Kathmandu, May 12:

The government is preparing a draft of the Solid Waste Management bill with a provision to ban all kinds of strikes to manage solid waste properly.

The draft bill is being prepared by a task-force formed under the leadership of Surya Prasad Silwal, joint secretary at the Ministry of Local Development, some two-and-a-half months ago.

The draft has proposed to declare solid waste management an essential service and therefore the local administration can impose a ban on all kinds of obstructions to collect, transport and finally dump waste products.

It has also proposed to ban lockout, gherao, and other forms of protests at places from where waste products are collected, transported or dumped.

A member of the task force Dinesh Thapaliya, who is also the chief executive officer of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), said the task-force would submit the proposed draft to the government in two weeks.

The draft has also proposed to set up the Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre to provide technical support for the management of solid waste in the Kathmandu Valley.

The task-force includes chief executive officers of KMC and Lalitpur Sub-metropolitan City, Local Development Officer of Kathmandu district, director general of the Department of Local Infrastructure and Agricultural Roads, and the general manager of the Solid Waste Management and Resource Mobilisation Centre.

The draft has also made a provision to punish individuals and organisations that throw waste products at places other than the ones fixed by the local bodies.

“The local bodies can also impose a ban on or discourage people to use certain goods like plastics that are produced in an excessive amount,” the draft bill states.

Convener of the task-force Silwal said the proposed draft bill has incorporated the roles of local bodies, communities and the government authorities to manage the waste products.

He said the task-force mem-bers are thinking of holding a discussion with all the stakeholders after the completion of the draft bill.

Talking about the ban on strikes, Silwal said the existing Essential Services Act also has a provision to impose restrictions on strikes in essential services that also include solid waste management.