Last week, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) announced a temporary ban on all reconstruction related activities conducted by NGOs/INGOs. The NRA said this was to bring all organisations involved in reconstruction under its jurisdiction, and asked them to temporarily halt the distribution of aid money and rebuilding of houses until the procedural guideline to involve non-governmental sectors in reconstruction process was published.
Spokesperson for NRA Suresh Adhikari told Nepali Times the ban was to ensure uniformity in the design of houses and distribution of relief and ensure all reconstruction work met government standards.
"What we have seen is that an organisation may build only one house in a single ward and ignore the rest. There’s also no assurance that the houses built are earthquake resistant," said Adhikari.
However, organisations say they have not heard about the ban and are continuing their work as usual. "We have not sought permission from the NRA since we were not aware of the ban," said Narayan Acharya, whose company Rammed Earth Solutions is building a community center in Dhungekharka of Kavre and a house for a family in Godawari. The designs for both the projects are not from a list of government approved designs.
Ananda Mishra of Center for Research and Sustainable Development, Nepal (Creation) is also unaware of the prohibition. "We hope this won't affect our work as we are following one of the designs approved by the government and have already applied to NRA for approval," said Mishra. In association with Rotary Club of Jawalakhel, the Center is building 55 houses in Karyabinayak, Lalitpur. Three houses have been built already, and the group aims to finish construction of the rest before monsoon hits in July.