The National Reconstruction Authority formally took its house rebuilding project to 11 severely quake-affected districts on Sunday, on the first anniversary of the devastating earthquake.

The NRA announced the names of 300,981 beneficiaries in 11 of the 14 worst-his districts. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reached Chautara in Sindhupalchok—the worst-hit district in terms of casualties—to lay the foundation stone for the house of Sarbe Tamang. At the function, an agreement local authorities signed a deal with Yadumaya Ghorasaini, a single woman.

The Dolakha sub-regional office of the NRA has begun reconstruction of 10 houses in Ramechhap district. With genuine victims identified and legal hurdles cleared, officials believe reconstruction will gain momentum across the country.

Resources would now be mobilised fully, said NRA Spokesperson Ram Prasad Thapaliya. The authority, which recently selected more than 2,400 engineers to assist the quake survivors in rebuilding earthquake-resilient houses, plans to deploy them within a week and provide housing reconstruction aid soon after agreements are signed at the local level.

The name list of earthquake victims has been sent to the districts. “Officials can sign agreements with the displaced families from tomorrow itself,” said Thapaliya.

In the absence of accurate data on the earthquake damage, rebuilding activity was confined to Singati of Dolakha. The authority expanded its campaign after detailed damage assessment on houses and infrastructure was complete in most of the devastated villages. Over 710,000 households have been surveyed in the districts.

The assessment, which began following discrepancies in the number of damaged houses, is yet to begin in Kathmandu Valley.