Garages in industrial districts get five years to convert; wastewater curbs ordered

Industrial District Management Limited (IDML) has brought in new Industrial District Operation and Management Regulations 2083, replacing the 2071 rules, to move non-productive businesses out of the industrial districts it runs. Vehicle repair centres, garages and workshops already operating there have five years to convert into manufacturing units, IDML said, as reported by Setopati, Ratopati and Karobar Daily.

Transition mandates and enforcement

IDML General Manager Padam Oli said the rules were changed so that land in the industrial districts is used for manufacturing. Garages and workshops that do not convert within the deadline will have their lease agreements cancelled. The regulations also bar productive industries from switching to non-productive business, adding non-productive objectives or merging with such businesses. Other non-productive businesses have been given three years to convert, with a concession on the entry fee, according to Onlinekhabar and Setopati.

According to figures released by IDML and reported by Setopati, 11 vehicle repair and servicing businesses operate in the Balaju Industrial District and two in the Hetauda Industrial District. IDML says all of them came in before a 2071 BS directive stopped new vehicle repair centres from entering the districts, Ratopati reported. Businesses that a committee finds unsuitable for an industrial district, or that fall outside the regulations' priority list, will not have their agreements renewed even if they keep to their original purpose.

Environmental compliance and river pollution

Separately, the Department of Industry has directed industries not to discharge untreated wastewater directly into rivers and streams, Onlinekhabar reported. The department said it had received complaints that industries were polluting rivers by releasing wastewater untreated or in breach of standards, and that polluted water from industries around the Sirsiya River in the Birgunj-Pathlaiya corridor had made it hard for residents to celebrate Tihar and Chhath.

The department told industries to discharge only wastewater that meets the government's environmental standards, and asked them to release clean water from their own deep borewells or other sources to help clean the rivers during the festival period. A joint monitoring and inspection team, with representatives of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies, the Department of Industry, the Department of Environment, provincial industry offices, district administration offices and local governments, will check whether the measures are being followed. The department said controlling river pollution is a shared responsibility that must be carried out under the prevailing environmental laws.