The government on Wednesday unveiled a comprehensive 20-year strategy aimed at transforming the densely populated Kamala River Basin into a model for sustainable and integrated water resources management in Nepal. The Kamala Water Resources Development Strategy: Implementation Action Plan (2025–2045), built upon the Kamala River Basin Strategy (2021), is estimated to cost Rs 173.77 billion. The Kamala River Basin—home to over 600,000 people living across 2,100 square kilometers of the plains in southeast Nepal—intersects four districts: Sindhuli in Bagmati Province, Dhanusha and Siraha in Madhesh Province, and Udayapur in Koshi Province. The region faces seasonal extremes such as water scarcity and drought during the dry season, and floods, erosion, and inundation in the monsoon, compounded by the degradation of the Chure region. The region is important in terms of agricultural production but has complex issues related to high levels of poverty, flooding, sediment erosion, and the distribution and availability of water resources throughout the year. The strategy, with its four key development goals—sustainable management of the Chure; improved availability, use, and allocation of water resources for livelihood generation; and commercial and scientific agriculture for local economic prosperity and livelihood security—seeks to unleash multiple benefits not just for the ecology and economic prosperity but also for the livelihood of people living in the region.
Located in the southeast of Nepal, close to the border with India, the Kamala Basin has a drainage area of about 208,446 hectares, which is equivalent to 1.42% of the total area of the country. The main goals envisaged by the strategy include those identified by the major stakeholders, including civil society organizations and private sector enterprises around the Kamala Basin. These goals are critical for improving the ecology and livelihoods of people and bringing economic prosperity to the region. The project envisages various key activities, such as building small, medium, and large-scale check dams and water conservation ponds to mitigate water-induced disasters; stabilizing and protecting over 140 kilometers of riverbanks; developing and implementing guidelines for the sustainable extraction of riverbed materials; developing and implementing a comprehensive plan for erosion control and risk reduction; planning, designing, and implementing a groundwater irrigation program; installing rainfall and hydrological stations; developing an effective early flood warning system to mitigate the impacts of floods and landslides; providing universal access to safe water by delivering basic water supply to 100 percent of the population; and protecting environmental and public health through effective wastewater management.
New water policy in offing for sustainable management of water...
The strategy aims to optimize water usage by managing irrigation systems, exploring groundwater potential, and potentially implementing inter-basin water transfers to ensure a consistent water supply for agriculture and other needs. It also seeks to promote Chure conservation by focusing on stabilizing land and protecting forests in the region. This can eventually help mitigate landslides and floods caused by erosion and enhance environmental sustainability. The most important returns this strategy can provide are enhanced agricultural productivity, disaster risk reduction, and economic development. The improved water availability and agricultural productivity can stimulate economic growth in the region, creating new opportunities for local businesses and communities. The key now is its implementation in a time-bound manner and the achievement of all the goals envisaged by the strategy for the greater good of the ecology and economy of the Kamala Basin region as a whole. Since Nepal does not at all have a track record of completing mega projects within the stipulated deadlines, it is important that all government bodies concerned learn their lessons from the past and take effective steps to ensure this ambitious multi-decade project by the year 2045.
