Public Participation for Urban Infrastructure Development: A case of Birgunj Metropolitan City

Abstract

Public participation is the involvement and collaboration with public to get their ideas and opinions, for decision making to bring a positive and sustainable development in the community. This research focuses on government initiatives to bring together the citizens of the community for discussions on the necessary consideration for the sewerage and drainage and road infrastructure development as per the STIUEIP project. The working mechanism of the government to complete the project in a community rapidly without fully understanding the community through the public perspective led to the project being withheld temporarily as it misses the necessities of the local citizens and the surroundings. The research explores the citizens of the community, their activities, behaviour, and willingness to support the government. Mixed methods for case study are used to understand the different initiatives carried out by the Birgunj Metropolitan City for increment in participation during the planning and policy making stages. Along with literature study, paper survey was distributed among 80 residents, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 7 officials affiliated with the project. The activities and action of the government or the public explored and found during the research help us to determine the gap between the public and the local government for working collaborating with each other.