Kathmandu, May 31:

The NGO Forum has made an appeal to revise three Drinking Water Ordinances promulgated in April 2005 from the pro-poor perspective.

The government has given continuity to the ordinances — Drinking Water Corporation Act (third amendment) Ordinance, 2062 Drinking Water Management Board Ordinance, 2062 Drinking Water Bill Commission Ordinance — following the proposal of the Kathmandu Valley Drinking Water Reform Project (KVDWRP) to improve supply of drinking water and legal and institutional mechanism, a statement issued here by NGO Forum said.

“These three ordinances were once again promulgated after six months to effectively institutionalise the drinking water management. The ordinances were brought in with the aim of involving private parties in the supply of drinking water and fixing of bill according to cost of the investment, but it raises questions about the economically backward and marginalised communities’ equal access to drinking water,” it said.

The statement said the involvement of private companies or service providing agencies in the supply of drinking water and fixing the bills as per their investments might affect the poor, marginalised communities equal rights to drinking water.

Hence, the ordinances should be revised from pro-poor perspective and the suggestions and opinions of experts considered. If these groups are not given proper place, it might invite disaster and problem, it said.