Models of Institutional Structure for Metropolitan Region Governance: A Case of Kathmandu Valley

Abstract

It’s been half a century since the Kathmandu Valley has been envisioned to be developed as a single planning unit. Many efforts have been made, beginning from the 1969 physical development plan, followed by the formation of the Kathmandu Valley Town Development committee in 1988, the establishment of the Kathmandu Valley Development Authority in 2012, etc., marking some significant efforts. The National Urban Development Strategy has also focused on reviewing, formulating, institutionalizing, and operationalizing the concept of the Kathmandu Valley as a single urban region. The governance includes the private sector, public sector and civil society. For this research, only the public sector has been considered and explored. This research uses international case studies and interviews to explore the modalities commonly accepted by policy makers. This research has suggested modalities broadly categorized into long-term and short-term solutions. The first category demands changes that need to be analyzed and accepted by wide range of policymakers that demand changes on a greater scale, whereas the short-term solutions only demand some changes in the act that will incorporate representatives from all three levels of government in the existing structure of KVDA.