Supreme Court's mandate to keep Bagmati clean: Septic tank and soak pit are now mandatory when building a house in the valley.

"All the municipalities within the Kathmandu valley have instructed not to pass the map until they make a separate 'soak pit' so that the 'septic tank' and sky water can be mixed with the underground water source while passing the map of houses and commercial buildings.

This is what has been said in the recently prepared full text of the Supreme Court's order in a writ filed 13 years ago to protect the rivers of the valley including Bagmati. "Effective monitoring of the construction of houses and structures built after that have followed the standards," it says in full.

Advocate Prakashmani Sharma and others on behalf of the Public Interest Protection Forum filed a writ with the demand that the Supreme Court order to prevent pollution in river protection and vacate the illegally occupied coastal lands in 2068. was In the 89-page long text of the same order that came out on Monday, it is said to stop the direct mixing of sewage in the rivers. For that, it is mentioned in the full text that the construction of the sewage treatment plants which are currently under construction should be carefully completed and they should be put into operation.

The Supreme Court has ordered the municipalities of the valley to immediately stop dumping and burying garbage on the banks of Bagmati and its tributaries. In the full text, it is mentioned that no one has the right to encroach on the riverside land. However, in the case of those living under compulsion, there is an order of the Supreme Court to 'identify the actual squatters and relocate them to the accommodation currently built in Ichangunarayan'. If it is not possible to accommodate everyone there, the Supreme Court has also said that the required number of accommodation should be arranged elsewhere.

There is an order of the Supreme Court to leave 20 meters of land on the right and left side of the river, as it is not scientific, to demarcate the flow area of ​​the river, the border area, and to protect the public area. It has been ordered in full text that if there is a settlement or a house that is already sitting on this land, it should be removed.

The Supreme Court has also said to consider the survey map prepared around the year 2021/22 to determine the public land and riverside land. 'Similarly, the report of the Rawal Commission 2052 will also be considered as the basis for determining the public land,' the order said, 'Also, Investigate the encroachment and illegal land registration on the land that is inundated by the river during the rainy season and make a decision in accordance with section 24 of the Property Act, 2034.' And it is also mentioned in the full text that arrangements should be made to recharge underground water resources by constructing ponds and soak pits in public institutions. In order to prevent pollution, the Supreme Court has also ordered that each municipality should appoint pollution inspectors and take periodic reports from them, and on the basis of these reports, take action against the polluters in accordance with the Environmental Protection Act and other relevant laws. Similarly, after the completion of the Melamchi project, the Supreme Court has also ordered that some percent of the water entering the valley should be stored directly or stored in ponds and sent to the rivers.

It is mentioned in the Supreme Court's order that a federal law is needed to act through the authority of Wagmati Civilization Integrated Development Authority or similar appropriate organization that can effectively carry out these tasks. Until the

law is passed, the Supreme Court has said that in the currently issued order regarding the formation of the Empowered Oratorical Civilization Integrated Development Committee, the formation order should be amended so that "the heads of all municipalities within the valley are represented and the tasks mentioned in this order can be completed".