Bagmati, a holy river of the Hindus and a major source of water for the Kathmandu Valley, has been polluted due to human actions such as settlement along the river, unplanned urbanization in river basin and disposal of untreated sewage and solid waste into the river system. In addition, extractions of sand from river bed, construction of public infrastructure in river space, and illegal settlements of squatters along the banks have deteriorated the river environment and the water security in the citizen.

The foundation of HPCIDBC lies in the joint initiation of citizen and government to make Bagmati a pollution free river. A Committee for Implementation & Monitoring of Environmental Improvement in Pasupathi Area was thus set up by Nepal Government on Chaitra 28, 2051. The committee was modified to High Powered Committee for Implementation & Monitoring of the Bagmati Area Sewerage Construction/Rehabilitation Project (BASP) on Mangshir 6, 2052 with a vision and mandate to cover wider scope of area and activities. The committee was renamed to High Powered Committee for Integrated Development of Bagmati Civilization (HPCIDBC) on Jestha 2, 2065 in order to reflect the broader vision and scope of the organization. In this regard GON has approved the Bagmati Action Plan (2009-2014) in Srawan 2066 which has introduced a concept of zonation of the river system within the Kathmandu valley. The whole river system in the valley has been divided in 5 zones i.e. zone 1: natural Conservation Core Zone, zone 2: Rural Zone, zone 3: Peri-urban zone, zone 4: Urban Zone, and zone 5: Downstream Zone in order to effectively address the key issues at a micro level to make clean, green and healthy Bagmati river system with full of life and valued by all.