HRRP Bulletin - 30 December

HRRP Bulletin - 30 December

View email in your browser Edition No.: 110 30 December 2019 Media Digest |  FAQ | Briefing Pack | Meeting & Events |  5W | Housing Progress  | Housing Typologies  National Updates | District & Municipal Updates | Case Studies | Media Coverage | National Products | HRRP Products  Three storey Stone Mud Masonry  (SMM) house of Mr. Krishna Kumar Khatri, of Thalaari, Ward No. 8, Jiri Municipality of Dolakha who has successfully retrofitted his house with technical and material support from  Build Change/UNOPS. He has received the first tranche of Government retrofit grant. Altogether, Build Change/UNOPS spent around 500,000 NPR  with only 70,000 NPR spent by Krishna for roofing and to buy timber used for retrofitting.   Shittal Babu Lohani Focal Engineer, Besisahar Municipality-1, Lamjung fEATURED tECHNICAL sTAFF pERSON This month's featured technical staff person is Er. Shitttal Babu Lohani. He is from ward number-1 of Besisahar Municipality, Lamjung district and has been working as a focal engineer since 16 April 2016. Working as a reconstruction focal engineer he feels that the reconstruction scenario in Lamjung has changed during the past few years. Mr. Lohani feels the reconstruction is at a slow pace in Lamjung as compared to other earthquake-affected districts. This was mainly due to delay in deployment of technical staff in 18 moderately affected districts. He shares that the district has diversified challenges and issues in reconstruction work. Similarly, he shared delay in the retrofitting process in Lamjung is not only due to lack of technical knowledge and skills but also the misconception between repair and retrofit. Most of the households under retrofitting grants have done minor repairing using cement slurry plaster instead of adopting proper retrofitting techniques. Referring to the "Repair and Retrofit" manual he suggested, if the Government separates repair and retrofit, it would help people to understand the difference between repair and retrofit and encourage in adopting the right techniques while rebuilding houses. He emphasized the formation of the task force in the District and Municipal level has proven to be an accelerating factor for data collection and awareness in case of the retrofit. He also shared the data collection of retrofits has been completed in all the Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of Lamjung except Madhya Nepal Municipality which will be completed soon. HIGHLIGHTS NRA sets a new deadline for private housing reconstruction grant disbursement. Training curricula finalized for social mobilisers training that is expected to commence from beginning January 2020. NSET organized building code implementation training for NRA engineers. A Vulnerable Support Working Group (VSWG) meeting held at NRA An Urban Recovery Technical Working Group (UR-TWG) update A Retrofitting Working Group (RWG) update. DACFC discussed on progress status of reconstruction program and preparation underway for International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction ( ICNR). Photo Features Ward 6, Bethanchok Rural Municipality, Kavrepalanchok: two storey, stone in mud mortar structure. The house has been retrofitted with technical and material support from Build Change/UNOPS. Ward 1, Manahari Rural Municipality, Makwanpur: house with wall portion made up of bamboo with no structural elements. The house is under retrofit list, however, is not technically feasible to retrofit. National UPDATES NRA, CLPIU GMaLI and Building, Grant Disbursement Data, as of 30 December: Progress with the disbursement of the GoN housing reconstruction and retrofit grants based on NRA, GMaLI CLPIU data as of 30 December 2019.   An Important Notice: A new deadline for private housing reconstruction: Beneficiaries who are enrolled in the private housing reconstruction but have not signed their partner agreement until now and are interested in constructing their house and have not taken first tranche are requested to take first tranche of the government housing grant by the end of Poush 2076 (14 January 2020) upon the recommendation from local government and subsequent decision from District Facilitation Committee. Likewise, beneficiaries who have not taken second tranche by the end of Kartik 2076 (16 November 2019) are requested to take second tranche by the end of Magh 2076 (12 February 2020) upon the recommendation of local government and subsequent decision from District Facilitation Committee. Integrated settlement beneficiaries, beneficiaries living in hazardous area, landless beneficiaries, vulnerable beneficiaries, beneficiaries living within Kathmandu Valley and retrofitting beneficiaries are requested to take first tranche by the end of Magh 2076 (12 February 2020) and  second tranche by the end of Baisakh 2077 (13 May 2020) and third tranche by the end of Asadh 2077 (15 July 2020). For additional information: Toll free number:1660-01-72000 /9801572111 or www.nra.gov.np A Vulnerable Support Working Group Meeting, 23 December 2019:  A Vulnerable Support Working Group (VSWG) meeting was held on 23 December at NRA with an objective to discuss on current tranche progress update of vulnerable beneficiaries, information dissemination of vulnerable support package, SOP for top up support and update on the recruitment process of social mobilizers and mobile masons. The meeting was chaired by the CEO, Mr. Sushil Gyewali and facilitated by Dr Chandra Bahadur Shrestha (NRA Executive Committee Member). Dhruba Prasad Sharma (Executive Committee Member), Mr Bharat Prasad Aryal (Joint Secretary) and Mr Bishnu Prasad Subedi (Under Secretary,NGO Section Chief  including representatives from CLPIU-Building and CLPIU-GMaLI also participated in the meeting. The other participants representing VSWG included representatives from DFID, JICA, UNDP, CRS, Helvetas, Practical Action, PIN, Phase Nepal, HRRP and EHRP. For meeting minutes, please click here. Status update on the progress of housing construction of vulnerable beneficiaries, 23 December 2019: NRA identified vulnerable HHs based on the four criteria as per "the procedural guidelines for the identification of the vulnerable beneficiaries affected by earthquake, 2074" . Those four criteria are elderly aged people over 70 (49.4%), single women (48.8%), persons with disability holding red and blue cards (1.3%) and minor below 16 (0.5%). The 9 districts namely Dhading (1829 HHs) , Kavre (1653 HHs), Gorkha (1429 HHs), Kathmandu (1379 HHs), Sindhupalchowk (1281 HHs), Ramechap  (1263 HHs), Nuwakot 1179 HHs), Dolakha (1151 HHs) and Bhaktapur (1035 HHs) have the highest number of vulnerable beneficiaries (between 1000-1800 beneficiaries). Lalitpur, Sindhupalchowk, Makawanpur, Lamjung and Tanhu have ( between 500- 700 beneficiaries). Rest of other districts have (4 - 400 beneficiaries). NSET is providing socio technical assistance (STA) support along with market facilitation and grant facilitation process for vulnerable beneficiaries in Dhading, Nuwakot and Dolakha including Kagesowri Municipality of Kathmandu. They have done status assessment of vulnerable beneficiaries in these districts and conducted assessment on the status of vulnerable beneficiaries and identified major reasons for not constructing their house that include:- weak economic condition, residing elsewhere, multiple ownership, land/settlement issue, lack of manpower, hazardous area, error in beneficiary list and death of beneficiaries. Likewise, Nepal Redcross Society (NRCS) have  been supporting in Rasuwa, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Makawanpur and Nuwakot district with STA and top up support. Practical Action (PA) is supporting in Lamjung and Makawanpur, People in Need (PIN) in Chitwan and Dhading and Mercy Corps in Makwanpur, Dolakha and Sindhuli. These POs are providing STA and top up support for housing construction of vulnerable beneficiaries. It has been very challenging to collect information from POs regarding housing construction progress of vulnerable beneficiaries. However, HRRP collected information from the 8 districts in collaboration with CLPIU-GMaLI and Building to reflect housing progress of the vulnerable beneficiaries as sample. The sample information received from 8 districts reveals that the housing construction progress of vulnerable beneficiaries is very slow. For instance, Bhaktapur district which has about 1035 vulnerable HHs has the progress of 857 beneficiaries receiving first tranche followed by 127 beneficiaries receiving second tranche and only 108 beneficiaries received third tranche. There is a big difference in the progress between first tranche against second and third tranche progress. This needs real verification and why they are not constructing houses. Every stakeholders need to support on the verification process of housing construction of vulnerable beneficiaries so that NRA could take policy decisions to support housing construction of vulnerable beneficiaries. The bar diagram below reflects on the tranche progress update of the vulnerable beneficiaries from some of the districts where HRRP district team received progress update on vulnerable HHs in collaboration with CLPIU GMaLI and Building. Partners are requested to share information with HRRP for regular update on the progress of housing construction of the vulnerable beneficiaries. For more information contact Ruplal Aidi (National Coordination Officer): nco2@hrrpnepal.org 9th Development Assistance Coordination and Facilitation Committee (DACFC): A DACFC meeting was held on 28 November to discuss on progress status of reconstruction program and International Conference on Nepal's Reconstruction (ICNR). The organizing committee has been formed for this conference and key development partners are expected to support the organizing committee in the preparatory work including the execution of this conference that is planned for November 2020. NRA and other development partners shared their progress update and discussed on issues and challenges. Challenges to overcome by undertaking policy review, Enhanced Collaboration and partnership with development partners, national, provincial and local level government to institutionalize the memory, capacity, resources as per the constitutional and legal provisions on preparedness and disaster management, organize ICNR were way forward proposed by NRA for remaining time frame of reconstruction process. Earthquake resistant building construction and building code implementation training for NRA engineers, 25-27 December 2019: NSET under its USAID funded Baliyo Ghar Program conducted a three-day Training on Earthquake Resistant Building Construction and Building Code Implementation for Technical Professionals in Kathmandu on 25-27 December 2019. Engineers and sub engineers from various rural and urban municipalities of Dolakha, Dhading, Nuwakot and Kathmandu including HRRP, NSET  participated in the training. The training is seen as a stepping stone in institutionalizing the efforts of reconstruction practices by enhancing the capacities of local governments to continue the practices of safer construction in their administrative boundaries by establishing building permit process and enacting the National Building Code. In the three-day training, the participants discussed on the philosophy of earthquake resistant design, conducted group discussions and prepared designs of residential buildings as per the NBC 202, 203 and 205. On the final day, sessions on effective implementation of building codes and building permit process were conducted where Er. Manoj Kaini from Byas Municipality, Damauli shared the mechanism, challenges, learnings and achievements of his municipality in implementing the building code. Participants also shared challenges they are facing in building permit process in their municipalities and requested the central government and NGOs to support them in this endeavor. Retrofit -Technical Working Group (R-TWG) meeting, 20 &26 December  2019: Series of R-TWG meeting was held on 20 & 26 December at HRRP to discuss and finalize on the "norms for rate analysis" including terms of reference (ToR) and workplan  for R-TWG. Build Change, NSET,CRS,UNDP and HRRP participated in the meeting and discussed on various aspects of retrofitting. Some prioritized activities for R-TWG include: preparing TOR, compilation of standard communication message, compilation of norms for rate analysis and dissemination, standardization of orientation sessions, standardization of training materials including collaboration with retrofitting alliance and CLPIU-Building. The next meeting of the R-TWG is scheduled for 3 January 2019 from 3:00- 5:30 pm. An Urban Technical Working Group (U-TWG) meeting,5 & 12 December  2019: An U-TWG was held on 5 & 12 December at HRRP. The main objective of the U-TWG is to support the NRA and CLPIU-Building to speed up urban recovery process. In this regard, the group has prioritized four areas namely land, finance, STA and policy issues of urban reconstruction. Through POs , qualitative survey is being carried out in different working areas. The next meeting is scheduled for 31 December from 3:00- 5:30 pm at HRRP. A sharing session on Review of existing codes and guidelines on seismic assessment and retrofitting design practiced in Nepal, 6 December  2019: A sharing session on 'Review of existing codes and guidelines on seismic assessment and retrofitting design practiced in Nepal' was organized jointly by DUDBC's newly established National Research Centre for Building Technology (NRCBT) section and Retrofit Alliance on 6th Dec 2019 at DUDBC, Kathmandu. There were 31 participants including 5 female participants representing various organizations that included government, UN Agencies, POs, Academic institutions and HRRP. NRCBT and the Alliance are collaborating in enhancing retrofitting knowledge and skill in Nepal.  NRCBT serves as a secretariat of the Retrofit Alliance. Retrofit Alliance is an informal forum to collaborate, coordinate and share the activities in the retrofit sector. Interested institutions are welcome to become its member. Currently Mr. Gokarna Bahadur Motra from Institute of engineering and Mr. Dwarika Shrestha from DUDBC are the co-chair of the Alliance. The review work is being carried out under Nepal Health Sector Support Programme (NHSSP) and was presented by Jitendra Bothra. The presentation covered the review of all the national documents from government organizations, institutions and individuals on retrofitting as well as some international documents of different countries such as India, USA, Japan, Turkey, New Zealand. Most of the documents reviewed were found to be focused more on seismic code and less on retrofit. There were strengths as well as gaps in the documents. The presentation highlighted the need of one document which consolidates the strengths and provides recommendations to fix the gaps. A framework for consolidation was also proposed to improve the current practices on seismic retrofit. For more information contact Bhubaneswari Parajuli: techcord.national@hrrpnepal.org Training Curriculum for Social Mobilizers finalized by the Resource Persons (RPs) in close coordination with the World Bank (WB) and CLPIU-Building, 20 December: The World Bank organized a full day meeting to review and finalize training curriculum including session plans and PowerPoint presentation materials for the social mobilization training. The NRA CLPIU-Building is in the process of recruitment of 250 social mobilizers and 1000 mobile masons for14 earthquake affected districts. The CLPIU-Building has a plan to conduct four-day-training sessions (13 events) focusing on social mobilization aspect including NRA policies and guidelines. The CLPIU-Building, GMaLI, WB, NSET, HRRP and CRS have contributed in the development of training curricula including Resource Person support. The next meeting has been called for 31 December 2019 at WB to finalize on the detail  implementation plan for social mobilization training including training team, logistics and other necessary preparation for the training. DISTRICT AND MUNICIPAL UPDATES HRRP District and Municipal Coordination Meetings, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019: during this period district coordination meetings took place in Makwanpur (27 Nov, 5 & 6 Dec), Okhaldhunga (6 Dec), Dhading (11 Dec), Nuwakot (12 Dec), Bhaktapur (15 Dec), Dolakha (19 Dec), Kathmandu (19 Dec), & Lalitpur (27 Dec). Municipal level meetings took place in municipalities and wards across Dolakha, Dhading, Gorkha, Kavrepalanchok, Lalitpur, Lamjung, Makwanpur, Chitwan, Okhaldhunga, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Sindhupalchok, Sindhuli & Tanahun. Some of the highlights from these meetings include: In Makwanpur, DLPIU GMaLI, first quarterly progress review workshop was held on 27 Nov 2019. The workshop mainly focused on verifying the progress on reconstruction with the action plan prepared by each Municipalities to understand the status and to devise plan such that reconstruction could be achieved within NRA set timeline. District Support Engineer noted that 90% of data collected on retrofitting households have been completed and about 60% were reported to have shown interest in retrofitting their houses. Similarly, GMaLI held a meeting with banking institutions on 5 Dec 2019 to discuss on facilitating the process of releasing the Government housing grant, to minimize any errors in the process such that the affected households get the tranche on time for reconstruction. On 6 Dec 2019, District coordination meeting took place in Makwanpur where some major decisions on the issues of landless households were made. It was decided that 513 landless HHs under full reconstruction list and 491 landless HHs under retrofit list after having met all the preconditions, have been approved for constructing/retrofitting the houses in the same places they have been living for many generations. Regarding the integrated settlement, the meeting decided to move the work ahead in the development of integrated settlement in ward 6 of Manahari Rural Municipality. 10 HHs living in geo-hazard area in ward 10 of Kailash Rural Municipality and 10 HHs in ward 5 of Raksirang Rural Municipality will be relocated to this integrated settlement. It was also decided that CSRC/PIN to collect the details of households living in ailani land (Government land) by 31 December 2019 and to coordinate with Municipal and ward levels to disseminate notice among the communities.   In Dhading, DLPIU GMaLI and Building presented progress of reconstruction in the district and shared the NRA deadline to sign the partnership agreement and to get the tranches. Provision of vulnerable top-up support of 50,000 NPR and the process of conversion from retrofit to full reconstruction were shared during the meeting. A decision was also made to provide a letter of appreciation to those wards that have completed 90% of reconstruction on NRA day, 28 Dec 2019.   In Nuwakot, discussion was on extending the deadline to access the government housing grant by the households enlisted in reconstruction list in June 2019 and were supposed to access the first tranche by July 2019 but were not able to do so due to various reasons. The meeting decided that with approval from the local authorities, the list of these households will be forwarded to DLPIU GMaLI upon verification by District Reconstruction Facilitation Committee to access the first tranche by 15 January 2020 and second tranche by 15 February 2020. It was also decided that the households under relocation category, vulnerable, landless, retrofitting and grievances, will be facilitated to access the first tranche within the NRA set deadline with necessary documentation and approval from local authorities to speed up the reconstruction process.   In Bhaktapur, review of first quarter of GMaLI Bhaktapur and interaction with banking institution took place on 15 Dec 2019. In Bhaktapur, the reconstruction has been slow due to various reasons such as family disputes over land ownership, multiple ownership, people having houses in other places, issues with right of way and the bylaws related to green belt declaration. While Suryabinayak Municipality has seen the highest reconstruction rate (30% beneficiaries receiving third tranche), Bhaktapur Municipality has only 22% beneficiaries receiving third tranche. Suryabinayak Municipality has provision of fee waiver for the approval of building drawing of earthquake affected households. With regular visits and follow ups with the banks, there has been an improvement in the grant disbursement process, where the people get the grant amount within three days in their account. GMaLI Bhaktapur has digitized the reconstruction beneficiaries' details and update on grant which is also available on Municipal website.   In Dolakha, the meeting mainly discussed on collecting the detail status of retrofitting households and preparation of feasible retrofit designs to ease the retrofitting process. GMaLI emphasized on providing support to landless and vulnerable households through proper documentation specially to facilitate the process of getting 200,000 NPR for purchasing land for the landless households. It was also decided that HRRP, Municipalities, Field Engineers and POs coordinate to verify the households that have received a grant from the Government and the POs to avoid duplication.   In Kathmandu, the meeting was held to discuss on providing the third tranche of Government housing grant to the households supported by Lutheran World Federation (LWF). LWF has been supporting 206 households in wards 1 and 9 of Shankarapur Municipality, Kathmandu in reconstruction. These families have received second tranche but remaining to take the third tranche. The meeting requested the Municipal office to collect the details of the households that have been supported by LWF along with the status of reconstruction and submit to CLPIU for further action. The details of these beneficiaries will also be added to the central MIS.   In Lalitpur, review of reconstruction workshop was organized by DLPIU GMaLI on 27 Dec 2019. In the meeting it was highlighted that the retrofitting progress is poor where only 1 out of 1382 households has retrofitted and received second tranche. The main reasons for delayed retrofitting process in urban areas are due to dense households, traditional houses with eccentric footing as well as difficulty in getting approval from the neighbors due to the fear of damaging their houses. About 116 people have returned the first tranche 50,000 NPR in the district. Regarding the reconstruction of monasteries, 8 out of 16 have been repaired and retrofitted. Eight monasteries are to be completely reconstructed so, these have been graded and community consumer committee has been formed to take the work forward. In Lalitpur, ward 5, Konjyomsom Municipality (4 Dec 2019), it was reported that there are 44 households that have not been able to start reconstruction due to scarcity of water in the area, poor road accessibility as well as poor economic condition. Ward office has started to assess the situation of these 44 HHs and is encouraging them to start reconstruction.   In Dolakha, meetings took place in wards 5,6 & 8 of Jiri Municipality (25-26 Nov 2019), wards 3,4 & 8 of Sailung Rural Municipality (27-28 Nov 2019), ward 9 of Bhimeshwor Municipality (10 Dec 2019) and ward 7 of Bigu Rural Municipality (18 Dec 2019). The meetings mainly focused on retrofitting orientation and identification of households that are willing to retrofit their houses. It was reported that there are houses that are not feasible to retrofit and have been requested for conversion from retrofit to reconstruction. Concerns were raised regarding the delay in hearing of the legal appeal (Punarabedan) cases where the people have applied to be included in the list of households eligible for Government financial assistance. Issues related to change in the name of the beneficiary as well as discrepancies in names are causing delay in the reconstruction. Households that have not started reconstruction were requested to contact the ward offices and field engineers such that they could be facilitated in accessing the grant within the deadline. Field Engineers were requested to collect the details of households who are interested to retrofit and coordinate with ward offices to provide support to the HHs in carrying out the retrofitting. In Bhimeshwor Municipality and Bigu RM, the meetings were mainly on retrofitting the historical monuments such as Gumba (Monastery) and it was noted that technical designs for Gumba have been prepared and submitted to Gumba Management Committee by Department of Archaeology.   In Sindhuli, two different events were carried out in Tinpatan Rural Municipality and Dudhauli Municipality (16-20 Dec 2019). In ward 3, Tinpatan RM meeting was organized which focused on the issues of retrofitting techniques in masonry and timber structures. It was observed that many of the beneficiaries were interested in retrofitting as a cost-effective solution. However, due to lack of proper knowledge and skills with engineers and skilled masons retrofitting has been slow. During the meeting a list of interested retrofitting beneficiaries was collected and shared with Build Change for technical support which is leading the task of retrofitting in the district. In Dudhauli Municipality, an orientation program on Correction & Exception Manual, Timber Correction and Retrofitting was organized to technical staff and masons in the field.   In Kavrepalanchok, ward 7, Panauti Municipality (22 Nov 2019), it was discussed that due to the high cost of construction in heritage areas to maintain the traditional architecture, high cost of demolition, multiple ownership and lack of awareness on retrofitting were delaying reconstruction/retrofitting. In ward 1, Namobuddha Municipality (19 Dec 2019), two houses have been retrofitted, one of retrofit beneficiaries and other of non-beneficiary by Build Change/UNOPS. These demo retrofitting houses are having a positive impact in increasing the interests of people in retrofitting their houses. Some people are also reported to have shown interest in switching to retrofit from full reconstruction. The low rate of reconstruction in the ward is that many have houses elsewhere and have migrated. So, they have not started reconstruction or retrofitting.   In Makwanpur, wards 1,2 & 3 of Manahari Rural Municipality and wards 11 &12 of Bakaiya Rural Municipality (10 - 11 Dec 2019), it was reported that reconstruction is almost completed. However, no completion certificates have been distributed to the households. Thus, the meetings primarily focused on the distribution of completion certificates to the households who have completed reconstruction with proper documentation on reconstruction. The engineers were requested to complete the remaining CS entry and keep the data intact as well as announce the wards that have completed reconstruction. Further, engineers were requested to select technically feasible houses to start retrofitting and to provide technical support to them. It was observed that most of the houses were made up of timber but lacked proper connection, foundation and use of heavy slate for roofing which need retrofitting.   In Chitwan, ward 13, Ratnagar Municipality (12 Dec 2019), the meeting emphasized on the completion of CS entry and distribution of completion certificate. It was noted that 73% of the beneficiaries have received the second tranche and 69% have received third tranche but distribution of completion certificate has still not started.   In Ramechhap, ward 6, Doramba Rural Municipality (24 Dec 2019), the meeting decided that ward offices properly manage the reconstruction data and provide the necessary data and information to the district level as required. Many people have completed reconstruction but continue to live in the quake damaged houses. So, ward office advised that the completion certificates be distributed to the families who have been living in the newly constructed houses to push them to shift in new houses. It was also agreed that ward office collect details of retrofitting beneficiaries and share the list of those interested in retrofitting as well as create awareness on retrofitting.   In Sindhupalchok, Barhabise Municipality (4 Dec 2019), an interaction program was organized with the banking institutions to ease the reconstruction process. Some of the issues discussed during the program were that people having not proper documentation from the local authorities that must be submitted to the banks causing delay in grant disbursement. Sometimes, the money from the district level is not deposited on time in the local banks so the people don't get the trance on time. There also has been miscommunication between banks, local authorities and communities which has caused trouble to the people, where they end up spending time and money visiting the banks several times.   In Dhading, Tripurasundari Rural Municipality (16 Dec 2019), it was reported the 281 households of wards 1 & 2 included in reconstruction list received the first tranche without signing the partnership agreement with the Government. GMaLI requested the ward offices to collect the details of those households and forward to GMaLI. In case of duplication, GMaLI also requested to forward the list of households with names, PA number, citizenship number.  There are 137 vulnerable households identified by NRA. Ward offices were requested to verify the list to support them with 50,000 NPR top up grant. There was also discussion on finding the details of 248 retrofitting households under three categories viz; HHs interested in retrofitting, HHs not interested in retrofitting, HHs who want to convert to full reconstruction.   In Gorkha, ward 3, Sahidlakhan Municipality (20 Dec 219), there are 223 retrofitting households in retrofit list and 209 have received the first tranche. The main challenges in retrofitting were due to lack of trained masons, lack of knowledge and skills among technical persons and difficulty in convincing the people to go for retrofitting as they found the techniques not so reliable. However, the ward chief has expressed interest in the development of retrofit model house in the ward.   In Okhaldhunga, wards 2 & 5 Chisankhugadhi Rural Municipality and  ward 7  Siddhicharan Municipality (9-11 Dec 2019), it was reported that most housing in this sector of the municipalities are load bearing Stone/Brick Masonry in Cement along with some Mud mortar. The meeting in these wards emphasized in providing training to both engineers and mason about the issues and process of retrofitting. Awareness programs and orientation campaign needs to be launched to encourage beneficiaries of retrofitting to make them aware about the cost effectiveness of this solution.   In Lamjung, Kwoholasothar Rural Municipality (8 Dec 2019), Marshyangdi Rural Municipality (9 Dec 2019) & Rainash Municipality (24 Dec 2019), the main reasons for slow progress in reconstruction and retrofitting are due to lack of proper orientation on reconstruction and retrofitting processes to technical staffs, masons and communities and lack of trained masons. There is also a misconception among people between repair and retrofit that has hindered accessing the subsequent tranches. One of the major issues is households included in retrofit list but are not damaged. 130 such HHs have taken first tranche of retrofit grant as well. In Marshyangdi RM, only 1 out of 160 retrofit eligible HHs has retrofitted the house with support from Build Change/UNOPS and received second tranche. In Rainash Municipality, most of the vulnerable are found to prefer CSEB block as alternative construction material as it is produced locally and easy to use. Practical Action is supporting vulnerable HHs reconstruction and has established 6 CSEB production centers, 6 stone cutting centers and 3 aggregate centers in Rainash Municipality and Dordi Rural Municipality.   In Tanahun, ward 5, Byas Municipality (26 Dec 2019), an interaction session with retrofit beneficiaries was carried out in which beneficiaries were made aware about the process of retrofitting and shared the difference about retrofit and repair. It was also observed that DLPIU-Building lacked in Retrofitting Inspection Forms and hence was advised to coordinate with Building Head Office in Gorkha for the immediate availability of forms. HRRP District Coordination Team Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 4, Mahankal Rural Municipality, Lalitpur: single storey, load bearing stone in mud mortar structure with an attic and RCC bands. The homeowner has received the second tranche of the Government housing reconstruction grant and has applied for the third tranche. HRRP District Coordination Team Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 8, Jiri Municipality, Dolakha: two storey hybrid structure with attic and RCC bands. The homeowner has received all three tranches of the Government housing grant. HRRP District Coordination Team Dhading, Gorkha Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 1, Nilkantha Municipality, Dhading: two room, single storey, stone in mud mortar structure with an attic. The homeowner is listed in retrofit list and has received the first tranche of Government retrofit grant. The homeowner demolished the quake affected one storey, four room SMM house due to severe damage. The homeowner has applied for the conversion to full reconstruction beneficiary. The total cost till roof level is approximately 500,000 NPR. HRRP District Coordination Team Kavrepalanchok, Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 6, Bethanchok Rural Municipality, Kavrepalanchok: two storey, stone in mud mortar structure. The house has been retrofitted with technical and material support from Build Change/UNOPS under 70-30 approach (70% by BC/UNOPS and 30% by the homeowner). The homeowner has received first tranche of Government retrofit grant. HRRP District Coordination Team Kathmandu, Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 13, Chandragiri Municipality, Kathmandu: three storey, RC frame structure under reconstruction grant list. The homeowner has prepared design for retrofitting the house and has done jacketing of all columns of the house. The homeowner has applied to be converted to retrofit grant list. HRRP District Coordination Team Makwanpur, Chitwan, Nawalparasi Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 1, Manahari Rural Municipality, Makwanpur: house with wall portion made up of bamboo with no structural elements. The house is under retrofit list, however, is not technically feasible to retrofit. The detail of the house has been submitted to DLPIU Building. HRRP District Coordination Team Nuwakot, Rasuwa Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 5, Aamachodingmo Rural Municipality, Rasuwa: single storey, two room timber structure. Twelve such hoses are built using local wood as part of integrated settlement. The homeowners have been working in groups to construct these houses. HRRP District Coordination Team and Lamjung, Tanahun, Kaski, Syangja Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 5, Byas Municipality, Tanahun: two storey, Brick masonry in cement mortar structure. The house is under retrofit list. The homeowner has received first tranche of retrofit grant. HRRP District Coordination Team Sindhupalchok, Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 13, Chautarasagachokgadhi Municipality, Sindhupalchok: RCC structure under retrofit grant list. The homeowner has received the first tranche of the Government housing retrofit grant, but he is not interested to retrofit the house. HRRP District Coordination Team Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Solukhumbu, Monthly Report, 22 Nov – 26 Dec 2019 Ward 2, Chisankhugadi Rural Municipality, Okhaldhunga: single storey with attic, two room, stone in mud mortar house with wooden bands. The homeowner has received all three tranches of the Government housing reconstruction grant and completion certificate. The total cost of construction is 650,000 NPR. National Updates | District & Municipal Updates | Case Studies | Media Coverage | National Products | HRRP Products CASE STUDIES Featured Technical Staff Person, Shittal Babu Lohani, This month's featured technical staff person is Er. Shitttal Babu Lohani. He is from ward number-1 of Besisahar Municipality, Lamjung district and has been working here as a focal engineer since 16th April 2016. Working as a reconstruction focal engineer he feels that the reconstruction scenario in Lamjung has changed during the past few years. Mr. Lohani feels the reconstruction is at a slow pace in Lamjung as compared to other earthquake-affected districts. This was mainly due to delay in deployment of technical staff in 18 moderately affected districts. He shares that the district has diversified challenges and issues in reconstruction work. Similarly, he shared delay in the retrofitting process in Lamjung is not only due to lack of technical knowledge and skills but also the misconception between repair and retrofit. Most of the households under retrofitting grants have done minor repairing using cement slurry plaster instead of adopting proper retrofitting techniques. Referring to the "Repair and Retrofit" manual he suggested, if the Government separates repair and retrofit, it would help people to understand the difference between repair and retrofit and encourage in adopting the right techniques while rebuilding houses. He emphasized the formation of the task force in the district and Municipal level has proved to be an accelerating factor for data collection and awareness in case of the retrofit. He also shared the data collection of retrofits has been completed in all the Municipalities and Rural Municipalities of Lamjung except Madhya Nepal Municipality which will be completed soon. Mr. Shittal also shared about other major issues and challenges in the district like the resettlement of beneficiaries from the hazard-prone area. He said that the major problem for the people living in the hazard-prone area is that they are attached emotionally with the land and houses due to which they do not want to relocate. However, DLPIU is trying to convenience them for safe settlement. Mr. Shittal Babu considers himself to be lucky to work in the reconstruction sector as a technical engineer. He shared that the sector not only made him technically sound but socially and managerially too. "Working in this sector needs an amalgamation of both technical and social knowledge", he said and is confident that the national reconstruction slogan of "Build Back Better" will be achieved. Krishna Bahadur Gosain, Head Mason: Krishna Bahadur Gosain, 48 years old, is a permanent resident of Liwali, Ward No 8 of Bhaktapur Municipality. He is a head mason and a contractor. He started working as a mason after he received 30-day mason training from Khowpa Engineering College in 1997. Since then, he has been involved in construction of houses, schools, community buildings and temples in Bhaktapur as well as in neighboring districts like Kathmandu. After the earthquake in April 2015, Krishna again took 3 months mason training from CTEVT Bhaktapur including the 7 days training provided by DLPIU Building Bhaktapur. Mr. Krishna said these trainings helped him technically build on what he has been practicing for the last 20 years or so. In comparison to the previous trainings, these trainings were focused on making each housing elements resilient and strong while constructing the house and at the same time complying with the National Building Codes, said Krishna. Although, Mr Krishna has been constructing houses, initially, he found some of the theoretical components of the training a bit difficult to understand which, however, were complimented while he started reconstruction of houses. He is currently leading an eight membered mason team in construction of houses and has completed around twelve houses including his own. His two storey BMM house was completely damaged by the 2015 earthquake. He along with his other five family members resided in a temporary shelter before they moved to a newly constructed frame structure. As a head mason, Mr. Krishna provides guidance and support to his fellow masons, sharing his knowledge and skills from the training he has received. He believes in providing equal opportunities to female masons as well. He even has been paying equal wages to two female masons in his team. He also believes in engaging more female masons in the construction occupation and feels female should come forward and develop courage to lead the mason team as well. Mr. Krishna opines that the mason training should be categorized for different groups of people based on their capability such as into skilled, semi-skilled, head mason, contractor and the one for the fresh ones. He also advises that Government should provide social safety nets such as insurance and medical facilities to the people involved in construction activities such that many get engaged in the job. He further said the basic first aid training to the masons during the mason training would be useful to manage/overcome any injuries during the construction. Mr. Krishna is proud and satisfied with his job, however, the only time he does not like is when he is not paid on time. He also does not like when homeowners do not listen to the instruction while constructing houses rather homeowners demand to construct of their choice and budget. Mr. Krishna, who took his occupation as simply a source of income to support his family, now takes the job seriously, being more responsible and conscious of constructing resilient structures. He added that the training have not only enhanced his knowledge and skills but also increased his confidence and commitment towards building resilient communities. Krishna Kumar Khatri, Retrofit Beneficiary: Mr. Krishna Kumar Khatri, resident of Thalaari, Ward No. 8, Jiri Municipality is one of the beneficiaries of retrofitting scheme of reconstruction programme. Krishna's three storey SMM house sustained minor cracks on the walls in the 2015 earthquake. Krishna had many fond memories of his childhood in his ancestral house, he wanted to preserve the traditional look of the house instead of demolishing it for building a new house. Not knowing what to do, he consulted with Ward Office for repairing his house. With coordination and support from Ward and Municipal Offices, his house was selected to be retrofitted under the Build Change/UNOPS retrofit program. As a retrofit demo house, Build Change/UNOPS provided technical and materials support to retrofit his house. Altogether, Build Change/UNOPS spent around 500,000 NPR with only 70,000 NPR spent by Krishna for roofing and to buy timber used for retrofitting. Krishna is very happy to have his house retrofitted as he could preserve his ancestral house with its original structure, maintain the original space and utilize them for storing grains and other agricultural products. He has received the first tranche of Government retrofit grant. Retrofitting is possible in old house with appropriate techniques and support, he said and believes more technically sound engineers are required in the field. While there are less interest among the people in retrofitting due to the low grant provided by the Government to retrofit the house, Krishna's is one of the good examples of success story of retrofitting scheme which can be demonstrated as a model for those beneficiaries who are aspiring to go for retrofitting scheme. National Updates | District & Municipal Updates | Case Studies | Media Coverage | National Products | HRRP Products Media coverage & communication on reconstruction Baliyo Ghar | Episode - 168 | 29 December 2019: Chief of the NRA NGO Section, Mr Bishnu Prasad Subedi including other I/NGO representatives highlight on how I/NGOs have contributed to Nepal's reconstruction process. This program was aired in Kantipur Television on 29 December 2019 at 6:30 & 10:00 PM. Kantipur TV airs this  program  every Sunday at 6:30 PM and Monday at 11:30 AM and 4:00 PM. Publication Kathamala Radio Drama:Episode Six: A story of Sanu Maya: Sanu Maya is considered one of the most intelligent people in her village. Sanu Maya is in conversation with her aunty where her aunty shares about how Sanu Maya has solve the problems of the neighbors. Kaji Man is a rich man in the village, everyone in the village visits Kaji Man's house when they need financial support. Kaji Man has provided loan to everyone in his village for reconstruction but expect for Sanu Maya. They thought that Sanu Maya also had to visit him for the loan but Sanu Maya finished her house without any loans. Having heard this news, Kaji Man visits Sanu Maya's house and asks about how she reconstructed such big house with traditional and spacious aspect. At last, Sanu Maya explains how she retrofitted the house and its benefits to Kaji Man. Publication Kathamala Radio Drama:Episode Seven: A story of grandfather: Two brother's converses about the difficulties faced by sister-in-law to travel to her office. During their conversation they mention about their old house in Patan which is partially damaged. The younger brother wants to have his part of share from his father's property which is the old house of Patan. Now, they are paying rent for their shelter. They quarrel and fight in this context. But observing this fight their father decides to take the old house of Patan and retrofit it and takes it as his part of the share. He then shares that he has already rented it an NGO. He shows that partially damaged house to be stronger as the new one as his sons fight over demolishing the house and dividing it amongst themselves. National Updates | District & Municipal Updates | Case Studies | Media Coverage | National Products | HRRP Products NATIONAL PRODUCTS Monthly e-newsletter of National Reconstruction Authority November 2019 HRRP PRODUCTS Palika Profiles (Municipal Reconstruction Profiles)   The recovery profiles contain various updates on the reconstruction and recovery at the Municipal level for all 282 earthquake-affected municipalities . The municipalities are updating the profiles on a monthly basis with technical support from HRRP.   Reconstruction and Retrofitting Information Pack These highlights the reconstruction and retrofitting progress in all 32-earthquake affected districts at the municipal level. This data is updated by HRRP district staff in close coordination with municipal focal persons. The links will be automatically updated to provide the reconstruction snapshot (PDF) for the month. Municipal data-set on Reconstruction [CSV] , [PDF] A composite data-set for 282 municipalities (urban status, damage grade, reconstruction, retrofitting and vulnerable HHs as identified by NRA can be assessed here as CSV and PDF. The data-set is updated by the municipalities with support from HRRP.   National Updates | District & Municipal Updates | Case Studies | Media Coverage | National Products | HRRP Products Media Digest |  FAQ | Briefing Pack | Meeting & Events |  5W | Housing Progress  | Housing Typologies  National Updates | District & Municipal Updates | Case Studies | Media Coverage | National Products | HRRP Products  Contact Us HRRP Nepal Office Jawagal, Lalitpur, Nepal Tel: (+977) - 01 - 5544149 Email: info@hrrpnepal.org Primarily Funded by: Copyright 2019 HRRP, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list

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