KATHMANDU, Oct 25: Parliament's Development Committee has instructed the government to complete the Melamchi Drinking Water Project and distribute drinking water from the project to the residents of the Kathmandu Valley by mid-October, 2017 at any cost.

A meeting of the committee held at Singha Durbar on Monday instructed the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and Melamchi Drinking Water Project to meet the deadline at any cost. 

The committee also expressed serious displeasure over the continuous delays in the completion of the drinking water project. The project has already missed several deadlines in the past. 

Therefore, the committee asks the government to leave no stones unturned to complete the project within the deadline set by the committee and distribute the drinking water to the Valley residents, reads a statement issued by the committee following the meeting. 

The committee has asked the ministry to arrange for all the logistical requirements for an early completion of the project. “I ask the ministry and the project to expedite the construction task of water treatment plant, tunnel construction and the head-box. Likewise, I also ask the ministry to ensure other logistical requirements like explosives and resolve problems related to land acquisition by paying compensation to the locals whose lands have been acquired,” Rabindra Adhikari, chairman of the committee said. 

The ambitious project seen as a long-term solution to the Kathmandu Valley's drinking water problem, was launched in 2001 and is scheduled to be completed by 2007. 

 
• parliament's development committee
 
• melamchi drinking water project
 
• mid-october
 
• 2017