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The
Master
Facilitator
“We are
working on a proposal titled ‘Slum Upgrading and
Investment Plan’,” says Prafulla M.S. Pradhan, the
new Habitat Programme Manager of the recently
established UN Habitat Office in Nepal. “We have
received a $ 75,000 fund for this project.” The new
office, located in Pulchowk, Lalitpur, will
unfortunately not be directly involved in the
project, or for that matter, in any other project as
such.
According to Pradhan, “Our activities will be mostly
directed towards making proposals, networking for
other bodies - including governmental; facilitating
meetings and workshops, and generally, acting in an
advisory capacity. We will be involved in issues
like slum upgrading, urban government, urban
poverty, etc…” Other roles of UN-Habitat, Nepal,
will include participation in UN system activities,
implementation of the Habitat Agenda (Housing For
All) and advocating norms and principles of the
UN-Habitat Global Campaign for Good Governance and
Security of Tenure.
Additionally, identifying programmes related to the
urban sector, good urban governance and urban
management, shelter, slum upgrading, rural-urban
linkages, urban environment and local development
are also part of the office’s duties. As is
information dissemination and liaison with Habitat
partners besides representation in national,
regional and international workshops/conferences
hosted by the country. Pradhan is clear on the scope
of activities of his newly found office. “UN
Habitat, Nepal, is not a funding agency. We,
however, will provide technical assistance and help
in networking for others involved in this sector.”
The new Program Manager claims to be specially
proficient in facilitating workshops, which, he
believes, is important if such activities are to
come to a fruitful conclusion. He cites the recently
held seminar on National Shelter Policy as an
example wherein, even though the Urban Policy
appears to have been worked out well and, an outside
consultant had been used for the first time, bad
presentation and format contributed to making the
issues somewhat confusing. He opines, “I think using
outside consultation agencies is a good start and
this should be given continuation.” About the
policy, specifically, “The paper seems to be based
on the old policy and I believe it would have been
better to go for a totally new policy.”
He is also of the view that this year’s Habitat Day
function (held in September 2007) was not organized
well and discloses, “This prompted me to volunteer
my help to Director General Sangachhe of DUDBC for
future similar activities. In fact, recently I have
trained twelve of his people in facilitation and
presentation skills.” One can assume that his offer
will be welcomed with a good deal of enthusiasm,
specially because Pradhan has no lack of experience
on the subject. He has been involved in a score and
ten important seminars/workshops and conferences
both nationally and internationally. According to
him, the biggest project in which he has been
involved till now in the capacity of workshop
facilitator has been the National Workshop on Water
Resource Development Strategy in Nepal. “Another
important one was for the Centre for Applied
Research and Development,” he adds.
Prafulla M. S. Pradhan began his professional career
as an engineer at the Department of Housing and
Physical Planning where he spent thirteen years
(1967-1981) rising up the ranks to senior engineer,
then senior planner. From October 1980 to December
1990 he worked for ten years as the Town
Controller/Planner of Kathmandu Valley Town
Development Committee.
Then, for a short stint (January 1990 to April 1990)
Pradhan became a Special Officer of the task force
in the Investigation Centre Department of the Royal
Palace during which time he was involved in the
preparation of a five year development plan for
Pashupati Development Area. From May 1990 to May
1991, Pradhan was the Senior
Planner/Coordinator-Task Project at the Department
of Housing and Urban Development, and shortly after,
in June 1991, took over the responsibility of Deputy
General Manager of Rural Housing Company, Lalitpur,
a post he held till March 1992. This marked
Pradhan’s final year as a government servant. Next,
he became a part of the Urban Development through
Local Efforts Project (udle/GTZ) as the Team
Coordinator responsible for overall management of
the Patan Conservation and Development as well as
the Swoyambhu Infrastructure Improvement Programmes.
In 1998, Pradhan was made the Senior Coordinator and
Gender Coordinator of the same institution (udle/GTZ).
Then came the turning point in Pradhan’s career path
and now it took him off to foreign shores. He spent
twenty months (February 1999 – September 2000) in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as the Programme Manager for
the Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI) – a project
of UNOS/UNDP. The host of responsibilities also
included the training of sixty local officials on
facilitation skills and participatory project
planning. As well as, identification of indicators,
tools and methodologies that constitute good urban
governance in order to build capacity and strengthen
relationships directly with mayors/governors and
city administrators.
It is obvious from the above that Pradhan is a man
who has garnered loads of experience in planning,
developing networks and proposal making. It can also
be assumed that he must have built up a lot of
important contacts in his passage through his
working life. However, Pradhan’s journey doesn’t end
here. The period from September 2000 to February
2002 saw him as the Agency Project Manager for the
UNCHS/UNDP sponsored Community Water Supply and
Sanitation Project in Myanmar. For a brief period
between March and April in 2002, he acted as a
voluntary advisor to the Lalitpur Sub Metropolitan
Office as well as to the NGO, Lumanti Support Group
for Shelter in Nepal Then come May 2002, and off he
went to Kabul, Afghanistan, for ten months, in the
capacity of first, Senior Technical Advisor, and
later, Chief Technical Advisor, of the Rebuilding
Community in Urban Afghanistan Project - a
UN-Habitat programme.
A year later, that is in May 2003, Pradhan had the
opportunity of spending almost four years again in
Yangon, Myanmar, as the Agency Project Manager of
the UNDP project – Integrated Community Development.
He has some interesting observations about Myanmar –
a country that is recently in the headlines.
According to him, “Even though there is little
democratic freedom in Myanmar, this has not stopped
the country from moving ahead in infrastructure
creation.” He also discloses, “The newly built
capital, Nay Pyi Taw, is an excellent example of
planned urban development. In addition to other
facilities, it has good housing accommodations for
almost 50,000 government employees.”
To a query about what difference he has observed in
the Nepalese capital on coming back after ten years
abroad, he says, “There is immense population
pressure but no coping mechanism in the way of an
increase in infrastructural development. For
example, although there is a big rise in the number
of cars on the roads, there has been practically no
widening of any roads. Also, in Yangon, I have
observed flyovers being constructed almost
overnight. Here, I haven’t seen any.” He further
adds, “In my view, good governance is only possible
through close participation of public, private and
civil societies, which obviously is not the case
here. In a place like Myanmar, what I have seen is
that the laws applies to 90% of the population and
not to the rest 10%. In Nepal, it is the opposite –
the law only applies to 10% and does not, to 90% of
the people.”
Pradhan reveals that he has worked with the present
Director General of DUDBC (Ar. S.B. Sangachhe) in
many projects in the past, including those on land
pooling which he believes is a vital part of urban
development. About this, he says, “I think now the
government should act as a facilitator and encourage
involvement of private developers.” His experience
in government service also makes him say, “Although
many plans have been made through the years, a lack
of participatory approach has been their undoing.”
He cites the example of his work in the Swoyambhu
Infrastructure Improvement Project as one in which
such an approach resulted in a positive outcome.
“Initially, there were twenty two different
organizations active in works involving the
Swoyambhu area and we found that they were all
working at tandem to each other, and in a quite
haphazard fashion. We (udle/GTZ) organized the
various parties into a federation and hired a
consultant.” As far as recent newer developments
around this world heritage site are concerned,
Pradhan is succinct, “Intentions may be good but
results are bad.” Pradhan also believes that
institutionalization of any programme is a very
important factor to ensure its continuance.
As far as housing is concerned, which after all, is
his prime concern now as Habitat Program Manager of
UN-Habitat, Nepal, (since September 2007) he is of
the opinion that to ensure housing for all, rental
policies must be streamlined (transitory housing),
access to land, utilities and finance must be
ensured and thought must be given to making
apartment building easier. However, he points out
that UN-Habitat’s focus is directed more towards
slum up-gradation and housing for the marginalized.
How far he succeeds in this noble endeavour only
time will tell. And, perhaps, he does have time in
his favour for it is probable that his national
stint will be for a substantial period of time. The
knowledge gained through the years will certainly
come in handy. Also, it can be presumed that at long
last, Pradhan has found his niche in his own country
and is in a position from where he can make things
happen.
It has been a long ride since the time he received
his civil engineering degree from the University of
Rourkee, India, in 1967 after doing his B.Sc from
Trichandra College and SLC from JP School, Kathmandu.
Pradhan has an interesting aside about his
educational career, “I started out badly, getting
only a 3rd division in SLC, but ended well, earning
a distinction in my post graduate exams.” He is
referring to the Post Graduate Diploma in Human
Resource Development that he received in 1995 from
the Institute of Housing and Urban Development
Studies of Rotterdam. Pradhan also has a Post
Graduate Diploma in Development Planning from
University College, London, United Kingdom (1973).
Pradhan laughs while confessing about his somewhat
late blooming educational career, but then adds
proudly, “My father, Prasanna MS Pradhan, was the
first person in Nepal to do Masters in Chemistry!”.
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