Kathmandu, March 11
The government is preparing to divide the responsibility of managing and utilising rivers and other water resources in the country among three layers of the government.
It is planning to assign the federal government to look after ‘big’ rivers whereas the responsibility of medium and small rivers will be handed over to provincial and local governments.
The Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation has finalised a draft of the water resource policy clarifying jurisdictions of the three levels of the government.
As per the draft, international border rivers, ‘big’ rivers and the rivers that fall in more than one province we well as all lakes and wetlands stretching to more than one province will be managed by the central government.
Likewise, the provincial government will manage the resources that fall in more than one local unit but are restricted to the concerned province. The local governments will manage smaller resources than this.
