CHITWAN, April 27: So far, only 30 quake victim families in Chitwan district have received the third tranche of the reconstruction grant, indicating the slow progress in post-quake reconstruction.
The deadly Gorkha quake of 2015 had destroyed 7,335 houses in Chitwan. Out of the total affected, only 5,423 families have claimed the first tranche of the housing grant, informed Rajendra Karki, chief of Chitwan-based office of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA).
Among those who have got the first tranche of the grant, 797 families have received the second tranche while 30 families have received the third.
Gorkha quake victims reluctant to retrofit their houses
Houses of 593 families in the district were partially damaged during the quake. Among them, 408 families have received the first tranche of the grant, according to Karki.
Out of the total quake victim families, as many as 1,912 have not claimed even their first tranche of the grant. According to the NRA, some of the victims have not come in contact while other victims are facing delay due to income contract process.
“Many of the victims don't have lands to claim the grant. Even those who claimed their first tranche, some are having difficulties claiming the second tranche due to the difficult process which is full of hassles,” said NRA Chitwan chief Karki.
According to engineer Subash Neupane of the NRA, locals of Kabilash area of Bharatpur Metropolis are facing lots of problems in getting the blueprints of their houses passed by the government authorities. “This problem has prevented many from claiming their second and third tranche. Kabilash alone has 331 people facing this problem,” he said.
NRA Chitwan Chief Karki said 103 households of the rural parts of the district need to be relocated. “Among them, we have already purchased safe lands for 21 families. We are trying to find land for the remaining families as well,” he said.
