Pokhara Mayor's Promises on Waste Management Center Unfulfilled Amidst Land Disputes

Pokhara. Almost every public program poses a question to the Mayor of Pokhara – what is happening with waste management? When will the processing center be built?

At the time of his election as mayor, Dhanraj Acharya had said, 'We will make Pokhara's waste management a subject of study for ticket buyers. It will become a center for study.' Since then, he has been saying in almost every speech, 'The construction of the waste processing center is in the final stage.'

Acharya has been saying this for over 3 years. The landfill site in Bachhebuduwa, Pokhara-14, has to be moved for the operation of the international airport, making waste management a headache for Pokhara. For a temporary arrangement of 6 months, waste started being dumped on the banks of the Seti River in Lame Ahal, Pokhara-32. After dumping waste there for about 4.5 years, as another temporary arrangement, it has been dumped in the forest area of Raichaur, Pokhara-21, since last February.

Pokhara Metropolitan City moved forward with the process to build a waste processing center in Ward No. 33. On Chaitra 22, 2079, the metropolis issued a notice seeking developers for the construction and operation of a landfill site and waste processing center under a public-private partnership program. On Baisakh 3, 2080, an expression of interest evaluation committee was formed, and on Baisakh 19, the committee met and selected 3 companies.

Based on the decision of the Council of Ministers meeting on Jestha 30, the Land Revenue Office froze a total of 93 ropanis 5 annas of land belonging to 17 landowners in Bharatpokhari. On Mangsir 17, the metropolis's meeting approved the proposal of Terrasol Renewable Company and handed over the responsibility of constructing the processing center. However, disputes over the frozen land were not resolved. Locals protested, saying that the place was not suitable for dumping waste. They surrounded the office in Pokhara-33, and an unusual incident occurred.

Before that, 5.5 million rupees were deposited from the metropolis's account into the account of Ramchandra Adhikari, the ward chairman of Ward No. 33, to make a down payment for the frozen land. However, the Office of the Auditor General directed to return it immediately, stating that the process was illegal. Seeing that there would be obstacles in taking waste to Ward No. 33, a committee was formed to search for more land. The committee also recommended various other lands. However, wherever waste was to be taken, locals protested, and the executive meeting decided to build a waste processing center in the forest area near Lame Ahal, Pokhara-33.

Since that place is not under the metropolis and acquiring land from the federal government would take a long time, and locals would also obstruct, the metropolis backed down. Again, another committee has been formed to search for new land. The executive meeting held on Tuesday formed a committee under the convenership of Rudranath Baral, ward chairman of Pokhara-8 and coordinator of the Environment Committee, to search for land.

This means that even though Mayor Dhanraj Acharya stated in Monday's public hearing program that the work of constructing the processing center has reached the final stage, its work has not even started. Citizens of Pokhara-21 and surrounding areas complained in the program that the current place for dumping waste is not suitable. In response, Mayor Acharya said, 'The issues raised regarding fundamental rights are sensitive, and we agree with them. We are currently managing waste in Ward No. 21 only for temporary management. The work on our permanent project, the waste processing center, has reached the final stage.'

The very next day after he said that in the program, the executive meeting held formed a committee to search for land. Rammohan Acharya, chairman of Ward No. 7, and Engineer Uday Bastola are members of the committee. Prabhat Lamichhane is the member secretary. The committee has been tasked by the executive to recommend land within one month.

Various studies show that Pokhara metropolis currently generates 209 tons of waste daily. According to a 2020 World Bank study, the data shows that 354 grams of waste are generated per person per day. It is estimated that 10 to 30 percent of the waste is generated from tourist areas. Of the generated waste, 65 percent is compostable, 15 percent is recyclable, and 20 percent is non-usable waste. The metropolis has currently contracted 8 companies for waste collection. Terrasol Company has been awarded the responsibility of constructing the waste processing center at a cost of approximately 1 billion rupees. The company has not been able to proceed with the work due to the unavailability of land.

The metropolis has signed an agreement to provide 125 tons of waste daily for the processing center. The agreement is to produce biogas and organic fertilizer using European standard machinery.

After the land is finalized, the plan is to carry out DPR and environmental impact assessment over the initial 2 years. The newly formed committee has committed to finding and recommending land within the stipulated time. Coordinator Baral said, 'The committee has been formed. Work will begin once the TOR arrives. We will recommend the designated committee.'

Waste management has been causing problems in Pokhara for a long time.

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