Post-earthquake housing reconstruction in the Sikkim Himalaya: approaches, challenges, and lessons learnt

ABSTRACT

The Himalayan state of Sikkim, India was hit by an earthquake in 2011 that caused widespread devastation. This article reports on the housing reconstruction project in the state, focusing on three questions: what are the key planning decisions, what are the main implementation challenges, and what are the lessons learnt? The findings indicate that key planning decisions need to be taken on implementation mechanisms, financing strategies, beneficiary identification, housing design, and procurement. The main implementation challenges are enabling homeowner involvement, slow progress, timely procurement, and stalled house construction. The article also identifies useful lessons for other agencies involved in reconstruction.

KEYWORDS:

• Aid – Aid effectiveness
• Capacity development
• South Asia

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewer for their valuable comments, which helped to significantly strengthen the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Sarika Pradhan works at the Rural Management and Development Department, Government of Sikkim, and is a development professional with 15 years’ experience in planning and development in the Sikkim Himalaya.

Pema Donka works at the Rural Management and Development Department, Government of Sikkim, and is a development professional with 15 years’ experience in planning, implementing, and monitoring infrastructure development programmes in the Sikkim Himalaya.

Pragya Singh works at the Rural Management and Development Department, Government of Sikkim, and is a development professional with 15 years’ experience in planning, implementing, and monitoring infrastructure development programmes in the Sikkim Himalaya.

Sandeep Tambe is a Professor at the Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. He is a development professional with 18 years’ experience in conservation and livelihoods in mountain terrain.

ORCID

Sandeep Tambe http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-0011