Background

Background PRESENT STATUS OF THE PROJECT

Uttar Pradesh is affected by acute water scarcity with 30% habitations receiving water less than the basic service level of 40 lpcd as prescribed by Government of India. Rural Water supply systems range from traditional open wells and hand pumps to piped water supply schemes with treatment plants and private connections. The capital cost of these rural water schemes is fully subsidized by the Government. The operation and maintenance cost, though theoretically chargeable to the users, is also almost fully subsidized by the Government. Maintenance of rural water supply systems is not of a high standard, with about one-fourth of rural water supply systems out of operation at any given time.

Recently, the Govt. of U.P. has embarked upon a major decentralization exercise whereby all the hand pumps have been handed over to the Village Panchayats. Funds for O & M at the rate of Rs. 100/- per hand pump has also been transferred to Village Panchayats, who are expected to maintain the handpumps without any more monetary support from Government. Other Water Supply systems still continue to be maintained by the Government.

Sanitation level in the State is also below the national average, with only 2.5% of the population using latrines/ water carriage system therefore access to improved access to water supply and environmental sanitation remains a high development priority for the State Government.

The UPRWSES Project

The Government of Uttar Pradesh with World Bank assistance, is implementing an integrated rural water supply and environmental sanitation project in 1000 villages in 19 districts of the State, twelve districts of the Kumaon and Garhwal hills and seven districts of the Bundelkhand region. These villages are being selected on the basis of transparent criteria (such as demand, need, technical factors etc). There are four stages or batches with 90, 260, 325 and 325 villages covered in each batch respectively. Initially, single village schemes are being taken up. Shortlisted NGOs (Support Organizations) are assisting village communities in planning and construction of their schemes. The project cycle of each batch has three distinct phases: pre-planning, planning and implementation. The length of the project cycle is around 33 months with each batch overlapping the other. The project duration is six years i.e. 1996-2002.

The Project is a major innovative experiment in Community participation, Community Procurement and partial Capital Cost recovery in Water Supply systems. Communities are expected to share about 10% in the capital cost and 100% of the O & M Cost of water supply systems. Subsidy upto Rs. 2250/- are given in constructing individual sanitation facilities, such as household sanitary latrines.

Objectives of the Project :

The main objectives of the project are to:

(a) Assist the GROUP to identify and implement an appropriate policy framework to promote long term sustainability of the Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation sector;

(b) Deliver sustainable health and hygiene benefits to the rural population through improvements in water supply and environmental sanitation;

(d) Test alternatives to the current supply driven service delivery mechanism; and

(e) Promote sanitation and gender awareness.

Project Cost :

The total cost of the project was US$ 71 million ( Rs. 300.76 crores), of which the share of World Bank was 84%, State Government 5% and the community 11%. The Project Management Unit after receiving its actual expenditures till mid term (October, 1999), with the consent of Government of Uttar Pradesh and Government of India has requested for partial loan cancellation of US$ 7.23 million ( Rs. 32.40 crores).

Project Management :

The Project Management Unit (PMU) located in Lucknow, is a registered body, which has been formed under the Rural Development Department of GOUP. The Agricultural Production Commissioner of Uttar Pradesh is the Chairman of the Swajal Project and the Vice- Chairman is the Principal Secretary, Rural Development. A full-time Director is place in PMU, Lucknow and there are two District Project Managment Units (DPMUs) to facilitate project management and operations fundtioning in the Bundelkhand Region-one in Jhansi and one in Banda. The project has now been bifurcated after the bifurcation at U.P. into U.P. and Uttaranchal. The Uttaranchal PMU is located in Dehradun and has eight DPMUs at the Garhwal and Kumaun Region.

After the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh into the two State, the Uttaranchal PMU, commenced functioning on 16-7-2001 and it is located in Dehradun. The Uttaranchal PMU has eight DPMUs in Dehradun, Srinagar, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Bhimtal, Almora and Bageshwar to facilitate its project management and operations.

In every project village a village water and sanitation committee is formed which functions as a sub-committee of the Gram Panchayat and is responsible for the projects planning, implementation, operation and maintenance at the community level.

The Process :

The Sarar Tool : The Swajal Game

The Project goes through three distinct phases: Preplanning, Planning and Implementation. Following a demand responsive approach the Preplanning Phase starts with the selection of Villages and SOs (Support Organizations) who act as social intermediaries. During the Planning Phase of about a year the SOs mobilize the Community. One of the important tools used is the SARAR Tool where the Communities are engaged in small games through which problem analysis, investigation, sensitization and community decision making is achieved.

Non Formal Education is generally used as an entry tool. Trainings in various skills are taken up so that the women can utilise the time saved in collecting water (after the Implementation of Project) in productive economic activities. Formation of women Self-Help groups is encouraged. Major emphasis is on empowering the women, who are the major stakeholders of the Project.

VWSC Formation in Village Malli Bhakhani

Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) are formed though a process of consensus. Cleanup campaigns are organised along with continuous sensitisation of community on environmental sanitation issues. Engineering surveys are done and various water supply options are worked out. In a community wide Agree-to-do meeting a water supply option is chosen by the community. The final output of the Planning Phase is a Project report detailing out the engineering design of the chosen water supply and sanitation systems. These Project reports are designed by the Engineers of the SO with full participation of the communities at every step. Apart from engineering design, the communities draw up a set of Community Action Plan (CAP) detailing the ways and means by which the Community proposes to tackle the sanitation issues, skill training, non-formal education and also the Plan for contribution of Cash or Labour and construction of water supply and sanitation systems. The Implementation Phase starts with a signing of Implementation Phase Tripartite Agreement (IPTA) which is executed by all the three partners to the Project – Village Community, SO and the PMU. Funds are transferred to a Joint account between the VWSC and SO. The Village Community, with the help of SO, starts procurement of materials and construction of water supply and sanitation schemes.

SO Selection :

The selection of SOs is an output of the Preplanning Phase. The PMU follows rigorous selection criteria. Advertisements are placed in newspapers and applications are sought from NGOs to act as social intermediaries with the community. Fields visits are undertaken by the DPMUs to ensure that each SO (1) is legally registered (2) has a constitutional provision to engage in rural water supply environmental sanitation service delivery and related activities (3) has audited and certified accounts (4) has a proven track record of at least three years’ experience in rural water supply and environmental sanitation or community development activities evidenced by the satisfactory completion of a participatory and demand driven project and (5) has demonstrated staffing capacity to carry out the proposed services or ability to procure such staffing capacity.

Village Selection :

Following a demand driven approach (since the villages have to contribute about 10% of the capital cost and 100% O&M costs) a self-selection process is followed. Wide publicity through phamplets and wall writings is done to invite applications from interested villages. The villages are finally selected on the basis of transparent criteria of demand, need, technical feasibility, economic viability and social and environmental soundness.

Technology Choices :

The rural water supply (WS) and latrine components provide choices to consumers in terms of type of technology and service level. For WS in the hills, this includes piped water supply schemes, captured springs with handpumps, rainwater harvesting and spring development (including combinations of technologies most suited to local conditions). In the Bundelkhand region and foothills, WS choices include piped water schemes from tubewells, dug wells, surface sources (where required) and handpumps. Typical choice for latrine technology is twin pit flush pour system. The environmental sanitation (ES) component focuses on local behaviour change, personal, domestic and environmental sanitation improvements, including drainage, garbage, soak and compost pits and catchment protection.

Trainings:

For the smooth functioning of the above activities, the training of SO staff is very essential. Centre for Development Studies, UP Academy of Administration, Nainital is organising the Community Development trainings, whereas training of technical components like survey and design is being imparted by University of Roorkee on behalf of PMU. Various training programmes on Community Development Activities are organised at village level by the Support Organisations. The old SOs train their new staff themselves.