MAOIST PLENARY SESSION BEGINS TUESDAY Kathmandu, 17 July: Maoist five-day plenary session—the first in 18 months-- is bring held Tuesday in the capital to adopt future party strategy. The meeting was delayed by one day following the deaths of cadres in a bus accident in neighbouring Dhading Monday. Several others are injured and missing. A faction in the party led Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kazi Shrestha has expressed dissatisfaction for what has been described as Chairman Prachanda’s ‘soft line to India in government and hard-line attitude on the street’. The meeting attended by more that 5,000 delegates will discuss the chairman’s political proposal. Nnnn KMC INCREASING GARBAGE COLLECTION CHARGE FROM TUESDAY Kathmandu, 17 July: Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), the only metropolis of the country, has decided to charge Rs 185 to Rs 60,000 per household per month for collecting waste from this fiscal, The Himalayan Times reports. Around one million people live in the metropolis in about 100,000 households, informed KMC sources. The metropolis produces some 350 metric tonnes of waste everyday. “We have fixed a ceiling charge ranging from Rs 185 to Rs 60,000 per household per month for waste collection from July 16,” said KMC Environment Management Division chief Rabin Man Shrestha. “The fee proposal that applies from today was recently approved by the municipal council meeting,” he said. The private sector, including clubs and NGOs were charging Rs 150 minimum per household each month for waste collection although it was illegal till the Waste Management Act 2011 was implemented some months ago in the country. It is the first Act that will enable KMC to charge fee from households for waste collection. “The private sector, which will be involved in waste management, should abide by the decision made by the civic body,” Shrestha said. “In line with the spirit of the Act, we have fixed Rs 185 per month for households producing 10 litres of waste per day,” said Shrestha. The charge may vary as per the volume of waste. “Five star hotels will have to pay a higher amount,” he said. According to Shrestha, hospitals will have to pay about Rs 15,000 per month and a five star hotel will be charged about Rs 60,000 per month. “Hotel Soaltee Crown Plaza has to pay Rs 60,000 per month,” he informed. KMC, which is known as one of the dirtiest cities in the world because of poor waste management, started working on fixing the ceiling for waste collection charges about a year ago. “Along with the fee ceiling, the metropolis will make segregation of waste at the household level mandatory and provide segregation bins,” Shrestha said. “Non-disposable and disposable waste will be segregated at the households and they will be recycled and reused as per their capacity,” he added. Although waste collection and dumping was practiced in Kathmandu from 1970s, the waste produced is yet to be recycled and reused for income generation of local bodies and the government despite technical advancement. According to Solid Waste Management Technical Support Centre, more than 600 metric tonnes of waste is produced every day in Kathmandu Valley where about 2.6 million people live. nnnn