KATHMANDU, May 20: The House of Representatives (HoR) on Monday endorsed Water Resources Bill 2025, which talks about making proper utilization and conservation of water and ensuring its appropriate distribution.
Seeking the approval of the bill, the Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, Deepak Khadka, presented a proposal of the bill in a meeting of the lower house. Minister Khadka said the government introduced the bill to formulate necessary legal provisions for the proper use and conservation of water resources.
The bill includes provisions regarding identifying the total capacity of the rivers and preserving them. The Water and Energy Commission has been entrusted with the entire responsibility envisioned in the law, while defining the roles of all three governments in the matter.
“The bill has incorporated topics related to the benefits of and damage caused by water. The Commission will prepare a detailed study report (DPR) after the bill is passed, which will help in the fair distribution of water,” said Minister Khadka, speaking at the HoR session.
The new bill has defined priorities of water resources used for purposes of drinking, household, livestock farming and fisheries, irrigation, hydropower, industrial and minings, water transport, religious and cultural contexts, recreation and tourism, among others. With exceptions of water transport at local levels, community run drinking water and irrigation systems and micro hydropower projects, the bill has made it mandatory to the concerned to take prior approval of government agencies to utilise the water resources.