Aashish Mishra

Six years after the devastating 2015 earthquake, Nepal has made quite satisfactory progress in reconstruction.
Around 93 per cent of the private houses damaged or destroyed by the 7.8 magnitude quake have been rebuilt.

According to the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), the government body set up to, as its name suggests, handle the post-tremor reconstruction, a total of 811,754 families had signed rebuilding agreements with the government and of them, 753,104 have finished. That means 92.77 per cent of the beneficiaries presently have their own homes to live in.

Encouraging Statistics

The statistics get even more encouraging when this number is broken down. The government provides a grant of Rs. 300,000 to support the reconstruction of earthquake-resilient houses. Of this amount, a whopping 99.86 per cent of the beneficiaries have received the first tranche of Rs. 50,000. A similarly high number of beneficiaries, 86.78 per cent, have received the second tranche of Rs. 150,000 and 78.66 per cent have received the third instalment amount of Rs. 100,000. These figures have been publicly released by the NRA.

And a very important thing that must be noted is that these numbers are not paper-only statistics. These are reflections of the actual progress on the ground. The NRA does not just hand out money to whoever demands it.

It investigates and verifies every claim and the beneficiaries must show proof of progress before they receive the grant instalments. Furthermore, the tranches are deposited in the grantees’ bank accounts to prevent misuse and to enable the Authority to track the amount and ensure it is being used for reconstruction and reconstruction only.

This rigorous vetting, combined with the NRA’s overall proficiency and its close coordination with the local governments and representatives, has led to a level of welcome efficiency that is not usually seen of government bodies in Nepal. Sushil Gyewali, chief executive officer of the Authority, has stated on several occasions that the basic works of reconstructing private houses will be constructed within this fiscal year and with the current pace of work, there is no areason not to believe him.

The sceptics among us might be inclined to think that NRA’s success is only in the private residences front. But, again, the data speaks for itself. The Authority has resettled 4,720 beneficiaries who had been living in 299 vulnerable areas after the earthquake. It has rebuilt 493 out of the 920 quake-damaged cultural sites in the 32 districts affected by the Barpak tremor. Regarding the 7,553 schools that needed to be reconstructed all over the country, 83 per cent have been completed and can be brought into full operation.

Out of the 1,197 health institutions that needed reconstruction, 698 have received it while 296 are in the process of being rebuilt. More than 90 per cent of the government buildings have also been reconstructed.

And let us bear in mind that the Reconstruction Authority made this progress overcoming challenges like the political unrest seen after the promulgation of the Constitution, the unofficial border blockade, lack of proper legal standing, government changes, three levels of election and a lack of manpower. The NRA has done impressive work under quite unfavourable circumstances for which deserves all the credit it is getting.

But the NRA is not going to stay forever. It was not meant to. Its tenure will expire in December 2021 and it has already begun handing over the remaining reconstruction works to the concerned ministries, departments and agencies. So now, the real test of the government’s capabilities begins.

The Authority has set a high bar. As mentioned above, in the six years since the mega earthquake, it has completed rebuilding 93 per cent of the private residences. It should not take the government bodies another six years to complete the remaining seven.

The relevant authorities that take over the responsibility from the Authority must maintain the same pace of work and, if possible, quicken it while not compromising on the quality. They must also be careful about corruption. The NRA has maintained a spotless record and it has not been accused of corruption or mismanagement in any of its works. Let it stay that way.

Another thing is that the bodies and agencies that are in charge of reconstruction now must mandatorily adopt special sensitivities for heritage sites. Our heritage is our culture, our identity and our civilisation. They hold special significance in the community and are an important source of tourism. Those listed in the UNESCO World Heritage list must also meet international standards.

The governments, local, provincial and federal, must be aware of this. What Kathmandu Metropolitan City tried to do with Ranipokhari must not be repeated with other cultural sites. That will not just leave the locals unsatisfied with the work but may actually destroy the historicity and value of the heritages.

After heritage, the government, especially the local government, must be sensitive towards the reconstruction of private homes. These are spaces people live in and they must be adequately safe. We must build not for the next year but the next century. The homes must be able to withstand the next earthquake and it is the local government’s job to ensure that.

They must strictly inspect the building materials people are using and see if they have adhered to the national building code or not.

Capacity Building

The government must build its capacity to rebuild after disasters. And perhaps, that could be done by making the NRA a permanent entity. Nepal is no stranger to natural calamities. We have floods and landslides every year and it would do us good to have a permanent body on stand-by to handle reconstruction and resettlement after them. The NRA has acquired a lot of skill and experience over the past six years and instead of just letting it go, we could expand and extend it.

Maybe we may not need a full-fledged authority but it could function as a department or a division with the Ministry of Home Affairs. A dedicated reconstruction body would be in the interest of all of us.

(Mishra works at this daily)