Reconstruction of India-funded 50,000 quake-damaged houses completed in Nepal: Indian Embassy

KATHMANDU, Nov 15: India on Monday announced that it has successfully completed the reconstruction of 50,000 houses damaged by the deadly 2015 earthquake in two districts in Nepal.
The Embassy of India in association with National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), UN Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) organised an event here to mark the successful completion of the houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts, according to a press release issued by the mission.
Namgya C Khampa, Deputy Chief Embassy of India, announced that reconstruction of 50,000 private houses as committed by the Indian government has been completed with the Owner Driven Reconstruction Approach adopted by the Nepal government.
UNDP and UNOPS were engaged by the Indian government in March 2018 to provide socio-technical facilitation and consultation (STFC) services to earthquake- affected beneficiaries in four urban municipalities and 14 rural municipalities of the districts.
The Indian government committed USD 150 million as a post-earthquake assistance package on the housing sector to provide financial and technical support for reconstruction of 50,000 beneficiaries, including a USD 100 million grant and USD 50 million under our Fourth Line of Credit.
The event was attended by NRA CEO Sushil Gyawali along with other local officials and those various agencies, including UNDP, UNOPS, EU, USAID, World Bank and ADB.
A workshop aimed at bringing together the project’s major stakeholders to acknowledge the pivotal role played by local government and agencies of NRA in the effectiveness and successful completion of the private housing reconstruction project was also organised during the event.
It also elaborated the best practices, shared key learning, and collectively discussed the effectiveness of the project to local government as guidance and for future reference, the statement said.
The Indian government is also working with NRA for construction of 71 education sector projects, 132 health buildings and restoration/retrofitting of 28 cultural heritage sites in total 11 districts of Nepal affected by the devastating 2015 earthquake.
The devastating earthquake, which struck the Himalayan nation in April 2015, claimed over 9,000 lives and damaged more than 800,000 houses and schools. (PTI)

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