Kathmandu, August 4

Local levels of Kathmandu valley have decided to form a committee to jointly seek a solution to waste management.

Officials said the problem of waste management would become unmanageable in the next three to six months if an alternative to Silsole landfill site was not sought immediately.

Joint-secretaries and under-secretaries, who are working as administrative officers in 18 different local levels in the valley, have also agreed to jointly address waste management  woes.

There are 11 local levels in Kathmandu district, six in Lalitpur district and four in Bhaktpaur district. Three municipalities of Kavre district — Banepa, Dhulikhel and Panauti — will also join the programme.

A meeting of the local levels in Kathmandu also formed a five member study committee led by KMC joint secretary Ishwor Chandra Marahatta. The committee has been entrusted with conducting a study and submitting its report on three major issues.

The committee, among other things, will conduct a study to determine the amount each local level needs to contribute financially to solve waste management problem.

It will also propose temporary and permanent landfill sites as the Sisdol landfill site is expected to be filled to capacity within three to six months. The committee will also forward suggestions on how the landfill site at Banchare Danda can be brought into operation as soon as possible.

Waste collected in Kathmandu valley is being dumped at the Sisdole landfill site in Nuwakot for the last 12 years.

The Sisdol landfill site was built and handed over to the government in June 5, 2005 by JICA, stating that the site could hold waste collected in Kathmandu valley for two years only. After all these years, Sisdol landfill site is the only available option to dump the waste collected in Kathmandu valley.

Kathmandu valley generates around 1,000 metric tonnes of garbage every day. Of this,  300 metric tonnes of garbage is collected from KMC alone.

KMC  has deployed around 800 employees to manage waste, spending over Rs 60 million annually.

According to Bishwo Mani Adhikari, director general at Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre, said the garbage management problem could become unmanageable if a permanent solution was not sought soon.

Banchare Danda which lies around two kilometres north of Sisdol was bought by the then Ministry of Local Development for Rs 590 million in 2007 as a permanent solution to waste management in Kathmandu valley. The 792 ropani land is expected to handle waste collected in Kathmandu for 50 years.

The cabinet on June 15 has finally awarded a contract to an Italy-based builders Nep West Pvt Ltd JV Componication OY and Organic Village to build the sanitary landfill site. The project is also supposed to  generate bio-gas from the plant established on the site. The project is expected to complete in three years time at the cost Rs 6.3 billion.

The final agreement between the government and contractors, however, has yet to be signed.

The study committee which is being led by Marahatta said, “We must find an immediate solution to waste management.”