Over 27,000 households have started rebuilding their houses in 12 of the 14 districts most affected by the 2015 earthquake, said the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) on Thursday. 

The NRA has started distributing the second tranche of housing aid in all 14 districts most affected by the quake. 

As per the data compiled by the Central Level Project Implementation Unit under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD), a total of 27,214 households have started rebuilding their houses in 12 districts. 

The highest number of households that have started rebuilding houses is in Nuwakot with 4,921 followed by Sindhupalchok (4,124), Dolakha (3,257), Dhading (2,985), Gorkha (2,690), Ramechhap (2,241), Kavrepalanchok (2,022), Sindhuli (1,719), Okhaldhunga (1,246), Makwanpur (991), Rasuwa (643) and Bhaktapur (375). Households in two districts—Kathmandu and Lalitpur—are yet to start rebuilding their houses. 

These households started rebuilding houses after receiving the first tranche of Rs 50,000. A little over 6,000 households have applied for the second tranche of housing aid, which is Rs 150,000. Of the total 6,177 households that have applied for the second instalment, 744 are eligible for the aid, according to Bhisma Kumar Bhusal, deputy spokesperson for the NRA. 

As per the amended private housing rebuilding aid guideline approved by the government in December last year, each affected household will receive private housing aid amounting to Rs 300,000 in three instalments—Rs 50,000, Rs 150,000 and Rs 100,000. 

Similarly, to receive the second tranche of the aid, the households should have completed the foundation layer of the house in compliance with the construction standards and design set by the government. Out of the total 625,986 households identified for the private housing aid, the NRA has distributed the first tranche of the private housing aid to 444,462 households in 14 districts as of Thursday.