Delay in re-verification of the households damaged in last year’s earthquake has affected timber distribution for rebuilding.

“Many households in affected districts are awaiting government’s financial support to rebuild their houses.

Without verified data on the number of earthquake-affected households, timber distribution will not take place,” said Resham Dangi,  director general at the Department of Forests (DoF).

The findings of a report prepared by the Ministry of Home Affairs, before the NRA’s reassessment decision, had revealed that around 602,257 houses were

destroyed and 285,099 were damaged by the April 25 earthquake and its strong aftershocks.

 Based on this data, the DoF estimates that 51.82 million cubic feet timber will be required to rebuild damaged structures, including public buildings in earthquake-hit districts.

According to Dangi, though the government has not directly started distribution of hardwood timber for rebuilding, the rules approved last month has facilitated the distribution of firewood and logs from community and private forestry in the earthquake-affected districts.

“We hope to implement the timber distribution rules from the government side by the end of April. By then, NRA will have the final count on the earth- quake-damaged households that require timber for reconstruction,” said Krishna Acharya, the spokesperson with the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation.