KATHMANDU, AUGUST 12

The Government of Nepal had selected 130,932 beneficiaries under the safe citizen housing programme till mid-July.

According to a report released by the Ministry of Urban Development, a grant agreement has been concluded with 122,319 beneficiaries out of those selected for the programme. Similarly, 81,866 and 18,273 beneficiaries have received the first and second tranches, respectively. The Ministry of Finance has allocated the budget to local levels for the grant agreement and implementation of the safe citizen housing programme on recommendation of the MoUD.

The programme is executed in line with Safe Citizen Housing Implementation Procedure to ensure arrangement of appropriate, safe and environment-friendly housing for people living below the poverty line and whose houses have thatched roof. This requires the government to identify and select beneficiaries on the basis of the recommendation letter of the concerned local level and district disaster management committee.

Only the families living in a hut or house with thatched roof, which are vulnerable to fire, rain and storm will benefit from this scheme. As per the MoUD, the grant is used to replace the thatched roof or other vulnerable roofs with galvanised zinc sheets. Priority shall be attached to families with senior citizens, orphans, single women and persons with disabilities. Any joint family is entitled to grant amount for only one housing unit.

The procedure has empowered the Safe Citizen Housing Coordination Committee, led by a directly elected member of the House of Representatives to select beneficiaries from among the families identified by the Federal Level Project Implementation Unit in the concerned constituency.

The FLPIU enters into a grant agreement with the selected beneficiaries for the purpose of construction of safe housing. The grant amount of Rs 50,000 is provided through a banking channel in two tranches, 60 per cent and 40 per cent. After receiving the first tranche of the grant amount, the concerned beneficiary should proceed with re-roofing the house.

The last tranche is released once a report from the concerned local level and technical committee confirm that the first tranche was properly used. Amount exceeding the grant for re-roofing should be borne by the concerned family. If the grant amount is not found to have been used for the purpose for which it was provided, the FLPIU will recover the cash from the concerned beneficiary as a government due.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 13, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.