The National Reconstruction Authority on Wednesday unveiled a three-month phase-wise action plan for reconstructing villages and infrastructure destroyed by devastating April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks.

The plan includes various programmes, ranging from the launching of a national reconstruction campaign on April 24 to starting the construction of a model house. The campaign kicks off on Saturday and culminates on April 24.

The maiden meeting of the Central Reconstruction Advisory Council headed by the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli endorsed the action plan tabled by NRA Chief Executive Sushil Gyewali.

During the meeting, CEO Gyewali proposed to finalise organizational structure, mobilise minimum human resources in authority headquarters and its sub-regional offices, begin national

reconstruction grant

campaign and form district coordination committee in

all the quake-affected districts in the first phase of the action plan.

The authority has proposed to implement reconstruction related policy, regulation and guidelines; simplify reconstruction concept, establish seven sub-regional offices in the quake-affected districts and form reconstruction units there in the second phase of the programme.

The third and final phase of the programme will focus on housing and demographic survey in the quake-affected districts and building a model housing before wrapping the campaign on April 24.

Nearly 9,000 people were killed and over 22,000 injured in the Great Earthquake, which also displaced tens of thousands. The reconstruction of quake destroyed

houses have failed to take

off contrary to the government’s announcement to rebuild them.

International donors have pledged more than $4 billion (approximately Rs400 billion) and Rs 74 billion that the government has allocated for the reconstruction projects remains unspent, while tens of thousands of people are taking shelter under filmsy tents in extreme cold. Advisory Council members have been briefed that the authority was in a position to mobilise around $200 million for reconstruction.

More than 60 I/NGOs have pledged their support to rebuild houses as per the shelter cluster survey.

The reconstruction works have been delayed for months due to dispute between the major political parties over the appointment of NRA chief executive.

NRA chief Gyewali informed the meeting on Wednesday that the reconstruction policy were being formulated, with a compilation of 17 designs in a catalogue. He proposed to develop the authority as an institution to formulate key policies, coordinate and monitor the reconstruction projects and mobilise local bodies for the purpose. He also suggested “owner driven policy” while rebuilding houses.

“Private houses will be built based on owner driven approach and the authority will facilitate reconstruction works by mobilising concerned local bodies,” reads the policy paper that was presented in the meeting.

District level development offices will be mobilised to reconstruct local government offices, health posts, schools and other infrastructure.

The authority has already decided to develop a two-tier structure—at central and sub-regional levels—to oversee the overall reconstruction and rehabilitation of quake destroyed houses.

Implementation modality

- Develop the NRA as an institution to formulate key policies, coordinate and monitor the reconstruction projects and mobilise local bodies to enforcing reconstruction projects

- Build private houses/buildings based on owner driven approach and authority to facilitate reconstruction works by mobilising concerned local bodies

- Mobilise district level development offices for reconstruction of local

government offices, health post, schools and other infrastructure

- Task local consumers’ group for rebuilding of community infrastructure