Kathmandu, July 13

As many as 54 families, who were rendered homeless by the devastating earthquakes last year in Kilagal, are poised to resettle in a multi-storeyed building under the Integrated Housing Development Programme.

The Kathmandu metropolis has already approved a joint application submitted by the households to pool land for the construction of an integrated housing, and forwarded it to the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority.

An official at the metropolis said an integrated housing management committee comprising representatives from the KDVA, the KMC and locals has been formed for the construction and operation of the building.

KMC had announced its plan to introduce Urban Regeneration Programme through the fiscal budget of 2016/17.

Macharaja Maharjan, coordinator of the campaign on behalf of Kilagal locals, has furnished land ownership certificates of the households to the KMC for construction of the integrated housing under the Urban Regeneration Programme.

The locals floated the idea of integrated housing after the earthquake destroyed their houses in core city area and made it impossible for them to build separate houses on land fragmented by partition of property among family members.

The official said KDVA will now start the process to requisition the land. “The government will complete construction of the integrated housing within three years and hand it over to the users’ committee,” he informed.

URP is the redevelopment of land in moderate to high density urban areas to improve the city’s infrastructure, create more economic activities, transform old earthquake-vulnerable buildings into earthquake-resistant neighbourhoods, improve the quality of life, preserve historic and architectural heritages, and ensure social inclusion and cohesion.