No need to stick to govt prescribed models, says NRA

Okhaldhunga, Jan. 5: Supressing his impulses to build a two-storey house, Tanka Bahadur Tamang of Shreechaur, Molung Rural Municipality-6 of Okhaldhunga, has decided to construct a single storey thatched house.

"I used concrete and 16 mm iron bars instead of a wooden frame to erect a two-storey house, but the government officials and technicians said that the housing guidelines did not permit increasing the height of the wall on the first floor by three feet," Tamang told The The Rising Nepal.

Tanka Bahadur Tamang's two-room house

Fearing that his family could be deprived of the Rs. 300,000 housing grant if they build a house against the prescription of the government technician in the village, many families like him are constructing small two-room single storey houses across the quake-affected hill and mountain region.

If the trend continues, the hills, once famous for the villages with beautiful houses, might lose their identity, charm and local flavour.

Such houses are unfit for the families in Nepal since the average size of a family is 5.5 members, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Besides, the average budget of such houses goes up to Rs. 900,000 – three times the housing grant – which has been creating additional economic burden for the poor and middle-class rural families.

Chakra P. Pokharel of Molung-5 said that the budget of a two-room house might reach up to Rs. 1 million.

"If I were allowed to build a house on my own, I would have built a bigger house, which can accommodate all my family members and have a spacious kitchen," he said.

Many families said that they have to build another house adjacent to the quake-resistant building to meet the space for the family members.

Contrary to the government campaign to build quake-resistant houses, many plan to construct the second building using traditional techniques without applying the quake-safety measures.

Pokharel said that he has no intention to apply the quake-resistant measures in the second building since the cost of construction is too high.

Sher Bahadur Thapa, a civil engineer deployed by Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation in Okhaldhunga, said that people were confused about the size and height of the house since the very beginning of the reconstruction drive due to lack of proper communication.

“Many quake-affected families considered the 17-model manual as the final guideline while there are additional prescribed house models,” said Yuba Raj Aryal, chief of the District Coordination Committee Okhaldhunga of the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA).

According to NRA joint-spokesperson Dr. Bhishma Kumar Bhusal, lack of proper communication at the local level across the quake-affected region has resulted in identical two-room houses, which do not serve the purpose of many families.

"The NRA had prescribed the housing models in order to guide house construction in the immediate aftermath of the quake. People are free to build houses of any size and shape as per the requirement of their family as long as they adhere to the quake-resistant housing guidelines," he said.

According to the NRA, people can build houses as per their economic status, cultural and family requirement, and there is no need to stick to the housing models prescribed by the government.