KATHMANDU: Only four of the 58 municipalities across the country have a garbage management system, facilitated with landfill sites. The Local Self Governance Act is also silent on dumping sites and waste management, including trash reuse.

Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City and Tribhuvan Municipality in Ghorahi of Dang use landfill sites to dispose garbage.

Neither the government nor the local bodies initiated measures to resolve the garbage problem in the cities and towns, said Bidur Mainali, general secretary, Municipal Association Nepal. "The government should formulate appropriate policies in order to address the problems concerning environment and public health," he said.

Forty -one local bodies are awaiting to be declared as municipalities. Dinesh Kumar Thapaliya, spokesperson, MoLD, said no law had a specific provision on garbage management. "Population, income, electricity and communication as well as other infrastructures are mandatory for a municipality," he said. "The present law has provisioned only collection, transportation and dumping of waste," he added.

"Garbage should be used as a resource in the present sense of management," Thapaliya said. "The government should allocate funds to manage waste in the local bodies." The amendment bill on Waste Management, proposed almost a year ago, envisages proper waste management. Waste management has been a great challenge in Biratnagar Sub-Metropolitan City, Birgunj Sub-Metropolitan City and Dharan Municipality.

Sixteen municipalities are using forest land for disposing garbage, which is objectionable, said Mainali. "The remaining ones have been depositing refuse anywhere they like," he said. "Bhaktapur, Madhyapur Thimi and Kirtipur municipalities have been throwing waste on river banks and public places."

Dr Sumitra Amatya, General Manager, Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre, said they were inspecting the situation of waste management in municipalities across the country.

"With the help of UN Habitat, we have designed landfill sites for Ghorahi, Dhankuta, Janakpur, Baglung and Tansen municipalities and the plan is being implemented in Ghorahi and Dhankuta," she said. "US$ 365,000 has been allocated to 10 additional municipalities for landfill site management."

Of the total fund, SWMRMC will bear 35 per cent, UN Habitat 45 per cent and concerned municipality 20 per cent.

"We are going to expand this project to 10 more municipalities in the near future," she added.