The National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has set out a plan to address all grievances related to the Gorkha Earthquake by February 11.

The 40th meeting of the NRA Executive Committee on Thursday directed the Central Project Implementation Unit (CPIU) under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development to address the grievances related to 18,500 earthquake-survivor beneficiaries, 30,925 related to non-beneficiaries, 17,645 related to conducting site-visits of the quake-affected households and 3,432 related to field verification in the quake-affected districts.

The meeting has asked the CPIU and Department of Urban Development (DoUD) to mobilise the existing human resource in the quake-affected districts for field survey and verification to address the grievances by the second week of February.  A total of 204,177 grievances have been registered at the NRA so far.

The meeting also decided to prepare the list of eligible households for retrofitting of the houses that sustained partial damage during the earthquake. A total of 19,866 households from 14 most earthquake-affected districts have been approved by the CPIU for private housing aid for retrofitting, said Bhisma Kumar Bhusal, the NRA deputy spokesperson.

The meeting also discussed the ways to strengthen coordination with not-for-profit organisations to launch reconstruction campaign to establish integrated model housing development, encourage local participation, mobilise volunteers, and other awareness activities focusing on reconstruction.

Considering the need of technical human resources to facilitate reconstruction works, the NRA will request the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers to direct universities to mobilise the civil engineering students in their final year of civil engineering course as volunteers from February 3 to March 3.

‘Quake-hit left to languish in shelters as parties bicker’

KATHMANDU: Human Rights Watch has expressed its concerns that victims of Nepal’s devastating earthquakes are still languishing in makeshift shelters and temporary camps. “Nepali political parties continue to squabble over how to disburse over $4 billion in relief and reconstructions funds, as a result, earthquake victims have spent two monsoons and two winters with little to no support from the government,” the New York-based rights watchdog said in its World Report 2017 released on Thursday. “It is disturbing that the government has dragged its heels on tending to urgent humanitarian needs of earthquake victims,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of HRW. “There is no excuse for this dithering, and the government should be held accountable for this negligence.”

The government also followed the pattern of its predecessor in failing to disburse relief funds to victims of the devastating 2015 earthquakes, said the rights body.

In the 687-page World Report, its 27th edition, Human Rights Watch reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries. (PR)