Speakers at a program organized on the occasion of World Cities Day laid emphasis on environment-friendly development in urban areas. Nepal is marking this day since 2019.
Member of the National Planning Commission Dr. Pushpa Raman Wagle stated that the cities should focus on well-managed and environment-friendly development, adding that the population in Nepal’s 293 municipalities reached over 62 percent of the country’s total population.
Dr. Wagle said that the Kathmandu Valley should develop ideas for converting the waste into something valuable since the city was spending millions on waste management every year.
NPC’s former Vice Chairman Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel said that the stakeholders should pay much attention to the development of urban areas and the announcement of the municipality should not be merely for the purpose of tax collection.
Likewise, Chairman of the High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of the Bagmati Civilization Uddhab Prasad Timalsena said that the river civilization of the cities should be given the first priority while working for the development of urban areas.
He said that air pollution in the river sites could be reduced if electronic vehicles were run on the roads developed along the riverside. Likewise, Joint Secretaries at the Ministry of Urban Development Bishnu Prasad Sharma, Padma Kumar Mainali, and others also expressed their views at the event.
