CDS AS CAPACITY BUILDER FOR SWAJAL

Swajal is an innovative intervention aimed at testing a demand responsive approach to rural water supply and environmental sanitation services based on principles of cost sharing by the people and their active involvement in decision - making right from the planning through implementation to the operation and maintenance stage. One of the key features of Swajal has been a continuous endeavor to explore various aspects of project functioning for drawing lessons for application and further improvement to make sure that the project objectives are achieved.

Centre for Development Studies (CDS) has had a long and emotional association with Swajal. CDS was given privilege to impart community development trainings for the project. There has been a continuous endeavor to adjust the training approach and strategy to the emerging needs and demands of various categories of project functionaries from time to time. CDS has been continuously dealing with this challenge in capacity building activities for the community development in Swajal. The ground realities reveal that participation in practice is harder to come through than in theory. This fact posed a real challenge to our attempts of designing and implementation capacity building interventions in a participatory development project. Though the CDS agenda has been limited only to assessing training needs and designing and conducting various training programme, workshops and seminars, CDS has, in fact, gone beyond the agreed terms of reference to even look into non-training issues, which are crucial in terms of their likely impact on overall project performance. Some of the issues included project design, monthly progress reports (MPRs), payment conditions, staffing patterns, recruitment of staff, etc.

Based on the experience of earlier batches, CDS highlighted the need to focus on SHG as an effective instrument of women mobilization and involvement in mainstream project monitoring and evaluation. This obviously meant suitable modifications in the format for MPR and payment conditions, along with other changes.

Today when I look back on the efforts, achievements and contribution of CDS to the project, I feel highly satisfied by the performance and outcomes. Now, as we are heading towards finishing of the pilot project, this is the right time to record all our past memories, experiences and feelings for the followers/successors. I am happy to know that PMU Swajal - Uttaranchal is planning in this direction. I on behalf of the whole CDS family would like to congratulate all the team members and associated personnels of the project for presenting their outstanding performance successfully achieved the tough and miss conceptually believed impossible goals and targets of the project.

Rakesh Sharma,

Ex. Commissioner Kumaun & Chairman, CDS,                                                Uttaranchal Administrative Academy,        

Nainital.