KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 30
The government has completed the construction of 3,255 houses for as many families under the Safe Citizen Housing Programme.
Only those families living in huts or houses with thatched roof (structures vulnerable to frequent disasters such as fire, heavy rain and storm) benefit from this scheme.
In addition to construction of 3,255 houses, the government has already selected 5,634 beneficiaries and is scheduled to enlist around 37,500 more such families within two months.
According to a report recently released by the Ministry of Urban Development, grant agreements will be signed with the selected beneficiaries to proceed with the construction. It is mandatory for each beneficiary to sign the grant agreement with the authority concerned, as per the Safe Citizen Housing Implementation Procedure-2019.
The MoUD said the Ministry of Finance had already allocated budget to the local levels for implementation of the programme.
The programme aims to ensure appropriate, safe and environment-friendly housing for people living below the poverty line and those who have been rendered homeless due to various disasters.
This required the government to identify and select beneficiaries on the basis of the recommendation letter issued by the local level concerned and District Disaster Management Committee. The beneficiaries of post-earthquake reconstruction and vulnerable settlement relocation, among other schemes, shall not be entitled to the grant referred to in this procedure.
The MoUD said priority would be accorded to households with senior citizens, orphans, single women and persons with disabilities.
Any joint family is entitled to the grant amount for only one housing unit. The government has empowered the Safe Citizen Housing Coordination Committee, led by a directly elected member of the House of Representatives, to select beneficiaries from among the families identified by the Federal Level Project Implementation Unit in the electoral constituency concerned.
An official at the MoUD said the programme would be continued by other members of SCHCC despite dissolution of the HoR. The FLPIU will enter into a grant agreement with the selected beneficiaries for the purpose of construction of safe housing.
The grant amount will be made available to beneficiaries through banking channel in two instalments (60 per cent and 40 per cent).
After receiving the first tranche, the beneficiary concerned shall proceed with housing construction by purchasing wood, corrugated zinc sheets and other materials.
The last instalment will be release after receiving a report from the local level and technical units concerned stating that the first instalment was properly used.
However, the procedure has not defined the amount to be provided to beneficiaries yet.
The amount exceeding the grant for housing construction shall be borne by the family concerned.
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