Failure Of Development Projects
Some Clues

By Bimal Khatiwada

A NUMBER of infrastructure projects like road networks linking various parts of the country, irrigation projects to boost agricultural production, hydroelectric power stations to provide electricity for household consumption to industrial development have not been successful to the extent investments made on them either through domestic sources or donor supports. Such failures could be attributed to several factors. Among other things, uses of sophisticated and non-adaptive technologies, projects designed and implemented with no contemplation of sustainability aspect and absence of transparency within the entire system may be regarded as the main contributing factors for such failures.

Participation

One of the essential ingredients for a successful project is people's genuine and effective participation in all its phases right from designing to mompletion. Such a consideration would subsequently ensure beneficiary's sense of ownership. Similarly, indigenous knowledge of local people could some times contribute more than the textbook engineering knowledge.

Contribution either in the form of knowledge sharing, cash or in-kind helps to create ownership of beneficiaries ensuring sustainability of a project. This can be supported by some examples that bridge at Ward No. 2 of Bhandara of Chitwan District, which was constructed at a total cost of Rs. 228,000 as against the government's estimate of Rs. 1.1 million. Another example: in Ward No. 1 of the same VDC, the community has completed the four-km long irrigation canal at Rs. 64,000 for which government's estimate through its East Rapti Irrigation Project (ERIP) was Rs. 1.4 million.

All round development of the society can never be achieved if environmental consideration is ignored. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is considered a vital part of project design. In old days, mere cost/benefit analysis was a major tool to launch any project. However, for instance, no serious environmental analysis were carried out before the execution of some of the then major projects like Trishuli, Devighat and Sunkoshi Hydropower Projects. Doubts are being expressed whether a thorough EIA was carried out on even most recently executed Puwakhola Hydropower of Illam. But for sure, most of the development projects have been executed in the absence of this vital consideration and have brought serious environmental damages to the society and the nation without leaving much room for their immediate correction. Such projects consequently have caused silting problem, downstream drought and pollution with reduced carrying capacity.

Studies have revealed that projects will sustain only if they adopt demand driven approach. If projects are forcefully implemented, often termed as Helicopter solution, without considering people's interest and aspiration, they will eventually die. Hence, people's needs should be assessed first in order to ensure project's sustainability.

Apathetic attitudes and weak coordination of and among major stakeholders (for example, Department of Irrigation, Department of Agriculture, Nepal Agriculture Research Council (NARC) and other agricultural extension services) are other key factors for project failure. These institutions, which are in fact established with the objective to promote agricultural productivity in a country, have failed in service delivery as expected. Hence there is a need to establish a strong coordination within and among different line agencies and stakeholders in order to maximize their efficiency and effectiveness. For this, each staff's roles and responsibilities must be clearly and distinctly defined.

It is a well-recognised fact that human, financial and technical resources have never been our limiting factors that hinder the pace of development. We must feel proud of our surplus labour forces and other international financial and technical supports. But the irony is that there have never been even distribution and proper utilisation of these resources among these intended beneficiaries. This may be attributed to policy guidelines that have been formulated from above without having thorough situation analysis.

Most of the poor people who are living in the vicinity of forest have to intensively rely on forest for their livelihood, as they have no choice and as a result, everybody inevitably has to bear its negative consequences in the future. The policy has always been in favour of rich with meager benefit going in favour of poor, which is evident by Water Resource Prior Appropriation Right Act-1993. This act apparently tends to favour rich, as poor people due to their inefficacy to afford to get hold of such source will always have to stand back to receive residual benefit. Hence policy should be formulated in favour of both the groups.

An increasing trend in handing over the project to pseudo users' groups has also remained another contributing factor for project's failure. Most of the developmental projects are being handed over to such groups without having a proper assessment of their preparedness in handling the project.

Performance

Weak and futile monitoring and evaluation practices of the implementers have resulted in the misjudgement of project performance capacity. Therefore, there should be participatory monitoring and evaluation mechanism established in order to have correct analysis of the project performance. This would ultimately help any project achieve its long-term commitment. Last but not the least, social mobilisation is equally essential for any project to win success. This would help create awareness among the beneficiaries.

Benefits Of Travelling

By Mukti Rijal

LAST month this writer had been to New Delhi- the capital city of India. It was unbearably hot and scorching sun did chase him out of Delhi to Dehradun. Actually it is not very far from Delhi as well. A distance of 250 KM from Delhi could be covered in about five hours time even as the state bus did have several halts. The drive traversed through western part of Uttar Pradesh said to be often risky for night time travelling. The bus passed through Muzaffarnagar, Roorkee and finally reached Dehradun. As the bus was approaching Dehradun, topography was changing and environment was completely different. The road drove though the forest areas with rising elevation It was as if the vehicle was negotiating with the sharp bends and turns of the road in the hills and mountains of Nepal.

Big Province

Dehradun is currently the capital city of the Uttaranchal state of India. Uttaranchal was carved out of the populous and big province of India known as Uttar Pradesh. Dehradun is a beautiful city having several identical features with Nepal. The city puts any Nepali visiting there at ease as if one has not been far away from ones's own home. Dehradun has a sizeable Nepali population and Nepalis have their own exclusive settlements (Nepali Bastis). This writer did make use of the visit to go to a Nepali settlement at the outskirt of the Gonghura cantonment. It was totally a Nepali way of life enacted in the city suburbs. Those who retired from Gorkha regiment decided to buy a piece of land, built a small house and stayed there. Some have their connections back home in Nepal . Others have lost their contacts with Nepal. Some did enquire about the situation in Nepal especially as they said their kids are staying in Nepal .

My short visit to Dehradun was very useful and productive as I was able to visiit Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RLEK), among others. In fact I was reading about this organisation in the Indian newspapers especially about its pioneering work to popularise and strenghthen the cause of public interest litigation in India. I met with Mr Awadesh Kaushal whose commitment and dedication in building and shaping activities of this organisation was commendable. He is a very simple and affable person. Mr Kaushal came to the field of civil society after his stint at the Mussorie Academy of public administration. The Kendra under the guidance of Mr Kaushal has been working with marginalised communities in the hill districts of Uttar Pradesh for past three decades. The activities of Kendra focus on protection of Indigenous peoples rights, promotion of education, gender and environmental awareness, issues related to local governance, sustainable development and health. It's contribution in the field of public interest litigation is very distinct.

In the early 1980's RLEK fought to save the Doon Valley from destructive limestone quarrying. The Kendra filed the country's first environmental case in the Supreme Court against rich lime stone contractors, powerful industrialists and the government. This resulted in the closure of 101 limestone quarries. RLEK's contribution was recognised by former chief justice of India Mr P.N.Bhagawati who wrote in one of his judgements, "We must place on record our appreciation of the steps taken by the Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra. But for this move, all that has happened perhaps may not have come about ".

Since 1991 RLEK has been working with the seminomadic Van Gujjar community. One prominent work, according to Mr Awadesh Kaushal, done by Kendra is to get the seminomadic tribe included in the voters' list.. Due to the activities and lobbying efforts of Kendra seminomadic tribes of India have been enfranchised for elections.

In 1999 Kendra set up a Human rights centre, This centre has grown into a leading South Asian institution where students from India and other South Asian nations including Nepal are doing post graduate diploma course on Human Rights. Two Nepali students with law background are completing the course this year. The diploma course is a full time residential course of ten months.
The strength of the course lies in the fact that students are placed for a period of two months to undergo practical field based internship on human rights issues, say students doing the human rights course in the Kendra.

Tribute

Nepal's fateful history is linked with Nalapani in Dehradun as Nepalese warriors were defeated in one
of the fronts during the war fought in 1814AD. I took the chance to go toNalapani and see the evidence of the gallantry of Nepalese warriors testified by the tribute given by the British inscribed in the stone wall. In fact, a visit to such places as Dehradun even though a very shorter one exposes to a new situation and reality. Thanks to the soaring temperature in New Delhi that led me to go to Dehradun and get to know several things of my own interest.

The Guruju Of Dhaibung

By Shreedhar Khanal

GAURI NATH traced his line of descent from Guruju Ranga Nath who was the prime minister about two hundred years ago. Since then, all the descendants of Ranga Nath were called Guruju by the people although they were not officially titled.

Gauri Nath, the eleventh descendant of prime minister Ranga Nath, was the last one to hold the unofficial title of Guruju. He was called the Guruju of Dhaibung, Rasuwa where he inherited a fortune including a vast area of land from his father. The vast majority of farmers in Dhaibung were his tenants. He was the landlord and the farmers paid him revenues regularly.

He had also properties in Kathmandu where he lived. He occasionally went to Dhaibung and stayed there only for a short time. He spent a few days roaming the countryside, swimming in the Trishuli and attending village festivals.

Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, Gauri Nath did not need a job for his livelihood. He was liked by his friends and relatives because he was always ready to help them in distress. The Guruju of Dhaibung used to visit them and spent a few hours sharing their joys and sorrows. They called him Guruju Baje. He looked healthy and was very strong indeed. Some of his friends were also physicians. They wondered how Guruju Baje was maintaining his health so well without consulting them.

Once they asked him to let them know the secret of his robustness. The Guruju smiled and told them that the best way to maintain health is to abstain from ambition and be satisfied with what God has given to one. He advised everyone to maintain a mood of fatalism so that they can escape from worries, anxieties and all sorts of tension. Very few persons believed him but nobody dared to refute his theory of fatalism. They did not want to be deprived of Guruju Baje's company.

Once Guruju Baje had gone to visit a friend who was a notable physician of Kathmandu. He found his friend laying in bed because he had got jaundice. But he was recovering by his own treatment. Guruju Baje asked his friend if there were anything that he could do.

Before the sick man could speak, his wife said that her husband had prescribed sugarcane juice to himself. She has bought the sugarcane but has not been able to extract its juice as she has no crusher in the house. She will be very much obliged to anyone who will bring a crusher from anywhere within an hour. The Guruju burst out laughing and said that the sugarcane can be crushed within two minutes and his friend can drink cane-juice as much as he likes. He urged the lady to bring a peeled sugarcane, cut it into pieces and give it to him. The lady brought a long piece of peeled sugarcane and gave it to him.

Everyone in the room was awaiting the Guruju's manoeuvres. First he asked for a tumbler. It was brought. He broke the sugarcane in ten pieces and took one within his fist. Then he crushed it forcibly and let the juice drop in the tumbler. He crushed all the ten pieces in two minutes and the tumbler was filled to the brim with juice.

The patient physician drank the juice and asked his friend how he could crush the cane sticks with his bare hand. The Guruju said he himself did not know how he got the strength. He only knew with the grace of God he could do it. God has given him extra ordinary strength because he has always depended on Him, and not on himself.

Since then, the strength of Gauri Nath, Guruju of Dhaibung became a talk of the town. Some artistocrats of the capital invited Guruju Baje to their place and requested him to show the miracle to them. But it was in vain. The Guruju of Dhaibung did not like to show his charisma to anyone except his close friends and the villagers of Dhaibung. The elites of Kathmandu depended on their own cleverness against the theory of fatalism. The Guruju who was a devotee of human destiny could not compromise with them.