Kathmandu. The Legislation Management Committee under the National Assembly has passed the Water Resources Bill, 2081 BS with modifications.

A meeting of the committee held at Singha Durbar in the presence of Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Deepak Khadka passed the draft report on the Water Resources Bill- 2081 BS with modifications.

The bill, which originated in the House of Representatives, reached the National Assembly after extensive discussions in the Infrastructure Development Committee of the House of Representatives on April 1, 2081. The bill was passed after extensive discussions in 14 meetings of the Legislative Committee under the National Assembly.

The bill has been brought to ensure sustainable development, utilization and conservation and management of water resources, equitable sharing of benefits, mitigation of weather and water borne disasters, protection of dams and inter-generational coordination.

In the meeting, Energy Minister Khadka thanked all the members, including the chairman of the committee, for passing the bill after extensive discussion and hard work. He expressed happiness that the bill was passed unanimously incorporating the views of all the members of the committee as it was a matter of public concern.

The bill, which was presented in the House of Representatives on July 1, 2081 BS, was sent to the Infrastructure Development Committee under the House of Representatives for clause-wise discussion on July 26 last year after holding general discussion in the House of Representatives. The bill was passed by the Infrastructure Development Committee after nine months of discussion and reached the National Assembly.

Committee President Tulsa Kumari Dahal said that the bill was passed with modifications based on the amendment proposal received from the members of the Legislation Management Committee, the suggestions received from the stakeholders and experts.

Chairman Dahal said that the bill would be presented in the National Assembly meeting scheduled to be held on August 15.