KATHMANDU, Mar 9: The Government of India is supporting reconstruction of 50,000 houses in earthquake affected districts of Gorkha and Nuwakot.
The Government of India will provide a US$ 16.2 million grant to the two UN agencies (US$ 8.79 million to UNDP and US$ 7.41 million to UNOPS) to support safer reconstruction of 50,000 houses in Gorkha and Nuwakot, two of the districts hit hardest by the 2015 earthquake.
The Government of India is partnering with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) for providing Socio-Technical Facilitation to 26,912 home owners in Gorkha and 23,088 home owners in Nuwakot districts, respectively.
Socio-technical teams from UNDP and UNOPS will assist home owners to reconstruct their homes as per the Government of Nepal’s earthquake resistant norms. They will also guide them through the inspection and certification process at different stages of construction so as to enable them to have access to various tranches of housing grant.
Local govt representatives on Exposure visit to India
The Partnership Agreements were signed by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Kathmandu, on behalf of the Government of India, and by Mr. Renaud Meyer, Country Director, UNDP, Nepal and Mr. Sanjay Mathur, Regional Director, UNOPS Asia Region. The Signing Ceremony was attended by CEO, NRA and other senior GoN Officers from NRA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development and Ministry of Urban Development, among others.
Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri said, "The partnership agreement with UNDP and UNOPS will enhance the availability of technical knowhow and expertise to house owners in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts to reconstruct their homes with earthquake-resilient features.”
The project will be implemented in close coordination with the Embassy of India, Kathmandu, the National Reconstruction Authority, the Central Level Project Implementation Units of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the Ministry of Urban Development, and concerned local government offices, municipalities and rural municipalities in the two districts.
“We look forward to making this partnership a success to ensure that the poor, vulnerable and marginalized households who need our support the most are able to reconstruct resilient houses speedily while leaving no one behind,” said Renaud Meyer, Country Director, UNDP Nepal.
In the aftermath of the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, GoI had provided a grant of US$ 250 million and a US$ 750 million Line of Credit for post-earthquake reconstruction of houses, schools, hospitals, heritage structures and other affected infrastructure.
