Nepal: Melamchi’s padlock opened after seven months

The site office of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, which has remained padlocked for the last seven months, has opened on 26 January 2010. Locals in the project-affected area had padlocked the office since 24 July 2009.

“Locals agreed to unlock the office when negotiation was made to address their demands within a year,” said Bharat KC, Deputy Executive Director of Melamchi Water Supply Project. Chairperson of Hyolmo Sindhu Melamchi Valley Social Upliftment Programme Implementation Committee (HSMVSUPIC) Chandra Bahadur Thapa warned of padlocking the site office of the project again if their demands were not addressed within the stipulated time.

The protests have delayed the construction of tunnel works of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, which was due to start in August 2009 when Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal laid the foundation stone.

As a result of the delay, the China Railway 15 Bureau Corporation and China CMIIC Corporation workers, who were contracted to construct the tunnel, have left the site. The tunnel was due for completion by December 2013.

The tunnel construction is an important work, which constitutes 27 percent of the total work.

Although construction was to start in 2002, it was postponed for five years after the donors World Bank, Norway and Sweden backtracked from the project and the works restarted with Asian Development Bank cooperation on condition to give the valley drinking water supply to the private sector.

The valley drinking water was given to Severn Trent, a British company as per the ADB condition.

When Maoists came to government, Hisila Yami who was the then minister for physical planning and works canceled the agreement with the Severn Trent and the tunnel works were delayed for another two years.

The Melamchi project was started in 1998 with a view of supplying clean drinking water to increasing population of Kathmandu valley.

Admitting that the tunnel works were delayed, Executive Director Gajendra Kumar Thakur said the delay in construction was because of lengthy process of acquiring license for the explosives needed, as it needs 1,100 tonnes of explosives. Other explosives and materials are being brought from Lhasa and Hyderabad of India.

After this arrives, the tunnel works will start from eight places simultaneously, he said.

The cost of the tunnel is Rs. 4 billion and 288.8 million.

Under the project, 170 million liters of water will be collected daily in the reservoir to be built at Mahankal of Sundarijal.

The first phase total cost is 317.3 million US dollars.

The second phase will add water from Yangri and Larke Rivers and reach 350 million liters.

Of the total cost, 249.4 million will be spent in various infrastructure in Melamchi valley and in social programmes. Rs 67.9 million dollars have been allocated for drinking water alone.

Source: NGO Forum, 31 Jan 2010 ; Republica, 23 Jan 2010

Nepal, Kathmandu: city faces worsening water crisis

Fetching drinking water is a daily ordeal for schoolgirl Sumitra Maharjan, who queues from dawn for hours to access a local public tap. “I often miss school, and this is badly affecting my studies,” said the frustrated 15-year-old, holding a blue water bucket and standing behind 100 other people.

However, Maharjan is luckier than some – she manages to get water at least once a day. A large number of residents in Kathmandu have not seen a drop of water from their taps for months. “My tap has been dry for the last six months. You can imagine the crisis we are facing,” said a local resident, Ramesh Gurung.

Most of Kathmandu’s drinking water comes from the Bagmati river system [...] however, the supply is insufficient for the city, which has a chronic water shortage. The government blames changing weather patterns [...] and a growing urban population.

“The water shortage is worsening,” said Rameshwar Shrestha, spokesman for the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepai Limited (KUKL), a government body responsible for supplying drinking water to Kathmandu’s two million people. In Nepal, rainfall has become erratic, and winters have become drier in recent years.

These factors affected the supply of drinking water both in and outside the capital, according to KUKL. Shrestha said there is a daily demand for at least 200 million litres in Kathmandu, but KUKL has only been able to supply 160 million litres.

Crumbling pipelines

The government has said that over 38 percent of the pipes are leaking, and it is often difficult to repair them due to a lack of funds, according to KUKL. But more than financial constraints, activists blame a lack of political will from the government to resolve the crisis.

“We have been warning about the impending water disaster for years, and now the crisis has reached its peak,” said Lajana Manandhar, convener for the Fresh Water Action Network (FAN) Nepal, a national network of NGOs lobbying for water and sanitation rights and policy.

Groundwater

For Kathmandu residents, the only alternative so far has been to extract groundwater. According to the NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, over 60 percent of households are already doing this by using home-installed electric pumps. The number of users is growing, leading to concerns about the over-exploitation of groundwater.

“This resource will also dry out soon, because the depletion has already started with more people relying on groundwater,” Prakash Amatya, the director of the group, told IRIN.

The groundwater [...] level is sinking an average of 2.5 metres annually, according to the government’s Ground Water Resources Development Board.

Hopes pinned on water project

Aid agencies and the government agree that the only solution to the water crisis is to implement the long-delayed, [but now relaunched, US$317.3 million] Melamchi Water Supply Project.

“This is really badly needed, because Kathmandu as a city has a chronic water shortage,” Barry Hitchcock, country director for Nepal for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which is co-funding the project. “In four years’ time, when water starts coming out of the pipe, there will be a new water facility attached to that, and we will be in a better position to deliver water to the population,” he said.

Source: IRIN, 24 Sep 2009

Nepal, Kathmandu: water utility KUKL under scrutiny amid continuing water shortages

New accusations of irregularites are adding to the frustation of consumers in the Kathmandu Valley, where water company, KUKL, is not able to supply enough drinking water either through pipelines or by tankers.

First, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) was not able to spend its allocated annual budget of Rs. 48 million meant for improving water supply infrastructure, and is now asking the government to reallocate the remaining budget in other areas such as voluntary retirement schemes. Earlier, Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC), which holds 30 per cent shares in KUKL, had raised questions about the utility’s extravagance on monthly “meeting allowances” and failure in delivery.

“KUKL is a total mess and is serving as a playground for donor agencies,” said Prakash Amatya, executive director of NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, which has been advocating transparency, accountability and integrity in KUKL. “It is no wonder if most of the budget is spent on consultants’ salaries.”

Second, local residents in Kaldhara found out that KUKL staff had organised an unscheduled water delivery one day at midnight while only informing their relatives about it. Kaldhara residents get water only once every 5 days.

Third, former project staff and other government officials, including Former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, have been accused of unauthorised use of eleven expensive vehicles belonging to the Melamchi Water Supply Project. In some cases government registration plates have been replaced by private ones. Meanwhile the project is spending Rs. 0.3 million a month on hired vehicles for its consultants.

The Kathmandu Valley needs about 280 million litres of water daily but KUKL can only supply 150 million litres in the rainy season and 100 million litres in the dry season. About 200 tankers are needed to supply additional drinking water in the Valley but there are only 160 tankers available. Many private tanker operators, some of whom are suspected of supplying untreated surface water, are filling the gap.

Groundwater sources are also being depleted in the Kathmandu Valley, where groundwater levels are decreasing and handpump wells are drying up. KUKL has reported about a 15% decrease in water production from groundwater sources as well.

KUKL is preparing a two-year pre-Melamchi Drinking Water Project before the completion of the main Asian Development Bank-supported Melamchi Water Supply Project. KUKL has asked the government to allocate the Rs. 520 million in the coming fiscal year for the project.

KUKL is a private-partnership company set up in February 2008 to replace the Nepal Water Supply Corporation as a pre-condition to get funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the major donor for the Melamchi Water Supply Project.

Source: The Kathmandu Post / NGO Forum, 05 Jun 2009 ; Annapurna Post / NGO Forum, 04 Jun 2009 ; Bikash Thapa, Kantipur / NGO Forum, June 26, 2009 ; Dhana Khatiwada, Gorkhapatra / NGO Forum, 27 Jun 2009 ; Mahesh Chaurasiya, Kantipur / NGO Forum, 23 Jun 2009 ; Dinesh Karki, Nagarik / NGO Forum, 25 Jun 2009

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley: Pre-Melamchi Drinking Water Project planned

Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is preparing for a pre-Melamchi Drinking Water Project. Considering the acute drinking water shortage in the Valley till the completion of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, KUKL is preparing for the project. KUKL stated that there will be additional supply of 75 million litres of water daily in the Kathmandu valley after the completion of the project. The KUKL has aimed to complete the project within next 30 months.

According to the project that has been named ‘Nakkhu Water Treatment Project’ will construct an intake having capacity of 328.6 million litres in the Nakkhu River near the Nakkhudole. By organizing a press conference on April 30 [2009],  KUKL informed that it has presented the action plan of the project to the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water Resources and concerned areas for solving drinking water problem of the Kathmandu Valley.

Managing Director of KUKL Rudra Gautam told that the estimated cost of the project is Rs. 150 million [US$ 1.94 million]. Furthermore, the KUKL is preparing to bring additional water from Sundarijal and harvest rainwater in Dhobighat.

Source: Rajdhani / NGO Forum, 01 May 2009

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley: condition to hike water tariff

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), major investor of Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), has warned [that it will] cancel loan assistance for constructing [the] tunnel of the project if a [proposed] water tariff hike does not take place, [according to a local newspaper report]. Sources at Ministry of Physical Planning and Works, [said that] the ADB has written a letter to the government on December 28, [2008] and warned to cancel loan assistance if water tariff hike does not take place as per its earlier condition.

[...] The government has to give contract to the [China Railway and Construction Company (CCRC) to construct the tunnel] within January 26 [2009] as per the condition of the ADB. “If we could not give contract to the selected company, the tunnel cost will increase from Rs. 5 billion to Rs. 8 billion,” Gajendra Thakur, executive director of the Melamchi Water Supply Project, told Kantipur daily. The project officials are worried that the ADB will cancel its loan assistance if tariff hike does not take place. “If ADB’s condition is not fulfilled, Melamchi Project will not be completed,”  Thakur said.

The Water Tariff Fixation Commission (WTFC) delayed a decision on the proposed hike after consumers had demanded more time than the allotted one week to comment on the proposal and air their grievances.

Source: Kantipur / NGO Forum, 05 Jan 2009 : NGO Forum, 05 Jan 2009

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley: water tariff hike likely

The Water Tariff Fixation Commission is likely to hike water tariffs by 10 to 30 per cent this week, even as the Kathmandu Valley continues to face a perennial shortage of water. Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), the public-private partnership utility responsible for the distribution of piped water in the Valley, had proposed hikes in water tariffs last week.

[...] The utility has proposed a 10 per cent hike in the water tariff for those, who consume 10,000 litres of water, and [a a 30 per cent hike for]  those who consume more than this quantum.

“The proposed hike does injustice to the urban poor. This will force them to pay three times more tariff than the rich or those who have private taps,” chief executive director of NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, Prakash Amatya, said. “If the proposed tariff takes effect, the community tap users will have to pay Rs 205.80 for consuming 10,000 litres of water. This includes sewerage charge. On the other hand, private tap owners will have to pay only Rs. 82.50 for consuming 10,000 litres.

The NGO has also called on the authorities to prevent leakage [and to provide] subsidies to the poor.

Earlier, a KUKL official claimed the proposed hike tariff was in line with recommendation of Asian Development Bank (ADB), the main donor for Melamchi Water Supply project.

Source:  NGO Forum, 10 Dec 2008

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley: MWSP to be completed within next 5 years

The Melamchi Management has stated that the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) will be completed within the next 5 years. Chief of MWSP Hariram Koirala told that it is almost certain that the project will be completed within 2013 after the Asian Development Bank agreed to provide loan assistance to complete the project in February 2008.

In the meeting of the project officials with the Mandan Valley Melamchi Affected Area Committee members in Dhulikhel on August 15, it was stated that the infrastructure construction of the project is ongoing. According to MWSP, about US $ 249 million will be spent for the project.

A 3-point agreement has been made between the residents of project-affected areas and project management to continue the construction works. The 3-point agreement includes allocating budget for operating Social Upliftment Programme in 5 project-hit areas in the annual programme, legalizing the Mandan Valley Melamchi Affected Area Committee and deploying a project representative for the legalizing process.

Source: Rajdhani / NGO Forum, 16 Aug 2008 ; The Boss / NGO Forum, 15 Aug – 14 Sep 2008

Controversy continues to surround the MWSP:

• it features in Transparency International’s Global Corruption Report 2008
• Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Hisila Yami has been accused of appointing her relatives in the MWSP
• in March 2008 it was reported that ADB had threatened to withdraw from the MWSP if it there were further delays
• on 17 August 2008 the Kathmandu Post reported that the Hhyolmo Area Protection Concern Committee and the Buffer Zone Affected Users Struggle Committee accused the MWSP authorities of not consulting local communities

Nepal: Melamchi project showcases graft in TI report

Now, the multi-million dollar Melamchi Water Supply Project has added another feather to its notoriety cap, thanks to the Transparency International’s Global Corruption Report 2008, which has portrayed the controversial $371 million project as a showcase of water related corruption in Nepal.
“The project was bogged down by vested interests,” states the Nepal section of the report [p. 210], contributed by Ramesh Nath Dhungel from Transparency International-Nepal. “Incoming governments appear to cancel previous commitments and award contacts to their supporters. It is still to be seen what the effects of the decision to cancel the contract will be, but it is likely to delay the Melamchi project further, by at least a year,” the report says.

Source: Himalayan Times, 25 Jun 2008

Nepal: Relatives in the ministry

Kathmandu: Minister for Physical Planning and Works, Hisila Yami has appointed her sisters, brother and maoist activists in different agencies under her ministry. Yami has appointed her relatives in Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP), Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC), Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL), Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Fund Development Committee, Nepal Engineering Council, Kathmandu Valley Drinking Water Management Board and Drinking Water Tariff Commission.

Read more: Kantipur / NGO Forum, 11 Mar 2008

Nepal: ADB will withdraw if Melamchi is delayed

Kathmandu: Deputy Director General of the South Asia Department of Asian Development Bank (ADB), Sultan Hafeez Rahman warned that ADB will withdraw its hand from the Melamchi Water Supply Project if the project is further delayed.

He expressed satisfaction for the government implementing some important improvement procedures in the recent days to move forward the project and supply drinking water in the Kathmandu valley.

Read more: Rajdhani / NGO Forum, 11 Mar 2008