Earthquake survivors have until mid-December 2017 to lodge complaints regarding the reconstruction of private homes damaged by the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has said. The decision was made at NRA’s 91st executive committee meeting chaired by Chief Executive Officer Yuvaraj Bhusal. 

According to NRA Deputy Spokesperson Bhisma Kumar Bhusal, quake survivors of 31 districts can also register their names on the beneficiary list. Genuine quake victims, who  could not register their names earlier, can also enlist themselves by that deadline, the authority said, adding that it would not consider such issues afterwards. Out of the 205,634 complaints registered with the NRA, 205,584 have been addressed, according to the authority.

The nodal agency looking over the post-quake reconstruction had deployed engineers and technicians in the affected districts for re-survey and re-verification purpose to address the concerns of genuine quake victims.

In a bid to speed up the reconstruction drive, the authority had asked the quake survivors in 31 districts to collect state grant for the reconstruction of private homes by mid-July 2018.

In the immediate aftermath of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, the government decided to provide Rs200,000 per household as private housing rebuilding aid. The sum was later increased to Rs300,000, with the government announcing that it would distributed in three instalments—Rs 50,000,

Rs 150,000 and Rs 100,000—to ensure that the quake survivors rebuild quake resilient homes in compliance with the government guidelines.

The meeting has also approved a guideline for the development of integrated settlements. The government has identified 112 settlements, including Selang in Sindhupalchok; Keraunja of Gorkha; Khalde of Rasuwa; Urleni of Nuwakot and Besimpa of Dolakha, as vulnerable zones that need to be moved to safe locations. The integrated settlement to be developed by the government will have proper roads, drinking water, electricity, public toilet, health post, community building and schools, among other facilities.