Hetauda Sub-Metropolitan City has suspended waste collection effective Thursday following an order from the Patan High Court’s Hetauda bench. The court’s decision prohibits the city from using its current landfill site due to mismanagement and environmental pollution concerns.

The order, issued on Tuesday by judge Nirmala Paudel Bhattarai, came in response to a writ petition filed by Yogendra Prasad Upadhyaya. The petition highlighted the improper handling of the landfill site in Hetauda-10, located near the Rapti riverbank, and the recurring issue of fires causing environmental harm.

The landfill site has been in use since 1969. The court summoned the municipality and its private waste management partner, Green & Clean Services Nepal, for a hearing on February 11. Until the hearing, waste disposal at the site is prohibited.

Hetauda Sub-metropolis, responsible for sanitation in the city’s market areas, collects and manages waste from 23,000 households in collaboration with private firms. Deputy Chief of the Environment Section, Keshav Devkota, confirmed the suspension of waste collection services.

Navaraj Khatiwada, proprietor of Green & Clean City Hetauda, said that their daily waste collection operations have also been halted in compliance with municipal instructions. The company had been managing waste collection across all 19 wards of the sub-metropolis.