Govt to provide concessional loan, subsidy

ILAM, March 28: The government is preparing to provide concessional loan and subsidy to the victims of the recent most major earthquake that caused heavy damage, especially in three districts of eastern Nepal.



The government has already finalized a guideline to provide concessional loan and subsidy to the earthquake victims. "We have already received the guideline," said Suresh Nembang, Ilam division chief of the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC). [break]"We will start distributing concessional loan and subsidy very soon."



According to DUDBC, all the earthquake victims will receive concessional loan and subsidy through nearby banks and cooperatives. DUDBC will distribute concessional loan and subsidy on the basis of lists prepared by District Natural Disaster Relief Committees (DNDRCs) of the quake victims.



As per the guideline, DUDBC will provide up to Rs 100,000 and Rs 50,000 as concessional loans to those whose houses have been completely or partially damaged, repectively. Similarly, the guideline has allowed DUDBC to provide up to Rs 10,000 as subsidy to those who have no property to put up as collateral while applying for concessional loans.



DUDBC has asked all the quake victims to apply for concessional loan and subsidy by April 17. "We will distribute subsidy within this very fiscal year," said Nembang. "As far as concessional loan is concerned, we have not received budget so far. We will distribute concessional loan as soon as we get budget."



As per the guideline, those quake victims who have already repaired or rebuilt their houses on their own will be provided a maximum of Rs 50,000 as concessional loan for upgrading their houses. The guideline has also allowed DUDBC to provide either a maximum of Rs 50,000 or 30 per cent of the total cost to repair or rebuild a community building in each quake-hit VDC.



The earthquake, which was measured 4.5 on the Richter scale, had damaged hundreds of houses in Ilam, Panchthar and Taplejung districts. In just these three districts, more than 2,600 houses had been damaged partially and completely. Ilam was the hardest hit with nearly 2,000 houses damaged in the quake.



As the quake, with its epicenter somewhere between India´s Sikkim and Taplejung district, jolted much of the country, including the Kathmandu valley, five people had also lost their lives. According to Ilam DNDRC, properties worth more than Rs 800 million had been damaged in the quake in the three districts alone.

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