Kathmandu, October 26

The Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration has issued a circular to all district coordination committees and local levels, directing them to activate their concerned District Monitoring and Coordination Committee and act on its mandate to make extraction, collection, sale and distribution of river and mining products effective as per the rules.

According to the circular issued by Environment and Disaster Management Section of the MoFAGA yesterday, a meeting of the Council of Ministers had approved the formation of ‘District Monitoring and Coordination Committee and its Mandate’. As per the decision, there shall be an eight-member monitoring and coordination committee led by chief of the concerned District Coordination Committee to monitor the process of extraction, collection, sale and distribution of river products, pebbles and sand.

The members of the committee include deputy chief of District Coordination Committee, chief district officer, district police chief, district chief of Armed Police Force, chief of an office designated by the Government of Nepal of Provincial Government, an engineer and a District Coordination Committee  official.

The committee may give necessary directions to the concerned rural municipality, municipality or extractor or collector regarding the observance of terms and conditions of environmental study report, approved procedures and rules, revenue leakage and smuggling, road safety and pollution control, observance of contract, market price control of river and mining products, and standards to be followed by crusher industries, among others.

“It shall be the duty of the concerned rural municipality or municipality or extractor or collector to abide by the directions given by the committee on bases of monitoring report,” the circular states. If the directions given by the committee are not followed, it may prohibit the concerned violator to extract, collect or export the river and mining products.

It requires the concerned local level to provide information, data and technical assistance to the committee as per necessity.

“The committee can give directions to the concerned local levels to revise their respective initial environmental examination report on the basis of monitoring report of extraction, collection, sale and distribution or river and mining products,” the circular adds.

Similarly, the committee may cause the concerned contractors, extractors and mining and crusher industries to present annual action plan of extraction and sales at the meeting of Industries Committee of the district.