KATHMANDU, August 8

Kathmandu Metropolitan City has provided 75 per cent discount in the charge rate for obtaining permits to reconstruct houses completely damaged by the April 25 earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks.

The completely damaged institutional and residential houses/buildings are entitled to 75 per cent discount for approval of blueprint of the structures provided that the reconstructed structures continue to operate for the same purpose that existed before the tremor.

Dhruba Kafle, chief at Revenue Division at KMC, said that 75 per cent discount in the charge rate would not be granted if the owners want to discontinue the operation of reconstructed buildings for institutional and residential purposes.

Likewise, 25 per cent discount in the charge rate has been provisioned for reconstruction of partially damaged institutional and residential houses/buildings.

The damaged institutional buildings are civic buildings such as schools, universities, hospitals, jails, offices, museums, transportation terminals, police stations and military bases among others.  The residential buildings are apartment blocks, asylums, condominiums, dormitories, duplex personal  houses, nursing homes, town houses, villas, bungalows and so on.

“The owners have to obtain approval of a house design under the same institutional and residential nature to claim the discounts,” he said, adding that KMC expected the owners to retrofit the reconstructed buildings. The owners of houses suffering minor cracks are not eligible to claim discounts.

The institutional and residential house owners must produce earthquake victim’s identity card, Red Cross relief identity cards and other documents related to damaged buildings and updated building design to claim the discounts. KMC is charging Rs 35 per square feet for commercial and Rs 25 per square feet for non-commercial buildings.  The quake damaged 56,02499 private buildings partially and 3,502 completely.