Amid confusion over reconstruction of Dharahara, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) on Wednesday said it was planning to lay the foundation of the iconic structure within this fiscal year.

“After taking the responsibility of reconstruction of Dharahara, the NRA is trying to lay its foundation this fiscal year,” NRA CEO Yubaraj Bhusal said the reconstruction authority.

The nine-storey tower, built in 1832 by then prime minister Bhimsen Thapa, was destroyed in the April 25, 2015 earthquake.

The NRA had announced in September last year that it would rebuild the iconic tower on its own after the state-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) reneged on its promise of rebuilding the structure.

NRA Spokesperson Yam Lal Bhusal said the Department of Archaeology (DoA) and the Ministry of Urban Development are studying a design of the structure. “Once they approve the design, the NRA will work on it,” said Bhusal. But declined to speculate on the cost for the reconstruction of the project.

The NT, which had requested the government to allow it to reconstruct the historic monument, had backtracked from the project in September last year.

The NRA’s objection to NT’s proposal to recover its investment by using the structure for commercial purpose was the major reason behind the telecom giants decision to pull out of the project.

It had announced to invest around Rs8 billion for the reconstruction of Dharahara. The NT had floated a proposal to build a museum, children’s park, among others, in the 42- ropani plot where the historic monument is located. 

In February 2016, the then prime minister KP Oli had inaugurated the reconstruction project with a motto “I will construct my Dharahara”. He even announced he would contribute amount equivalent to his one month’s salary into the citizen’s fund created for the purpose.

According to the NRA, Rs 90 million has been collected in the fund.