KATHMANDU, APRIL 9
Waste produced inside Singha Durbar, a complex that houses the country's major administrative offices, has started piling up inside its premise itself after Kathmandu Metropolitan City Mayor Balen Shah instructed to stop ferrying waste from there to the newly opened Bancharedanda landfill site.
A pile of around five tonnes waste has been dumped near the chief secretary's office at Putali Bagaicha. In his Facebook status yesterday, Mayor Shah had instructed to stop collecting waste from the premises of Singha Durbar. He further said that it was the ministers who had to be dumped there. A private firm, Pariwartan Sewa Pvt Ltd that has been managing Singha Durbar's waste for the past 14 years was called by the office of the mayor's secretary and asked not to ferry the waste to the landfill site. The company had then collected waste from each office and dumped it on the premises itself.
Managing Director of Pariwartan Sewa Mitra Prasad Ghimire said it was not possible for them to transport Singha Durbar's waste to the landfill site without the permission of the local government since the landfill site was managed by KMC.
"We will be collecting waste as per our duties. But, if the government does not give us any place, we will be compelled to manage the waste inside the premise itself," Ghimire told THT. Pariwartan Sewa is contracted to the Ministry of Urban Development.
Meanwhile, the federal government does not have authority to operate the country's Bancharedanda landfill site since it has given responsibility of its management to Kathmandu metropolis. A temporary waste collecting unit based in Teku is also under the jurisdiction of KMC. Apparently, the mayor's maverick move is a retaliation against Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal who has been turning a deaf year to the desperate plea of the local government.
Bhopa Dev Shah, secretary of Mayor Shah, said since the government had no interest in finding collective solutions to dozens of serious problems faced by the KMC, it was time for the federal government to stop depending on the local government to manage this issue.
"It's understandable that there are many issues that need to be addressed collectively. However, the indifference of the federal government has hindered work to a large extent. Thus, we want Singha Durbar to manage its waste on its own," Shah said.
As per Shah, the government was dismissive of their demands such as revisiting Bagmati civilisation, addressing the issue of squatter settlements, addressing the issue of waste management and working on the notion of decentralisation after the country's transition to the federal structure.
Meanwhile, Essential Service Operation Act issued by the Home Ministry mentions waste management among around two dozen other services that must not be obstructed by anyone under any circumstances. Anyone found violating the rule shall be punished from six months to one year behind bars as per the gravity of the offence.
Spokesperson for the Office of Attorney General Sanjiv Raj Regmi said while it was normal for different levels of government to have conflict, the constitution has envisioned inter-governmental mechanism to solve these kinds of issues.
A version of this article appears in the print on April 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.
