Contest for Political Space: A Case Study from Community Development Programme in Nepal (Report) (Case Study‪)‬

Introduction This paper presents the findings of a research addressing the question of how the role of political parties affects the implementation of the Income Generation and Community Development Programme (IGCD) conducted under the Melamchi Water Supply Project (MWSP) in Nepal. It also shows how different political parties and local government bodies manipulate the given model of community development in order to promote their own political space. The IGCD is a component of mitigation measure of Melamchi Water Supply Project, which aims to bring 170 MLD of water per day for the people of the Kathmandu Valley. In this article, I explore the ways in which political spaces are constructed and negotiated by the project of community development under the competitive multiparty democratic regime in Nepal.