Participatory planning and joint monitoring mechanisms increase transparency and accountability

The joint emerging town project, in the town of Katarniya located in Bardiya district, Nepal was planned and designed jointly by the group of key stakeholders including the local government authorities i.e. Village Development Committee (VDC), District Development Committee (DDC), District Water Supply and Sanitation Division Office (DWSSDO), project beneficiaries represented by the Water User's and Sanitation Committee (WUSC) and all three Consortium partners (SRC, Tdh & Helvetas). All mentioned key stakeholders have agreed to provide support to this project as outlined in the Project Implementation Guideline (PIG) which was formulated, agreed and signed by all of them. The PIG introduces concept of Project Steering Committee chaired by the DDC to provide overall guidance in its implementation. All other above mentioned stakeholders are members of this steering committee. All key decisions related to the project implementation are taken in the steering committee meeting and the committee is responsible to monitor the project progress as well. This mechanism has helped creating the real ownership of the project among all key stakeholders including the local government bodies (DDC and VDC). This ultimately has supported enhancing transparency and accountability among the key local stakeholders. This also brings an opportunity to all Consortium partners to work as a team and share their expertise to one another.