Kathmandu Valley Mayors Transfer Waste Management Responsibility to Government

The Kathmandu Valley Mayors Forum, in its sixth meeting organized by Gokarneshwor Municipality, has decided to transfer the responsibility of waste management in the Kathmandu Valley to the Government of Nepal. The decision comes after a review of the unimplemented 2018 agreement between the government and NepWaste, as highlighted by Lalitpur Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan.

Mayor Maharjan emphasized that despite the Nepal Investment Board forwarding the agreement to the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) for execution, the KMC returned it to the government. This led to the decision to appeal to the government to oversee the remaining waste management tasks.

One of the key issues discussed was the failure to meet the conditions presented by NepWaste, including the inability of local municipalities to provide the demanded land. Additionally, no municipality had participated in formulating NepWaste’s Term of Reference. In light of these challenges, the mayors proposed that the Nepal government take charge of waste management across all municipalities in the valley.

Mayor Maharjan stated, “The focus of the sixth meeting of the Kathmandu Valley Mayors Forum was primarily on waste management. The decision emerged to seek the intervention of the Nepal government in overseeing waste management for all municipalities in the valley, thereby allowing the government to handle the remaining responsibilities.”

This resolution marks a collaborative effort by the mayors to address the challenges in waste management and ensure a more effective and coordinated approach under the oversight of the government. The decision is expected to have far-reaching implications for the sustainable management of waste in the Kathmandu Valley.