KATHMANDU, JUNE 16

The federal government has issued a model procedure to the local levels, requiring them to maintain cleanliness of public places within their jurisdiction.

According to the procedure recently released by the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, the local governments will be obliged to make their places 'open-defecation free zone', develop them as environment-friendly village/city and make them plastic waste free areas.

Similarly, this procedure has empowered the local levels to make a provision of 'polluters pay' under which the litterbugs will be liable to bear the cost of cleanliness.

The procedure says that the local levels may launch sustainable cleanliness in association with social campaigners, civil society and general public. The cleanliness campaign should be focused on rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, parks, gardens, religious and cultural heritages, open spaces and other public places to maintain their aesthetic value. They are also allowed to partner with public, private, cooperative and community organisations for protection and conservation of rivers, streams, ponds and religious and cultural heritages, and other public places. The local levels can expand the investment of private sector in cleanliness campaign under its corporate social responsibility.

It is mandatory for all local levels to get this procedure approved by the village executive or municipal executive concerned. 'The local levels need to protect biodiversity, maintain ecological balance, enhance local tourism and eco-tourism by promoting environmental cleanliness,' it says.

Similarly, local levels will be required to make provisions for segregation degradable and non-degradable waste at sources, and collect and dispose of them safely, prohibit piling of construction materials on the road and pavement, grant permission to display hoarding boards and other ad materials only in designated places, and dispose of hospital waste in a prescribed site.

The procedure stipulates a provision of a municipality/rural municipality and ward-level sanitation committee. The 12-member rural municipality/municipality-level committee and nine-member ward-level committee will be headed by the chief of local level and ward chair respectively.

The committee will be responsible for coordinating and collaborating with various agencies and stakeholders in the sanitation campaign. Each local level is required to allocate necessary budget from equalisation grants, revenue sharing and its internal revenue for sanitation.

A version of this article appears in the print on June 17, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.