Project duration: January 1991 – December 1992.

The Asian Development Bank has been involved for more than 10 years in the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in Nepal, providing $ 44 million in loans and 8 TAs worth nearly $ 1.3 million. Early projects suffered from implementation delays and inadequate community involvement in the design, execution and maintenance, resulting in rapid delay and high operations and maintenance costs. A major reorientation has taken place in recent years within the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation (DWSS), leading to increased community participation. This change has reflected positively on the ability of DWSS to successfully deliver Rural Water and Sanitation Services:

The major following issues were investigated for evaluation :

– major changes in sector performance and policies,
– the extent of reform which has actually taken place within DWSS and the reasons behind it,
– the impact of (Bank) TA in supporting sector/DWSS improvement,
– donor coordination of TA to the sector,
– analysis and follow-up of some specific Bank TA projects, such as TA 1118 (strengthening the DWSS) and TA 1718 (strategic planning for the DWSS),
– demonstration effects and interactions between the water supply and the irrigation sector, which has also started to adopt a more participatory approach in it’s operations,
– mechanisms for collaboration between Nepalese staff and ADB consultants,
– view of the Nepalese consulting community on the Bank’s technical assistance