The government has decided to construct at least 100 community shelters for the earthquake-displaced families in several districts before mid-July.

A secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office said the bidding process for the construction of 42 such units is in progress in 11 districts.

A meeting held at the office of Defence Secretary Mahesh Dahal on Monday decided to expedite the construction process. Representatives from several line ministries and officials from the National Reconstruction Authority attended the discussion.

Construction for such units has already begun in some districts, said NRA Secretary Madhusudan Adhikari.

The Ministry of Urban Development, Nepal Army and other government agencies are involved in building such units.

These are emergency shelters targeted for people still living in tents one year after the earthquakes, said Adhikari. These people will face more trouble when monsoon becomes intense. Most of the shelters will be built by the Army, he said. The construction period for such units will be 20-25 days.

The joint shelters aim to accommodate survivors whose damaged houses have yet to be rebuilt. The smallest unit will accommodate eight families and the biggest one can house 16 families. The smallest unit will have four rooms and the biggest 32 rooms. There are complaints from the quake-hit districts that thousands of the displaced people are forced to live in tents. Due to storms and heavy rain, most of them were displaced from there. 

The bidding process has been simplified, said Secretary Adhikari, adding that the tender process would be over by a maximum of 15 days.

Officials said local and prefabricated materials would be used for early construction.