Houses For The Needy

The Constitution of Nepal, 2015 is progressive in terms of rights and freedoms given to citizens. The national charter guarantees 31 different fundamental rights. Article 37 of the statute ensures every citizen the right to proper housing. In compliance with this constitutional provision, the federal parliament has enacted the Right to Housing Act, 2018. With the enactment of this Act, doors have opened for governments to work towards providing housing facilities to all homeless and needy citizens living across the country. Though this legal provision appears to have set a bit ambitious target of making available homes to the destitute, it is attainable if government institutions prioritise the housing scheme. When people’s right to own a home materialises, they will have an opportunity to grow physically, mentally and spiritually. The quality and safety of homes is associated with the health and security of citizens. 

About a quarter of the country’s population still lives below the poverty line. In Nepal, the number of homeless people stands at about 2.5 million. The rate of homelessness is likely to increase in the near future if concrete measures are not taken to eliminate poverty. The problem of joblessness has also worsened since the outbreak of COVID-19 more than three years ago. Despite the receding of the pandemic, the nation’s economic sector is yet to recover entirely. Post-COVID global recession and the prevalent Russian-Ukraine war have hindered the process of economic revival worldwide. However, some of the economic indicators of Nepal seem to be encouraging. With an increase in the amount of remittance and tourism activities, the country’s foreign exchange reserve has now become more stable than it was last year.  

The nation seems to have been quite serious about providing housing facilities to those in need. The Ministry of Physical Infrastructure in Sudurpaschim Province has built as many as 1,004 houses in four different districts of the province under its People Housing Programme (PHP). Launched in 2017, the housing programme has turned out to be very beneficial for the homeless Dalit community. Under the PHP, the provincial government has already constructed the houses in Doti, Dadeldhura, Achham and Bajura districts. The Urban Development and Building Office based in Doti has spent as much as Rs. 114.7 million on building such houses. Under PHP, a total of 345 houses have been constructed in Doti, 370 in Dadeldhura, 189 in Bajura and 100 in Achham. The government had allocated a technical assistance and a grant of Rs. 332,500 for building each house.

The Right to Housing Act, 2018 has become a vital instrument to materialise the citizens’ right to safe housing. As per the office, each of the houses is earthquake-resistant. Every house has two bed rooms, a kitchen and a veranda. According to a news report published in this daily on Monday, 95 per cent of the houses were handed over to the target group while the remaining ones are in the process of being provided to the needy. Most homeless people were bound to live in other people’s houses and animal sheds. They had to live in fear, especially during the rainy season because of the risk of flash floods and landslides. Their happiness now knows no bounds as they have received a safe place to live in. The provincial government should give continuity to this programme because there are still many homeless people in these districts. As the housing programme has become very effective, other provinces also need to consider replicating it.