Breaking the Barriers

Breaking the barriers Women make up 20 percent of the total mobile masons which is an unprecedented feat considering that masonry, and the construction sector, have conventionally been male-dominated.

Inside Good governance in reconstruction | PMO gets new office | Kasthamandap almost complete Inside Reconstruction of Ranipokhari begins | Housing grants simplified | Foreign aid in numbers Inside Helambu returning to past glory | Tembathang promotes Hyolmo culture | Public hearing in Melamchi Inside Donors pledge further support | Laprak settlement in final stage | Rs.141 billion for post-quake rebuilding Inside 62,000 delisted from beneficiary list | Pilachhen under construction | List of reconstructed heritage sites

You can obtain the previous editions of ‘Rebuilding Nepal’ from NRA office at Singha Durbar.

Cover: Women masons taking part in a training program held in Gorkha. Photo: UNDP NRA LATEST Second fourth quarter progress of NRA 20,255 beneficiaries added, 92 pc signed agreement

NRA The National Reconstruction Authority held a meeting to review the progress made in the second fourth quarter of this current fiscal year.

The National Reconstruction Author- During the review period, 36,050 Similarly, out of 147 health center ity (NRA) held a meeting to review the private houses have been reconstructed buildings to be built under the Indian progress made in the second fourth quar- while 28,872 beneficiaries have started government grant, review is ongoing of ter of this current fiscal year. to construct their houses damaged in the tender to construct 33 centers and agree- The review was held of the NRA ac- April 2015 earthquake. ment has been reached with the Indian tivities and physical and fiscal progress in According to the NRA’s Central Level Embassy to rebuild 121 health centers, the post-earthquake reconstruction held Project Implementation Unit (Education), according to the Central Level Project from November 16, 2020 to March 13, 161 more schools have been rebuilt which Implementation Unit (Building). 2021. The review meeting was held on has put the total number of schools being Likewise, the number of archaeolog- March 23 in the presence of representa- reconstructed at 6,246. As per the data, ical heritage sites that has been recon- tives of the Prime Minister’s Office, Na- the total number of classrooms being re- structed has now reached 490 with 25 tional Planning Commission and the Min- built has now reached 34,267, including more such sites rebuilt during the review istry of Finance. 3,042 classrooms built during the review period. The concerned government agen- As per the progress report present- period. cies have renovated 294 Gumbas while ed at the review meeting, 20,255 bene- During this period, 75 percent prog- the process of preparing detailed project ficiaries have been added to the list of ress has been made in the reconstruction report and design has been initiated to re- recipients for the government grant of 90 health facilities while reconstruc- build 38 Gumbas that are more than 100 and 18,627 beneficiaries signed the tion of 13 health centers has begun with years old and have plinth area of more agreement during the period. Similarly, the financial assistance of the Saudi Fund. than 2,000 square feet. 22,589 beneficiaries have received the Out of 200 health centers being built As for the reconstruction of govern- first tranche of the grant while 18,649 from the Nepal government resources, ment buildings, 85 percent progress has beneficiaries and 29,349 beneficiaries multi-year planning has been approved to been made in the reconstruction of 23 received the second and third tranches rebuild 140 health centers while prepara- buildings. Retrofitting of some big public respectively. tions are underway to call the tender. buildings is also taking place at present.

Rebuilding Nepal 1 NRA LATEST 22nd floor of Dharahara complete; Work on dome continues

The construction of the 22nd floor of Dhara- hara has now completed and works are underway to construct a dome on which a Gajur (pinnacle) will sit. The works of plastering in and outside of the tower, parking area and the museum are also going on smoothly. Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyewali inspected the on-going reconstruction works on March 7.

NRA Gelal is new Secretary at NRA

Photos : NRA Newly-appointed Secretary of the National Reconstruction Authority Maniram Gelal (left) assumed his office on February 22. Chief Executive Officer of the NRA Sushil Gyewali bidding farewell to Suresh Acharya who has been transferred to Nepal Trust. The newly-appointed Secretary of and staffs at the NRA welcomed Gelal at wards handing over the remaining works the National Reconstruction Authority the NRA premises. to the concerned government agencies. (NRA) Maniram Gelal assumed his office CEO Gyewali said that Gelal’s exper- Gelal had earlier worked as Secretary on February 22. tise would help complete the remaining at the National Vigilance Center. Chief Executive Officer of the NRA works of the NRA in an effective manner. At a function held earlier, the NRA Sushil Gyewali, executive members, joint Secretary Gelal expressed his com- bid farewell to outgoing Secretary Suresh secretaries and project directors of Cen- mitment to contribute in completing the Acharya. Secretary Acharya has been tral Level Project Implementation Units reconstruction works and also work to- transferred to Nepal Trust.

2 Rebuilding Nepal NRA LATEST Work procedure ready for adding structures on reconstructed houses The draft has been prepared with detailed engineering drawing and designs that are useful for engineers and construction technicians.

Work procedure has been prepared to allow the earthquake beneficiaries to add rooms or floor on their ‘load-bearing’ houses reconstructed after the April 2015 earthquake. The Central Level Project Implemen- tation Unit (CLPIU-Building) of the Na- tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) organized an interaction on March 22 to discuss the provisions of the work procedure, with technical support from the Na- tional Society for Earthquake Technology Nepal (NSET). Various representatives from the government agencies, national and international experts, local government representatives, technicians deputed in the reconstruction and the representatives from NRA the development partners took part in the interaction. struction (DUDBC) will take over as the Chief Executive Officer of the Na- The work procedure implementing agencies. tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Director General of the DUDBC Na- Sushil Gyewali stressed on the need to has explained in baraj Pyakurel said the department is ready put the local government in center while detail how the mud to implement the work procedure as it will implementing the work procedure and the stone and cement be useful for extending houses in future. federal bodies should work as its back- The work procedure will be finalized bone. houses could extend keeping in mind the suggestions given in As the extension of the newly-recon- from all sides of the interaction and suggestions received structed houses is imminent in the rural their reconstructed from other agencies in future, according areas, the work procedure has been for- to Shyam Kishor Singh, Project Director mulated to ensure that the extended part houses. of the CLPIU (Building). too is built in earthquake-resilient manner. Joint Secretary and Spokesperson of Deputy Director of the CLPIU (Build- Nepali language for the house owners and the NRA Gopal Prasad Aryal said that the ing) Jhappar Singh Bishwakarma and Pro- construction workers to understand. work procedure will be more impactful if gram Manager of NSET Ranjan Dhungel The work procedure has explained we could build a model house in each of presented the draft work procedure and in detail how the mud stone and cement the local government. explained the content of the 10-point houses could extend from all sides of Santosh Gyawali of the United States booklet. Executive Committee member their reconstructed houses. However, the Agency for International Development of the NRA Dr. Hariram Parajuli, New ‘hybrid structure manual’ prepared earlier (USAID) said that the work procedure Zealand-based expert Jitendra Bothra and would be useful for adding floors. would be useful not only for reconstruct- Indian expert Bibek Rawal expressed their NRA Executive Committee member ed houses but also for any house to be opinion on the presentation. Dr. Chandra Bahadur Shrestha said that built in the coming days. The draft has been prepared with de- the work procedure will be implemented The NRA has been providing Rs. tailed engineering drawing and designs after finalizing and approving it from the 300,000 as financial assistance to the that are useful for engineers and con- executive committee. After the NRA, the earthquake beneficiaries to reconstruct struction technicians. Similarly, a 10-point local governments and the Department of their houses which are termed as ‘core booklet has also been prepared in simple Urban Development and Building Con- housing units’.

Rebuilding Nepal 3 SPECIAL GOOD GOVERNANCE IN RECONSTRUCTION

Transparency and good governance ensured in reconstruction We have learned that we should also focus on disaster preparedness while carrying out the reconstruction and rehabilitation works. Therefore, we are now working together with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority.

tional communities. One of the major rea- determines budget, programs and plans. In sons of our success is the exercise of good short, this body gives directives to the NRA. governance that we have adopted in the Prime Minister is the chair of this commit- overall reconstruction process. tee while leader of the opposition or appointed representative is its vice-chair. The Institutional Structure Steering Committee is also an implementing Important policy and structural provi- body. Involving the opposition party leader sions have been ensured in the law to main- in the decision-making process for policies, tain transparency, governance and integrity budget and programs of the government in in the post-earthquake reconstruction. The itself is one important provision. It is quite Act has envisioned the necessity of sup- rare that the ruling, opposition and other port from nation in entirety besides polit- parties get together in formulating policies Sushil Gyewali ical agreement considering reconstruction and implementing them under the core gor- as service to humanity. Hence, the Nation- vernment mechanism. We are successfully completing the al Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is the Second, there is a provision for an Ad- post-earthquake rescue, relief, reconstruc- proposed structure in line with this vision. visory Council which has wider representa- tion and rehabilitation works after the April There are two types of structures under this. tion. This also has the Prime Minister as its 25, 2015 earthquake. Our work has also First, there is a provision for a Steering chair and opposition leader as its vice-chair. been appreciated by national and interna- Committee which formulates policies and Besides, leaders of parties in the parliament,

4 Rebuilding Nepal former prime ministers, reprentatives of members. We have also added a provision other works of reconstruction at the local the civil society, various ministers and rel- to invite member of Privincial Assembly, level besides the reconstruction of private evant secretaries and chiefs of the security chief of the concerned local government housing. For example, the concerned ward agencies are the members in this Advisory and chiefs of the NRA’s district offices in chair has been included as a member in the Council. It also has one member of the this committee. This committee not only school managemenet committee so that he House of Representatives each from the coordinates, facilitates, monitors and evalu- or she can monitor all the reconstruction of most-affected 14 districts. At present, parlia- ates the reconstruction works in the district, schools through the committee. mentarians from all of the national parties but also recommends actions against those are in the Council. The NRA presents its involved in any anomalies. This Committee Transparency in distribution of grant progress report and seeks suggestions from has resolved many issues at the district lev- In the beginning, there were different the Council at a meeting held at least once el, making the people’s representatives’ role views regarding the distribution of govern- a year. Then, the Steering Committee takes more important and responsive. And, it also ment grant for rebuilding private houses. decisions as per these suggestions. has kept a close tab on the NRA’s activities. Some had even suggested providing the Third, there is a provision for Develop- grant amount in a single release. But, we felt ment Assistance Coordination and Facilita- that it would not be wise both in terms of tion Committee (DACFC). Various donor Another very good governance and proper utilization of agencies, development partner organiza- important system the grant. We said that technical and finan- tions and the non-governmental organiza- cial support to rebuild the houses should go tions (NGOs) have provided grant assis- that we established hand in hand. We were clear that the houses tance and loans in Nepal’s post-earthquake is the distribution will not be built if we just provide the finan- reconstruction. The DACFC has been of grant through the cial grant. established to coordinate, facilitate, mon- Therefore, we decided to provide the itor and evaluate the reconstruction works banking procedure. grant in three instalments. This ensured carried out with the partners’ support and This has increased that the beneficiaries would receive the next ensure their proper utilization, no duplica- rural people’s access instalment only after properly utilizing the tion, no area of reconstruction is left out previous instalment. The first instalment and include all in the process. This Commit- to financial services. of Rs. 50,000 was provided as the signing tee, chaired by the Chief Executive Officer amount, second instalment of Rs. 150,000 of the NRA and represented by the relevant provided after ensuring the beneficiary donor organizations, basically ensures that Confidence in elected bodies builds the plinth level and provide the final the donors’ investment and financial and We have paid enough attention on good instalment of Rs. 100,000 after the hous- technical support is utilized properly. This governance while formulating our work- es reach the roof level by constructing the Committee has representatives of all the ing procedures. Even when there were no walls, windows and doors. This ensured relevant ministeries also. people’s representatives before the local the reconstruction of the private hous- This Committee ensures the assistance elections, we signed agreement on private es. The technicians deputed by the NRA as per the international commitment, facil- housing grant at the municipality and rural ensured that these houses are technically itates and coordinates with the donor com- municipality level. At that time, we coordi- earthquake-resilient and safe. This not only munity and ensures transparency. nated with local social workers and political ensured the proper utilization of the gov- Fourth, there is a provision for an Ap- party representatives. ernment grant but also guaranteed that the pellate Committee. The Act has envisioned After the election, we handed over houses have become safe. a special legal court to look into the NRA’s many responsibilities and authority to the Another very important system that works and the people’s complaints and ad- local governments. We involved them in we established is the distribution of grant dress their grievances regarding the NRA’s addressing complaints and problems of through the banking procedure. At that work. The Supreme Court appoints a High people. We decided to sign agreements with time, there was discussion that it would be Court Justice as the chair of the Appellate the beneficiaries at the local government difficult for the beneficiaries to receive the Committee and the government appoints level to ensure that the people receive our grant, as many villages do not have a bank. two expert members. The formation of this services in an easy manner. But, we insisted on distribution of grant legal body ensures that the NRA’s works Our engineers have been deputed through the banking process, as we believed are transparent and guarantees good gover- through the local governments. The local that it was a leakage-proof system. nance. governments have been entitled to maintain Then, we began to distribute the grant Fifth, there is a provision of district these engineers’ attendance and mobilize through the beneficiaires’ accounts on the level structures. There is a District Coor- them. They can even recommend against basis of data base established through the dination Committee to coordinate and the technicians who fail to perform as per information management system. Benefi- facilitate among all the stakeholders in the the agreement. The basic reason for this is ciaries were entitled to withdraw money as district. The member of the federal parlia- to empower the local governments to re- per their need. We had heard of leakages ment from the district chairs this committee solve the problems at their level and make in the distribution of social security grants which also has Chief District Officer and them effective. before. But that didn’t happen in the re- local coordination officer, among others, as The local governments can also monitor construction grant. This is a big achieve-

Rebuilding Nepal 5 NRA Even as the Covid-19 pandemic affected the overall reconstruction process, the construction of Dharahara continued. ment. This encouraged banks to open their grant amount as per the directive of the es to reach out to the people in rural parts branches in rural areas, as we coordinated Committee. of the country, broadcast information ma- with all the stakeholders to ensure this. This Additionally, there is an arrangement of terial through television and even utilized has increased rural people’s access to finan- third party monitoring to look into wheth- the social media for the purpose. We also cial services. er we have ensured technical compliance published and updated our website on a reg- or not and if there are any problems with ular basis and published newsletters, pam- Grievance hearing, appeal and third the works carried out by our technicians. phlets and bulletins as and when necessary. party monitoring We have partnered with the World Bank In this process, we also worked together There is a provision to hear the griev- for this. About 84-85 percent houses have with the Transparency International Nepal ances registered against any issues related been approved for compliance. Works are which promotes integrity and transparency. to the private housing reconstruction in law underway to ensure the compliance if some We requested them to set up their offices in and working procedure and organizational houses lacked that. There is a need for mi- districts to oversee the NRA’s works. We said structure have been formulated according- nor improvements in about 10 percent of that we not only need suggestions but also ly. Committees have been established at the the rebuilt houses which is regarded as very feedbacks on what needs to be ‘corrected’. ward, municipal, district and federal level to good in a country with our system and eco- We actively participated in their programs register the grievances. We believed that we nomic condition. This monitoring process as well. I have personally attended many of should address all the grievances of the gen- has not only helped ensure transparency but their programs organized in districts and uine earthquake beneficiaries. has also helped in our campaign to rebuild center and have participated in their public After the first survey, there were com- safe Nepal. hearings. I have encouraged people to voice plaints of some actual beneficiaries being their concerns too. left out which could be due to a technical Public hearing and communication The Transparency International has problem. The problem could be with the During the reconstruction process, we recently released a study report of most-af- technicians not being able to reach out to gave due importance to listening to the peo- fected districts. The report has said that it all the households due to lack of people’s ple’s grievances and resolve them. We have found that the reconstruction works have representatives at that time. Thus, we con- been doing this since we began the recon- been transparent, have ensured good gover- ducted surveys twice. It was not an easy task struction process. We have conducted pub- nance and have been moving ahead success- to address and clear 635,000 grievances, as lic hearings at the local, district, province fully. This is positive considering Nepal’s it needed extra efforts. It was an example and federal levels. I, myself, have attended present context and practice. Generally, this of good governance to register the people’s in some places. Some District Level Im- organization views things critically. In the grievances and address them. We also had plementation Units of the NRA have con- initial days too, it gave us many suggestions a free telephone service (toll-free helpline) ducted these hearings. Public information and we improved our work accordingly. at the NRA’s central office at Singh Durbar boards have been installed in places where Now, they have said that we have reached to for those who wished to complain directly the projects are underway. a level where our learning and experiences to the NRA. We have realized that informing the of reconstuction should be shared with rest I have already mentioned above the pro- public and establishing mass communica- of the world. Their conclusion is that Ne- vision of Appellate Committee to address tion medium are crucial during the disasters pal’s experience can be useful in terms of the grievances. It is still actively looking into and post-disaster reconstruction. Therefore, transparency also. many grievances. Almost 50,000 people we continuously engaged with the mass have registered their grievances. These are communication medium to reach out to Regular interaction and dialogue being continuously addressed. The Com- the people and listen to their opinion. We During the reconstruction process, we mittee has decided against some of our stressed on two-way communication. We have conducted many interaction programs decisions also and we have distributed the used FM radio stations in different languag- and workshops with different agencies in

6 Rebuilding Nepal many places. We ourselves have organized grant even though they were not entitled the houses belonging to senior citizens, these programs inviting the local govern- to. We did not say that they have not taken people with disabilities and orphans. ment representatives and have addressed money, we rather started the process to re- We have hired about 1,000 social mo- the issues raised by them. One special fea- cover that money. There were attempts to bilizers and mobile masons to help rebuild ture about Nepal’s reconstruction is that it mislead us in some ways, as we did not have the houses of these groups and about 1,000 moved ahead as the collective campaign of the integrated information system. We are houses have already been rebuilt. We also all. We worked with an understanding that now recovering that money with the help requested non-governmental organiza- this is not only the responsibility of the of the people’s representatives and have tions working in reconstruction to provide government but also a collective campaign improved our ways in case of technical necessary help to rebuild houses of these of the ruling party, opposition party, polit- glitches. groups. ical parties, and other bodies of the society We have also made necessary arrange- and that the NRA was just coordinating it People’s participation, ownership and ments to relocate about 5,000 earthquake and leading it. special support to needy beneficiaries who have been living in vul- It cannot be said that the NRA was Good governance has six pillars – nerable areas to safer locations. In this too, not impacted by political influence. There transparency, people’s participation, effec- we listened to the people’s concerns and were times when its leadership kept chang- tiveness, accountability, rule of law and gave them options to decide for themselves. ing when the government changed. But, it honesty. We have paid due attention to all Formulating plans and programs as per the continued to maintain the coordination at these aspects. We have made some efforts wish of the people is also an example of the political and social level. This is the rea- to ensure people’s participation, one of good governance. We decided to provide son why we have managed to bring good the pillars. For example, 80 percent of the assistance of Rs. 200,000 to the beneficia- results in latter stages. This has proved that schools have been reconstructed through ries who would want to buy land in places we can achieve development and prosperity of their choice. We facilitated land for those in Nepal if we coordinate with all the stake- who were willing to live in land provided by holders, listen to them and address those Reconstruction the NRA. concerns. experiences show Similarly, we have ensured the con- Various committees in the federal par- that special kind of struction of houses for about 12,000 land- liament continuously alerted us. Issues less people. We provided them an option raised at the people’s level were brought structure is needed to receive Rs. 200,000 grant to buy land or forward by the lawmakers at various pro- while working after build houses in places they are currently liv- grams. The committees in the House of ing with due permission from the District Representatives and the National Council such disaster. Coordination Committee. We made deci- gave us directives time to time and made sions regarding this as per the wish of the inspection visits of our projects. This is the school management committee. Peo- affected beneficiaries. good in terms of responsibility and ac- ple’s participation is ensured in reconstruc- Lastly, while carrying out the recon- countaibility. tion of many local infrastructures. Works struction works, we have realized that we have been carried out through the users’ need a special type of structure to work on Weaknesses committees as far as possible while we have post-disaster reconstruction and rehabili- The post-earthquake reconstruction set up coordination and monitoring mech- tation. Thus, we stressed on the need for of this scale was in itself new in Nepal. anism in some places. such a structure even after the completion We had to learn while working. Thus, there The NRA has made extra efforts in en- of the NRA’s work. Hence, the National were weaknesses. But, we did not deny our suring the local communities’ participation Disaster Risk Reduction and Management weaknesses and ignore the complaints. In- in the reconstruction of cultural heritage Authority (NDRRMA) has been estab- stead, we accepted them and focused in sites. We formulated a provision to carry lished. During our work, we learned that we improving them, either through revising out works up to Rs. 100 million through should also focus on disaster preparedness policies or changing our working ways. the users’ committees to ensure the use while also carrying out the reconstruction We received some complaints about our of traditional knowledge and skills and to and rehabilitation works. Therefore, we are technicians too. We took immediate action promote the ownership of the local com- now working together with the NDRRMA. against them without any consideration. munities. Many monuments have now been While carring out the reconstruction This showed that the NRA would not tol- under-construction with active participa- work we learned that we should not only be erate any irregularity. tion of the local communities and that has working on rehabilitation and reconstruc- We actually involved the local govern- brought good results as well. We adopted tion after the disaster strikes but also focus ment representatives in keeping a close the concept of owner-driven model while on disaster preparedness. Therefore, we watch on our technicians, social mobilizers reconstructing private houses. have been working together with Disaster and mobile masons. Like said above, the One of the important aspects of good Risk Reduction and Management Authority. people’s representatives were given the re- governance is to give special preference to We are now documenting and archiving our sponsibility to keep the attendance and mo- the needy people. Some of these backward activities as it will be useful to ensure good bilize these personnel and also be watchful people are left behind while taking a ‘blan- governance and transparency in future. on their behavior. ket approach.’ Therefore, we made a special (Gyewali is Chief Executive Officer of the National In some cases, individuals took the provision to provide Rs. 50,000 to rebuild Reconstruction Authority)

Rebuilding Nepal 7 SPECIAL GOOD GOVERNANCE IN RECONSTRUCTION

‘Nepal’s reconstruction is transparent,’ Political consensus There are several grounds that the says Transparency International reconstruction work in Nepal forged a consensus among different political ide- ologies for a common cause: Constitution promulgation–There was no constitution when the earthquake occurred in April 2015. Political parties were unable to resolve their differences for more than six years in the formation of the Constituent Assembly (CA). However, when the earthquake jolted Nepal, the political parties realized to resolve their differences at the time of national distress; as a result the present constitution of Nepal (2015) was pro- mulgated within six months from the date of the earthquake. Rescue and relief– Different political parties also developed a mutual understanding and collectively extended their NRA hand in rescue operation, relief and re- Padmini Pradhananga, Chairperson of Transparency International Nepal, speaking at the interaction. covery process. Transparency International (TI) which He requested the TI to take an initiation Formation of NRA–The political promotes transparency, accountability and to play a role in disseminating the progress, parties also realized that there was a integrity has said that its study has found learning and experiences of Nepal’s recon- need for establishing a special organi- that Nepal’s reconstruction work is trans- struction to the outside world. zation for carrying out the post-earth- parent. The TI Nepal has been conducting quake reconstruction and rehabilitation The TI organized an interaction in Feb- ‘Integrity in post-earthquake reconstruc- work. So, the National Reconstruction ruary to release its study report which it car- tion and rehabilitation’ campaign in 14 Authority was quickly established. ried as part of the ‘Integrity in post-earth- most-affected districts since April 2016 Chair and co-chair by ruling and oppo- quake reconstruction and rehabilitation’ which is coming to an end in mid-April nent parties – Another example of polit- campaign conducted in 14 districts most-af- 2021. ical consensus among political parties fected in the April 2015 earthquake. At the interaction program, Under is seen from their engagement in NRA. Padmini Pradhananga, Chairperson of Secretary and Deputy Spokesperson at the NRA is the only institution in the his- Transparency International Nepal, speaking NRA Manohar Ghimire made a presenta- tory of Nepal where the ruling party at the interaction, said, “In our monitoring tion on the progress in reconstruction, its and main opposition party chair and through five-year-campaign started by us, impact and challenges. co-chair respectively. National Advi- we found out that works of reconstruction, TI Nepal’s General Secretary Mukunda sory Council to which the incumbent in general, were transparent.” “Incidents of Bahadur Pradhan informed that activities Prime Minister is the Chairperson. The corruption and irregularity, except for some like discussions at the ward level, written Council is Vice-Chaired by the Leader exceptions, were not found,” she said. communication to resolve disputes, orga- of the opposition party in the Parlia- She informed that adequate support nizing public hearings and monitoring to ment, where other parties represented had been received from the NRA during control price inflation were held during the in the parliament also share member- the campaign and that the NRA had ini- campaign. Difficulties in identifying genu- ship. tiated to resolve the complaints received ine beneficiaries as even the house owners Grants to affected households – None during public hearings on the spot itself. have applied for grants and delay in urban of the political parties went against the She also suggested other bodies to continue housing reconstruction were some of the governments’ decision of providing re- exercising transparency and integrity. problems seen during the campaign, ac- construction grant support to affected Highlighting the NRA’s efforts in main- cording to Pradhan. households. Likewise, the distribution taining transparency and integrity during Chief of Kathmandu District Coordi- of grant support was distributed to af- the reconstruction, Chief Executive Offi- nation Committee Shiva Sundar Raj Baid- fected households irrespective of their cer Sushil Gyewali said that the NRA dis- hya pointed out that multiple ownership of political affiliation. tributed the private housing reconstruction small land plots has delayed reconstruction grant through the banking process in three of houses in the capital and progress can be Community Participation different instalments to ensure that safe made if due resolution is found to resolve NRA has learned that reconstruc- houses are rebuilt. this issue.

8 Rebuilding Nepal Reconstruction in the eyes of Transparency International Transparency International which has been working to promote transparency and good governance has con- cluded in a study conducted on Nepal’s post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation work that the good governance practices adopted in the reconstruction has been good. Here are outcomes of the study report – “Post-earthquake Reconstruction Work: Successes and Challenges.” tion is possible only through engagement, Bank transfer arrangements sistant structures in the future too. ownership, and leadership of the commu- NRA has made necessary arrange- Piloting of Integrated settlement–Ini- nity and the people directly and indirectly ments for transferring reconstruction tiation of integrated settlement during the affected by the earthquake. Communi- grants to beneficiary’s account, for recon- reconstruction phase has sown seeds for ty participation in reconstruction work, struction of private houses. Payments of organized resettlement of households, therefore, is cited as a best practice and is beneficiaries’ instalments through a bank- where basic services could easily be linked one of the best practices that NRA could ing system has not only reduced delivery to. share with the international community. time but also eliminated mal-practices like Youth and community mobilization–Exam- unnecessary delays, bribery etc. ples of mobilizing local youth in nation Working through local government building has been marked during the re- NRA has effectively engaged local Technological innovation construction phase of the earthquake-af- government bodies in the reconstruction In the process of reconstruction pro- fected houses, specifically local youths work especially in identification of affected cess, NRA technicians has conducted actively participated in establishing an households, supervision and recommen- some research on the strength of mud integrated settlement in one of the high- dations for instalments, reconstruction of mortar stone houses and issued specif- ly-affected districts (Sindhupalchowk). public schools through school manage- ic guidelines to this effect. According to Likewise, community groups have ment committees (SMCs), and reconstruc- NRA, they have shared earthquake resis- also taken command in reconstruction tion of cultural heritage sites in partnership tant technology innovation of stone wall of community schools through active with the local government. and mud-mortar housing with Pakistan engagement in the school management and China that has proven valid. committees and reconstruction of some Gender empowerment archaeological sites through joint collab- Capacity of women and local la- Use of information technology oration of NRA, Department of Archae- borers has been empowered during the NRA has adopted information tech- ology and the local archaeological site post-earthquake reconstruction phase. The nology (IT) to obtain information from management committees. NRA had coordinated with NGOs to pro- the districts and share web based infor- Production of construction materials–Pro- vide masonry training to women and the mation to concerned stakeholders and duction of main construction materials poor for building reconstruction. Before users. like iron rods and cement was increased in reconstruction work women were hesitant the country, contributing to increased rev- to go for mason jobs, but now they are get- Overall Impacts enue as revealed by the available literature. ting employment opportunities in recon- The study revealed several positive Employment generation–Review of avail- struction work. impacts of the post-earthquake recon- able documents also disclosed that the struction works like increased awareness, reconstruction work has created employ- Utilization of local resources skill development, piloting of integrated ment approximately for 255 million per- There are ample evidences that the resettlement centers, youth and commu- son days. post-earthquake reconstruction work has nity mobilization and employment gener- Value addition to communities–Outlook utilized local resources like stones, aggre- ation. However, the rise of market price of the rural communities looks attractive gates, sand, and timber-wood. Likewise, in construction materials is a negative im- resulting from the reconstruction of large cement and iron rods required for recon- pact as illustrated below: number of earthquake-affected houses. struction were produced in the country. Al- Awareness–Importantly, the aware- though iron rods and cement prices were ness of the people on earthquake resis- Price rise high, the utilization of domestically pro- tant construction has increased, which is One of the negative impacts of the duced construction materials has helped to a positive aspect, specifically for a nation post-earthquake reconstruction work increase the national gross domestic prod- located on a seismic zone. was the increased market price of basic uct (GDP) of the country too. NRA claims Skill development–The construction la- reconstruction materials especially that of that the 2-3 percent GDP rise is contribut- bour force has gained skills on earthquake cement and iron rods due to unmanaged ed by the post-earthquake reconstruction resistance techniques, which could be and uncoordinated efforts on the part of work. used for construction of earthquake re- service providers.

Rebuilding Nepal 9 SPECIAL GOOD GOVERNANCE IN RECONSTRUCTION Responsibility, accountability and transparency in private housing reconstruction The reconstruction of a large number of private houses in Nepal is a successful example of good governance and it should be replicated in other development works as well.

Use of scientific technology to identi- account system of the Auditor General fy beneficiaries that has helped control the information in The NRA had a major challenge in an integrated manner. It has been ensured identifying genuine beneficiaries as per that the beneficiaries would not receive the decision of the government to pro- the instalment without receiving the pre- vide the grant assistance. After much de- vious instalment. The cheque of the gov- liberation with various stakeholders, the ernment grant is released to be deposited NRA decided to carry out an extensive in the beneficiary’s account only after the field survey in a scientific way. It- estab approval from the district offices of the lished mechanisms in the center, district Financial Comptroller General Office. and local level to make the process fair Manohar Ghimire and realistic. The data was then analyzed Adequate attention on grievance hear- at the center as per the approved criteria ing The most important and biggest to identify the beneficiaries. Then the list The NRA has paid special attention area of post earthquake reconstruction of beneficiaries was published at the local on making sure that no earthquake-af- is the rebuilding of private houses. As level and reconstruction process began fected beneficiary is left behind from re- per the data till March 31, agreements after signing agreements with the listed ceiving the government grant. Therefore, have signed with 810,427 beneficiaries beneficiaries. the NRA has established a special legal to reconstruct their houses while similar provision to listen to the people’s griev- agreements have been signed with 53,346 Grant distribution through bank ances and address them. Arrangements beneficiaries to retrofit their damaged The NRA has made arrangements have been made to address the grievanc- houses. Out of the reconstruction ben- to distribute grant Rs. 300,000 and Rs. es at the local level as far as possible and eficiaries, 807,909 have received the first 100,000 to the reconstruction and retro- bring them to the center if they could tranche, 699,395 have received the sec- fitting beneficiaries respectively through not be addressed there. Each of the ward ond tranche and 636,309 have received the banking process. The beneficiaries and local government level has a provi- the final and third tranche. Similarly, out had to open their accounts in available sion to manage the grievances. The NRA of the retrofitting beneficiaries, 53,243 banks after being listed as beneficiaries has managed to address the grievances of have received the first tranche of the gov- and the NRA deposited all the instal- 635,000 people in a scientific manner and ernment grant. Till this date, 590,461 (73 ments of the government grant in their has informed all of them. percent) have reconstructed their houses accounts directly. while 15 percent (120,241) are undergo- This way, the NRA has managed to Re-survey ing reconstruction. This is a remarkable distribute a large amount of the govern- The NRA conducted two surveys to achievement. ment money to the beneficiaries without ensure that the genuine beneficiaries are The National Reconstruction Author- any leakage which a successful example not left out of the reconstruction process. ity (NRA) has given special focus on re- in Nepal’s reconstruction. This has not In a survey conducted in 14 most-affect- sponsibility, accountability and transpar- only helped improve financial behavior ed districts in 2017, details were collected ency while carrying out this massive work of the people in rural areas but has also of 129,000 people while details of about of post-earthquake reconstruction. Due improved their access to banks. This has 189,000 were collected in another survey to this reason, a large number of houses kept the NRA free from any complaints conducted in 2019. These details were has been reconstructed in a safe manner of irregularities in the distribution of analyzed by the technicians and more and a huge amount of the government government grant. This is a big achieve- beneficiaries were added in the grant list. money has been spent without any leak- ment in terms of good governance. These surveys were conducted after the age. This has set an example of good people’s representatives were elected in governance. Following are the measures Details of all beneficiaries in central the local governments. taken by the NRA to ensure responsibili- system ty, accountability and transparency in the Detailed information of all the listed Use of information technology reconstruction. beneficiaries has been included in single The NRA has adopted a Management

10 Rebuilding Nepal Information System to manage the private housing reconstruction in a scientific and effective manner. Detailed information of more than 1.4 million families has been posted in this system. This has helped in making the process transparent. Any person living in any part of the world can access the concerned information through this system. This modern management information system has helped make the reconstruction process well managed and leakage-proof.

Technical supervision in various phases The NRA has mobilized technicians to ensure that the private houses have been reconstructed in a earthquake-resilient manner, as they have been sent to inspect the reconstruction works before NRA receiving the second and third instalments Thakle integrated settlement in Sindhupalchowk. Construction of integrated settlements is one of the major of the grant and ensures the quality of the achievements of the reconstruction. reconstruction after the completion. This has ensured that the reconstructed houses dress them and manage the overall recon- are safe. These technicians have been pro- The NRA has deputed struction activities. viding necessary technical support in the reconstruction. experts to study the Monitoring vulnerable areas and The NRA regularly monitors the pri- Provision of Appellate Committee vate housing reconstruction at the central, The Reconstruction of Earth- relocate people living district and local level to ascertain that quake-affected Structures Act, 2072 has in there. private houses are built as per the objec- provided a provision of filing the -com tive and policy of the government. The plaint with a legal body Appellate Com- holding interactions with concerned in- third party monitoring is also held regu- mittee if the NRA’s decision is unsatis- dividuals and bodies on reconstruction larly as per the conditions put forth by the factory. Many people have lodged their of private houses. These interactions are various development partners. complaints with the Appellate Committee organized at central, district and local lev- and hearings have been taking place as per els. Similarly, it also holds public hearings Partnership and Cooperation the judicial process. to listen to the beneficiaries and address The NRA has been working hand in their issues. It also participates in parlia- hand with various donor agencies and Special support to vulnerable groups mentary committee meetings to hold dis- development partners in rescue, relief, Four categories of beneficiaries have cussions on reconstruction. It has revised reconstruction and rehabilitation works been classified on the basis of vulnerabil- and improve many policies as per the sug- since the April 2015 earthquake. This has ities in relation to rebuilding of the pri- gestions received from these meetings. further helped to maintain the responsi- vate houses. While rebuilding their hous- bility, accountability and transparency in es, these beneficiaries receive technical Provision of various institutional the reconstruction process. support and additional financial support mechanisms In this way, the NRA has been carry- of Rs. 50,000 on top of the Rs. 300,000 Various committees have been set up ing out rebuilding of private houses by grant provided for general beneficiaries. from the central to local level to promote keeping beneficiaries from earthquake-af- Similarly, the NRA has deputed experts ownership of the reconstruction process. fected areas and everyone concerned in to study the vulnerable areas and relocate There are Steering Committee, Advisory the focus and has ensured participation of people living in there and also provide nec- Council and Executive Committee at the all concerned stakeholders in the process essary land to landless squatters who have center, District Coordination Committee and has stressed on abiding by the gov- been affected in the earthquake to build and District Facilitation Committee at the ernment law and policies. The reconstruc- their houses. These groups get extra sup- district level and Local Reconstruction tion of a large number of private houses port besides the regular support to rebuild. Committee and Grievance Management in Nepal is a successful example of good Committee at the local level. Besides, governance and it should be replicated in Participation in public hearings, inter- there are provisions of other topical com- other development works as well. action and committee mittees too. These committees basically (Ghimire is Under Secretary and Deputy Spokesperson The NRA has been continuously listen to the beneficiaries’ grievances, ad- at the National Reconstruction Authority)

Rebuilding Nepal 11 NRA UPDATE Prime Minister Oli inaugurates newly-reconstructed Singh Durbar

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the newly-reconstructed Singh Durbar on February 15. Along with the inauguration, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers started to operate from the main building of this historic administrative center. The three facades – northern, southern and eastern – of Singh Durbar have been retrofitted by the National Recon- struction Authority (NRA) while the retrofitting of the western façade is going on at present. While addressing the inauguration function and a press meet on the main achievements of the government’s three years, PM Oli praised the works carried out by the NRA and thanked the latter for bringing the administrative center in operation. Shedding light on the latest figures of progress made on the reconstruction of private housing, educational and health institutions, archaeological heritage sites and public and security sector buildings, PM Oli said the reconstruction of Dhar- ahara will be complete within this fiscal year. He also said that the retrofitting works of the western façade of Singh Durbar, reconstruction of Basantapur Durbar area and retrofitting of Babar- mahal and Kesharmahal have reached a final stage. The Office of the PM and the Coun- cil of Ministers has been resurrected according to its structures along with work spaces and meetings spaces of international standards. It now has emergency and fire fighting systems and 24-hour air conditioning system giving fresh air. This part of Singh Durbar was destroyed in fire in 1973 and was reconstructed in 1980 in its original structure Photos: NRA by using new technology and modern Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the newly-reconstructed Singh Durbar on February 15 (top). The Office of construction material. the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers has started to operate from the main building (below). These facades of Singh Durbar have been retrofitted at the cost of Rs. 870 ty for the second phase. has completed in this part which began million, excluding VAT. The Sharma The western façade or the front face on October 14, 2019. The Sharma Gauri New Technical JV carried out the first of Singh Durbar is being retrofitted with Parbati New Technical JV is carrying out phase of works and Sharma Microtech old technology and traditional construc- this work at the cost of Rs. 468.8 million, New Technical JV took the responsibili- tion material. About 50 percent of work excluding VAT.

12 Rebuilding Nepal NRA UPDATE Prime Minister Oli inspects Singh Durbar and Dharahara

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli visited Singh Durbar on February 11 and acquired first-hand information on the retrofitting works going on there. He also observed the construction work at Dhara- hara later that day. PM Oli expressed satisfaction over the progress made in retrofitting of Singh Durbar after visiting the section where the Prime Minister’s Office will be situated. The section is now almost ready to move in. He also directed to maintain and preserve the archeological artifacts while carrying out the retrofitting works on the western façade of Singh Durbar. Chief Executive Officer of the Na- tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali briefed the Prime Minister on the progress made on post-earthquake retrofitting and construction of structures like the PM’s office space, waiting room etc. He also shed light on the emergency and fire fighting systems and 24-hour air conditioning system giving fresh air. The presently retrofitted section of Singh Durbar was reconstructed after the fire in 1973. Retrofitting of the original section of western façade is currently going on. The retrofitting of Singh Durbar has been carried out to make it excellent structures in terms of security and facilities, according to Shyam Kishor Singh, Project Director of the Central Level Project Im- plementation Unit (Building) of the NRA. Later today, PM Oli visited the Dhar- ahara premises and acquired information on its construction, preservation of Sund- hara and construction of the mint museum. He instructed to complete the reconstruction soon. On the occasion, CEO Gyewali said that the Dharahara will have two underground floors for parking, two lifts ac- commodating 10 persons each and a dig- hara spout will be preserved with regular As the underground parking will have ital display center of Dharahara on the water supply, a mint museum will be con- space for 400 four wheelers and 700 two 18th floor. structed in the vicinity and the remains of wheelers, it will reduce the parking prob- Saying that the construction of 21 the old Dharahara will be preserved with- lem in the area, he said. floors has been completed, CEO Gyewa- in a glass frame in memory of April 2015 Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokha- li informed that after the completion of earthquake. rel, Minister for Urban Development the 22nd floor, the statue of Mahadev and Joint Secretary of the NRA Bharat Krishna Gopal Shrestha, Chief Secretary Gajur (a pinnacle) will be installed. Prasad Aryal shed light on the technical Shankar Das Bairagi and other dignitaries He also informed that historic Sund- progress of the Dharahara reconstruction. were presented on both the occasions.

Rebuilding Nepal 13 SINGH DURBAR IN PICTURES Prime Minister's Office gets new space

Along with the inauguration of newly-reconstructed Singh Durbar on February 15, the Office of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers has started to operate from the main building of this historic administrative center. The three facades – northern, southern and eastern – of Singh Durbar have been retrofitted by the National Recon- struction Authority (NRA) while the retrofitting of the western facade is going on at present.

Photos: Setopati

14 Rebuilding Nepal Rebuilding Nepal 15 COVER WOMEN IN RECONSTRUCTION Women masons are breaking the barriers Communities and governments at all levels should work together to further empower and create an enabling environment for women to endure and evolve to their full potential in the construction sector.

Sulochana Nepali

“Mason training transformed my life. It provided me with an opportunity to not only gain new skills and experiences but also to serve my community,” recounts 38-year-old Kamala B. K. from Nuwakot in central Nepal. Kamala is one of 149 women mobile masons hired by the National Recon- struction Authority in 14 districts most affected by the earthquake for providing socio-technical assistance under the World Bank-supported Earthquake Housing Re- construction Project. Under the project, women make up 20 percent of the total mobile masons recruited, which is an unprecedented feat considering that masonry, and the construction sector, have conventionally been male-dominated until recently. However, according to Nepal’s 15th Five Year Periodic Plan developed by the National Planning Commission, women’s labor force participation stands at 26.3 percent which is slightly less than half of that of men at 53.8 percent. Data from Nepal Engineering Coun- cil shows that the percentage of women engineers who have received the license to work professionally at the national level is 12.5 percent, whereas the remaining 87.5 percent are men. The gender gap is even higher in masonry and other construction sub-sectors such as carpentry, plumbing, electricians, Photos: World Bank among others. Socio-cultural norms are Kamala BK of Nuwakot is one of 149 women mobile masons trained to provide socio-technical assistance under the the main reason why women are not easily World Bank-supported Earthquake Housing Reconstruction Project.

16 Rebuilding Nepal Sunita BK of Makwanpur infront of her house she built herself. accepted in male-dominated occupations of linking communities and beneficiaries construction. Likewise, educated women including masonry. with the program and providing support masons with entrepreneurial characteris- such as house inspection and grievance re- tics can be provided with entrepreneur- But this stereotyping is gradually fading. dressal for the vulnerable households. ship development training. According to the Global Gender Gap As many field engineers are not able to Facilitating linkage to opportunities: Trained Report 2020, Nepal ranks 101 out of 153 be present on the ground due to Covid-19 masons, both men and women are already countries in economic participation and related restrictions, the locally-based mo- working in close coordination with the opportunity, which is an improvement bile masons have become even more concerned local levels. Employment Ser- from earlier assessments. sought-after experts in the villages. vice Centers at each local level can facili- “Villagers now consider us engineers tate linkages with employment opportuni- Increasing participation, changing as we are informing local people about re- ties or use their skills in other development mindsets silient construction techniques,” exclaims programs. Such centers are also supported Prior to the 2015 earthquake, apart Durga Bhatta, a mobile mason from Ra- by World Bank’s Youth Employment and from engineering, women’s participation suwa. Transformation Initiative Project. in the construction sector was limited Promoting construction-driven micro en- to basic labor work. Post-earthquake re- Leveling the field for women masons terprises: Earthquake reconstruction also construction, including those under the To sustain this momentum and to ease introduced a number of alternative tech- Earthquake Housing Reconstruction the debilitating impacts of the Covid-19 nologies, such as, interlocking bricks, Project, offered new avenues for wom- economic downturn, opportunities must compressed stabilized earth bricks and en in occupations that were previously be expanded to retain women in the sec- stone-cutting technology. The women ma- male-dominated. tor and enhance their skill sets as the local son can be mentored to be entrepreneurs The masons training opened new op- context and market demand significantly and supported in accessing finance and portunities and immediately many of the increases. There are several types of skill markets to ensure long-term sustainability women trainees, such as Kamala, took up enhancement programs that can be intro- in the sector. masonry as a vocation. duced. Such as; By entering the non-conventional sec- Ganga Bhujel, a 21-year-old mo- Diversifying skill enhancement opportunities: tor, women masons like Kamala, Ganga, bile mason from Okhaldhunga notices a Most women masons in rural areas are and Durga are breaking gender barriers change in behavior and perception from skilled in ‘stone with mud-mortar’ tech- while rebuilding homes and ensuring that other people when regarding women niques. However, there is a growing trend no one is left behind in reconstruction. working in the sector. of homeowners opting for RCC technique Communities and governments at all lev- “When I started, there was a lot for me as their financial status advance. Similarly, els should work together to further em- to learn in the field. However, homeown- there are alternative construction tech- power and create an enabling environment ers encouraged me to continue working nologies introduced after the earthquake, for women to endure and evolve to their and assured me that with experience, I will which are being adopted by homeowners. full potential in the construction sector. also perfect the craft,” she shares. Therefore, training women masons on Besides technical assistance, the mobile these new technologies will enhance their (Nepali is Disaster Risk Management Analyst at the masons have additional responsibilities skill set and keep them relevant beyond re- World Bank)

Rebuilding Nepal 17 COVER WOMEN IN RECONSTRUCTION Women at the forefront of housing reconstruction Over the years, growing number of men left the villages in search of better employment opportunities abroad, leaving the onus on women to lead reconstruction.

It is early spring in Palungtar, Gorkha but the scorching heat of the afternoon sun makes it seem no less than summer. Faraway from the Marshyangdi river ba- sin, dotted across one of the red mud hills, is a group of nine women clad in bright orange jackets, yellow helmets and blue masks. Dripped in sweat, they are busy mixing cement mortar and laying bricks to construct a two-room house. Bhagwati Pariyar, 37, is one of the nine members in the group, who is par- ticipating in the seven-day on-site mason training conducted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through the Government of India supported Nepal Housing Reconstruction Project (NHRP). “Despite having worked as laborer for several years, most of us had not laid a single brick of a wall before. The training has provided us a great opportunity to learn the basics of masonry,” shares Bhag- wati. She is confident that the knowledge Photos: UNDP and skills gained through the training on Newly-trained women masons rebuilding a house in Gorkha. safer and resilient housing reconstruction “From the onset of the project, there said Sita Devi Bhattarai, community facil- would prove useful for her to find new was a common realization among women itator from Palungtar Muncipality-9. “We construction assignments. here that we need to take collective own- worked closely with homeowners through In the initial years, women con- ership of rebuilding our houses,” says Ful- all stages of reconstruction to ensure they structing houses used to be quite an un- maya Gurung, Deputy Mayor of Dharche build earthquake-resilient houses in line common sight in this part of Gorkha as Rural Municipality. “Women, particularly with the standards set by the government.” their masonry skills were not valued by project members, here actively partici- Likewise, the NHRP has women in contractors and homeowners. But that pated in reconstruction whether it is by various leadership positions to advance changed over the years as growing num- going door to door to raise awareness on the significant role of women in recon- ber of men left the villages in search of safer rebuilding practices or by engaging struction and bring in different perspec- better employment opportunities abroad, directly with homeowners as construction tives, thus ensuring inclusivity and sensi- leaving the onus on women to lead recon- workers and masons,” tivity, particularly, to address the issues of struction. A core focus of the NHRP was on the most vulnerable. After the Government of India sup- building back better, ensuring each as- “NHRP provided me with the oppor- ported NHRP began working in Gorkha, pect of reconstruction considers risk. tunity to work as an architect and assist a special focus was laid on strengthening Awas Nirman Sathis and community fa- people through the municipal building the role of women in reconstruction at cilitators from the NHRP reached out to permit process,” said Jyoti Bhandari, ar- various levels from home owners to the communities across Gorkha, sharing vital chitect in Palungtar Building Permit Stu- project teams (strong presence of women knowledge and information with benefi- dio. “I realized how women, who were as mobile masons, community facilitators, ciaries on safer reconstruction practices left with the burden to rebuild their architects, draftspersons among others), and administrative procedures set by the houses with limited exposure to the ad- guild of local women masons, govern- government. ministrative processes, felt at ease to dis- ment officials and elected representatives “House construction is a cumbersome cuss with their needs and aspirations of a through inclusive and tailored approach- process and not all beneficiaries have the home with me.” “I feel proud to be part es. knowledge or patience to complete it,” of this reconstruction initiative, provid-

18 Rebuilding Nepal (Clockwise from top) Architect Astha Acharya of the NRA, Fulmaya Gurung, Deputy Mayor of Dharche Rural Municipality, Tara Dhakal (left), Media and Communication Officer in NHRP-Gorkha and Sita Devi Bhattarai, Community facilitator from Palungtar. ing necessary support to ease the building was able to complete the reconstruction permit process and ensure compliance to of my house within eight months with the government norms,” she added. The project reached the assistance from NHRP team,” shared Similarly, Astha Acharya, who is out to vulnerable Parbati. “I am very happy that my house working as an architect in the helpline of is earthquake-resilient and my family will the National Reconstruction Authority populations who be safe from future shocks.” (NRA) since its inception, said that she needed special Meanwhile, targeted initiatives such provides information on policies, guide- support including as radio programs, socio-cultural events, lines, process and status on housing re- trainings, etc. have played a crucial role construction and handles the grievances people with in enhancing knowledge and capacity of placed by the people. “I always need to disabilities, single women to lead reconstruction and further communicate with patience, sensitivi- mothers, elderly or establish their roles in the community as ty and positive attitude and help people agents of change. move ahead with their reconstruction,” orphaned. “Our primary focus is to be the voice she said. “Being able to support such of the voiceless, to collect issues from people gives me immense satisfaction and ral Municipality, was able to rebuild her the house-owners and link them with the motivates me to support people in best house after series of consultations with stakeholders at Palika and district lev- ways possible.” engineers and facilitation from the NHRP el to resolve the bottlenecks,” said Tara Furthermore, the project reached out team. The team supported her on all as- Dhakal, Media and Communication Of- to vulnerable populations who needed pects of reconstruction, from sourcing ficer in NHRP-Gorkha. “We have been special support including people with raw materials and construction workers successful in highlighting the reconstruc- disabilities, single mothers, elderly or or- to obtaining building permit and access- tion progress and issues through various phaned among others to ensure that no ing all trances of the government recon- local mediums like radio and newspaper one is left behind. struction grant. to provide necessary momentum for re- Parbati Gurung, a single mother from “Although the task of rebuilding construction in Gorkha.” Paatiswara of Ward no. 2 in Gandaki Ru- seemed quite daunting to me at first, I From teh UNDP Nepal

Rebuilding Nepal 19 FACT FILE Reconstruction in Numbers

78.5% Agreement Signed Third Tranche with Beneficiaries 810,427 Received (636,309)

Private Housing 86.3% 99.7% Grant Second Tranche First Tranche Distribution Received Received (699,395) (807,909)

Private Housing Reconstruction Grievance Management

Grievance Added through Grievance Added through Grievance Houses Constructed 73% 593,087 Registered (Reconstruction) (Retrofitting) 634,973 106,465 67,681 159,683 Houses Under Construction 20% Retrofitting Total beneficiaries Total Agreement First Tranche in the reconstruction process Beneficiaries Signed Received 752,770 (92.9%) 65,309 53,346 (81.7%) 53,243 (81.5%)

Figures as of March 31, 2021

20 Rebuilding Nepal FACT FILE

Educational Institutions Health Institutions Cultural Heritage

Target Target Target 7,553 1,197 920 Reconstructed (82.7%) Reconstructed (58.3%) Reconstructed (53.3%) 6,246 698 490 Under Construction (17.3%) Under Construction (11.9%) Under Construction (7.2%) 1,307 143 66

Public Buildings Security Buildings Target Target 415 216 (Through NRA) Reconstructed (85.1%) Reconstructed (99.1%) 353 214 National Reconstruction Authority Singha Durbar, Kathmandu Under Construction (9.2%) Under Construction (0.9%) Tel: 01-4211482, 01-4211465 38 2 [email protected] | www.nra.gov.np

Total number of beneficiaries 12,788 Landless and squatter beneficiaries Beneficiaries approved for rebuilding in same place 11,494 (89.9%) Beneficiaries receiving land purchase grant of Rs. 200,000 1,294 (10.1%)

Total number of beneficiaries 4,720 Relocation of vulnerable settlement Beneficiaries provided land for safer settlement 3,462 (73.3%) Beneficiaries receiving land purchase grant of Rs. 200,000 629 (13.4%)

Graphics: Rabin Sayami

Rebuilding Nepal 21 COVER OPINION Challenges and possibilities of women’s participation in reconstruction If women are to be brought forward in entirety, positive discrimination policy need to be adopted for women empowerment and attempts to give equal pay for equal work should begin.

struction. It has even established gender the agreement for the government grant equality and social inclusion section to to rebuild their houses. Out of these, 44 mainstream women in reconstruction, percent of these women said that they and thereby encourages NGOs engaged have signed the agreement in their name in reconstruction to mainstream wom- while 39 percent women had their hus- en. The NRA is providing Rs. 300,000 bands signed the agreement and 17 per- in three installments to build earth- cent of women had their other family quake-resilient houses and has also mo- members sign on their behalf. bilized engineers, sub-engineers, mobile It is mandatory to for the beneficia- masons and social mobilizers to provide ries or their family members to have land technical support at the community lev- ownership certificate to participate in Ruplal Aidi el. Despite all these efforts, however, the reconstruction process and need to women in Nepal continue to face various have land ownership certificate in his/her The National Reconstruction Au- social and gender discriminations. name to sign the agreement. Around 37 thority (NRA) was established to carry Women’s participation in Nepal’s percent women said they are illiterate out rehabilitation and reconstruction development process, including recon- which hindered their participation in the works after the April 2015 earthquake. reconstruction process and 30 percent of In the last six years, the NRA has played those illiterate women said that the overall a leadership role to spearhead and com- Studies have shown reconstruction process was difficult. Sev- plete huge campaign of rehabilitating that lack of access en percent of women respondents said and rebuilding damaged houses of the to information is a that the rebuilding process became diffi- earthquake-affected individuals. It is cult due to lack of trained human resourc- now in its final phase. major reason that has es. They also said women lagged behind In line with sustainable development hindered women’s in every sphere due to lack of education. goals’ objective of not to leave anyone Available data clearly shows that men behind during Nepal’s reconstruction participation in the are usually active in the construction of process, complaints are being addressed reconstruction. houses in Nepal. Women do not have swiftly. At the same time, beneficiaries good presence in this profession and they who have not completed rebuilding their struction, is nominal. Due to the per- have to go through many hurdles if they houses have been given the deadline of sistent patriarchal mindset, women con- want to enter this sector. Lack of proper mid-May 2021 to receive the third and tinue to be deprived of opportunities work environment, lack of social protec- final tranche of the government grant. in the reconstruction process, not been tion, lack of equal pay for equal work, The national and international or- provided enough information, deprived dangers of gender-based violence and ganizations, donors and development of employment opportunities and have problems to travel outside their areas are partners have been providing additional been given less priority to their confi- some of the reasons why women have support to the NRA’s huge reconstruc- dence building. Therefore, women’s par- lagged behind in the construction sector. tion campaign. These supports are in the ticipation is not as expected. Studies have also shown that lack of form of providing social and technical In 2018, the Housing Recovery and access to information is another major support, mason training, and capacity Reconstruction Platform (HRRP) had reason that has hindered women’s partic- building training to enhance technical conducted a survey on ‘women in recon- ipation in the reconstruction. As women capacity. struction’ among 679 women beneficia- are generally limited to household chores The NRA has been making efforts to ries out of which majority of the respon- and child care, the timing of the train- increase women’s participation in recon- dents had informed that they had signed ing programs have been unfavorable for

22 Rebuilding Nepal Women masons engaged in the house reconstruction of earthquake beneficiaries in Ward no. 3 of Palungtar Municipality, Gorka. HRRP them. This has prevented them from at- raise questions like ‘Can women also be reconstruction in which women partici- tending these training programs despite masons?’ and doubt their abilities and pants said that lack of access in technical their wish. confidence. supervision and lack of participation in In another study conducted by the In the survey, 52 percent of trained the reconstruction works have remained HRRP among 373 trained women ma- women masons received employment major challenges for women. sons, 57 percent undertook short (sev- opportunities while 51 percent of them If women are to be brought forward en-day) mason training while 43 percent worked as laborers and 31 percent in entirety, positive discrimination policy took long (50-day) professional mason worked as assistants to male counter- need to be adopted for women empow- training. During this survey, these wom- parts. This clearly shows how women erment and attempts to give equal pay en said that they had to work as labors have been undermined and forced to for equal work should begin. Addition- despite having been trained as masons. work as laborers even when they have ally, training programs should be orga- Thus, women still have to face many been trained as masons. This proves that nized for women in their suitable time challenges to increase their participation women have been taken for granted as and document their experiences as well. in reconstruction. Women have to man- assistants’ role and not recognize them Similarly, there is a need to formulate age households on their own in Nepali as trained construction workers. plans by keeping women’s problems in society. There is no practice of equal pay Only few women masons have got preference and ensure their meaningful for equal work. Contractors and family the responsibility to work as masons and and active participation in implementing members also do not value the skills of build houses. The Urban Rehabilitation and evaluating their works. women masons. Gender discrimination Working Group facilitated by the HRRP still remains prevalent in the household had conducted a group discussion to (Ruplal Aidi is National Coordination Officer at the and society. People in our society still identify challenges of urban housing Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform - HRRP)

Rebuilding Nepal 23 FROM THE PARTNERS

NRA OPINION Development partners’ contribution crucial in reconstruction There is no doubt that the contributions made by the development partners have been instrumental in fulfilling the post-earthquake reconstruction requirements and has also set an example for future generation.

Gopal Prasad Aryal & Rita Lamsal

This article examines the financial need and the Development Partners’ financial cooperation for the post-earthquake reconstruction in Nepal by analysing the data (published and unpublished) through descriptive way. It comprises limited data and has recommended publishing detail Development Partners (DPs) profile in near future to show their contribution in reconstruction and recovery of Nepal. ter Recovery Framework (PDRF) 2016- Development Partners’ financial -as 2017 which defined the clear framework sistance Introduction of implementation and monitoring, in- The Nepal government required The National Reconstruction Author- cluding financing and financial manage- immediate support in the recovery and ity (NRA) was established as a leading or- ment aspects to manage recovery and reconstruction efforts after the mas- ganization to carry out reconstruction of reconstruction. sive damages from the earthquake. damaged structures and rehabilitation of According to the PDRF, the total Seeking economic and moral support affected people after the 2015 earthquake. estimated budget for reconstruction is from the international community, the It has taken a vision of ‘Well-planned re- USD 9.38 billion for the reconstruc- government organized an Internation- silient settlements and a prosperous so- tion and rehabilitation efforts, which al Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruc- ciety’ and has been working to fulfil this was a huge financial challenge for Ne- tion (ICNR) on Nepal’s reconstruction objective since its establishment on De- pal However, the estimated cost for the on June 25, 2015 in Kathmandu with a cember 25, 2015. reconstruction was revised in May 2019 theme ‘Towards a Resilient Nepal.’ The The Post-Disaster Needs Assess- and the estimated the budget for recon- conference included delegates from 58 ment (PDNA) done by the Government struction was lowered at USD 6.3 billion. countries and various donor agencies of Nepal (GoN) in collaboration and However, again in January 2020, it was participated and showed their solidar- consultation with various stakeholders revised to USD 4.88 billion. The gov- ity in address Nepal’s needs to rebuild of expert groups and the Development ernment of Nepal allocated NRs. 91 bil- after the devastating earthquake. Conse- Partners (DPs) to assess the damage after lion (USD 910 million) in the fiscal year quently, from the ICNR, USD 4.1 billion the earthquake and the estimated loss was 2015/16 budget for the recovery and re- had been pledged by various develop- equivalent to USD 7.6 billion. Further- construction works. ment partners and from the internation- more, the NRA published the Post-Disas- al communities.

24 Rebuilding Nepal The ICNR 2015 included financial Financial commitment commitments of USD 4.1 billion from Amount in USD various development partners and inter- during the ICNR 2015 national communities, out of which ap- Pledge Total Pledge proximately USD 1.97 billion was Grant S.N. DPs Grant (A) Loan (B) (A+B) and USD 22.14 billion was Loan. After the establishment of NRA on 1 Asian Development Bank – 600,000,000 600,000,000 December 25, 2015, it provided a com- 2 Australia 4,635,300 – 4,635,300 mon platform to all the development partners to share their ideas and progress 3 Austria 1,200,000 – 1,200,000 through a committee called DACFC (De- 4 Bangladesh 502,815 – 502,815 velopment Assistance Coordination and 5 Canada 10,500,000 – 10,500,000 Facilitation Committee) which was formulated on the basis of the Act related to 6 China 766,927,000 – 766,927,000 Reconstruction of Earthquake Affected 7 European Union 117,484,500 – 117,484,500 Structures 2015, clause 20. It also ensured 8 Finland 2,237,800 – 2,237,800 effective implementation of reconstruc- 9 Germany 33,567,000 – 33,567,000 tion program supported by the partners. International Monetary As per the provision, the Chief Executive 10 – 50,000,000 50,000,000 Officer of the NRA chaired the DACFC Fund which had 11 members, with representa- 11 India 650,000,000 750,000,000 1,400,000,000 tion from development partners, Federa- 12 Japan 52,000,000 208,000,000 260,000,000 tion of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce 13 Netherlands 26,000,000 – 26,000,000 and Industry (FNCCI), NGO Federation 14 Norway 15,965,500 – 15,965,500 of Nepal (NFN) and Association of In- ternational NGOs in Nepal (AIN). The 15 Pakistan 1,000,000 – 1,000,000 10th meeting of the DACFC was held 16 Republic of Korea 10,000,000 – 10,000,000 on November 28, 2019 and subsequently, 17 Saudi Fund – 30,000,000 30,000,000 appropriate project management, monitoring and tracking of the projects are 18 Sri Lanka 2,500,000 – 2,500,000 underway to support in the joint efforts. 19 Sweden 10,000,000 – 10,000,000 Development partners have reaffirmed 20 Switzerland 25,000,000 – 25,000,000 the commitment to support the NRA’s 21 Turkey 2,000,000 – 2,000,000 endeavours to expedite the recovery and reconstruction. 22 United Kingdom (DfID) 110,000,000 – 110,000,000 On the basis of the financial pledg- 23 United States of America 130,000,000 – 130,000,000 es, different partners entered into agree- 24 World Bank – 500,000,000 500,000,000 ments with the government to work in joint coordination with the NRA. Ac- Total 1,971,519,915 2,138,000,000 4,109,519,915 cording to the Ministry of Finance, USD Source: Development Cooperation Report (2015/16, 2016/17, 2018/19), Ministry of Finance 3.9 billion, approximately 95 percent of the total pledge amount, has been com- are categorized as priority areas of re- the World Bank is on housing, India has mitted through signing of formal agree- construction–housing, health, education, supported for housing, education, health ments with the government. Out of the cultural heritage, government buildings and cultural heritage sector while JICA pledged amount, only $1.1 billion has and others respectively. On the basis of funding is for housing and education and been disbursed till July 2020. those areas, DPs funding are to be uti- the ADB has focused for rural roads, ed- lized which is also specified by the terms ucation and public buildings. Although Fund mobilization and conditions of the agreement be- the private housing is the first priority The financial commitments are from tween concerned partner organizations of reconstruction, different sectors are different development partner organi- and the government. Later, in October covered through reconstruction and re- zations and international communities 2019, Saudi supported fund with the loan covery work. Switzerland presented in 7th to support in specific projects in the re- agreement of 112 million Saudi Riyals is DACFC meeting about their commitment construction and rehabilitation process. agreed to utilize on three different cate- to provide technical assistance to support There are different sectors and areas gories; housing, education facilities and in Okhaldhunga district to provide skill where the development partners’ funding health facilities. Germany has funded for training for workers. can be utilized. health and energy, the UK has supported Similarly, some of the partners have According to the regulation related for humanitarian support, housing and committed higher financial pledges than to the reconstruction of earthquake af- livelihood sector. previously pledged. The World Bank sup- fected structures 2015, Article 3; six areas Similarly, the main support area of port program has reached higher than its

Rebuilding Nepal 25 to the conditions of agreements and also Financial commitment vs. Financial disbursement till July 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. In this regard, flexible approach is S.N. Development Commitment Disbursement necessary to ease the disbursement process Partners till July 2020 till July 2020 and also it may need some amendment of 1 Asian Development 322,564,797 210,461,532 agreements to accelerate the disbursement. Bank As per the cabinet decision, the NRA’s 2 Australia – 4,770,133 tenure has been extended for a year till De- cember 2021 and it is now gradually prepar- 3 Austria – - ing to close down and handover remaining 4 Bangladesh – - works to concerned government agencies. 5 Canada – - However, the NRA would still need to arrange necessary amount to complete its 6 China 766,927,000 20,318,621 work. One major source is the develop- 7 European Union 194,290,233 112,423,631 ment partners some of whom are yet to 8 Finland 1,118,900 428,410 release the fund as had pledged earlier. This 9 Germany 34,000,000 9,462,916 could bridge the existing budget gap. More- over, there is a need for effective utilization 10 International 50,000,000 - of the funds provided by the development Monetary Fund partners, as most of the funding is loan and 11 India 1,078,820,849 6,823,839 the Nepali people will have pay that back. 12 Japan 360,377,747 232,077,080 At this juncture, it is crucial to have appropriate structural provision in place 13 Netherlands - to manage the funding from the develop- 14 Norway 5,561,672 12,034,205 ment partners and the effective fund mo- 15 Pakistan - bilization mechanism with robust coordination and communication procedures. 16 Republic of Korea 8,400,000 12,673,667 Especially, the progress of off budget off 17 Saudi Fund 29,163,542 3,110,778 treasury funding should be communicated 18 Sri Lanka – - and visualized by the concerned partners on a regular basis. It is deemed necessary 19 Sweden – - to compile and publish the total contribu- 20 Switzerland – 17,636,616 tion of the development partners in im- 21 Turkey – - mediate basis for the future references and revision of necessary policy actions. 22 United Kingdom 165,500,000 87,069,277 (DfID) Conclusion 23 United States of 170,196,536 54,569,097 Besides challenges in Nepal’s America post-earthquake reconstruction, overall 24 World Bank 698,970,853 623,314,097 progress is substantial and the cooperation from the international community Total 3,885,892,129 1,407,173,899 and development partners’ continuous Source: Development Cooperation Report (2015/16, 2016/17, 2018/19), Ministry of Finance support has been integral in rebuilding the nation back to its glory. We Nepal- pledge through two support programs– for Project Services (UNOPS) have been ese people have witnessed momentous Earthquake Housing Reconstruction appointed as consultants to provide tech- overwhelming huge support and solidar- Project (EHRP) and Multi-Donor Trust nical assistance for the Indian government ity globally across the borders to support Fund (MDTF). The MDTF (with the US, grant and have extended their support to in the rescue, relief and reconstruction Swiss, the UK, and Canada as main part- 50,000 private housing beneficiaries. efforts. The development partners’ sup- ners) provided USD 13 million grants to port has been integral and instrumental the Government of Nepal to be imple- Challenges in achieving what Nepal has today. Over- mented through the NRA. As per the revision of financial need all, the contributions of the development Also, some partners have appointed carried out in January 2020, the latest esti- partners always appear supportive and contractors/consultancies to facilitate and mated cost of recovery and reconstruction worthy from which it can be a learning mobilize the funded support programs. is USD 4.88 billion. The government still point for our future generation to institu- For example, to implement the housing needs to arrange a large amount to com- tionalize, learn and be better prepared for grant of the Government of India, the plete the reconstruction works. However, future disasters. United Nations Development Program the amount committed by the develop- (Aryal is Joint Secretary and Lamsal is Section Officer (UNDP) and the United Nations Office ment partners even has not been spent due at the National Reconstruction Authority)

26 Rebuilding Nepal FROM THE PARTNERS Two newly-reconstructed schools in Kathmandu handed over

Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyewali (third from right), US Ambassador to Nepal Randy W. Berry (third from left), USAID Nepal Mission Director Sepideh Keyvanshad (second from left) and Officer-in-Chief of the ADB Sharad Bhandari (second from right) at a school handover function at the premises of Sahayogi Madhyamik Bidhyalay of Gokarna (below). Two newly-reconstructed schools built by the US government, through the United States Agency for Internation- al Development (USAID), in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), have been handed over to the concerned school management. Chief Executive Officer of the Na- tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali and US Ambassador to Nepal Randy W. Berry, along with US- AID Nepal Mission Director Sepideh Keyvanshad and Officer-in-Chief of the ADB Sharad Bhandari, handed over the reconstructed buildings of two secondary schools in Kathmandu – Nagarajun Thulagaun Madhyamik Bidhyalay of Tarkeswar and Gokarneswar Sahayogi Madhyamik Bidhyalay amidst a function on March 5. Speaking at the handing over function getting children back in school. “As part AID, in partnership with the ADB, has organized at the premises of Sahayogi of this commitment, we partnered with partnered with the NRA, and the Ministry Madhyamik Bidhyalay of Gokarna, NRA the ADB and NRA to construct seismi- of Education, Science, and Technology to CEO Gyewali thanked the friendly coun- cally safe, well-equipped, and child- and complete the reconstruction of 29 per- tries for providing proper space for stu- disabled-friendly schools,” he said, add- manent schools in Nepal. With these two dents to study and hoped that this would ing, “This reflects the longstanding and more schools, 17 schools have now been further enhance the quality of education. continued support of the American peo- completed and handed over to the con- Ambassador Berry said that the U.S. ple to help rebuild a safer Nepal.” cerned school management. Construction government shares Nepal’s priority of The U.S. government, through US- of 12 other schools is currently on-going.

Rebuilding Nepal 27 FROM THE PARTNERS Reconstruction of Dharmashala at Budhanilkantha begins Reconstruction of Dharmashala, a resting place, at the Budhanilkantha temple premises here has begun. Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali laid the foundation stone for the reconstruction of the Dharmashala amidst a function on March 11 which was also attended by Namgya C Khampa, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy. Those attending the foundation laying ceremony were Swami Niga- mananda, Mathadhish of the Temple, Laxman Khadka, Chairman of Bud- hanilkantha Management Committee, Mani Ram Gelal, Secretary of the NRA, Tek Narayan Pandey, Secretary at the Ministry of Land Reform, and struction of the Dharmashala is the A Memorandum of Understanding Uddhav Prasad Kharel, Mayor of Bud- third of 28 heritage conservation and (MoU) for restoration and reconstruc- hanilkantha Municipality, among oth- restoration projects being undertaken tion of the 28 sites was signed in Au- ers. with a reconstruction commitment of gust 2017. The Central Level Project Balkot RR JV is constructing the Rs. 5.80 billion by the Government of Implementation Unit (Building) of the Dharmashala at the cost of Rs. 33.41 India for the restoration of cultural NRA is the implementing agency for million within 18 months. The recon- heritage sector. the projects. Foundation laid for 44-room school in Dakshinkali Chief Executive Officer of the Na- tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali laid the foundation stone for the construction of school buildings of Shree Champadevi Madhyamik Bidhyalay in Ward no. 1 of Dakshinkali Municipality on February 24. The two school buildings of three and half storey will altogether have 44 rooms. The school buildings are being reconstructed under the grant assistance from the Indian government as per its commitment at the international donors’ conference held after the 2015 earthquake. At the foundation laying ceremony, is constructing the school buildings within toilets each for male and female students CEO Gyewali the investment in the re- 15 months at the cost of Rs. 68.539, ex- which will be disable-friendly. construction of physical structures would cluding VAT. The construction contract This public school currently has 290 be worth the effort if the students receive includes all necessary furniture of the students. standard education. school. Mayor of Dakshinkali Municipality First Secretary of the Indian embassy The school buildings will have 26 class- Mohan Bahadur Basnet and Project Direc- Nabin Kumar who looks after the press, rooms and rooms for laboratory, library, tor of the NRA’s Central Level Project Im- information and cultural affairs was also administration, accounts, teachers, exam- plementation Unit (Education) Ramsharan present at the ceremony. ination rooms and a room for the princi- Sapkota were also present at the founda- Jay Hanuman Construction Company pal. The twin buildings will also have three tion laying ceremony.

28 Rebuilding Nepal FROM THE PARTNERS Foundation laid for Kanti Bhairav school in Kageswari

The foundation stone has been laid for the reconstruction of Shree Kanti Bhairav Madhyamik Bidhyalay in Kageswari of Kathmandu that is being built with the In- dian financial assistance. Chief Executive Officer of the Nation- al Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Sushil Gyewali and Deputy Chief of Mission of the Indian Embassy in Nepal Namgya Khampa jointly laid the foundation stone on February 18. The model school, the biggest one to be built with the Indian assistance, is being constructed in Thali of Ward no. 5 of Kag- eswari Manahara Municipality. It is being reconstructed at the cost of Rs. 265.86 mil- Manahara Municipality Krishnahari Thapa Bishnu Prasad Poudel. lion, excluding VAT. and Project Director of the Central Level The construction company, Yogi Ha- Addressing the foundation laying cere- Project Implementation Unit (Education) numan JV, has assured to complete the con- mony, CEO Gyewali expressed satisfaction of the NRA Ramsharan Sapkota also ad- struction within a year, though the contract that this model school is being built de- dressed the ceremony. period is for 15 months. The construction picting traditional Nepali architecture and The five-story school building will have began on February 8. hoped that the school will also become a 60 rooms, along with furniture and labora- The Central Building Research Insti- model in education standard as well. tory. Thirty of them will be classrooms, five tute, Roorkee of India is the consultant The national investment and exter- rooms will be allocated for library and lab- company for this post-earthquake recon- nal assistance in rebuilding physical infra- oratory, one for the principal, two parents struction project being carried out under structures of public schools will not only meeting rooms, one each for administra- the Indian financial assistance. enhance the education standard but would tion and accounts and eight rooms will be The Indian government has provided also help bridge the gap in providing good for the teachers. There will be eight more USD 500 million as financial assistance education to needy students, Gyewali fur- rooms which the school can use as per its to rebuild schools. Under this assistance, ther said. need. 71 school infrastructures are being recon- DCM Khampa shed light on India’s Besides, the school will have a can- structed in 8 districts. Out of this 8 schools involvement in rebuilding schools after the teen, fire fighting system, three badmin- have been reconstructed while 56 of them 2015 earthquake and expressed hope that ton courts, two basketball courts and one are various stages of construction. the reconstruction of Shree Kanti Bhairav theater to organize school events. All the On the occasion, Project Director of school will be a unique example of friend- floors in the building will have separate toi- CLPIU (Education) Ramsharan Sapkota ship between the two countries. lets for boys and girls. and Councilor at the Indian Embassy Pra- Member of the Constituent Assem- There are about 900 students currently fulla Chandra Sharma signed agreement to bly Dipak Kuinkel, Mayor of Kageswari studying in the school, according to teacher rebuild six schools, including Kanti Bhairav.

Rebuilding Nepal 29 FROM THE PARTNERS Foundation laid for school in Dhapasi

Foundation stone was laid on Feb- ruary 22 for the construction of Shree Dhapasi Madhyamik Bidhyalay of Ward no. 4 of Tokha in Kathmandu. Deputy Prime Minister Ishwar Pokharel laid the foundation stone. The school is being reconstructed with the financial assistance of the In- dian government. The 22-room school building is being built at the cost of Rs. 50.677 million. Out of 22 rooms, 13 will be classrooms while other rooms will be utilized to establish laboratory, library, administration, finance and teachers’ room. Yogi Hanuman JV is constructing the building to be completed within 15 months. At the foundation laying ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Pokharel said that the Dhapasi Madhyamik Bidhyalay would set an example after the reconstruction. Praising the reconstruction of schools Sushil Gyewali said that the reconstruc- Ram Thapa, principal of the school. after the earthquake of being of high tion of a school building in the heart of The Government of India is provid- quality, Pokharel appreciated the Na- the city would build confidence of the ing Rs. 5.8 billion for rebuild 71 schools tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) students and hoped that it would contrib- in 8 districts that have been damaged in for completing rebuilding 81 percent of ute in enhancing the quality of education. the April 2015 earthquake. Eight of these schools damaged in the 2015 earthquake. There are currently 398 students schools have already been constructed Chief Executive Officer of the NRA studying in the school, according to Shree while 56 others are under-construction.

30 Rebuilding Nepal FROM THE PARTNERS Retrofitting of Seto Machhindranath temple begins Works to conserve and retrofit the Seto Machhindranath temple in Janabahal in Ward no. 35 of Kathmandu Metropol- itan City (KMC) has begun with a Bhoomi Puja, a ground breaking ceremony. The restoration of the historic temple in the heart of the city which was badly damaged in the 2015 earthquake is being carried out with the financial assistance from the Indian government worth Rs. 62.6 million. Chief Executive Officer of the Na- tional Reconstruction Authority (NRA) and Indian ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra jointly laid the foundation on Feb- ruary 28. The restoration of Seto Machhindran- tha is the first of 28 cultural heritage conservation projects being undertaken with a reconstruction grant of Rs. 5.8 billion committed by the Government of India. All the 28 sites were identified by the Government of Nepal and both India and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Un- derstanding in this regard in August 2017. Speaking at the ceremony, CEO Gye- wali said that the temple will be retrofitted by using traditional technology and construction material. Informing that the reconstruction and restoration of 465 archaeological heritage sites have completed, he said the works on rebuilding heritage sites under the Indian government assistance will be carried out soon. Saying that Nepal’s heritage sites are the basis of long standing relations between the two countries, Indian ambassador Kwatra expressed satisfaction that India could help in restoring these important heritage sites. Mayor of KMC Bidhya Sundar Shakya informed that the KMC has been assisting in restoring various heritage sites in the capital. The Department of Archaeology is Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction Authority and Indian ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra jointly responsible for the design and monitor- laid the foundation on February 28 to retrofit Seto Machhindranath temple. ing of heritage reconstruction and retrofitting while the ’s NRA Central Level ried out by using traditional construction tury during the Malla era. This is temple Project Implementation Unit (Building) material and maintaining their originality, famous for social and religious harmony, has the responsibility to rebuilding big traditional importance and by keeping in- as the devotees from both the Hindu and heritage sites. These sites will be recon- tact the local traditions, values and beliefs, Bouddha religions worship here. structed and retrofitted as per the guide- according to Shyam Kishor Singh, Project Secretary at the NRA Maniram Gelal lines prescribed by the Ancient Monu- Director of the CLPIU (Building). and KMC Deputy Mayor Hari Prabha ment Preservation Act. It is believed that Seto Machhin- Khadgi were among those present at the The reconstruction works will be car- dranath temple was built in the 10th cen- ground breaking ceremony.

Rebuilding Nepal 31 FROM THE PRESS

With its new building, Durbar High School attracts students from private schools Parents who no longer could afford to send their kids to private schools as their incomes were shrunk by the pandemic are now looking at the government school as an alternative.

32 Rebuilding Nepal a computer lab, science labs, an auditorium down. “The school has good infrastruc- hall and a canteen better than most private ture and the school has assured us that it schools in the Valley. will provide quality education,” said Uma. The Durbar High School building is For the past four years students from shared by two schools: Bhanu School, both the schools were taught at the Tem- which runs classes during the day, and the porary Learning Centre constructed by the Sanskrit School that runs morning shifts. Chinese government on the premises of “Over sixty percent of the new stu- Balmiki Vidyapith Mahavidyalaya in Pra- dents have come from private schools,” darshani Marg. said Akhilesh Azad, principal of Bhanu Mahesh Budha, a 10th grade student School. “We received a lot of applications from Humla, said he is happy that he can and we had to be very selective when en- now study in the new building. “I feel as if rolling students,” said Azad. I am somewhere else. Earlier the roof over “Many parents complained that private our classroom leaked when it rained, and schools charge them exorbitant fees even we spent four years in a congested room,” when their children didn’t attend classes in remembers Budha. “The school has also the name of online classes, which were not added a few new teachers. Everything effective,” said Azad. looks really good here,” said Budha. “As we have enrolled 150 new students, “We now have really good infrastruc- the number of students at our school has ture, and the number of students who want now gone up to 300,” he told the Post. to study here has gone up,” said Shiva Raj Tamrakar’s mother Maita, who was Adhikari, principal at the Sanskrit school forced to close her shop in Sitapaila over that has been running classes for grades four months ago says sending her daugh- six to 10. He said his school enrolled 167 ter to Durbar High School has eased her new students this year. Adhikari said that financial burden. “I paid Rs 1,950 for my the school has been talking to Kathman- daughter’s admission. I would have been du Metropolitan City’s Education Depart- charged over Rs 60,000 in annual fees if ment to hire more teachers. we had gone to a private school,” said Mai- Ram Prasad Subedi, chief of the city's ta, 46, who fractured her hand in June and education department, said his office is could not continue her business. coming up with a plan to make the school Although President Bidya Devi Bhan- the best public school in the city. “We will dari inaugurated the newly restored build- soon make the plans public. We are equally ing in December last year, the school had concerned about imparting quality educa- only until now resumed classes for grades tion to students,” said Subedi. 11 and 12. Meanwhile, Principal Adhikari believes But on Sunday, the school opened its that Durbar High School’s lost glory will doors for around 600 students from both now be restored. The school’s history dates Bhanu and Sanskrit schools. The school back to the 1800 when it was a matter of only has 35 teachers—17 in Sanskrit and reputation to send one’s children in the Kathmandu: Sunday was the first day 18 in Bhanu school. school. The Ranas built the school in 1853 of school for Anjelica Tamrakar. The Karishma Basnet, 15, another newly to educate the children of the ruling class. ninth grader, who was studying at a private enrolled student in grade nine said two of Later, members of the public were also school in Kathmandu, is now attending a her siblings are now enrolled in the same allowed in, but entry was restricted to those government school at the heart of Kath- school—one in grade one and the other from well-off families. Durbar High school, mandu–one of the oldest in the country. in grade eight. “The infrastructure is far which was renamed Bahnu Secondary “I sat for the entrance exam a week ago, better than my previous school, and it will School in 1967, was the only English me- and classes started on Sunday,” said Tam- provide a great economic relief for my dium School in the country for a long time. rakar, one of the new students at Durbar family,” said Basnet. But after the fall of the Rana regime High School, which was ravaged by the Uma Basnet, Karishma’s mother, said and in 1950 more schools opened in the 2015 earthquake and recently rebuilt with she got her three children enrolled at Valley and Durbar High School gradually Chinese aid at the cost of Rs850 million. Durbar School after she could not pay ex- lost its sheen. “I guess the school is go- “I am trying to adjust with the situation orbitant fees at their previous school. ing to restore its lost glory. We are equal- here. But I love all the new things,” said “How could I pay Rs75,000 for my ly working to promote English medium Tamrakar, who is happy to learn Sanskrit kids who didn’t go to school over nine as well and Sanskrit and Nepali,” said at the school. months?” said the mother of three who Adhikari. Tamrakar is one of the new students at lives in a rented room and has been left un- By Anup Ojha in The Kathmandu Post – the government school, which now boasts employed following the nationwide lock- February 1, 2021

Rebuilding Nepal 33 FROM THE PRESS Reconstruction of quake-ravaged health posts gains momentum in Makwanpur The Gorkha Earthquake and its powerful aftershocks in 2015 had destroyed the buildings of nine health posts in the district.

Makwanpur: The reconstruction of earthquake-ravaged health post buildings has finally gathered momentum in Makwanpur district nearly six years after the disaster caused massive destruction across the country. According to the district project implementation unit of the National Re- construction Authority, the reconstruction of one health post building has already been completed, four are under construction while works on four other buildings have recently begun. With the reconstruction drive going in full swing, local residents are hopeful to get quality health services from the newly reconstructed buildings. The Gorkha Earthquake and its powerful aftershocks in 2015 had destroyed the buildings of nine health posts in Makwanpur. “We have completed the reconstruction of a health post building in Beniti, Pratap Bista/TKP Bagmati Rural Municipality Ward No. 9, Authorities are preparing to construct a five-bed health post at Khairang, a remote settlement in Makwanpur, with an at the cost of Rs 13 million. The infra- estimated cost of Rs 73 million. structure was handed over to the rural municipality last week,” said Tulasiram nicipality-4, Bakaiya Rural Municipality-2 Kharbuja, chief at the district project and Raksirang Rural Municipality-9 has implementation unit. According to him, A temporary health recently begun. The foundation stones the newly reconstructed building is also post was set up in for these buildings were laid on Febru- home to a birthing centre. Phanparbari Bazaar ary 2. A temporary health post was set up The government also plans to con- in Phanparbari Bazaar after the building after the building of struct a five-bed health post at Khairang, of Betini health post was destroyed in the Betini health post a remote settlement in Makwanpur, with earthquake. The residents of Betini had was destroyed in the an estimated cost of Rs 73 million. to walk for hours to reach Phanparbari to Khairang, home to the underpriv- avail of health services. earthquake. ileged Chepang community, is around “With the reconstruction of the nine hours’ walks away from Manahari health post building, we don’t need to ral Municipality, Chainpur and Raksirang Bazaar, the nearest market place along walk for hours now just to treat minor Rural Municipality are under construc- the East-West Highway. ailments,” said 70-year-old Chaturman tion. “Villagers in Khairang will benefit Thadamagar of Betini. It takes around “The reconstruction of these four from the construction of the five-bed four hours on foot to reach Phanparbari buildings will be completed within a few health post in the settlement,” said Raj Bazaar from Betini. months,” said Kharbuja. Kumar Malla, the chairman of Raksirang According to the district project im- Similarly, the reconstruction of four Rural Municipality. plementation unit, a health post each in other health post buildings in Thaha By Pratap Bista in The Kathmandu Post – February Hetauda Sub-metropolis-19, Kailash Ru- Municipality-11, Bhimphedi Rural Mu- 7, 2021

34 Rebuilding Nepal FROM THE PRESS

Photos: Kathmandupress

Kasthamandap reconstruction work sees 90 percent progress

Kathmandu: The reconstruction Currently, 35 workers are being mo- earthquake had begun three years ago. work of Kasthamandap has witnessed 90 bilized for its reconstruction. The recon- According to chairperson of Kasht- percent of progress. struction was delayed at the initial stage amandap Reconstruction Committee Works are progressing in full swing due to lack of construction materials Rajesh Shakya, the reconstruction of the to complete the reconstruction process including wood and brick. The construc- heritage would be fully completed within within the coming mid-April. Currently, tion work has now gained pace with avail- mid-April as only 10 percent work is left the task of installing the roof is under- ability of the materials. now to complete the work. way as part of the ongoing reconstruc- The rebuilding of historical Kastha- tion. mandap that was devastated by the 2015 From RSS – March 15, 2021

Rebuilding Nepal 35 NRA UPDATE Workshops on disaster-resilient development found to be effective Representatives and participants of the workshops are of the opinion that these workshops on the ‘government for resilient development’ are timely and helpful.

Workshops on resilient reconstruction and development held in various earth- Ashok Kumar Byanju to increase their capacity to assess, quake-affected districts have been found President prepare, reduce and manage probable to be effective, the participants have said. Municipality Association disasters in their areas. At present, lo- The people’s representatives of the local of Nepal and Mayor, cal levels also have disaster manage- governments appreciated the initiative Dhulikhel Municipality ment committees and sections, but not taken by the National Reconstruction Au- (Kavrepalanchowk) enough staffs, knowledge and budget. thority (NRA), as these workshops helped Still, it is necessary for us to be attentive them formulate plans for resilient devel- The work of disaster risk reduc- to manage competent staffs and budget opment. tion and management falls under the in the local government. Thus, these Representatives and participants of responsibility of the local government. workshops help local governments the workshops are of the opinion that Therefore, capacitating local govern- improve their knowledge and capacity these workshops on the ‘government for ments is strategically important. It is which will help minimize the damages resilient development’ are timely and help- important for all the local governments in case of disasters in future. ful. The total of 1,772 local government representatives and staff has participated in the workshops till March end that are Bharat Prasad Aryal government’s responsibility to protect being organized by the Earthquake Hous- Project Director, people’s lives and property and pro- ing Reconstruction Project (EHRP) of the Earthquake Housing mote resilient development by reduc- NRA. Out of them, 986 are elected repre- Reconstruction Project ing the risks of any disaster. sentatives while 786 are staffs. Keeping this reality in mind, we The workshop has witnessed 89.77 In the last five years, have organized these training work- percent participation in an average. Ac- we have been working in reconstruc- shops targeting the people’s represen- cording to Bharat Prasad Aryal, Project tion and rehabilitation sector. While tatives and staffs of the local govern- Director of the EHRP, all the 1,974 par- working, we felt that we should pay ments. All the participants have said ticipants from 282 local governments will enough attention to disaster risk reduc- that the workshops have been very be given the opportunity to participate in tion and management related works. useful. the workshops. We gained that experience too. We Some people’s representatives have The workshop was first held on Feb- felt that this experience and learning said that they could have done a bet- ruary 8 in which eight local government should be transferred to the relevant ter job if these workshops were held chiefs, deputy chiefs, chief administrative body. earlier, as they are useful and necessary officer, disaster coordination commit- According to the federal struc- also. Some of the development part- tee coordinator, local representatives and ture, local development and disaster ners have also approached us to use staff ’s had participated. risk reduction and management’s exit our training manual as they found it Chief Executive Officer of the NRA points are the local governments like effective. The National Disaster Risk Sushil Gyewali has stated that these work- rural municipalities and municipalities. Reduction and Management Authori- shops were conducted to inform the local As per the Nepal government’s policy, ty has been active in this process from governments on necessary thematic policy, law and strategic work plans, the local the very beginning. Our working ar- strategy, working procedures and practic- governments have been given the re- eas are 282 local governments of 32 es to guide them on resilient development sponsibility of disaster risk reduction earthquake-affected districts. Howev- works by reducing the risks of disaster. and management, and resilient de- er, these training workshops should be Saying that the concept of earth- velopment. Therefore, it is the local held in all the 753 local governments. quake-resilient technology has reached to the grassroots level during the reconstruction, CEO Gyewali said, “These work- local governments for the sustainability of Chief Executive of the National Di- shops have been organized to strengthen disaster management.” saster Risk Reduction and Management

36 Rebuilding Nepal NRA UPDATE

Duf Kumar Bastola issues raised during the training work- Training manual Chairperson shop while formulating our plans and Necha Salyan Rural Mu- programs in coming days. nicipality, Solukhumbu This training has also opened a door to delve deeper into the issues of The workshop and relevance. I think the training manual training were very good and useful. is also very timely and excellent. These This kind of training updates us on issues should be included in the curric- new developments and necessity. This ulum of schools, universities and pub- training will not only help us on for- lic service commission also. I believe mulating plans to reduce the impact of that organization of such workshops disasters, but also helps us in the sus- for the staff at the local governments tainable development. We have felt the will provide additional support in proj- changes. We will definitely include the ect planning and implementation.

Asmita Bayalkoti mittee, this workshop would help me Ward Committee Member, in the preparation to face any disaster Chandragiri municipality, and adopt necessary measures in res- Kathmandu cue works and in rehabilitation. I be- The National Reconstruction lieve that the training has helped us in Authority and the National Di- The three-day work- working towards building disaster-re- saster Risk Reduction and Man- shop on disaster management and silient houses in our municipality and agement Authority have jointly resilient development has been very carry out works to control landslides. prepared a training manual for encouraging. I felt that if we had re- We can use the knowledge gained here the workshop. This manual in- ceived such workshop earlier, we in formulating new policies and revis- cludes Nepal government’s stra- could have been able to perform bet- ing old ones. The workshop has been tegic workplan, other policy and ter during our tenure. As I am also in very effective both in terms of the is- structural provision, disaster-resil- the environment management com- sues and the management. ient buildings and infrastructure, soil-technology solutions, among other issues. It also deals with Authority (NDRRMA) Anil Pokharel said weather and climate resilience, that it is very important to capacitate the lo- natural resource management for cal governments in disaster risk reduction, As the local disaster resilience, resilient agri- as the Sendai Framework, as agreed upon governments have culture, resilient education sector by Nepal, states that investment should be and financing issues for disaster made to reduce the risks of disaster. the decisive role resilience. The EHRP has prepared a model for in disaster risk the workshops by providing three-day reduction and workshops for people’s representatives of able to face any disaster and get prepared the local governments and five-day work- disaster-resilient for them. shops for staffs working at these local gov- development, the As per the Constitution, the basic de- ernments. NRA organized these velopment works, including housing, are The three-day workshop is available for under the jurisdiction of the local govern- four participants each local government – workshops to train ments. And, as the local governments have Chief or Deputy Chief, Coordinator of the them. the decisive role in disaster risk reduction Disaster Management Committee, woman and disaster-resilient development, the member and the Chief Administrative NRA organized these workshops to train Officer. Similarly, the five-day workshop rain and extreme climate related human-in- the people working in these local bodies. is provided for the Chief of the Planning duced reasons. Due to regular occurrences The training workshops have been or- Division in the local government, engineer of disasters, there are physical and human ganized in Kathmandu and Chitwan by di- and ward secretary of the disaster-affected losses and livelihood is affected, thereby viding 32 earthquake-affected districts into ward, among others. having a negative impact oin the national two clusters. The EHRP has also published Nepal is in the risk of multiple disasters economy. Thus, it is imperative to capac- a training manual to run these workshops due to its geological and geographical ter- itate the local governments to make them effectively.

Rebuilding Nepal 37 NRA UPDATE NRA Appellate Committee holds interaction in Pokhara Justice will be provided to all earthquake-affected people

NRA Chairperson of the Appellate Committee Justice Mohammad Junaid Azad speaking at interaction held in Pokhara. The Appellate Committee of the Na- with utmost priority and assured that all Office secretary of the Appellate tional Reconstruction Committee (NRA) the earthquake-affected people will be Committee Gopikrishna Regmi wel- held a one-day provincial interaction in provided justice. He added that all the comed the participants while chief of Pokhara on March 1 about the on-going concerned stakeholders have the equal District Level Project Implementation post-earthquake reconstruction and exist- responsibility to ensure that no one is left Unit (Grant Management and Local In- ing grievances. behind. frastructure) Nabaraj Sharma emceed At the interaction, Chief Executive Member of the Appellate Committee the program. Officer of the NRA Sushil Gyewali said Bhishma Raj Kadariya and under secre- Those attending the interaction in- the NRA has done a remarkable work tary at the NRA Manohar Ghimire pre- cluded chairperson of the District Co- in the post-disaster recovery which has sented working papers at the interaction. ordination Committee of Kaski, mayors been appreciated by national and inter- Chief of District Coordination Com- and deputy mayors of municipalities national communities. Saying that the mittee of Kaski Bain Bahadur Chhetri of the Gandaki Province, Chairs and NRA has always given preference to the praised the post-earthquake reconstruc- Deputy Chairs of rural municipalities, actual beneficiaries while carrying out the tion works but said that there are still Chief Administrative Officers, officials reconstruction works, Gyewali said the people left out and requested to address of the NRA, representatives of district NRA would move forward by solving their grievances to include them in the re- government offices in Kaski, chiefs of any existing problem and would include construction process. DLPIUs in Kaski, earthquake-affected all the beneficiaries in the reconstruction Representatives of local governments people, media persons and others. process. and other participants also raised the is- The interaction program was held Chairperson of the Appellate Com- sue of those left behind in the reconstruc- with financial and technical support mittee Justice Mohammad Junaid Azad tion and stressed on the need to provide from the Nepal-EU Action for Recov- informed that the Committee would justice to those who have been affected ery and Reconstruction (NEARR) Fa- look into all the registered grievances during the 2015 earthquake. cility.

38 Rebuilding Nepal NRA UPDATE Retrofitting will be useful for future, say experts

Photos: NRA The lessons learnt from retrofitting of houses that were partially damaged in the 2015 earthquake will be useful to strengthen private houses throughout Nepal, according to government officials and experts. This was discussed at the workshop on “NRA’s best practices on private housing retrofitting experiences and way forward” organized on February 21 to highlight the retrofitting works carried out by the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). NRA Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyewali said that though the number of houses that have been retrofitted during the post-earthquake reconstruction, the study and research carried out during the process would be very useful to adopt in future to strengthen the private houses. housing project. Tim Hart, Jitendra Bothra and Amanda “The retrofitting will not only help us Former Secretary at the Ministry of Duff. preserve the old style houses, but would Urban Development Dipendranath Shar- Deputy Executive Director of the also help us stop damages during the di- ma stressed on the need to adopt retro- NSET Dr. Ramesh Guragain facilitated sasters,” he said, adding, “This will help us fitting to save private houses as well as to the discussion on the working papers. build resilient Nepal.” maintain other public buildings. Executive Member of the NRA Dr. Chief Executive of the National Di- Deputy Director of the Central Level Chandra Bahadur Shrestha present- saster Risk Reduction and Management Project Implementation Unit (Building) ed the objectives of the program and Authority (NDRRMA) Anil Pokharel said Jhappar Singh Bishwakarma, Dipak Saud highlighted its expected results while that it could contribute in disaster risk of Housing Recovery and Reconstruc- another Executive Member of the NRA reduction if we could identify vulnerable tion Platform and Bipin Kumar Gautam Dr. Bishnu Bahadur Bhandari said that houses and retrofit them. of CLPIU (Building) presented working retrofitting needs to be economically Director General of the Department papers to highlight the NRA’s works on viable, culturally accepted and environ- of Urban Development and Building retrofitting. Those commenting on their mentally suitable. Construction Nawaraj Pyakurel informed papers were Executive Member of the The program was chaired by Shyam that retrofitting experiences will be in- NRA Dr. Hariram Parajuli, Professor Dr. Kishor Singh, Project Director of the cluded while implementing people’s safe Premnath Maskey, Dr. Gokarna Motra, CLPIU (Building).

Rebuilding Nepal 39 NRA UPDATE Former PM Bhattarai’s house retrofitted

Former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai’s ancestral house in Gorkha has been retrofitted. Sharing photos of his newly-retrofitted house in facebook, Dr. Bhattarai expressed satisfaction in taking a decision to retrofit his house, as he found it beneficial. Dr. Bhattarai who is also a member of the House of Representatives shared in his facebook post the nine benefits of retrofitting his house: 1. Less time consuming and less expens- es 2. Reduction in earthquake and other disaster risks 3. Restoration of family history, memory, sentiment, intimacy and surround- ings 4. Conservation of traditional art and architecture, technology, culture, and heritage 5. Experience of new beautification Photos: BRB's Facebook Page with a fusion of traditional and modern technology, art and construction economic opportunity has also suggested the government to material 8. Encourage to return to village and formulate policy, planning and program 6. Conservation of clean and green en- contribute in economic-social trans- to strengthen national housing, building vironment formation and reconstruction and physical structures and implement 7. Construction and utilization of local 9. Promotion of rural cultural tourism throughout the country through the local skilled manpower, employment and Dr. Bhattarai, who is an architect, bodies.

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NRA is also publishing a Nepali bi-monthly ‘Punarnirman’. You can obtain the copies from the NRA office. Reconstruction of Kirtipur Bihar which was badly damaged in April 2015 earthquake is currently going on. Photo courtesy: Raja Shakya

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: Gopal Prasad Aryal (Joint Secretary), Manohar Ghimire (Under Secretary), Kul Prakash Neupane (Statistics Officer) Dipak Sapkota, Editorial Advisor: Kosmos Biswokarma

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