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It has become clear that urbanization is inevitable. With this, our planning approach has become mostly urban. There is a growing significance of urban development in Nepal.  The field of urban planning extended with the growing issues and challenges of urbanization. Human activities take place mostly in urban areas; and affect the environment.  Urban planning is concerned with the organization of such activities over the urban space for sustainability. It has generated tools related to making national and regional development sustainable.  The lack of a comprehensive approach has created confusions in the application of urban planning in Nepal. There is a need to avoid them in order to sustain its distinct identity; it needs to be well defined.  This book is an attempt to present different approaches of urban planning and related experiences in Nepal into a single volume in a comprehensive way.  It reflects the evolution of urban planning in Nepal. It contains what needs to be done for transforming urban planning to make it effective and relevant in facing the emerging challenges of sustainable urbanization and urban development in Nepal. The book deals with the core elements of urban planning; and shows how it should be made strategic in order to fulfill the long-term goals of master planning while underscoring the importance of integrated action planning.  It shows different approaches for the sustainable use of the urban land and highlights the significance of common public spaces. It presents infrastructure and services as integral parts of urban development for raising the quality of life in urban areas by meeting the needs of the people. It tries to link them with sustainability. The book is expected to raise awareness on the relevance of urban planning in approaching sustainability. It works on strategies for making cities inclusive and sustainable; resilient and safe; and smart. Foreword   Through this book, Dr. Jibgar Joshi, a renowned scholar and professional with rich experience, offers among other things, a language and tools for talking cities and understanding the process of planning, forming and developing cities in the present context. I have known Jibgar for more than four decades. He has over the years kept himself engaged in active academic and professional exercise. The book provides readers with a framework, which could be instrumental in getting the insight of all the parameters essential for building cities. Careful perusal of the book could convince readers that the narrative mentioned in the book, if translated professionally into actual practice, could result in the emergence of a city with capacity to remain inclusive, safe, and resilient.  Nepalese have witnessed the ongoing unplanned growth of cities in the country and are struggling for getting basic services. Having read the book, I believe the readers would come across a valuable message for avoiding flaws and biases in urban development strategy. The book might reassure its readers about viability of cities which are livable and manageable in their own life time and in their own vicinity. Dr. Joshi’s strategy gets mapped impressively as he discusses in practical tone, integrated action planning and strategic planning. The writer takes special care in blending the concepts and practices of integrated planning, investment planning, and strategic planning in the context of realizing the vision of master plan for urban areas.  In a display of pragmatism, he lays emphasis on flexibility in allowing the implementation-dynamics of the process and actors attached to the key elements – planning, integration, and investment – to take their due course prudently. The book is responsive to climate change issues and advocates the use of clean energy. The latest move for saving environment for future expressed in vocabulary of various sorts such as green revolution, respect to natural resources in the heat of development drive, saving mother earth, back to nature, safe earth, and development not at the cost of environment, also features in the book in a prominent way. He refers to the years of dedicated contribution that communities made in creating common public spaces and pinpoints the current pressure on them because of the growing needs of present day economic growth. He voices for their continued accessibility to all people irrespective of their income level. The doctrine he advocates is a complex of concepts and practices. It includes, among others, respect for common spaces and appreciation of their relevance, open heart for integrating them with development, and innovations to use the for sustainability. After a comprehensive tour of urban planning through different perspectives which adorn the book, the readers may have a better feeling of the mess in cities, confusion in role of actors, haze in vision, and drifting policies reflected in the latest state of city-building in the country. Dwelling on the conflict currently being felt in growing demand for and inadequate supply of services, he finds an appropriate role for engineers and planners and also a challenge for them: building infrastructure with apt design and with proper use of land focusing on sustainability and ICT. Arguing that “it is possible to transform rural areas into sustainable and vibrant urban centers”, the author mentions:  “people should be made aware of their needs and the possibilities of meeting them in the best possible way.” The book underlines the need for building province-specific and region-specific cities in Nepal and provides guidance to provincial leadership for this. Take-away from the book in this regard is clear: a working urban system could strengthen provincial economies which would then enable the country to realize prosperity at the national level. The book is interesting to read; and facilitates understanding of issues related to core dimensions of urban planning and its parameters and linkages. Dr. Joshi has taken special care to avoid planners’ and engineers’ jargon and scholarly show-off for focusing on communicating his message to common Nepalese who take interest in development matters particularly in the way cities are built or managed. The positive and constructive tone that readers find in various pages of the book should be appreciated for it helps to move on remedying errors of the past. A rich bibliography and appropriate attributions wherever needed exhibit the writer’s keen sense of research and professional authenticity.  It is because of these qualities that the book could be termed “a must read book” for those interested in development and cities. I commend it. It will, besides providing readers with updated way of looking at city development and planning, facilitate the decision makers, planners and builders to refresh their thinking and construction practices about city and development matters.   Prof. Rama Krishna Regmee, Senior Journalist Kantipur City College Putalisadak, Kathmandu.   Preface   Nepal has a great deal of experiences in urban planning and development with lots of success stories. With its engagement in many types of planning works, there has been an immense growth in planning knowledge. Many innovative planning tools have been invented and applied. At the same time, its scope has expanded with new challenges of unprecedented nature. However, the success could not be extended to create impacts in terms of sustainable improvement in the quality of life through the provision of urban services.  The field of urban planning is expanding fast; and its growing influence at regional and federal level is clearly visible with the growth of urban economy. Once considered as an extension of building as a part of civil engineering, it now covers almost all the disciplines. Earlier, urban development used to be seen as a sector with little contribution to national economy. The focus used to be on rural and national development; and investments in cities were not a priority. Today urban sector has become the major contributor to national development.  Most of the investments are being centered on urban areas. Slowly we realized that whatever our policies and intents might have been, our actions and preferences centered on cities. We are now aware that it is not the policy intents that make a difference. What makes difference are our actions and investments. Cities now play a key role in the transformation of the national economy. We now realize that national production suffered greatly as we did not provide appropriate sites for our projects and activities in cities. Increasing investments in cities are the drivers of development and most activities related to national, provincial or local development take place in urban areas. However development in urban areas are taking place in an unplanned way. Urban planning has become less effective. It has not been able to face the new challenges brought about by rapid urbanization. There is an increasing problem of coordination and integration. As a result cities are facing challenges of sustainable development such as increasing exclusion and climate change. Being associated with planning exercises for more than four decades, I had the privilege of witnessing the evolution of urban planning in Nepal. Over the years, I have been using various tools and methods of urban planning during the course of research, teaching, and preparation of plans and policies and their implementation.  Urban planning, instead of being developed as a tool for sustainable development, is being shaped through short-run political needs at federal, provincial, and local level. It is being manipulated to ignore equity and environment for the sake of immediate return. The primary goal of planning is to enhance the public good. The changes in the scope of urban planning have placed much more responsibility on urban planners. However, they are being engaged more on isolated activities not necessarily linked with the public good. Sustainability can and should be approached by making cities as well as urbanization more sustainable. It is achieved through the sustainable use of resources for meeting the human needs and sustaining the ability to meet their future needs. It largely relies on the management of urban services in a sustainable way. Poorly managed cities consume natural resources, most of which are not renewable. The book tries to reflect the evolution of urban planning in Nepal for a long time. It tries to present different approaches of urban planning and related experiences in Nepal in a comprehensive way. It is written with the purpose of making urban planning more relevant and effective in the context of sustainable development. It is expected to raise awareness on the relevance of urban planning in the context of approaching sustainability. I will consider my efforts worthwhile if it can influence the development of urban planning to this direction. Although the book is intended for all who have some interest in the prosperity of Nepal, it will, in particular, be relevant and useful for planners and planning students as well as for municipal officials. I am grateful to Prof. Rama Krishna Regmee for his foreword. My thanks are due to Mr. Madan Bista, MS Offset Press.  I owe a great deal to my family; my wife Lajmina provided me continuous support and my daughter Dr. Dipika Joshi helped me with her valuable suggestions in making this publication possible.                                                                                      May 2019                                                                            Jibgar Joshi      464 Tahachal Marg, Kathmandu             Contents I.          Introduction                                                                        1 – 12 1.1       Purpose and Scope        1 1.2       Overview          3 1.3       Basic Concepts of Planning                  5 II.        Review of Planning at Different Levels                    13 – 40 2.1        Development Plans       14 2.2        Sectoral Plans               25 2.3        Regional Planning        28 2.4         City Cluster Economic Development     34 2.5         District Plans                38 2.6         Rural Development Planning    39 III.       Cities and Urban Planning                                            41 – 61 3.1         Urbanization               41 3.2   Historical Perspective               43 3.3   Purpose of Urban Planning       47 3.4         Making Cities Inclusive and Sustainable              50 3.5       Making Cities Safe and Resilient                       58 3.6       Making Cities Smart                 60 IV.       Land Use Planning                                                      62 – 84 4.1       Introduction                 62 4.2       Land Policy and Administration                        63 4.3       Land Use Pattern                      65 4.4       Land UsePlanning       69 4.5       Land Use Strategy        73 4.6       Making LUP Risk Sensitive       76 4.7       Rebuilding after Nepal Earthquake 2015                        81 V.        Physical Planning and Master Plans                             85 – 89 5.1       Physical Planning         85 5.2       Master Plans                 86 5.3       Structure Plans and Indicative Plans      88 VI.       Integrated Action Planning and Strategic Planning 90 -110 6.1       Introduction 90 6.2       Integrated Action Planning (IAP)                      91 6.3       Investment Planning and Periodic Plans 103 6.4       Strategic Planning                    107 VII.      Urban Land Development                                           111 – 125 7.1       Introduction     111 7.2       Slum Improvement and Urban Upgrading                      113 7.3       Site and services’ Projects and GLD                  116 7.4       Land Pooling Projects               118 VIII.    Infrastructure                                                              126 – 154 8.1       Background                  126 8.2       Existing Situation of Urban Services     129 8.3       Infrastructure Planning             131 8.4       Engineering                  138 8.5       Transport Management             141 8.6       Information and Communication Technology    149 8.7       Energy             152 IX.      Environmental Services and Planning 155 – 171 9.1       Basic Concepts and Overview    155 9.2       Problems of Urban Environment                       156 9.3       Health and Environment           159 9.4       Water and Sanitation    160 9.5       Solid Waste Management                      163                   9.6       Air and Noise Pollution             165 9.7       Environmental Assessment       168 X. Greenery and Common Public Spaces                 172 -180 10.1      Introduction                 172 10.2      Open Space and Greenery                     173 10.3      Significance of Heritage Sites and Public Places 174 10.4      Problems and Challenges                      176 10.5      Developing Open Spaces for Sustainability        177  XI        Conclusion                                                                  181 – 189   Bibliography                                                                            190 – 202

(Source:Sahari Bikas Vol. 11, No. 19. pp. 32-33, 2011)
Introduction
This short paper deals with how cities in Nepal should respond to the emerging climate change issues. Within a short period, urban policy has undergone many changes in the process of being aligned to the changing needs and priorities of national development. Starting with a peripheral position in the national policy debate just a few decade ago, it has turned out to be a matter of critical concern for any sector in Nepal. The contribution of cities to national economy has greatly increased over the last few decades. The way our cities develop will have impacts on the economy as well as the environment. For any activity, they provide not only the site but also input in the form of urban goods and services. Nepal, being a very poor country, must strive for high national income. The challenge facing our cities is how to help realize this goal while following sustainable pathways. It is heartening to note that awareness on the threats of climate change is growing at a rapid pace. Cities are the centres of high consumption and the primary source of green house gases (GHG). It has become necessary to find strategies that will allow our cities develop with potential for mitigation, which will help reduce the cost of adaptation in the future.
Climate Change
Climate change and global warming due to GHG emission is a matter of growing concern for all. Nepal is no exception to it. Although, Nepal’s contribution to the total GHG contribution of the world is very low, she is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The problem is further aggravated due to widespread poverty, landslides, and dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
The terms “adaptation” and “mitigation” are the key to responding to climate change issues. They should be made to complement each other in an overall strategy to reduce GHG emission. The International Panel of Climate Change has defined mitigation as “an anthropogenic intervention to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of GHGs”. The goal of adaptation is to enhance the ability of the city to face the threats of climate change. It should adjust to climate change including variability and extremes to curb potential damage; to take advantage of opportunities; or to cope with the consequences. The adaptive capacity of a city increases as it builds resilience to deal with the negative impact and use benefits that may occur from climate change.
Issues and Challenges
Cities struggling to adapt to climate change may not be able to mitigate it. This will make them more unsustainable. A city to be sustainable should be able to adapt to climate change without undermining mitigation.
There is huge technological and economic potentials for reducing GHG emissions. However, changes in lifestyles and some social and behavioural trend have led to an increasing use of energy. Although developed countries are more responsible for the climate change, our cities are also following their path of development. The outside forces emanating from the operation of the global economy generally lead our cities to imitate “high standard” lifestyles that may not match with our needs. They resort to technologies, which even when they are environment-freindly are too costly and complex in adapting to match with the needs and culture of our cities. In our case, dwelling units and vehicles are growing in size. Use of electrical equipments is increasing, There is alack of public awareness on environment-friendly approaches.
No matter how sustainably we design and develop our city, it will be exposed to several risks and threats. With the provision of more environmental goods and services, it will have comparative advantage for the placing of new investments. With the prosperity of the city, it will attract more migrants. There will be an increasing need to absorb and integrate the migrants with it. It will not be easy to cope with such changes.
Strategies for Climate Change Responsive Cities
Different ways of housing more people in a city are urban upgrading, town extension, and new developments. Their suitability will depend largely on their ability to mitigate GHG emission and adapt to climate change, Whether they will make the entire city more sustainable will depend also on how they interact with each other. Land development projects in different cities of Nepal use have helped to improve the urban environment. Land use planning should be used as an effective tool for controlling the growth of urban areas while ensuring sustainable urban mobility with a view to minimize GHG emissions. It should help to build adaptive capacity and aim to create a healthy and a pleasant environment.
Adaptation is more relevant while dealing with vulnerable poor communities. It is necessary to support them. It is not easy to make such communities resilient enough to cope with climate-related disasters; and they are susceptible to outside influence. Ability of a small community to adapt to natural changes is affected by actions made outside its boundary. It is necessary to mobilize and empower vulnerable communities to develop more affordable and convenient ways of adapting to the consequences of the climate change and variability.
Climate change response should be specific to local conditions. Local experiences are built on the lessons going back for generations. It becomes necessary for cities to organize programs on environmental education. People should made aware of climate change; and solutions should be sought within the scope of the ongoing processes of development at the action level. Here, the people ad communities are taking decisions that have far reaching consequences on environment. The solution to most of the environmental problems lies on their initiatives and drive to use resources wisely. We have to rely on the people as the true custodian of our city for the upkeep of its identity and environment. We should integrate the new migrants flooding to our cities; and safeguard our identity and interest against outside influence.
Conclusion
Urban form plays a vital role in helping cities respond to climate change. If cities are not well managed, there will be congestion and overcrowding. The consumption of energy can be very high due to traffic congestion; and cities will be less sustainable. Deliberate urbanization of potential areas with sustainable provision of housing and jobs for the increasing population should be encouraged. In making cities responsive to climate change, the role of its residents is critical. Their collective ownership of the city and their understanding of the threats of climate change will make the city resist outside forces that try to impair the local resilience. They should be enabled to protect the natural capital they create from being exploited. External support for adaptation should be linked with the city’s potential to create carbon sinks and curb GHG emissions. The proper use of adaptation fund will allow for claiming more funds in the future. In other words, what we receive for being more sustainable should be spent in a sustainable way to justify more funding in the future.

R. C. Sharma (ed). South Asian Urban Experience, Criterion Publicaton, 1988. pp. 211 – 221

The main objective of this paper is to develop an adequate urban strategy in the context of Kathmandu. The first section identifies the role that Kathmandu should be playing in the national urban system. This is followed by the identification of problems and issues in relation to the assigned role and the objectives. Urban policies are then evaluated to examine how far these are addressed to the issues raised and the problems identified. Finally an urban strategy is suggested for the development of Kathmandu.
The Role of Kathmandu in the National Urban System
Nepal is a small country (141,000 km. 2 ) with a population of 15 million (1981). The population growth rate is 2.66 per cent per annum. Broadly speaking, Nepal can be divided into three physical divisions : (i) the Terai; (ii) the hills; and (iii) mountains. Because of differences in resource endowments and investments, the Terai region and the Kathmandu valley of the hill region are relatively more developed. The population distribution is also highly irregular. The Kathmandu Valley with 0.4 per cent of the total area of the country has 50.0 per cent of the total population giving a population density of the city of Kathmandu alone is 20,000 persons per sq. kilometre. The Terai covering about 17.4 per cent of the total land area has 62.2 per cent of the total cultivated area and 36 per cent of the total population. The average population density in the Terai has increased from 140.5 to 212.8 persons per sq. kilometre between 1971 and 1981. The highlands of the mountain region has got a population density of mere 10 persons per sq. kilometre. In order to integrate the hill economy with that of the Terai and to alleviate the problems of regional disparity, attempts were made to create regional centres in the hills. However, except for Kathmandu and Pokhara, these could not function as growth poles. Most of the terai towns are growing at a much faster rate. Experience has shown that it is too costly as well as unrealistic to create growth poles under adverse natural conditions. Two things are now plausible :
1. To encourage the growth of Kathmandu Valley.
2. To extend the growth of the terai towns towards the foothills de-emphasising the border region towns.
Both of these strategic elements imply for a much greater growth in Kathmandu and in the hierarchy of national urban system, the primacy of Kathmandu has to be established. This calls for a much greater urban management capabilities in Kathmandu to absorb population increase in a much faster rate. The following will reinforce this contention :
1. Nepal being a small country, with the development of transport and communication, the national capital will be able to effectively influence the entire country. To create other centres is not necessary.
2. Given the relatively developed stage of Kathmandu, instead of creating other national/regional centres, Kathmandu can play a meaningful role in the integration of the national space by synthesising interregional ideas, disseminating technology and information, etc.
3. This is the centre of decision-making affecting the fate of the people far and wide. Even by creating rivals to Kathmandu, this role is not going to be delegated to other centres.
4. Results of investments in the Valley region can be made easily accessible to other parts of the country.
How far the strategy outlined above can realistically be pursued can be ascertained after analysing the potentials of Kathmandu in terms of land availability, job opportunities and income and cost effectiveness in providing urban infrastructures and services within the resource and institutional constraints. These need be assessed in relation to the planning processes and policy responses in the past.
Implicit in the foregoing discussions is that planning strategy for Kathmandu will depend on national policy on population distribution and employment. Based on the above assuming that intermediate cities will be created in the Terai region, Kathmandu will be the only city which will call for urban management capabilities of immense dimension. The long term goal should, therefore, focus on urbanising Kathmandu at a much faster rate.
The population of the three towns of the Kathmandu Valley in 1971 and 1981 are given in Table 1. Urban growth rate is 4.2 per cent per annum. The average density of Kathmandu and Lalitpur combined was 102 persons per hectare. The total urban area is increasing rapidly. In 1981 the total area of Kathmandu and Lalitpur was 3,100 hectares. The area within the Ring Road is 5,600 hectares.

TABLE I. Population of Kathmandu Valley Towns
Town
Population 1971
Population 1981
Urban Area 1981

Kathmandu
150,402
235,160

Lalitpur
59,049
79,875

Kathmandu Lalitur
209,451
315,035
3100 ha.

Bhaktapur
40,112
48,472
154 ha.

The population of the three towns is now estimated at 424,000 while the total urban population of the country is 1,363,000. The share of Kathmandu Valley towns is 31.1 per cent. By the end of the century, total urban population will be 3,996,000 (Table 2), i.e., 8 per cent of the projected national population of 25 million. Accordingly the urbanisation rate will be 7.43 per cent per annum. If this urbanisation trend is to be well accommodated within regional/national development context to achieve the objectives defined
TABLE 2 Urban Population Distribution
Urban settlements in
Population 1985
Population 2000

Kathmandu Valley
424,000 (31.1)
1,771,000 (44.3)

Others
939,000 (68.9)
2,225,000 (55.7)

Nepal
1,363,000 (100.0)
3,996,000 (100.0)

Figures in the parenthesis show percentage.

earlier, the city of greater Kathmandu (i.e., including Lalitpur) should be allocated an annual population increase of at least 10 per cent. In the initial years this means absorbing about 30,000 persons every year. By the end of the century the total Kathmandu Valley urban population will be 1.77 million. Of this it is proposed that Greater Kathmandu will have 1.4 million with a population density of 250 persons perhectare. The remaining 370,000 persons will be distributed among satellite settlements including Bhaktapur. Kathmandu Valley towns will then share 44.34 per cent of the total urban population and Greater Kathmandu 35.04 per cent. After this period, the population in the Greater Kathmandu will be stabilised and further increase will be absorbed by compact settlements of the Valley.
In order that Kathmandu may continue to function as the regional/national centre and also build the absorption capacity to cope with the increasing population, it is essential to create jobs, build infrastructures, provide services and facilitate housing development. Kathmandu is already well within the national transport and power grid. The presence of national level services, e.g., Tribhuvan University, national level hospitals, and being the seat of the national Government as well as the entrepot to the outside world, there is no doubt that this role will be well assumed and maintained by Kathmandu in the future as well.This means the more pressing and urgent response should be city level management to cope with the increasing population. It will be relevant to discuss the existing urban conditions in order to understand the magnitude of the problems.
Problems and Issues of Urban Development
These are discussed in relation to housing, employment and infrastructures and services.
Housing
As nearly 94 per cent of the houses have permanent structures, shelter is not a major problem.A modest shelter can be built in around Rs. 15,000 affordable to the 30th percentile given the extended family system, free labour and self-help practices. Sanitation is a major problem. Only 5 per cent have private toilets. The core area housing 40 percent of the urban population does not have well maintained drainage. There is no storm drainage. Most of the houses are fast deteriorating. As the ground floors in the core area are being rented to low-income group at an affordable rent, the core area providesmixed-income housing. This pattern can be continued if urban upgrading programmes are effectively launched. 40 per cent of the population are living in the traditional core in houses of relatively good quality using only 10 per cent of the urban land. De-densification is taking place because of the deteriorating housing conditions. Being the part of the owner occupied houses dwellings are also in good conditions. This system of tenure and vertical stratification of income creates the most favourable conditions for the implementation of environmentalimprovement programmes with good cost recovery as households with varying incomes can be made to participate. In order to maintain the inner city area, a traditional urban planning approach has been used in the past which augmented the land consumption for housing. For instance, in the Kuleswore Housing Project, land was expropriated and landowners compensated at a very low price of Rs. 32 per sq. metre making the low density of 127 persons per hectare possible. Kuleswore is well located in an area of rapid growth. It has 661 new plots and 89 existing houses. Of the total plots, there are 158 numbers of 130 sq. meters, 191 Nos. of 195 sq. metres, 67 Nos. of 260 sq. metres, 219 nos. of 360 sq. metres and 27 Nos. of 400 sq. metres. Housing development schemes do not address the main issues of improving resource use, cost recovery, financial replicability and meeting the needs215 of low-income group.
Because of allocation of land in the urban fringe to low income group in the past by the Government, low income squatter settlements had been prevented. But now a small plot of unserviced land (50 sq. metres) on the urban fringe is not affordable below the 60th percentile. Land price is very high and land market is secretive. Neglect of inner core area, adoption of modern/western standards and the construction of the Ring Road have increased \urban land consumption. There are more than 1,000 families squatting on different parts of the city. If immediate action is not taken, there will be sprawling growth of squatter settlements.
Ownership of dwelling is of great value to the people. It provides durable assets with appreciations over time, social prestige, income if rented out, and help to take loans. More and more dwelling units are rented out meaning more and more people have no security of tenure. Multiple occupancy has also increased from 21 per cent in 1961 to 79 percent in 1977. Housing density has increased and space per person has decreased. An estimate showed that there was a backlog of 9,300 houses in 1981. The cost of dwelling units has increased due to rise in land prices.
Employment
The present rate of urbanisation is only 4.2 per cent.. There are sufficient urban jobs at present. However, with 10′ per cent annual increment in labour force, available jobs will soon be exhausted. A very optimistic urban employment projection is presented in Table 3. This projection is based on the assumption that urban investment will continue to be 15 per cent of the GDP till the end of this century. Employment generated in industry, power, transport, communication, services and commerce will be all urban generated in settlements with more than 10,000 population. The total employment at present is 384,000. The available labour force is only 171,000. In the year 2000, there will be a shortage of employment of 77,000.
TABLE 3 Employment Trend
In thousands
1985
2000
Annual growth
rate (%)

Total Urban Population
1363
3996
7.43

Total Urban Labour Force
691
2026
7.43

Total Employment generated
1406
2076
2.63

Greater Kathmandu Population
372
1400
10.00

Greater Kathmandu Labour Force
171
644
10.00

Greater Kathmandu Employment Generated
384
567
2.63

Source : PADCO/USAID, Urban Development Assessment , Nepal, Kathmandu, 1984, pp. 145-47 (based on).
Infrastructures and Services
Kathmandu Valley cities have relatively better urban infrastructures and services in relation to other urban areas. Within the Ring Road, there are 103 kilometres of black top road, 49 kilometres of gravelled road and 72 kilometres of fair-weather road. The total urban roads in the country are 275 kilometres of black top, 147 kilometres of gravelled road and 21 1 kilometres of earthen tracks. The problem is mainly the utilisation of the existing road infrastructures. The maintenance part is not well-coordinated with other infrastructural works. The 27 kilometre long Ring Road needs to be exploited by systematically planning for the development of suitable areas around the Ring Road. High density settlements within the Ring Road in relation to the existing transport network should be developed. Within the valley most of the compact settlements have easy access but yet more such settlements need be provided with easy access with Kathmandu. At the national level Kathmandu is well within the national transport and power grid.
Existing power supply in the Kathmandu Valley is 3.218 Megawatts (1982). The quantity of urban power in Kathmandu is adequate, although the standard of the quality is not maintained. Use of power in industry is limited and should, therefore, be extended.
As regards to water supply and sewerage, although Kathmandu has relatively better water supply and a modem sewer line has been recently constructed, the conditions are far from being satisfactory. At most places, water supply is intermittent with lots of leakages and contamination with ground water. Sanitation conditions arc very poor. A foreign aided solid waste disposal project is in operation but yet the major part of the city is not clear and people’s attitude needs to be changed.
There are 28,000 telephone lines in the Valley towns. The communication system of Kathmandu with other areas is good and improving very fast.
For the present, Kathmandu enjoys adequate essential services like health and education and people all over the country make use of these facilities.
Major problems of providing and maintaining various infrastructures and services are as follows:
(i) Lack of integrated action among various utility agencies : Urban roads contain a wide variety of utilities including water supply, tele-communication, sewers, storm drainage and power. There is no meaningful coordination among different agencies to avoid damage and disruption of road service.
(ii) Lack of a responsible agency for storm drainage.
(iii) Low density development, sprawl growth, and vacant land have led to inefficiency and costly provision of urban infrastructures and services. Absence of vacant land tax system and any mechanism to recapture unearned income have made the provision of infrastructures costly and cost recovery difficult. Land-use regulation and building by-laws have not been compatible with the provision of low cost infrastructures and services.
(iv) Lack of coordination of agencies dealing with infra- structures and services with agencies dealing with industry, agriculture has led to inefficient growth.
(v) Limited cost recovery.
(vi) Lack of maintenance.

(vii) Limited private sector financing.
(viii) Lack of evolution of proper and affordable standards.
(ix) Limited people’s participation especially in maintenance.
(x) lack of proper role-casting.
Evaluation of Urban Policies
This section examines how far the issues raised have been addressed by urban policies of the Government. Till early sixties, there had been no systematic urban planning efforts. The town planning functions in the Kathmandu Valley were fulfilled by the Kathmandu Valley Construction Committee whose actions consisted in building some basic infrastructures and beautification projects implemented whenever resources were made available. In 1963, Physical Development Plan for the Kathmandu Valley was prepared. This plan was never approved. The recommendations were predominantly physical and not supported by economic data. The next Plan, the Kathmandu Valley Physical Development Plan was prepared in 1969. This Plan was comprehensive but being rather ambitious could not be implemented. Regional development policies introduced in 1971 also de-emphasised investments in Kathmandu. The 1969 Plan is a traditional zoning map aiming at regulating land-use in the Valley.
However, the somewhat imprecise limits of the zones combined with the strict restrictions they brought on development made the Plan difficult to enforce. The Kathmandu Valley Development Plan J976, is a more accurate zoning and land-use plan. However, the Plan proved to be inadequate due to the following :
(a) It is control-oriented and did little to promote planned development. The Ring Road could not yet be utilised.
(b) The Plan failed to strengthen institutional set-up.
(c) The Plan failed to be action-oriented. More pressing problems remained unsolved.
(d) Integrated action of different line agencies could not be achieved.
(e) Resource mobilisation and development of self-financ- ing urban system were not given adequate attention. Cost recovery, affordability and replicability of various urban programmes were not considered.
(f) Maintenance aspects including maintenance budgets were neglected.
(g) People’s participation in development programmes were not considered.
Kathmandu Valley Physical Development Concept, 1984 also could not get rid of the above-mentioned shortcomings except that the need for developing land around the Ring Road was established. The concept is based on the population projection of the Valley in the year 2000 as 1,029,166. This presumption itself is not only undesirable but also unrealistic.
Strategies for Urban Development
The urban scenario given in section II clearly depicts that it will, by no means, be an easy task to provide housing, infrastructures and services and generate adequate income and employment to the population projected at ten per cent annualincrement. Urban strategies should aim to achieve the following :
(a) Substantial increase in political awareness among the local leadership and creation of local leadership for urban development programmes.
(b) Development of multi-level, multi-dimension and multi- sectoral planning process.
(c) Substantial improvements in inter-Govcrnmental working relationships on urban affairs.
(d) Integration of planning objectives with taxation, finance and law,
(e) Provision of employment, shelter, physical infrastructures and social services particularly to the urban poor by developing effective urban management system at the urbanlevel.
Realising that resources available for urban development are by no means sufficient to face the problems of develop- ment, it is essential to ensure affordability and replicability of various urban development programmes and maximum cost recovery should be aimed at. For this, the following strategies should be pursued :
(a) The tax base at the Nagar Panchayat level should be widened and strengthened and local level resources should be channelised to urban development efforts.
(b) The planning and implementation capabilities of the Nagar Panchayat should be strengthened. Replicable projects should be conceived, initiated, designed and implemented at this level. The Nagar Panchayat should have a very powerful and effective division on urban development which will not •only formulate action-oriented integrated planning process but -also ensure inter-agency integration and effective inter-institu- tional role-casting.
(c) Below the Nagar Panchayat level, people should beencouraged to organise themselves for improvement schemes and housing development programmes. People’s programmes •conceived at the ward level should be integrated at the Nagar Panchayat level. The participation of non-Govemmental organizations should be encouraged and facilitated. By encouraging people’s participation in planning, implementing and cost sharing, small projects can be replicated more easily with greater impact.
(d) A realistic as well as viable approach in the adoption of ■standards should be evolved and pursued. Land should be used as efficiently as possible.
(e) The movement from high cost, modern, high techno- logy, capital intensive, monumental and centrally controlled services to low cost, traditional, low technology, labour intensive, incremental and locally controlled services should be facilitated.
(f) In order to increase income, employment and hence affordability, emphasis should be given to intensive agriculture, small scale industries and tourism. But with the density of around 250 persons per hectare pulse institutional, commercial and touristic land-uses, most of the land within the Ring Road will be used. Land-use outside the Ring Road should, therefore, be judiciously decided upon. Industries could be located at suitable compact settlements of the valley. Diversification of tourism and intensive agriculture should be considered at suitable locations within the valley. These should be plannedin order to create jobs. Intensive agriculture, tourism diversification and cottage industry are three main potential areas where jobs can be created with minimum costs. Land-use implications of these activities should be clearly understood and the present trend of lavish/extravagant use of land should be totally controlled. Outside the Ring Road it is possible to control/conserve land-use by discouraging haphazard growth.

References
H.M.G. of Nepal, 1984, Kathmandu Valley Physical Development Concept , Kathmandu : Kathmandu Vally Town Planning Team.
H.M.G. of Nepal, 1969, The Physical Development Plan for the Kathmandu – Valley, Kathmandu : Department of Housing and Physical Planning. ,
H.M.G. of Nepal, 1983, Urbanisation and National Development , mimeo, Department of Housing and Physical Planning.
USAID/PADCO, 1983, Urban Development Assessment: Nepal „ Kathmandu,
World Bank, 1982, Urban Sector Memorandum: Nepal.

 

Introduction
For the purpose of this paper, the word “governance” is used to mean how the Nepali society as a whole and the people at large are being governed and served by the players of governance. The paper aims to relate it with constitution, rebuilding and international relations in the context of availing essential needs of the people. The recent developments are marked by the influence of governance where the key players have tried to define and manipulate it in the pursuit of their interests. The distinctive feature of the governance in contemporary Nepal is that the government along with other political players are trying to distort the market economy. Black market is being encouraged through government consumption with increasing corruption making the access to essential goods more inequitable. Leaders are not prepared for the implementation of the new constitution and elections thereto. Whether it be rebuilding after quake or the supply of limited goods due to transit problems at the Indian border, they looked for opportunities to enhance their role and the consequence was disastrous. Their perspectives have been related to generate fund for meeting the cost of governance and different levels of imminent elections. Credibility is lost in maintaining international relations. Even the friendly nations are not commiserative enough to the sufferings of the people of Nepal.
What made governance ineffective?
The year 2015 turned out to be not only disastrous but also remarkable with achievements as well as governance failure. Leaders saw the need for complying with democratic culture and the concept of decentralization embodied in the new constitution as something threatening. The cost of governance is increasing which made them hesitant in agreeing to a new constitution with many provinces. Due to inter-party competition for gold and glory, they tried to see their own position and looked for ways of appropriating the necessary funds. The guiding principle of federalism is distorted and the number of provinces became the issue as that is, according to their perception and modus operandi, linked with huge cost of governance. The idea of federalism is to unlock the potentials of different areal units of the country by allowing them to work with autonomy. Instead of developing synergy among the regions and unleashing their development potentials, the issue focused on raising conflicts and dividing the limited resources just to increase the cost of governing. We need federal states so that they will be less control of the centre in their attempts to develop their own resources by unlocking their potentials. Since the people have become so empowered that further centralization will be increasingly difficult. Leaders failed to understand this; but they were troubled pondering how to bear the cost of governance which they thought will increase with the new constitution. The overhead costs of running the government has been increasing in leaps and bound for some years and the implementation of the new constitution will incur much more cost if they opted to continue with this trend of governance. This has made the governance ineffective.
Consequences
The government (excluding the Army) was too slow to respond to the immediate consequence of the April 25 Earthquake. It was the earthquake of May 12 that the key leaders found themselves trapped in inaction, a situation quite threatening to all of them. The process of constitution writing in Nepal thus got momentum in the wake of earthquakes.The government played its traditional role of controlling development more vigorously for establishing its effectiveness and tried to centralize all the more. Sincere relief efforts were discouraged due to rules and regulations imposed. The immense power of the government in manipulating the governance that we observed during this time of national emergency and crisis is due to the power of political parties to defy law including the Constitution and use the public resources in pursuing their own benefits and make false propaganda. They are also reported to have resorted to corruptive activities and apparently are immune to any sort of action by the State. They left no stone unturned in trying to legitimize whatever they have been doing. This extended to international arena as well. Donors were not integrated and harmonized into the rebuilding process, and conflicts in the Madhes became an issue of security and integration. The concern centred on the supply of goods. They are now trying to pursue the people to believe that federal system is not good for Nepal. India who helped us during the time of earthquake will rethink its relationship with Nepal. The prerogative of the leaders to delay action is the greatest weakness that will make constitution ineffective. Immediate action is needed for making impacts of the good intentions. Sadly, the government is becoming more ritualistic, less welfare-oriented and more centralized on partisan lines.
Corrective Measures
There is no denial that we need a strong government but for this, governance should not be detached from the people. Nor should it be made more expensive at the cost of public good. Development efforts should not perpetuate bad governance but allow the economy and communities sustain their resilience. That the Nepali society along with its business community showed the coping potential for sustainability on its own, the new constitution should help planning for good governance in a strategic sense limiting the possibility of excessive control of the government and promoting desirable initiatives towards the necessary changes. Good governance requires that the government rely on the process of interest articulation. International relations can be strengthened only when there are reciprocal relationships. Nepal should contribute to peace and security as well as global environment.
The new constitution should urge the articulation of interests and for any action, consutlations, partnership formation, working together and inclusive decisions ought to be more frequent. This will make even a relatively weaker constitution work and evidence-based changes will get incorporated in the subsequent revisions of the constitution.

Conclusion
The recent Earthquakes with the exposure of our limitations in terms of good governance along with inertia that we showed in initiating the necessary changes have made it clear that there are lots of interests that deter any sort of planning towards good governance and initiatives for change. Constitution is not an end in itself, but is the fundamental law of the land that should help to create conducive environment for good governance and facilitate changes required for the transformation of the lives of the Nepalese people. The political players presented it too seriously and instigated the people towards anarchy and violence just for their own benefits. They allow things to worsen and intervene only when they can and only when there is their own interest. They manipulate the course of action to serve their interest. Constitution will have no meaning if all are not allowed to participate in the process of interest articulation. They used the people for making amendments to the constitution to their liking and when they did not see their interests being served they used power to suppress the popular activities.They encouraged disjointed and fragmented decisions within the government and got the freedom to speak as an activist even being inside the government which made Nepal weak in the international arena as well. While the cost of governance is increasing at an alarming rate and will increase still more with the addition of the federal structure, the system allows for participation and creates a mesh of desirable things and in choosing between there will not be enough time for the articulation of interests which leads to more costs of implementation. There is unfair competition between the private good and the public good; and the public good suffered all the more.
All these led to make governance worse and it has implications such as inefficiency in the rebuilding process, problem of demonstrating the inclusive nature of the new constitution as well as deteriorating condition of Nepal’s international relations. The solution lies in understanding that leaders instead of making governing a profit-making business, should work for the development of their constituencies by unlocking their potentials. They should learn to seek their identity through dedicated work for the welfare of the people and enhance the public good. They should stop meddling with international relations out of protocol, projecting a bad image of Nepal. Because Nepal has been contributing to international peace and prosperity, she is qualified for international support and not otherwise. Being the part of the governance, whether in the government or not, they should not impair the image of Nepal.

Published in
Nepal Council of World Affairs. Annual Journal 2016, February 2016, ISSN 2467-947x, pp. 51-53.