Abstract
Village
Lakhani of Block Garur, District Bageshwar having 297 households (population
1829) is scattered in 24 habitations. This village is situated at about 40 km
away from district head quarter. All the habitations have distinct geographical
conditions such as altitude, terrain, accessibility by road, etc. The pre
project status of the village revealed that there was acute shortage of
drinking water in the village. The inhabitants of the Lakhani village were
dependent on traditional water source “Arsa Gadhera” and an old water supply scheme
to fulfill their demand of water supply.
The village was selected under Uttarakhand
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation program (URWSSP) in the year 2007-08 on the
demand of the community for the construction of new water supply scheme in
their village. The villagers decided to embark upon demand driven approach
(DDA) after being convinced about the merits of DDA Vs Supply Driven Approach
(SDA). A single village scheme catering to all the habitations except one
habitation was conceived and executed in the year 2011-12. Since then the water
supply scheme is being effectively and efficiently operated and maintained by the
User Water & Sanitation Sub Committee (UWSSC) It is a classical example of
“Unity in Diversity” The perceptions of Villagers of these habitations were
changed by adopting the best practices of URWSSP. The case study of village Lakhani is significant
due to various reasons including; (i) community participation in all phases of
the project; (ii) ownership among villagers; (iii) transparency right
from the conceptual stage to exit stage; and (iv) institutionally and
financially Sustainable .
Background:
The 73rd Amendment of
the Constitution of India came into force in 1993, which ensured conferment of
powers and responsibilities to Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI's) for local
self-governance. The state of Uttarakhand has been a front runner in the
devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to PRI institutions since
2003. This state has the distinction of implementing World Bank assisted Rural
Water Supply & Environmental Sanitation Project based on demand driven
approach during 1996 to 2003. The current project “Uttarakhand Rural Water
Supply & Sanitation Project” (URWSSP) has been effective since December,
2006. The current project is based on Sector Wide Approach which essentially
means application of uniform policies and procedures irrespective of source of
financing. The water supply scheme of the village was implemented under URWSSP.
The case study of the village Lakhani covers salient features of the
implementation of the water supply scheme.
Distinctive features of Village Lakhani:
Village Lakhani of Block Garur,
District Bageshwar having 297 households (population 1829) is scattered in 24
habitations. This village is situated at about 40 km away from district head
quarter- Bagehswar at an altitude of 1050 meters above mean sea level (MSL). There are
297 households having a population of 1829. The literacy rate of the village is
quite high- 75%. The temperature varies between 30°C to 40°C (during summer)
and between 5°C to 8°C (during winter). Most of the villagers are dependent on
agricultural land for subsistence.
Description
of the water supply scheme:
The residents of the Lakhani village
were dependent on “Arsa Water Supply Scheme” constructed by the Uttarakhand
Peyjal Nigam in the year 1984 and maintained by Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan. The
water supply scheme became inadequate as regards to availability of per capita
water supply due to population growth, gap between demand and supply, frequent
breakdowns and untimely redressal of complaints. Thus, the villagers became
totally dependent on a local water source “Arsa Gadhera” whose water could not
be classified as clean and potable water. These were the compelling reasons for
the community to switch over to demand responsive approach in order to improve
their water supply system. The community of the village through a GP resolution
requested the local district implementation unit of the URWSSP to include their
village for improvement in water supply and sanitation service. Thus, the
village was selected under the project during the year 2007-2008.
Processes Followed:.
Prefeasibility:
It was found during
Prefeasibility that (i) villagers of Lakhani were having acute shortage of
drinking water; and (ii) villagers were willing to contribute towards partial
capital cost and cent percent O&M responsibility cost.
Planning
Phase:
The
Planning Phase agreement with the support organization- Hill Welfare Society,
Garur, Bageshwar was entered in to on 19-06-2007. The Planning duration was six
month. The Support Organization (SO) deployed its team comprising community
facilitator, engineer, community worker, etc. for dissemination of project
principles and procedures leading to community mobilization and preparing
villagers for implementation of water supply scheme. The User Water &
Sanitation Sub Committee (UWSSC) comprising 12 members was constituted for
management and execution of the water supply scheme. The UWSSC gave due
importance for inclusion of women representatives and Schedule Caste members.
Various technical options were discussed in the community wide meetings and
“Agree-to-do Meeting”. The discussions on technical options included Gravity, Pumping, RWHT, Reorganization of existing scheme
etc. Finally, gravity based scheme from the Arsa Gadhera was unanimously
approved by the community. The
availability of discharge in the Arsa Gadhera was found to be around 156-200
LPM throughout the year which was sufficient to meet the water demand of the
village. The culmination of the Planning Phase resulted in preparation of
Detailed Project Report (DPR) amounting to F 49.97 lakh.
Implementation Phase:
The
Implementation Phase Quadruple Agreement (IPQA) became effective since 10th
July, 2008. The water supply scheme was commissioned on 4th April,
2011. Following works were done in this phase: (i) Source work: Installation of
French Well; (ii) Storage work (RCC): 6 Reservoirs of different
capacities; (iii) Supply
Network: 5990 Mtr.; (iv) Distribution Network: 9457 Mtr. And (v) Public Stand
Post: 62
·
Operation and Maintenance Phase:
The district
level project functionaries built the capacity of UWSSC members and PRI members
for routine operation and maintenance of the scheme and also account management
and financial management. Thus, it was a phase where emphasis was on
handholding of the UWSSC and GP. The operation and maintenance phase activities
were completed in August, 2011. Since then the scheme is being operated and
maintained by the UWSSC under the guidance of GP. .
Evidence of
Performance:
· The
scheme is running satisfactorily and meeting its recurring cost without any
external support from the government since August, 2011.
· The O&M is being done by the UWSSC.
· The beneficiaries are contributing F 15 per month per family as user charges to the O&M account of UWSSC.
· The UWSSC has been able to generate surplus funds to the tune of F 40000.00 (Forty thousand) after meeting all its liabilities of
O&M.
· Community wide meeting are regularly organized to share income and
expenditure before the villagers which reflect the full transparency in O&M
of the scheme.
· Times to time meetings are also organized by the DPMU Officials to
provide support/guidance to the Gram Panchayat for smooth functioning/operation
of scheme.
· Every
family/beneficiary of the village is fully following rules/regulation made by
UWSSC.
· The
active participation and contribution of women as a UWSSC member and in a
community meeting is highly appreciable.
· The
UWSSC also resolves the disputes at the village level and involves the
villagers to contribute their efforts for scheme operation.
· The
transparency at every stage has largely contributed towards community
satisfaction and ownership.
Factors of
Success:
Main factors which reflect
the effective implementation of successful operation & maintenance by UWSSC
Lakhani are:
(i) Phasewise construction: The appropriate training and
information provided at every step/phase i.e. Pre-feasibility, Planning phase, implementation
and O&M of scheme cycle as per the policy of Sector Program play a key
factor of success of lakhani water supply scheme.
(ii) Community Participation: Owing to complete community
participation approach as per the policy of URWSSP villagers get benefited by
knowing their role in participation and construction of water supply scheme.
This factor created feeling of ownership and willingness towards active
participation in their constructive approach.
(iii) Transparency: Keeping transparency factor in
mind set of User water and sanitation
subcommittee regarding DPR cost, financial record, testing of water sources
through Field test Kit, wall writing etc during pre and post construction of
water supply scheme greatly emphasized by the support organization and district
unit.
(iv) Accountability: Community participation and
transparency develop the feature of accountability among the villagers of
Lakhani. Keeping the view of above approach community is actively participating
in source sustainability catchment area work, soak pit, construction, providing
drainage facility etc. with their mutual concern.
(v) Mutual Coordination: As per the policy of sector
program the community contribute in terms of cash and labor (capital
contribution) during pre and post (as per UWSSC-O&M, policy document)
construction of water supply scheme. This particular factor creates feeling of
unity and self-esteem to develop thoughts of coordination in ideal environment
for community of Lakhani.
(vi) High Quality: User Water Supply and Sanitation Sub Committee is
fully responsible for good quality water supply scheme construction as per the
policy of sector program. The members of Vigilance and supervision /account
audit committee are actively participating in their portfolio to ensure the
quality work.
(vii) Feasibility: Keeping the view of long term sustainability and
operation of water supply scheme the collection of Operation and Maintenance
(O&M) cost has been regularly collected by the UWSSC.
(viii) Resolution of conflict at
village level:
As per the policy of sector program the conflict regarding water supply schemes
are resolved at UWSSC level itself.
Lesson learned:
Effective
institutional arrangement and involvement of community in decision making can
create willingness and ownership factor among villagers. The proper delegation
of responsibility generates tremendous interest in managing physical and
financial arrangement effectively as well. The ownership feelings derive from
the involvement of the community in identifying the water source, planning of
the water supply scheme, community contracting and procurement process,
operation and maintenance.
The
Swajal Project-II has added new dimensions and perspectives to the development
of the village. The time saved in fetching water is being used for other
productive works helping community to improve their financial status. Every
household is maintaining a kitchen garden and producing green vegetables for
their own consumption. This is resulting in considerable savings in earlier
expenditure on green vegetables. The cattle are also getting safe water for
drinking and this has resulted in higher milk yields and low incidence of
animal diseases. This is also transforming into health benefits for the
children. The views on ways of living have totally changed in the village.
Swajal Project has brought a bright smile on the faces of the villagers.
References i) Officials of District project management unit; ii)
Implementation phase report; iii) Sector Information System iv) UWSSC; O&M
records;
Special Thanks: Mr. V. K. Sinha, OSD
Author: Mr. Alok Semwal, M & E Specialist, Co Author - Mr.Deep
Chandra Punaetha; Project Manager; District Project Management Unit; Swajal
Project; Khaetwal Bhawan; Block Road; Kathayatbara Bageshwar-26342; e-mail: dpmu_bag@rediffmail.com; Mobile.No. 9756705868.
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