time, it is designed to stay intact if another earthquake hits. Launched in 2015 and due to end in 2020, the Skills for Reconstruction project teaches Nepalis in earthquake-hit areas how to build disaster-resilient houses. The aim is to help ease the country’s labor shortage while also arming participants with masonry and carpentry experience tion work, like measuring area, length and to such beneficiaries,” he said. they can later use to find jobs in construc- height.” Slow progress tion. Many of the new homes have been built Jagat Bahadur Lama, a local leader of In Makawanpur district, a third of using housing grants from the National Re- Makawanpur who is helping families get trainees have been women. construction Authority. In Makawanpur housing grants, said another factor slowing For many of them, learning masonry district, about 33,250 families are eligible to reconstruction efforts is lack of land own- has allowed them to break free from tradi- receive grants of 300,000 rupees ($3,000) ership certificates. tional roles of farming and caregiving and each, paid out in three tranches. He said 68 families from three wards finally make an income of their own. In order to be eligible for a grant, in Raigaun had not received even the first “So far, I have built 15 other houses in new houses must adhere to one of 34 tranche of their housing grants because neighboring villages and earned 250,00 ru- seismic-resilient designs published by the they have no documentation to prove they pees ($2,500), which I will spend on house NRA, said Bhupendra Aeri, a civil engineer own the land they live on. furnishings and paint,” Rai said. with the agency. Despite the government’s land reform Designs for life Most of the houses destroyed by the program that began four decades ago, up The training project is jointly financed earthquake across rural Nepal were made to a quarter of the population still has no by the Nepalese government, the Swiss using traditional materials of wood and legal right to land, according to the U.N.’s Development Cooperation and Britain’s stone, with no pillars for support. International Organization for Migration. Department for International Develop- The designs prescribed by the NRA for “The families should be given grants ment. new buildings are more likely to withstand based on where they have been living for Since its launch, it has trained almost earthquakes. Builders can choose from a many years,” said Lama. “It is not a very 9,000 people in the 14 districts most se- range of materials, techniques and layouts hard job to verify their residential status verely affected by the earthquake and most – from a two-storey structure made of steel locally.” vulnerable to future climate disasters, said and bricks to a two-room home construct- As Nepal slowly rises from the rubble, Sujan Dhoj Khadka, technical coordinator ed from rubble, mud and wire. many people who have gone through the at the Employment Fund. “People here have mostly followed the mason training say their new homes come Trainees have rebuilt more than 3,000 one- or two-room model homes,” Aeri with a renewed sense of safety and stability. houses in 10 of those districts. said. Anyone living close to a river must re- Kanchhi Rai, a resident of Raigaun In the other four, limited access to rebuild at least 20 meters (65 feet) away from who recently graduated from the training mote areas and a shortage of skilled labor- the riverbank to avoid flood waters reach- program, is almost finished building a two- ers to run the training programs has stalled ing their homes during rainy season. room house to replace the one that was reconstruction, Khadka added. Some families in remote areas that the damaged in the earthquake. “I have seen that there are women who mason training program could not reach She had help from her carpenter hus- receive training who are mostly illiterate. have rebuilt their homes without following band, who calls it their “dream home”. Some can only write their names,” Khadka the NRA’s building codes and criteria, he “I think I have laid a strong founda- said. said. tion,” Kanchhi Rai said. “However, they are still able to apply But “the NRA will not provide a sec- the acquired technical skills in construc- ond or third tranche of the building grant Thomson Reuters Foundation

Rebuilding Nepal 17 Fact file

18 Rebuilding Nepal Fact file

415 248 (16/232) (162/253) 145 (126/19)

4,0983,636 2,367

201 205

643 (312/331) 145 (51/94)

100 105

791 670

Graphics: Rabin Sayami

Rebuilding Nepal 19 Buddhi Maya Gurung of Saurpani in Gorkha showing her house completion certificate after the handover function held on October 3. Photos: Dipak Sapkota/NRA

Field Report

Dozens of beneficiaries Gurung was one of the 78 beneficiaries who received the construction receive house completion completion certificate from the rural municipality office amidst a function on certificate in Saurpani October 3.

20 Rebuilding Nepal Deepak Sapkota

Saurpani, Gorkha: Seventy-year-old Buddhi Maya Gurung’s house in Ward no. 4 Saurpani of Sulikot Rural Munic- ipality was damaged by the April 2015 earthquake. She started rebuilding her house as per the advice of technicians of the National Reconstruction Authori- ty (NRA) after spending a long time in a make-shift shelter. Her two-room earthquake-resilient house was ready in almost five months. Gurung was one of the 78 beneficiaries who received the construction completion certificate from the rural municipality office amidst a function on October 3. All the beneficiaries, including Gurung, were visibly elated to acquire the certificate at the function held on the premises of the recently-reconstructed Shree Himalayan Secondary School in Saurpani. Gurung added extra Rs. 400,000- 500,000 to the government grant of Rs. 300,000 to rebuild an earthquake-resilient house where she and her family now can live under the much safer roof. She constructed the earthquake-resilient standard house with socio-technical support from the Japanese International Co- operation Agency (JICA) and under the supervision of engineers deployed from the NRA. Gurung is among 953 people who have already completed reconstructing Two recently constructed earthquake-resilient houses in Saurpani, Gorkha (top); NRA Executive Member Dr. Hariram their houses after taking the third instal- Parajuli distributing house completion certificate to the beneficiaries. ment of the government grant. Although only 78 people were provided the house There are a total of 1,703 beneficia- Hari Ram Parajuli had reached this place completion certificate on October 3, the ries in this ward. Chairperson of Barpak with some students from Thapathali remaining will gradually receive the certif- Sulikot Rural Municipality Bishnu Prasad Campus soon after the earthquake. His icate, according to Ishwari Prasad Paneru, Bhatta said, most of the houses under team along with other volunteers ren- acting Chief Administrative Officer of construction are almost complete. He dered necessary support to build 55 tem- the Barpak Sulikot Rural Municipality. also claimed that this rural municipality is porary shelters during the aftermath of The houses constructed under the leading in the reconstruction of private the earthquake. housing reconstruction program should houses among the rural and urban mu- Dr. Parajuli, who was on hand during undergo a final technical inspection af- nicipalities in Gorkha district. the certificate handover function, ex- ter their construction is completed as “This (rural municipality) is ranked pressed happiness over the reconstruc- per the construction inspection guide- sixth or seventh in the reconstruction tion of so many houses in such a short line and take a construction completion achievement when we got elected,” he span of time. “Many beneficiaries had certificate. The government will not be said, adding, “As soon as we got elected, grievances when I came here the last obliged to provide services and recom- we focused our efforts on reconstruc- time,” he said, “Now, they have complet- mendations from the local government tion, and encouraged the locals. Now, we ed their house construction.” until such certificate is acquired. are at the top in the construction com- Member of the Federal Parliament Likewise, the beneficiary should take pletion rate.” Chudamani Khadka, who was present at construction completion certificate also Forty four people had died in this the function as the chief guest, congratu- to acquire loan against the house, and to ward alone during the April 2015 earth- lated those who had completed the con- utilize drinking water and electricity facil- quake, as Barpak is the epicenter. struction and requested the remaining to ities from the rural municipality. Executive member of the NRA Dr. complete the construction soon.

Rebuilding Nepal 21 From The Partners ADB to boost disaster resilience of quake-damaged schools in Nepal More than 2,200 of the schools are so heavily damaged that pupils are limited to makeshift shelters without adequate facilities or services.

One of the schools being reconstructed in Dhulikhel after the April 2015 earthquake totally damaged its structures. NRA Archive

Manila, Philippines: The Board of Di- ed hazards such as landslides, floods, and partially damaged schools are still in use but rectors of the Asian Development Bank droughts, but also suffered at least four require work to shore up the buildings to (ADB) on September 11 approved a loan major earthquakes since 1980. Damage and protect against future quakes. and grant package totaling more than $160 losses from the 2015 earthquake amounted The project will help fill the funding million to improve schools’ resilience to di- to more than 8,700 deaths, 22,300 injuries, gap to rehabilitate 174 heavily damaged sasters in three provinces of Nepal. 7,800 schools damaged, and 8 million peo- schools that would improve the quality of “The project will help the Government ple affected. Vulnerability is heightened by school education, access to education, and of Nepal meet a share of the financing gap poor design, quality of construction, and school management. to reconstruct schools heavily damaged by maintenance, as well lack of expertise on Under the project, school buildings will the devastating earthquake of 2015,” said how to withstand disasters. be reconstructed to earthquake-resilient ADB Country Director in Nepal Mukhtor The country faces a significant fund- standards and equipped with science labo- Khamudkhanov. “The newly constructed ing gap for reconstruction of schools fol- ratories, information and communications schools will not only be earthquake resilient lowing the quake. More than 2,200 of the technology rooms, libraries, water, sanita- but also provide a safe learning environ- schools are so heavily damaged that pupils tion, and hygiene facilities that are segregat- ment for children with improved facilities are limited to makeshift shelters without ed. Off-grid and on-grid solar power sys- and systems.” adequate facilities or services such as elec- tems will be installed in 130 of the targeted Nepal faces not only weather-relat- tricity, water, and sanitation. Another 3,500 schools.

22 Rebuilding Nepal From The Partners

ADB is committed to achieving Surakshit Ghar mobile app launched a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

The project will strengthen education management information systems by en- hancing school building inventory, which will support in identifying vulnerable schools and prioritize disaster prepared- Surakshit Ghar (Safe House), a mo- requirements. The newly updated ver- ness. It will also pilot an innovative ap- bile application, has been recently updat- sion also consists of a number of new proach to community-based retrofitting in ed to include a range of new features for manuals developed by the National Re- three selected schools to create local insti- homeowners to use this coming build construction Authority (NRA). tutions’ capacity to operate and adequately season. These are freely downloadable and maintain schools using local funding. Homeowners can now get free are designed for both homeowners and The project complements the work of drawings of safe and earthquake resis- construction personnel. These include other ADB projects, including an Earth- tant houses as per their requirement in a advisory notes on correction techniques quake Emergency Assistance Project and click of buttons. to bring non-compliant houses up to a Disaster Risk Reduction and Livelihood The newly updated version of the compliant level, in-line with government Restoration for Earthquake-Affected app has a public searchable and down- approved standards, and government Communities Project, both approved in loadable design library which has over approved repair and retrofit manuals. 2015, that are reconstructing 162 schools 1,100 approved house drawings. Speaking at the local launch event in Nepal. Both of these are due for com- These buildings are now able to of the newly-updated Surakshit Ghar pletion in June 2019. be sorted by a range of values such as mobile app in Jiri of Dolakha, Mayor The total project cost is $198.86 mil- type design, room number and size, and of Jiri Municipality Tanka Bahadur Ji- lion, for which ADB will provide a conces- openings such as windows and doors. rel said, “We are very hopeful that the sional loan of $148.86 million and a grant Once a house is selected, the home- newly-updated features in the Surakshit of $10 million. A co-financing grant of $5 owner is able to download both a Bill Ghar mobile app will greatly assist the million will be administered by ADB from of Quantities (that includes a price es- community members of Jiri in building the Clean Energy Fund under the Clean timate) and a comprehensive and com- safe and earthquake resistant houses.” Energy Financing Partnership Facility pletely free set of house drawings that Surakshit Ghar is developed by Build (funded by Australia, Norway, Spain, Swe- the homeowner can use to build their Change for the NRA to provide remote den, and the United Kingdom). This will house. This means that the homeowner awareness and technical assistance to cover the costs of designing and installing is able to get house designs completely earthquake affected homeowners on the solar power systems and address cli- free of cost, regardless of where they how to safely rebuild their house. This mate change mitigation. The government are living. application contains official NRA mes- will meet the remaining cost of $35 million If the design that the homeowner sages along with images, illustrations, for the project, which is due for comple- requires is not in the public library, the newsfeeds, audio clips and videos on tion in September 2022. Surakshit Ghar app will direct the user safe reconstruction. ADB is committed to achieving a pros- to a page were they can contact their The above new and exciting fea- perous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable local Technical Support Center (TSC.) tures will mean that more homeowners Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its This page has contact details including are able to access these resources in the efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Es- address and phone numbers of each of coming build seasons. tablished in 1966, it is owned by 67 mem- the TCSs in operation across Nepal. bers - 48 from the region. In 2017, ADB The homeowner will then be able Link: https://play.google. operations totaled $32.2 billion, including to contact their local TSC and obtain a com/store/apps/details?id=com. $11.9 billion in co-financing. free of cost house drawing as per their buildchange&hl=en adb.org

Rebuilding Nepal 23 From The Press Helping the Hills Sunil Yadav from Kavilasi, located at Sukhipur Municipality-4 in Siraha district, worked for a year at Thalighat Sub-station of Chameliya Hydropower in Darchula district, as soon as he completed BE (Civil Engineering) from Chennai in India. Then, he joined the National Reconstruction Au- thority. He started monitoring newly constructed houses for earthquake resistance in Halesi Tuwachung, Ward No. 3, in Khotang district. “'We are helping the reconstruction,” says Sunil. “As a boy born and brought up in the plains of Tarai, I am feeling different working in the hills.” Working in Halesi Tu- NRA (Clockwise from top) Jhikendra Rai, Ram Malla, Subash Jha, Sunil Yadav and Sanjeev Kumar Yadav. wachung for the past five months, he is busy providing technical support in Arkhaule, and sends recommendations to the district ga. “Such work increases public relation- Salle and Rajapani in the same municipality. coordination office for [release of] addition- ship and improves technical skills as well,” “I go to the villages and check whether the al instalments required for the reconstruc- he said. “It’s a great pleasure to come from constructed houses have followed required tion. He sends back the forms with details Tarai and be able to work in harmony with standards or not,” he said when we met him of the houses which have not met the crite- all communities in the hills.” in Arkhaule. “If the deviation is slight, I ad- ria to the ward offices. Twenty-year-old Lalit Kumar Yadav vise them to correct it; if the deviation is Twenty-six-year old Ram Malla from from Janakpur has been working since eight major, I advise them to reconstruct.” Bajhang district is working in Halesi Tu- months as assistant sub-engineer in Gwaltar There are about 400 beneficiaries in his wachung-2. “I have been training benefi- of Golanjor Rural Municipality of Sindhuli. working area. He has to travel on dirt road ciaries on earthquake resilient houses, and “Whichever place it may be, it is still Ne- to reach the beneficiaries’ houses. It takes the methods of constructing it,” he said. pal, it is still Nepalis who live there, and it is up to four hours on motorcycle to travel “Earthquake resilient houses are being still the Nepali language that they speak,” he from one Ward to another Ward. “Working constructed rapidly nowadays.” It takes said. “It’s not difficult at all to work [here].” in such area, I got opportunity to learn a him three days to reach his hometown “Thousands of young men and women lot,” he said. Other technicians supporting from Halesi. “I visit home only during the have shelved their higher education degrees reconstruction, too, are amazed to get the Dashain-Tihar due to work [load],” he said. and have vanished to the Gulf in search opportunity to work in new places. For those who grew up in the far-west- of employment,” said Jhikendra Rai from “Solukhumbu has become a new ern and the Tarai culture, it is natural to Bhojpur working at Halesi Tuwachung. place for this Tarai man,” said Subash Jha, find some newness in the eastern districts. “We have got opportunity to contribute in a 27-year-old engineer from Janakpur. “Reconstruction that started after the earth- nation building by sharing our knowledge in “Leeches bite us when we climb up and quake came as an opportunity to us,” said remote villages. It is a matter of pride to get down the hill. We pull off the leeches [from Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, a 25-year-old civil opportunity to do such work.” our skins] as we go to the villages.” He has engineer from Janakpur. “I am enjoying not According to Manohar Ghimire, deputy been working for eight months in District only in providing technical advice, but also spokesperson of the National Reconstruc- Level Project Implementation Unit Office in the close observation and learning of the tion Authority, 3,000 technicians have been under the urban development [ministry], local art, culture and community.” deployed in 25 earthquake affected districts Solu. He reviews forms received from ward Sanjeev has been visiting homes to pro- to provide necessary technical support in offices to check whether they are complete vide support in building earthquake-resil- post-earthquake reconstruction. or not, and check whether the criteria for ient houses in Taluwa and Thulachhap of earthquake resistance have been met or not, Siddhicharan Municipality of Okhaldhun- By Bimal Khatiwada in Kantipur

24 Rebuilding Nepal From The Press Students elated to have new building After the construction of a 16-room building with all the amenities, the students of a Makwanpur school are happily studying in concrete reinforced building.

Makwanpur - Students of Mahendra Secondary School in Bhimphedi Rural Municipality of Makwanpur district have moved to a concrete reinforced building after spending three years in temporary shelters, suffering from sun, rain and cold winds. The school in Ward no. 6 of the rural municipality has 575 students. All these students were visibly happy to have moved to the new school building to at- tend their classes. The old school building had been totally damaged by the aftershock of May 12, 2015. The two-storey 12-room school building constructed in 1982 had not fallen down in even in 1934 and 2015 earthquakes. The May 12 aftershock ruptured it and it fell down. After the school building collapsed, students from nursery to One of the schools being reconstructed in Makwanpur. grade 12 of the school had been studying in huts. Students of three classes were buildings in the current fiscal year. kept in a long single hut. One hundred and fifty five school After the construction of the 16- One hundred and buildings, including governmental and room building with all the amenities with fifty five school non-governmental, have already been Rs. 40 million support from the Japan In- constructed in Makwanpur district so ternational Cooperation Agency (JICA), buildings, including far. There are 550 classrooms in those students are now happily studying in the governmental and schools. The JICA has been reconstruct- concrete reinforced building. The school non-governmental, ing 41 school buildings through Central building is earthquake-resilient and is Level Project Implementation Unit in also disabled-friendly. have already been Makwanpur district. Of them, construc- When the previous school building constructed in tion of seven school buildings has been collapsed, students were studying in hut completed. roofed with corrugated steel and walled Makwanpur district. Plan Nepal has also started recon- with bamboo staves. Headmaster Ramji struction of five school buildings. Of Yadav said the construction of concrete construction of 34 school buildings in- these, construction of two school build- reinforced building has liberated them cluding 11 schools in Hetauda Sub-met- ings has completed and three are un- from the plight of studying in the huts. ropolitan city, six in Thaha Municipality, der-construction. A non-governmental Engineer of District Level Project three in Bhimphedi Rural Municipality, organization named Esther Benjamin Implementation Unit (DLPIU-Educa- three in Bakaiya Rural Municipality, and had also taken responsibility of con- tion) Sanjeev Pudasaini informed that other schools in Indra Sarowar, Makwan- structing 10 school buildings. Of these, seven school buildings, including the old- purgadhi, Bagmati, Manahari and Rak- it has reconstructed seven buildings and est school in the district Mahendra Sec- sirang rural municipalities. three are under-construction. The Indi- ondary School, have been reconstructed The reconstruction of 110 school build- an Embassy too has completed the con- at the cost of about Rs. 200 million pro- ings has started in Makwanpur in the first struction of two school buildings among vided by the JICA. phase. The NRA’s DLPIU (Education) has the three it had taken responsibility of. Mahendra Secondary School was completed reconstruction of 136 school The construction of the remaining one established in 1947/48. The JICA has buildings in 2016/17 and 2017/18. A total is in final stage. provided financial support to rebuild 34 of 550 classrooms are ready in those build- school buildings. It has already started re- ings. The DLPIU is constructing 65 school By Pratap Bista in Kantipur

Rebuilding Nepal 25 From The Press

Singati rises again

The local community’s united effort has made Singati Bazaar grander than before.

Dolakha - There were only a few Rein- got united to raise the fallen neighborhood. such a vulnerable place. But later, he became forced-Concrete-Cement (RCC) buildings They decided not to wait for the govern- the first person to get the government grant. here three-and-half years ago. Two of them ment grant. The National Reconstruction Authori- fell down in the April 2015 earthquake. Now, the local community’s united effort ty (NRA) began its housing reconstruction None of the mud-and-stone house could has made Singati Bazaar grander than be- campaign from Singati by providing Rs. withstand the shake. Many locals got buried fore. Vibrancy has returned. Collapsed hous- 50,000 to Khatri on March 13, 2016. Others in the debris. Decaying bodies emanated foul es have transformed to RCC buildings. Many also got encouraged after Khatri construct- smell in the neighborhood. Scared, some have put up new houses, not with mud and ed the house. They started building concrete headed towards the district headquarter of stone but supported with steel rebar on four reinforced houses one after the other. Some Charikot while others climbed up to the vil- corners and walled with corrugated sheets. have been completed, others are still being lages. Happiness has returned on the locals’ faces. constructed. Singati is the main market center of There were talks about the government Singati Bazaar lies on the border of Bigu northern Dolakha. When the powerful af- grant but the house designs had not been fi- and Kalinchowk rural municipalities. People tershock on May 12 made Singati its epi- nalized. The government process could have from Kalinchowk, Bigu and even Gauris- center, this market center in the Tamakoshi prolonged for several years. hankar rural municipalities come here for banks virtually came to standstill. Thirty two “I did not have patience to wait for too shopping. Thirty five out of 75 houses on people here lost their lives and many became long, so I started building my house myself,” the Bigu side are concrete reinforced, accord- homeless. Relief did not arrive immediately said 77-year-old Jagat Bahadur Khatri. He ing to Ward chairperson Buktam Tamang. from the district headquarters located 34 ki- built a concrete reinforced house beside the “Before, the whole neighborhood was in lometers away. Thado Khola stream from Bigu. He neither shambles, now there is no sign of it,” he said. Slowly, time started to heal the wounds waited for the government nor the NGOs or “Actually, the earthquake made the neighbor- struck by nature. Those who had deserted INGOs. Many people even said - why is this hood more managed now. All of the houses their roots started returning and everyone guy spending so much to build a house in reconstructed are earthquake-resilient.”

26 Rebuilding Nepal Kantipur Before and after photos of Singati bazaar in Dolakha disctrict (above and right).

On the Kalinkchowk side too, many ty after the earthquake,” said ward member here while hydropower offices, hospitals and concrete reinforced houses have been con- Shiwakoti, “The locals have adopted earth- factories have opened. structed after the earthquake, according to quake-resilient technology while rebuilding The financial activities have also in- Ward member Puskar Shiwakoti. “All the their houses.” He said, everyone who had mi- creased in recent years, according to local houses that have been constructed are con- grated after the earthquake has now returned. resident Khatri. He has been living in Sin- crete reinforced,” he said. There are more The people’s representatives also tried gati for 25 years. “Singati has taken a more than 200 households on Kalinkchok side a lot to make the neighbourhood safer af- planned shape after the earthquake,” he said. alone. Those making concrete reinforced ter the local elections. The government had “Many concrete reinforced houses have houses have also started buying insurance withheld grants in Singati pointing at the risk been constructed, and other houses are also policies, as the insurance companies have from the stream and the cliff. “We were able earthquake-resilient. And the trade has in- been supporting for it. to provide grants to earthquake survivors creased.” Not only is the neighborhood expanding, from Singati with a lot of efforts,” said Yud- Some locals here have invested millions but also development is speeding up in Sin- histhir Khadka, chairperson of Bigu Rural of rupees to build commercial buildings. gati. Two rivers flow through here - Tama- Municipality, “Efforts to secure the neigh- Local resident Bodhraj Shrestha has built a koshi River that comes from Lamabagar and borhood continues.” five-storey commercial building investing Thado Khola that comes from Bigu. There Tamakoshi project has already widened over Rs. 10 million. A planned hotel is being were threats of flood from both the rivers the road obstructed by landslip after the opened at the building that also houses the during the monsoon rains. And the massive earthquake. “Landslide management is still branch office of the Nepal Investment Bank cliff above Singati Bazaar was equally scary. going on,” said project head Bigyan Shres- Limited. The government has been paying special at- tha. “We are working on it.” Big houses have been constructed in tention to this neighborhood. Gabion walls The government offices are also being plots used for farming before. “The price are constructed beside Thado Khola and set up in Singati. There were only police and of plots and houses has also gone up,” said other safety measures are being adopted. Gaurishankar Conservation Area offices in Khatri. The rent of shutters and shops has Ward Chairperson Tamang said, Upper Ta- Singati before. But now, the Area Admin- increased after the neighborhood expansion. makoshi Hydropower Project has been cut- istration Office has also been added. The The rent of a single shutter is at least Rs. ting off and managing cliffs. The project has rural municipality contact offices have also 15,000 a month now. called tender for construction of structure been set up. The Class 'A' commercial banks to stop the landslide. “The government has – Nepal Investment Bank Limited and Cen- By Makar Shrestha and Rajendra Manandhar in also paid attention to Singati residents’ safe- tury Bank - have also opened their branches Kantipur

Rebuilding Nepal 27 Rebuilding Heritage Maju Dega reconstruction begins Contractors Sanu Suwal and Pawan J.V have agreed to rebuild the historic temple by October 21, 2020. It will be completed with KMC’s own investment.

The reconstruction of Maju Dega, the three-story temple at the heart of the Kathmandu Durbar Square, formally started on October 29, 2018. Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya kicked off the reconstruction work amidst a function attended by local officials and heritage con- servationists. The KMC has allocated a budget of Rs. 55.9 million for the reconstruction of the temple under the Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square Conservation Program, according to a report published in The Kathmandu Post. Contractors Sanu Suwal and Pawan J.V have agreed to rebuild the historic temple by October 21, 2020. Addressing the inauguration, Shakya said the reconstruction task will be completed within the stipulated time, the paper reported. “This centrally located temple is a monument of faith for public,” he said. “We have started the reconstruction work after consulting with the Department of Archaeology, and the locals will monitor the reconstruction work.” He assured that the reconstruction work will be completed with KMC’s own investment. “We are not going to take aid from any foreign country for the temple’s reconstruction,” he said. Some of the monuments in Durbar Square have been rebuilt with foreign aid. The reconstruction of the nine-story Bas- antapur Tower – Nautaule Durbar - is currently under construction with the financial support from the Chinese government. Another important landmark in the area – the Gaddi Baithak - was reconstructed with support from the US Embassy and handed over to the government on June 27. KMC has also released Rs. 50 million The Kathmandu Post for the reconstruction of Kasthamandap – Majur Dega in Basantpur before the April 2015 earthquake (top). The reconstruction of the temple has just begun (above). the famous landmark in the area. Prior to ments damaged by 2015 earthquake will be KMC has also announced to work for that, Shakya had allocated Rs. Five million rebuilt within her tenure, as per the report. the renovation of Kumari Ghar once the as seed money for the reconstruction of “As elected representatives, we assure that KMC gets structural analysis report on No- the wooden temple. we will complete the overall reconstruction vember 4. Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha Khadgi has of quake-damaged monuments before the expressed confidence that all the monu- end of our term,” she said. The Kathmandu Post

28 Rebuilding Nepal Rebuilding Heritage Singha Durbar retrofitting possible Walls found strong, west facade need not be brought down: Study

An independent study has concluded that the western facade of Singha Durbar need not be brought down. Kantipur

At a time when there are efforts in fa- earth joints have been found strong. While mits its detailed report.” vor of bringing down the ‘western façade’ sampling the timbers used, they have been The G.S. Soil & Materials Engineers of the country’s main administrative hub found to be damaged at the proportion of had examined the soil below the surface Singha Durbar, an independent study has 32 percent.” of the facade in the course of evaluating concluded that the western facade need According to Parajuli, the second the structure of the western facade, while not be brought down as the load-bearing phase study on the western facade of separate tests were conducted for bricks, wall of this structure has little damage only. Singha Durbar will focus on retrofitting timber, and joints (mud). “Not all the After the debate on whether to bring modality, timeline and the cost. The first beams were opened or not all the joints down or preserve the western facade of phase study was stipulated to be finished were tested in the examination, but the Singha Durbar escalated, the National Re- in one and a half months, but it had taken sampling was encouraging. It has been construction Authority (NRA) had con- four months. The second phase study has found that retrofitting is possible,” said tracted Infrastructure and Engineering been stipulated to be finished in two and Dr. Parajuli. He said, although retrofitting Research & Consult (IERC) four months a half months. Parajuli indicated that the of the old structure would take more time ago to conduct a detailed study on this. next retrofitting process would focus on than the construction of a new structure, Managing Director of the Consult Pvt Ltd joining with mud and Surki like ancient efforts would be made from all sections Dr. Rishi Ram Parajuli presented the pre- method as far as possible, and use cement to preserve the ‘signature icon’ of Singha liminary findings of the research on the and paint only in “extremely essential con- Durbar. ‘western façade’ to the NRA on October dition” only. Although retrofitting is going on on 1. Parajuli had said retrofitting was pos- As the debate on Singha Durbar struc- the eastern, northern and southern fa- sible on this as “the western facade had ture continues for three years, many tech- cades of Singha Durbar that was damaged not suffered as much damage as discussed nical consulting groups had been giving by the earthquake, the western facade is outside.” findings that it would be ‘appropriate to still in the stage of study and research. “We have found that the load-bearing bring it down.’ The western facade, constructed during wall of the entire structure of the western “The NRA will provide all forms of the time of Rana Prime Minister Chandra facade of Singha Durbar hasn’t suffered support and coordination to preserve Shamsher in European neo-classical style, much damage,” Dr. Parajuli told Kan- and retrofit this historical structure,” said consists of unique structures ranging tipur, “The bricks used in the structure Chief Executive Officer of the NRA Su- from British halls to Stale Halls. are found to be of better quality than the shil Gyewali. “Retrofitting modality will ‘super ones’ found in the market now, the be determined as soon as the IERC sub- By Devendra Bhattarai in Kantipur

Rebuilding Nepal 29 Rebuilding Heritage

Rebuilding

Text & Photos: Patan Durbar Square Chandra Shekhar Karki

30 Rebuilding Nepal The reconstruction of various sites at the historic Patan on carving wooden structures to rebuild these temples in their Durbar Square is in full swing. Many sites in this area were badly original form. “We are trying to repair the old wooden structures damaged in the April 2015 earthquake. as far as possible,” said Tirth Shilpakar, one of the artisans work- Krishna Mandir, one of the major attractions in the area, has ing at the site. already been reconstructed while few other small monuments These wooden structures cannot be made like other simple have been completed too. Many other monuments are currently doors or windows, he said. “As these structures have archeolog- under construction. ical importance, we cannot do this in a rush,” he further said, Some of the major monuments presently under construction adding, “Also, these cannot be made with machine, we need to are Harishankar, Char Narayan, Bishwanath and Bhimsen. work on minute details. Thus, it takes time.” More than 20 artisans from Bhaktapur are currently working

Rebuilding Nepal 31 Rebuilding Patan Durbar Square

32 Rebuilding Nepal Rebuilding Patan Durbar Square

Rebuilding Nepal 33 NRA update CEO Gyewali visits a school in Kavre Kavre: Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali visited Sanjeevani Model School in Ward no. 7 of Dhulikhel Municipality on September 21. The school is being reconstructed with loan assistance from the Asian De- velopment Bank (ADB). During the visit, CEO Gyewali discussed the on-going reconstruction with the Chairperson of the School Manage- ment Committee, Bed Prasad Shrestha, Deputy Mayor of Dhulikhel Municipality Bimala Sharma, the engineer responsible for technical inspection and the contrac- tor. He requested them to complete the reconstruction in time and also ensure the quality of the construction. The school being reconstructed at the center of Dhulikhel will have three buildings with 12 rooms each and another building will have boarding facilities for 24 students. Swachchhanda-Khani JV is constructing the infrastructure of the school under the ADB’s Earthquake Emergency Assis- CEO Gyewali also visited the Recon- CEO Gyewali about the Center’s opera- tance Project (EEAP) at the cost of Rs. struction Monitoring Center of the ADB’s tion procedure and its effectiveness. 99 million 818 thousand 517. The rep- EEAP established in Dhulikhel. Country Director of ADB Nepal resentative of the contracting company The Center monitors the reconstruc- Mukhtor Khamudkhanov, Director of the expressed commitment to complete the tion of the government buildings, roads NRA’s Central Level Project Implementa- construction by the given deadline of No- and other infrastructures with the ADB’s tion Unit (Education) Im Narayan Shres- vember 27. assistance. The project officials briefed tha, among others were present. CEO discusses rebuilding historic Tri-Chandra Campus Chief Executive Officer of the Na- tional Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyewali held a meeting with the delegation of Tri-Chandra Campus, headed by the Campus Chief, to discuss the reconstruction of the damaged structures of the college. preserve the historical college building with the reconstruction of Rani Pokhari. The meeting also discussed the adjacent to Rani Pokhari. Campus Chief Professor Dr. Ananta Prasad Gajurel, preparation of a master plan to give a Professor Dr. Pradip Bahadur Neupane Professor Dr. Megh Raj Dhakal and Dr. major facelift to the historical educational agreed with CEO Gyewali’s idea of re- Ramesh Thapa from Tri-Chandra Cam- institution. They also discussed ways to construction the college structures along pus were present at the meeting.

34 Rebuilding Nepal NRA update NRA gets updates on rebuilding of army structures GIETC–Raman JV bags contract to rebuild Dharahara The financial proposals of the Ten- der called by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) for the reconstruction of Dharahara has been opened. According to the proposal opened by the NRA on September 2, the company bidding the lowest is GIETC-Raman. The company has proposed to reconstruct Dharahara at the cost of Rs. 3.45 billion. Six companies including CICO– Kalika–Rasuwa JV, GIETC–Raman JV, ZIEC–Lama JV, CR5CEC–Swachchhan- da JV, Ashish Construction and Kumar CFEC had submitted application for Dharahara reconstruction. Among these Ashish Construction had been disquali- fied in the technical evaluation itself. Chief Executive Officer of the Na- Battalion and Ganesh Dal Battalion is cur- CICO–Kalika–Rasuwa JV has bid Rs tional Reconstruction Authority Sushil rently on-going under the multi-year plan. 4.39 billion, ZIEC–Lama JV has bid Rs Gyewali held a meeting on October 24 CEO Gyewali praised the army’s role 4.5 billion, CR5CEC–Swachchhanda JV with Nepal Army officials to discuss the in rescue, relief and rehabilitation after has bid Rs 4.52 billion and Kumar CFEC status of the reconstruction of the army the April 2015 earthquake and said that has bid Rs 4.49 billion for Dharahara re- headquarters and other structures dam- the NRA was always positive towards the construction. According to NRA joint aged in the earthquake. reconstruction of the army structures. secretary Rajuman Manandhar, GIETC– Major General (technical) of the Ne- “The NRA would continue to assist the Raman JV's financial proposal is being pal Army Yogendra Bahadur Khand in- Nepal Army in rebuilding its structures studied. Manandhar said, a seven days formed that 96 percent work has been to be earthquake-resilient,” he said. Gye- notice will be given for expression of in- completed in reconstructing the army wali also requested the army delegation to terest and an agreement will be done two headquarters while reconstruction of Bi- complete the reconstruction in the given weeks after that. The Authority had called rendra Army Hospital, structures housing time frame and make the overall recon- tender for Dharahara reconstruction on Sainik Prahari Battalion, Bhairab Nath struction activities transparent. Baisakh 31 (May 14) . Attention should be given on originality and historic significance while reconstructing heritage: Gyewali Chief Executive Officer of the Na- At a time when there are differenc- present generation has seen or to go for tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) es on whether to construct the Balgo- the design used before that. Sushil Gyewali has said it is necessary paleshwar temple in Ranipokhari as Experts expressed different views to give due attention to the original de- per the Malla-era design or the Gum- during the discussion. Some experts signs and historic significance while re- baj style of Jung Bahadur Rana’s time, opined Ranipokhari should be con- building the heritage sites. CEO Gyewali expressed his opinion structed as per the Malla-era design as At a program organized on Sep- that clarity is required in some aspects it was constructed during the Malla re- tember 3 at the NRA to discuss the before deciding on this. gime. problems in the reconstruction of Ra- CEO Gyewali said there should be Some experts, however, argued that nipokhari, CEO Gyewali said the au- clarity on how to verify the heritages we should adopt the Gumbaj style that thenticity of the old designs should also constructed one hundred years ago, existed before the earthquake. be verified. whether to adopt the design that the

Rebuilding Nepal 35 NRA update

Participants of the two-day orientation for economic journalists organized by the NRA in Dhulikhel. NRA NRA organizes orientation for economic journalists

Dhulikhel: The National Reconstruc- informed the gathering about the gov- Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of tion Authority, in association with Society ernment’s plan of developing integrated the NRA Pitambar Ghimire informed of Economic Journalists, Nepal (SEJON), settlements. the economic journalists about the NRA’s organized a two-day orientation program Im Narayan Shrestha, Project Di- overall communication activities while here on October 12 and 13. rector of the Central Level Project Im- NRA Under Secretary Dibya Raj Pokha- About three dozen journalists who plementation Unit (Education), said the rel highlighted the current spending in the have been covering various aspects of reconstruction of hundreds of schools reconstruction, the foreign assistance till the post-earthquake reconstruction works damaged in the earthquake have been date and future need of finances to com- participated in the orientation. very satisfactory and vowed that the re- plete the reconstruction in the given time At the inaugural session of the pro- building of remaining schools will also be period. gram, Chief Executive Officer of the completed in time. Statistics Officer of the NRA Kul NRA Sushil Gyewali shed light on the During the two-day program, Dr. Ta- Prakash Neupane delved on the issues re- overall reconstruction activities, achieve- ranidhi Bhattarai, Geologist and Steering lated to the grievances and how the NRA ments made since the establishment of Committee Member of the NRA, shed has been handling them. He also shed the NRA, plans for the coming days and light on seismic hazards in Nepal and pos- light on the MIS system of the NRA and challenges to fulfil the given mandate. sibilities of future hazards as Nepal lies in informed the journalists about the content Executive Member of the NRA Dr. a seismic zone. He also shared his views of the NRA’s website – www.nra.gov.np. Chandra Bahadur Shrestha highlighted on the lessons learnt from the April 2015 The program concluded with the pre- the developments made in the reconstruc- earthquake and the on-going rebuilding sentation by Ujjwal Prajapati, journalist tion of private housing, as it had been the process. and researcher, in which he explained the utmost priority of the NRA. Another geologist Dr. Amod Mani overall media coverage on the reconstruc- Another Executive Member of the Dixit of NSET presented the latest update tion works and shared his findings. NRA Dhruba Prasad Sharma present- on the on-going reconstruction works and The two-day program was conducted ed the NRA’s initiatives to resettle the highlighted the post-earthquake rebuild- by Pushpa Raj Acharya, the chairperson people living in vulnerable areas and ing practices in other parts of the world. of SEJON.

36 Rebuilding Nepal