More than 150,000 of the total 533,182 households registered for the private housing rebuilding aid have not received the first instalment as the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s 45-day pledge to distribute the aid to all ended on Sunday.

Assuming office on August 4, PM Dahal had directed the authorities including the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), to complete the distribution of the first tranche amounting to Rs50,000 to all registered households within 45 days.

As of Monday, 447,359 households of the total registered households have signed tripartite agreements, and 375,715 of them have received the amount. 

“The overall distribution since the PM’s direction has increased significantly. Besides those households that face technical problems like lack of land ownership documents, guthi ownership and in some areas, the geographical difficulty and lack of banking facilities, almost all the households have received the first instalment,” said Ram Thapaliya, spokesperson for the NRA.

Out of an estimated 800,000 households in the 14 districts hardest hit by last year’s devastating earthquake, the government has completed the detailed damage assessment of 533,182 households in 11 districts and listed them as ‘true beneficiaries’ of the rebuilding aid. The NRA has yet to update the data for Kathmandu Valley.

In a statement on Monday, the Local Development Ministry said PM Dahal had applauded the “speedy distribution” of first instalment of the aid.

“The progress is significant. However, a large number of households are yet to receive the amount due to various reasons and the concerned authorities should continue working to ensure the distribution as early as possible,” the statement quoted PM Dahal as saying.

Quake-hit to get taxis through lucky draw

KATHMANDU: The Department of Transport Management has decided to pick 500 households affected by the earthquake through lucky draw for taxi number plates. The selection will be aired live on television. Department officials said the decision follows public concerns over impartiality of distributing the plates to the genuine victims.

In a month’s time, more than 150,000 families affected by the earthquake had applied for the permission to buy taxis for a means of livelihood. (PR)