Nov 01, Kathmandu - The government is set to prepare a 50-year master plan for the urbanization of the Kathmandu Valley.

At a program organized in the capital to mark the completion of the 650th week of the Bagmati Cleanup Campaign, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Physical Infrastructure and Transport and Urban Development Kulman Ghising said that a master plan for the urbanization of the Kathmandu Valley will be prepared and the implementation of the plan will be taken forward accordingly.

Minister Ghising said, "We have a short time now, but we have prepared a long-term master plan to beautify the Kathmandu Valley by projecting the population growth in the next 50 years. Accordingly, we are going to prepare an integrated plan for sewage, electricity, mine water, roads, waste management, and establishment of a sewage treatment center to beautify the city. Urban beauty cannot be maintained until the river is clean. This requires huge investment. Therefore, it is necessary for the federal, provincial, and permanent governments to work together to clean the river for river management."

Stating that the city cannot be clean until the rivers and canals of the valley are clean and bathing is possible, he thanked the people for the mass campaign launched to keep the river clean.

Stating that the mass campaign was launched not only to remove the garbage accumulated in the Bagmati but also to cleanse the minds of the people, Chief Engineer Former Chief Secretary Lilamani Paudyal suggested that the empowered Bagmati Civilization Integrated Development Committee should focus on sewage construction and treatment in a planned manner rather than other urbanization works.

The committee has prepared an action plan for 2025-45. The action plan aims to increase the water level in the rivers by conserving and enhancing water resources, conserving biodiversity, sustainable urban development, improving water quality and quantity, and conserving the river basin and public lands. It is estimated that about 225 billion rupees will be required to implement the action plan.