Kathmandu, January 21

The National Urban Development Strategy, 2017 proposes complete waste collection coverage for urban areas.

According to the strategy developed by the Ministry of Urban Development, it includes focus on community-led waste segregation and collection; public-private partnership in waste collection and management; adopting sanitary landfill sites as a transitional strategy with the aim of promoting and mandating 3R (reduce, reuse, recycle) at household/community level; and establishing dedicated and capacitated SWM unit in all municipalities.

“Furthermore, a broader perspective on urban transportation is proposed. The strategies include integration of land use and transportation in urban as well as regional planning and development of related institutional mechanisms and capacity; provision of hierarchically balanced urban road infrastructure; promotion of sustainable urban public transport; and preparation of comprehensive transport management standards and plans for urban areas,” it reads.

In prioritised regions, the provision of high-speed inter-urban transport infrastructure is also proposed. Provision of affordable, adequate and safe housing is the objective of the urban housing sector. Strategies include facilitating the private sector to provide housing for the economically weaker sections; regularising standards of group housing; and promoting innovative, economic and environment-friendly buildings.

Strategies to discourage squatter settlement and encroachment, encourage cooperative mechanisms for the production of housing for the economically weaker sections, and facilitate the production of serviced land through public-private/community partnership have been proposed, it said.

Similarly, provision of adequate, reliable, efficient and green energy is the major objective in the energy sector. The strategies include development of hydro-power projects in consideration of  urban locations, promotion of optimal use of solar energy, promotion of passive design and energy efficient building materials.

Urban environment incorporates natural as well as the socio-cultural environment bringing in issues of urban safety, resilience, culture, agriculture, forest as well as the problems of land and environmental pollution. Major strategies include compliance with set standards of pollution in urban areas; promotion of multi-hazard approach to deal with disasters and climate change; internalisation of resilience perspective in land use regulations, building codes and by-laws; and enhancing awareness and preparedness to deal with disaster risk and vulnerability at all levels of government as well as  local communities and civic bodies.