RASUWA, Dec 25: As many as 1015 households living in 29 settlements in Rasuwa district are at risk. The land they occupy has fissures dating back to the devastating earthquake of April 2015.
The settlements are located in five rural municipalities , according to the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA). So far, only 38 percent of the households at risk have been resettled at new sites. A total of 384 households have been given land for relocation.
The delay is said to be due to bureaucratic hurdles, lack of available land, and poor coordination between various agencies of the government. The quake victims remain displaced.
“It has already been 43 months since we were displaced. The government has not been able to act effectively to resolve our predicament,” said Cheku Lama, a victim.
They were first settled at Khalde, stating that this was a safe site. However, the government later said the site was unsafe for human settlement and promised to relocate them , informed Lama. A majority of the victims are still living in the unsafe location.
According to Asmita Thapa of Utargaya Rural Municipality-1, the government has found a suitable site for relocation but bureaucratic hurdles have delayed the issuing of land ownership certificates to the victims.
“The district administration told us that lands meant for us were purchased a year ago. But the lands are yet to be registered in our names,” she said. “We visited district headquarters at Dhunche time and again but there has been no progress. This has prevented us from build our new homes.”
Victims said the district land revenue office has been delaying the process on the ground that the victims could have land elsewhere that is registered in their names .
Chief District Officer Krishnakant Upadhay informed that they are in the process of relocating the affected settlements.
“However, we have not been able to make the desired progress due to lack of available land in the district,” said Upadhyay.