Says the decision was an outcome of neglect, irresponsibility and carelessness of the central government.

From left, Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha in this undated photo. Photo Courtesy: Balendra Shah

Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah on Monday defended his move to halt waste collection from Singha Durbar, arguing that the decision was an outcome of neglect, irresponsibility and carelessness of the central government.

Taking to Facebook, Mayor Shah said the decision to stop garbage collection from the country’s central administrative hub was out of compulsion.

“It doesn’t feel Singha Durbar wants to coordinate with the local governments on the issues of the general people’s livelihood. It is difficult to coordinate and put words into action even after repeated initiatives for the past nine months,” said Shah.

“What will be the situation of addressing policy issues and jurisdiction disputes among other issues of a far-flung local level if such issues repeatedly raised by a local government located just 500 metres away go unheard.”

The federal government should clear hurdles so that local problems can be solved at the local level, Shah demanded.

Saying that the garbage was not collected from Singha Durbar so that it could realise the gravity of the problems further complicated by the lack of coordination, the mayor argued his move was necessary.

Mayor Shah has also given a list of 14 initiatives he took to coordinate with different ministries. He has given the details of agreements and understandings reached between the Kathmandu Metropolitan City and different ministries at different times. According to him, his office had taken consistent efforts to reach the ministries.

In a social media post on Saturday, Mayor Shah had announced halting garbage collection from Singha Durbar.

“Garbage will not be collected from Singha Durbar from today. The leaders there should be dumped in Sisdol (landfill site) if the country really needs to be cleaned,” Shah had vented his ire.