Out of the Rs 319.95 crore required for Dhankuta towards safe citizen housing, only Rs 39.7 million has been disbursed so far.
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The mud-and-stone house of Lal Kumar Rai of Santang, Dhankuta Municipality-8, was destroyed by the 2072 BS earthquake.
Rai was also selected as a beneficiary of the program launched by the government for private housing reconstruction. Despite waiting for eight years, he did not receive the 50,000 rupees announced by the government to build a house.
Last year, he raised the expenses himself and put a zinc roof on his house. ‘I did not know how much to rush or wait, so I arranged the money myself and put the roof on,’ he said. ‘They said I would be given 50,000 to repair the house, but it was a pain of 5 million to get that much money.’ He said that after getting frustrated with the cumbersome process and government delay, he stopped rushing and built a house at his own expense.
The Safe Citizen Housing Program launched by the federal government in the fiscal year 2075/076 decided to provide safe housing by improving temporary huts with thatched roofs for the disabled, the disabled, the poor Dalits, the backward communities, and the helpless senior citizens.
Dil Bahadur Rai of Santang was also selected as a beneficiary of the Safe Citizen Housing Program. Now, the roof of his hut is falling off, allowing the sun to shine in the winter and rain to fall. He has been waiting for a government grant for the maintenance of his house with thatched walls and a thatched roof for six years. But he has not yet received the housing construction facilities promised by the government. He said, "If someone like you comes to check the measurements of the house, they will get it, but they have not given it yet."
He plans to repair the leaking thatched roof and broken bamboo fence with the government's help.
There were 8,579 people from Dhankuta alone on the list of beneficiaries of safe housing. Of these, a quota of 700 was approved for Dhankuta Municipality. Out of the 323 people who were decided, only 38 have received the first and second installments so far. Sitaram Gautam, the Planning Administration and Monitoring Officer of Dhankuta Municipality, said that there is uncertainty about whether the rest will receive the money.
Gautam said that there is a problem when the beneficiaries who have been selected and decided according to the approved quota do not receive the money. He says, ‘It would have been better if the money had been sent to the beneficiaries who have met the criteria. The federal government does not send money, people's houses are not built, but the municipality has to answer.’ Gautam said that the municipality is only the implementing body after the federal government sends the money.
Like Dhankuta Municipality, the situation is the same in all seven other local levels of the district. Most of the beneficiaries selected in the beneficiary list have not received money for housing construction. Those who have received the first and second installments have not been able to complete the reconstruction.
The earthquake victims and poor citizens of the hilly districts of Koshi Province have not been able to get housing facilities because the federal government has not sent the necessary budget. The private housing reconstruction program that began after the 2072 earthquake and the safe citizen housing program implemented in 2075 have not yet been completed.
Out of the Rs 319.95 crore required for Dhankuta towards safe citizen housing, only Rs 39.77 crore has been paid so far. Dhankuta Chief Ghanshyam Shrestha said that about Rs 280 million is now required for the safe citizen housing program alone. Chief Shrestha said that housing facilities have not been provided since the center itself has been reducing the budget.
He said that the budget is being provided on a priority basis within the allocated budget.
Out of the 14,360 beneficiaries of private housing reconstruction in Dhankuta, Bhojpur and Sankhuwasabha after the 2072 earthquake, only 603 people have received reconstruction facilities. The remaining beneficiaries are running to the wards and municipalities and the intensive urban and building construction projects hoping to receive the assistance.
The office has stated that out of the Rs 44.6 crore required for earthquake reconstruction, only Rs 11.1 million has been paid. Shrestha said, ‘In this case too, there is a situation where only those who complete the construction of houses can be given money.’
Until 2079 BS, the earthquake reconstruction was being carried out through the District Project Implementation Unit. The project office has been abolished. The work being done there has been entrusted to the Intensive Urban and Building Construction Project.
The local level is demanding budget from the federal government for safe civilian housing and reconstruction of private houses of earthquake victims. But due to the lack of required funds, both these programs have not been completed. The plan to build houses for many poor citizens and earthquake victims is incomplete. Project chief Shrestha said, ‘The budget is coming less from above, we have demanded insufficient funds for both programs.’
