Kathmandu, May 24:

NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation, a network of over three dozen NGOs, working on water and sanitation, today urged the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to stop piling pressure on the government on making hasty decisions that are against the interests of Nepal and her people.

“We urge the ADB to cooperate with the government in making an objective assessment of the current situation to assure that the quality of drinking water and sanitation in Kathmandu is improved in a manner that ensures public participation, accountability and transparency,” a Forum statement sent to the ADB country director said. A copy of the statement was released today.

Copies have also been forwarded to Minister for Physical Planning and Works Hisila Yami, Minister for Finance Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, acting secretary Purna Kadariya, the president of the ADB, Haruhiko Kuroda, and executive director of the NGO Forum on ADB. The ADB on Tuesday said it is now up to the government to decide on how it wishes to go ahead as the “inability of the government to have the duly negotiated management contract signed at this very late stage creates considerable uncertainly on the way forward.”

Maoist chairman Prachanda met ADB officials yesterday and asked them not to take back the loan for the Melamchi Water Supply Project. “We back Minister Yami’s decision to put on hold the contract and discuss the matter once again in a cabinet meeting, owing to concerns about the contractors’ background,” the release said.

There has been very little transparency and public participation in the process of selecting Severn Trent, which is against the ADB’s report on Asian Water Supplies. The ST has a bad reputation as it was involved in graft and its performance was not up to the mark in countries like Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana, the release said.