Despite fuel crisis and shortage of construction materials, there has been no decrease in building construction permit applications in Kathmandu, city officials said.

According to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, it has been receiving 20 to 25 building permit applications each day, which is similar to normal times. As many people have lost their homes due to the April 25 earthquake, applications for building permits have not decreased, RSS quoted municipality engineer Bir Bahadur Khadka as saying.Protests in Tarai and fuel embargo by India have resulted in widespread shortage of construction materials in the country. In Kathmandu, bricks, cement, sand, stones, rods and other construction materials have become scarce and if available, cost up to twice the normal price.

Engineer Khadka said around 90 percent of applications for building permits have come from people who want to make their existing houses earthquake-resistant. However, although a large number of people have taken building permits, not all have begun construction immediately, according to Khadka. People are waiting for improvement in supply conditions in the country.Metropolitan authorities have also attributed increase in construction applications to discounts on permit fees. There is 75 percent discount on building permit fees for houses fully destroyed by the earthquake and 25 percent to partially damaged buildings. Fee for houses with built-up area up to 3,000 square feet is Rs25 per sq ft while for larger houses the fee is Rs35 per sq ft.

According to official data, a total of 5,227 private houses in Kathmandu metropolis have been destroyed while 18,770 have suffered partial damage due to the earthquake. Moreover, 23 government buildings were destroyed while 21 were partially damaged.

source:the kathmandu post,26 nov 2015