NEPAL

Nepal's controversial Arun III dam is scheduled to come under withering scrutiny. In early February, the World Bank gave its independent inspection panel a green signal to conduct a formal investigation of the project.

The panel's mandate will focus on specific aspects of the Arun project which may violate the Bank's policy guidelines: its rules on involuntary resettlement, treatment meted out to the indigenous people, and incurring environmental risks. However, the panel's 3-month long investigation can begin only when Nepal's new Communist government nods in assent to the project.