The flood victim resettlement programme in the district is moving at snail pace owing to the government’s negligence to allocate budget in time.

Displaced people said the programme has been delayed. Urban Development and Building Division (UDBD) chief Thambaraj Shrestha said they are facing problems due to lack of budget. “We could not carry out any works in the past four months,” he said.

The programme was aimed at setting 832 families who have been living in a pitiable condition.

The families were displaced due to landslides and floods in the Mid-Western districts of Banke, Bardiya, Surkhet and Dang in 2014. Around 250 people were also killed in the disasters.

UDBD Section Officer Maniram Kharal said they could not distribute amount to the victims due budget crunch. The government started the resettlement programme last year. “We need around Rs 95 million for the programme but we got only Rs 45 million last year,” Kharal said. Of the allocated amount, around Rs 20 million was returned to the government as no work was done.

The UDBD was recommended to provide Rs 50,000 to 494 families whose houses were destroyed by the floods and Rs 25,000 to 107 families to purchase land and build new houses. “Six families received Rs 25,000 to buy land and 10 families received Rs 25,000 to construct houses in the second installment,” Kharal said.

Consequently, the flood victims who got recommendations from the District Disaster Management Committee did not get relief amount due to the lack of budget. Though 163 flood victims filed applications for the relief amount, the UDBD said it is unable to provide the amount. Officials said they will provide the remaining amount to the victims only after confirming that the displaced families purchased land.

The government announced that it will provide Rs 50,000 to each displaced family to buy land and Rs 75,000 to construct house in three installments.