4 years ago
The government has launched a program to displace 160,000 thatched roofs across the country.
Concluding that the risk of fire in a house with thatched roof would be high and huge loss of life and property could occur,, the government has moved ahead with the program of replacing thatched roof and installing zinc sheet roof.
Earlier, a small number of thatched roofs were replaced, but in this fiscal year 2077-078 BS, the government has decided to replace the thatched roofs with 150,000 zinc sheets.
The Department of Urban Development and Building Construction under the Ministry of Urban Development has launched the 'Safe Citizen Housing' program.
Maniram Gelal, Director General of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction, said that safe citizen housing program has been implemented at the local level in all 77 districts of the country.
He said, "Two committees have been formed to make the program transparent. We have given the responsibility of implementing the program to the local level. The coordination work is being done by the department."
Chief of the Housing Division under the Urban Development and Building Construction Department, Chakraborty Kantha, said that a safe citizen housing program is being implemented by displacing thatched roofs across the country.
The government had started the public housing program from 2066-067 BS. However, the government had implemented the safe housing program on behalf of the association in 2075-076 BS so that the state government would implement the public housing program.
As the department has taken some time to formulate procedures to implement the safe citizen housing program, the program of replacing the roofs of 9,629 houses has been completed under the program of replacing 20,000 roofs till last fiscal year. The remaining 11,000 thatched roofs have been given continuity.
In order to implement the program more effectively, Urban Development Minister Basanta Nemwang said that the working procedure should be amended so that the local level should implement the program.
The federal government has provided a budget to the local level as a conditional grant and the program is currently being implemented.
The head of the division, Kantha, said that the government has given Rs 50,000 per family to replace the thatched roof.
To make the program more effective, a Central Coordinating Committee for Safe Citizen Housing has been formed under the chairmanship of the Urban Development Minister.
The committee will have a member in charge of urban planning of the National Planning Commission, Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development, Director General of the Department of Urban Development, Deputy Secretary General of the Housing Division of the Department, Member Secretary and Joint-Secretary level representatives of the Ministry of Finance and Federal Affairs. From Nepal Samacharpatra Daily
