KATHMANDU, AUGUST 27

The government has decided to hand over the remaining postquake reconstruction works being undertaken by the National Reconstruction Authority to the relevant ministries, departments and agencies.

The 20th meeting of the NRA Steering Committee chaired by Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba decided to this effect yesterday.

The remaining works to be handed over will also include private housing reconstruction.

As per the decision, the financial and technical management of private housing reconstruction and settlement development will be transferred to the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction under the Ministry of Urban Development.

A press release issued by the NRA said the the DoUDBC would take charge of reconstruction of government/public buildings, health facilities and monasteries currently carried out through the Central Project Implementation Unit (Building).

Similarly, it has been decided that works related to disaster risk reduction and management as well as institutional responsibilities being taken up by the NRA will be handed over to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority. The NDRRMA is also entrusted with overseeing the legal and policy provisions, coordination, facilitation and monitoring, which have been handled by the NARA since its inception in 2015.

The works related to reconstruction of school and university buildings will be taken over by the the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and education development and coordination units.

The Department of Archaeology will own the responsibility for the under-reconstruction and archaeological heritages and the damaged monasteries which are more than 100 years old. However, reconstruction works have yet to begin.

Roads and bridges have been set under the responsibility of the MoUD. The reconstruction of monasteries except those falling under the DoA and DoUDBC will be handed by the Department of Local Infrastructure, in coordination with the Monastery Management and Development Committee.

A small number of human resources to be placed at the central structure of the NRA will carry out works such as reconstruction and audit of Dharahara, Ranipokhari, Singha Durbar and Ranoddip Durbar, which is situated on the premises of Narayanhiti Palace Museum till its tenure, end of December.

The NRA will also facilitate the handover of remaining construction works to the relevant ministries, departments and agencies, and make preparation for hosting a proposed international conference on Nepal's reconstruction during the period in December.

According to the NRA, the total number of private housing reconstruction grant beneficiaries has been maintained at 858,282 as of July 1. They are entitled to housing grant of Rs 300,000 each. As per the figures, grant agreement has been signed with 818,624 (95.4 per cent) beneficiaries. Of them, 816,670 (99.8 per cent), 727,328 (88.8 per cent) and 665,233 (81.3 per cent) have received first, second and third tranches of the grant respectively.

The NRA has also made significant progress in rebulding public infrastructure. About 88 per cent of schools, 65 per cent of health institutions, 64 per cent of archaeological heritages, 93 per cent of government buildings and security sector buildings have been reconstructed. A version of this article appears in the print on August 28 2021, of The Himalayan Times.