An earthquake victim rendered homeless will get up to Rs2.5 million as subsidised loan in addition to the state announced Rs200,000 grant to reconstruct damaged private houses in the affected districts.

Speaking at the parliamentary Social Justice and Human Rights Committee, National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) Chief Executive Officer Sushil Gyewali said the homeless quake survivors in urban areas will get a maximum

of Rs2,500,000 in subsidised loans. Each damaged

household in rural areas will get up to Rs1.5 million for rebuilding.

Although the government announced to provide Rs200,000 to each household rendered homeless, subsidised loans were introduced when the displaced people complained that the grant would be inadequate to

fund the reconstruction

work. The grant amount is said to be distributed through the banking channel in three phases.

The NRA is planning to inaugurate housing reconstruction from Singati of Dolakha where a detailed damage assessment of houses and infrastructure has been completed. Following discrepancies in the number of quake victims, the authority has started data verification in all the 14 worst-hit districts.

Trained engineers deployed as surveyors have assessed 144,000 households. According to the government’s Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 498,852 private houses were destroyed in the April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks.

International donors have pledged to provide $4.4 billion for rebuilding the nation while the government has allocated Rs74 billion in this fiscal year for reconstruction activities. Out of the donor-pledged money, the authority has already made bilateral contracts worth $85 million with the donors.

Grant distribution, however, has yet to begin in the absence of “exact details” of damage to the houses and infrastructure. CEO Gyewali said the authority will ask the locals to begin reconstruction by providing state-announced money and technical hands to ensure earthquake-resilient buildings immediately after the digital data collection process is over.