Kathmandu lacks all the standards of metropolis

Bishnu Prasad Aryal
Kathmandu, November 4

The Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is ineligible to be a metropolis as per the international standards of the metropolitan city. Meanwhile, KMC has even failed to meet the criteria set by the national law.

"KMC is a city of chaos rather than a metropolis," said Er Devendra Dongol, chief at the Physical Urban Development and Construction Department, KMC. "Foreign people from metropolitan cities laugh at hearing on Kathmandu as metropolis," he added.

Dongol said the rules envisioned in the country's law lack the international standards of the concept. "Interestingly, those existing norms are also yet to be applied in developing the city. This is the local metropolitan city, which was chaotically developed earlier and declared later without any standards," he added.

There is about one million population in KMC, spread in area of 50 square kilometres, which is the capital city of Nepal.

KATHMANDU: Long-pending Council Meeting of the Kathmandu Metropolitan City to approve the annual budget and programmes is likely to take place within 2-4 days. It was necessary to approve annual budget and programme before mid-July for carrying out development projects in the civic body. "The budget and programmes have been already prepared," said Niranjan Baral, executive chief of KMC. "The final reading will be completed soon and the budget will be approved in 2-4 days," Baral added. Baral has been verbally assuring to approve budget 'within two weeks' since August. -- BPA

According to the Local Self-Governance Act 2055BS, a metropolis should have at least 300,000 population, well-developed roads, access of safe drinking water, health facilities, education and electricity, systematic urban development, managed transportation, good sanitation and environmentally safe place, housing plan, preparation of land-usage map, separate places for industries, residential area, farm land, parks, and enough greeneries.

The Act also provisions to conserve rivers and water resources, forests, culture and heritage sites, preserve the civil rights for daily-consuming food stuffs, manage garbage, develop shelter houses for helpless and homeless people, and provide security to the people maintaining law and order.

"The implementation of 95 per cent of those provisions is a far cry," said financial officer Nava Raj Dhakal at the Revenue Department, KMC. "How can we expect all these infrastructure development here while it is not worthy of even a good municipality?", Dhakal wondered.

As per the international standards, there should be some five million people for a metropolitan city, free education and health services certain number of people based on age and social factors, well-planned roads and settlements, sufficient supply of water and electricity, enough security to people and basic infrastructure development. "Nothing among them has been developed or maintained in the KMC," said Dongol. "No drinking water in pipes and some 12 hours power-cut every day are KMC's irritating facilities while the Bagmati and Bishnumati rivers are turned to sewerages."

 Niranjan Baral, executive chief of KMC and government secretary, said that it was good attempt among the developing countries although there were various lapses and constraints in developing the metropolitan city.