LALITPUR: The High Level Committee on Waste Management (HLCWM), formed two months ago, has sought additional four months to deal with the private sector for establishing garbage-fuelled plant in the Valley.

"It is impossible to deal with the private sector within the stipulated time," said Dr Sumitra Amatya, member secretary of the committee. "So we have prepared a draft to be submitted to the cabinet for extending the tenure till mid-April," she added.

The Expression of Interest (EoI) should have been called earlier to complete the deal in time.

Forty-five days are necessary for calling an EoI and next 45 days for Request for Proposal (RFP) from the short-listed firms.

EoI selection alone

needs a month, said Dipendra Bahadur Oli, legal officer at the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre (SWMRMC). "Another one month is necessary for evaluating the RFP," he added.

"Therefore we need an extra time of four months to sign the agreement through complete legal procedures," said Dr Amatya. "We

have also prepared another proposal to submit to the cabinet to allow us more authority to deal with the issue," she said.

Earlier, the seven-member committee was assigned to sign a deal with private sector by mid-December. The committee, headed by Dr Dinesh Chandra Devkota, member National Planning Commission, includes secretaries of the Ministry of Local Development, Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Land Reforms, among others.