News Summary
Includes editorial review.
- Two integrated waste management centers have become operational in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts of Sudurpashchim Province.
- The waste management center in Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City is yet to start operations due to an ongoing ‘Variation Order’ process.
- Shuklaphanta Municipality has launched a waste management center with an investment of NPR 302.5 million.
April 12 (29 Baisakh), Mahendranagar – Integrated waste management centers have been inaugurated in two municipalities of Sudurpashchim Province. Under the Regional Urban Development Project, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), efforts were underway to establish three waste management centers in Kanchanpur and Kailali districts.
Waste management centers are now operational in Attariya Municipality, Kailali, and Shuklaphanta Municipality, Kanchanpur. Tulsi Ram Kharbujha, head of the Federal Project Implementation Unit in Dhangadhi, has stated that the waste management center in Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City will soon be operational.
Though construction of the center in Ward No. 7, Patela of Dhangadhi Sub-Metropolitan City was completed on schedule, it has not yet begun operating.
This delay stems from the center, which had an estimated investment of NPR 1.09 billion, being under a ‘Variation Order’ (VO) process. “We have submitted the VO to higher authorities,” explained Kharbujha. “The municipality requested additional construction work not included in the original estimate, such as vehicles required for waste management, which led to the initiation of the VO process.”
The waste management center in Dhangadhi is expected to manage the city’s waste for the next 30 years. The contract was awarded to the Geological Engineering Complex from Sichuan Province, China, which completed construction within the specified time, but due to the VO, the contractor currently cannot proceed with work.
According to the Federal Project Implementation Unit in Dhangadhi, the waste management centers in Attariya, Kailali, and Shuklaphanta Municipality have been operational for around 10 months and since the month of Bhadra (August-September), respectively. “For the first three years, the construction company will operate the centers themselves,” he said, “and after that the centers will be handed over to the respective municipalities.”
Although ADB selected four municipalities in Sudurpashchim Province for waste management center construction, Bhimdatta Municipality in Kanchanpur could not provide land for the project. Waste management centers were constructed on 22 hectares in Dhangadhi, five Bigha in Shuklaphanta, and five hectares in Attariya.
The operational waste management centers are sorting waste into three categories for management: recyclable, biodegradable, and unusable (non-decomposable and non-sellable). Shuklaphanta Municipality invested NPR 302.5 million in building its center.
The Shuklaphanta center is located in Ward No. 11, within the Sri Krishna Community Forest area on the western bank of the Vanhara River, according to municipal officials.
Lokendra Bhatt, an engineer at Shuklaphanta Municipality Office, reported that the waste management center is running efficiently. “Containers for waste collection have been placed in all wards,” he said, “and daily waste from urban wards is being collected and brought to the management center.”
Even with the waste management center functioning, Shuklaphanta Municipality continues to prioritize cleanliness efforts.
