I heard of Swajal
Project. I read about the pioneering
works done in the community led participatory Swajal Project. So much so when I
was Secretary, Rural Development, Government of Tamil Nadu, I designed a
project proposal on similar approaches and strategies and sought for World Bank
funding. Now, as the Joint Secretary
& Mission Director, Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission,
implementing the Sector Reform Project through community participation in the
country, I was eagerly awaiting for an opportunity to see for myself the impact
of the work done through the SWAJAL project at the grass root level. This being
the first project in the country to introduce the concept of community
participation in every aspect of project implementation right from planning,
design, implementation and finally last but the most important aspect,
operation and maintenance of the scheme, only made me more determined to visit
a SWAJAL village. At this juncture, I was invited to an interactive session on
water supply in LBS National Academy of Administration and availed the
invitation of Director, Swajal, Uttaranchal to visit the project area. This gave me the ideal opportunity to fulfill
my dream.
The visit to Swajal
village Tikari was scheduled on 12th
May, 2002 . Tikari is a small clustered village of Jaunpur
In this village as visualized
and shaped during the planning phase and by the untiring, sincere and committed
efforts of the community a water supply scheme was constructed for the village
by tapping a gadhera source. In the pre-Swajal days there were no latrines in
the village and during Swajal 65% of the households of the village were with
household sanitary latrines. Further, 16 soak pits and 18 compost pits were
constructed in the village. This clearly implies the yearning of the community
for a better standard of living and increased awareness towards environmental
sanitation.
It was heartening to see
the renewed confidence of the village women, who came forward and actively
participated in the day’s proceedings. The community participated actively in
all the project activities, which was evident from the zeal with which they
described each and every activity in minute details. Truly the concept of
community participation has been actually implemented at the grass root level
by SWAJAL. This was an eye opener and a pleasurable learning experience for me.
But I would like to reaffirm the fact that the real success of the project will
be tested in the operation and maintenance phase. The issue of sustainability
is basically a function of the attitude and awareness of the beneficiary
community, which is honed by long sustained effort towards community
mobilization and empowerment. As observed in village, the villagers were doing
proper chlorination, which was checked by the measurement of residual chlorine
at the stand post. The emphasis on Water Quality Monitoring aspects in such
detail assured me that the project has been successful in addressing the
operation and maintenance issues at the grass root level.
Swajal project has aptly
demonstrated that rural communities can plan, implement and maintain their
systems if they are empowered to take their decision. Voice and Choice of the
community are cardinal principles for success of Swajal. As a consequence of the success of the Swajal
Project, the Government of India introduced major policy changes in the year
1999 in the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector. Sector Reform Project is
currently being implemented in 67 districts spread over 27 states across the
country on the reforms principles started with the Swajal Project. The Rajiv
Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission has acknowledged the Swajal principles
in its guidelines as:
“The Rural Water Supply and
Environmental Sanitation Project of Uttar Pradesh (inclusive of Uttaranchal)
namely the Swajal Project, is pioneer in the field of community empowerment,
involvement of women in the process and community contracting. The present
project (Sector Reform Project) owes a lot from all these projects”.
The Government of India
has earmarked upto 20% of the funds under Accelerated Rural Water Supply
Programme (ARWSP) for implementing projects in the Swajal way. Now the
Government of India has launched the SWAJALDHARA Project all over the country
from 25th
December, 2002 . Further, the Planning Commission, Government of
India in its recent publication titled “Successful Governance Initiatives and
Best Practices: Experiences from Indian states” has included a comprehensive
write up on the Swajal Project. The Planning Commission has aptly remarked that
“By introducing several innovations in a
hitherto stagnant situation, the project has proved to be not only applicable
but also replicable”.
It would not be an exaggeration if Swajal is
designated as the “Mother of WATSAN
Sector Reforms” in the country. The path set by Swajal will usher the
Central and State Governments to introduce the community participation concept
in other development projects. I wish the Swajal Project and Swajal Team a
grand success and best wishes for the ensuing Follow-on Project.
Dr. R.C. Panda
Ex. Joint Secretary & Mission Director,
R.G.N.D.W.M.,
Government of India .
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