The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has expressed its unhappiness to the government over the transfer of the chief of the Rural Infrastructure Development Project (RIDP) which the Manila-based agency funded.

The bank wrote a letter to the government stating that the transfer of Bhupendra Basnet would be a setback to the bank's newly approved Decentralised Rural Infrastructure and Livelihood Project (DRILP), a flagship project for conflict-affected areas such as the Karnali zone. Basnet has worked at RIDP, which began in 1996 as a prelude to the DRILP.

"We do not condemn the government's rights to transfer project staff," said ADB Country Director Sultan Hafiz Rahman. "But, they should allow the right person to be at the right place for adequate time and this is what we have stated in our response to the transfer."

The bank thinks Basnet had the requisite experience which would help get the DRILP project for peace and development in conflict-affected areas. Approved last September, the $40 million project is aimed at promoting the participation of rural communities in planning, implementation, monitoring and maintenance of development projects aimed at poverty reduction and social cohesion. "The project will

help reduce poverty by generating livelihood opportunities and developing rural infrastructure in poor and remote conflict-affected communities in western, midwestern and farwestern regions of Nepal," the bank says.

Transfers of officials from projects it funds has always been a contentious issue between the government and the ADB. "We are concerned at the frequency of such transfers," admitted a bank official. "It makes things difficult for both the donors and the government."