Lalitpur, August 19

Chief Executive Officer of National Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyawali said the government would provide the first tranche of the housing grant to earthquake survivors very soon.

Speaking at a programme today, he also urged all to keep patience as the NRA did not want the fund to be misused.

“We are neither going to deviate from the right approach nor are going to delay distribution of the grant.

The donor agencies are suggesting patience so that the grant is not misused,” he said, adding that the government was equally cautious lest the owners of the houses that only need repair take the grant.

He said only the genuine earthquake survivors whose houses need to be demolished for reconstruction will get the grant amount of Rs 200,000. CEO Gyawali claimed that no earthquake-affected would be deprived of the relief amount.

According to him, more than 50 old settlements have been identified in Khokana, Bungamati and Sankhu, among other places, where houses need to be reconstructed.

“There is the problem of land-ownership documents in Khokana and some other places and we want the problem to be resolved soon,” he said.

Rights advocate Bandana Rana said they wanted housing reconstruction to be gender-friendly.