In the midst of green valleys, alarge number of Kerala’s scenicvillages face acute drinking water

shortage. Ollavanna andPantheerankavu in Kozhikodedistrict would have remained twosuch villages had the localcommunity not decided to takematters into its own hands.

In 1987, when villagers ofOllavanna Gram Panchayat startedcollecting funds for their own minipiped water schemes, just threesmall water supply schemesconstructed and operated by theKerala Water Authority (KWA)existed in the village. These suppliedwater to about 1,000 households –only a quarter of the total population

of the panchayat – through 25 publicstandposts and 42 privateconnections. Besides, operation and

Water no longer a pipe-dream inKerala villagesA gram panchayat shows the way by getting people to pay for their ownwater supply schemes

maintenance of these systems wasalways a problem.

Faced with an acute water supplyproblem, the people of Ollavanadecided to intervene and experimentwith operating a rural piped water

supply scheme withprivate resourcesand funds.

The scheme,initiated in 1987,works on fairlysimple principles. Acooperative societyis formed, whichcharges amembership fee ofanything betweenRs 4,500 toRs 12,500 perfamily, depending onthe cost of the

scheme. A typical scheme has anintake well, overhead tank and adistribution system with householdconnections. Expertise, material andlabor are sourced locally. Poorerfamilies pay their contributions ininstallments.

Once the schemes are up andrunning, operational improvementshave followed automatically.Different schemes have distinct, butequally simple, procedures forconsumption, maintenance andbilling. Even technology has beengeared to meet local needs. InKambiliparamba, the societyeliminated the need for a pumpoperator by installing a sensor-based switching system that startsthe pump when water in the tankfalls below a certain level and stopsit when full.

INNOVATIVE INITIATIVE

Vol 2 No 4 October-December 1999

1

a newsletter on rural

water and sanitation

in India

A public standpost

One of the bigger private schemes

The by-laws of the typical societyrunning the water supply schemeshave also evolved over time and withexperience. Every year, the generalbody (GB) elects an executivecommittee (EC) whose office bearersrun the scheme. The EC’s accountsand annual report are scrutinized bythe GB. The societies have worked

out institutional arrangements forholding GB meetings, finances, newconnections/transfers or evendissolution of the society. Normallythe assets of a dissolved society arehanded over to a newly registeredsociety and not divided amongstthe members.

It has been the experience of the

l It is nice to read somany articles that focuson positive aspects ofwater supply andsanitation. To my mind,water control needs to beenacted at the lowestlevel of governance, whichis the panchayat. Withincreasing empowermentof panchayats, there isnow a real chance forthese local self-government bodies tostart playing their roleeffectively.

BarrBarrBarrBarrBarry Undery Undery Undery Undery Underwoodwoodwoodwoodwood

Chief Executive

Aga Khan Rural Support

Program – India

Ahmedabad

l Gujarat Mahila Housing

SEWA Trust’s membership

includes SEWA Union and

SEWA Bank. Our major

objectives include improving

housing, infrastructure and

overall living conditions for

poor women working in the

informal sector. The issues

covered in Jalvaani fit in very

well with our work, and we

find it very informative and

reader-friendly.

RRRRRehana Jhabvalaehana Jhabvalaehana Jhabvalaehana Jhabvalaehana Jhabvala

Executive Trustee

Mahila Housing Sewa Trust

SEWA, Ahmedabad

l I would like tocongratulate you for yourefforts to disseminateinformation on the waterand sanitation sectorthrough Jalvaani. TheUnion Cabinet’s decision

to promote community-based demand responsiveapproach in this sector islaudable. However, resultscan only be achieved ifstate governments aremade to implement therecommendations. For thisa “carrot and stick policy”will have to be applied.

B.R. BansalB.R. BansalB.R. BansalB.R. BansalB.R. Bansal

Chief Engineer (Rtd)

Punjab PHED

Panchkula

l We would like to thankyou for sending usJalvaani. It was veryeducative and gave ussome new ideas.

M.S. JayalakshmiM.S. JayalakshmiM.S. JayalakshmiM.S. JayalakshmiM.S. Jayalakshmi

Coordinator

Grama Vikas, Kolar

societies that once an initiative islaunched, funds are not a majorproblem. They have come fromprivate sources.

Their success is now a shiningexample of what user interventioncan do where government agenciesfail. The experiment has caught thepopular imagination in Ollavannaand today 26 water supplycooperatives are up and running inthe panchayat and another six are inthe pipeline.

Villages like Ollavanna andKambiliparamba have proved that‘willingness to pay’ and ‘willingnessto charge’ for better services gohand in hand. The local communityhas de-mystified technology andshown that local initiatives can anddo succeed. The community doesnot have to run after politicians andbureaucrats when it can put up itsown commercially viable services.The experiments have also shownthat the private schemes are betterconstructed, better maintainedand more cost-effective thanthose heavily subsidized or runby the state. n

SANISTAT

Cooperative members display their scheme

ERRATA: On page 6 of

Jalvaani (Vol 2 No 3) it was

wrongly reported that the

maximum subsidy for low

cost latrines was Rs 625. It is

actually Rs 500. We regret

this error. – Editor

With

Latrines

25%

Without

Latrines

75%

Did you know that 75 percentof rural Indians do not havelatrines?

2

WATER FOR INDIA’S POOR:

WHO PAYS THE PRICE FOR

BROKEN PROMISES?

A study has been conductedby the WSP–SA to analyzewhat has become of thepromises made sinceindependence to provide thepoor free and safe householdwater. Pointing out that alarge number of poor peoplestill do not receive safehousehold water, the studyfocuses on ‘willingness topay’ and ‘unwillingness tocharge’. The study has comeout with the followingconclusions:l Large number ofpeople, supposedlyunable to afford safewater, still do not receiveit, and have to pay if theydo receive it.l The huge subsidiesallocated to the sectorprimarily benefit thebetter-off.l The public authoritiesresponsible for serviceare generally ineffective.

Jalvaani believes in highlighting positive stories andbringing to our readers best practices and innovationshappening in the rural water supply and sanitation sector(RWSS) in remote corners of the country.

Feedback received by the Editorial Board indicates thatour “positive stories” are being well received and in thisissue, too, we focus on successful innovations andinitiatives, which have the potential to evolve into bestpractices in the sector.

The cover story is on village-level initiatives in RWSSin Kerala. The Ollavanna project highlights that the GramPanchayat and the local community have succeeded inresolving local water supply problems through aninnovative cooperative scheme, which can be replicatedacross the state. It is also perhaps the only case in thecountry where the local community has been able to raise100 percent capital cost as well as successfullyimplement O&M with 100 percent community contribution.The interview in this edition of Jalvaani shows how activeinvolvement of women through panchayats has madeRWSS more sustainable.

Another important story in this issue is on Self-Employed Masons (SEMs) in Orissa. Under the SEMscheme, local artisans, for a regular payment, will lookafter repair and maintenance of hand pumps. The schemewill not only generate employment for local youth but willpossibly make O&M of hand pumps sustainable. Theactive involvement of panchayats is another positiveaspect of this exercise as is UNICEF’s role in facilitatingthe process.

The NGO story focuses on the SWAJAL experience inUttar Pradesh. It highlights the fact that hygieneawareness campaigns go a long way in motivating andguiding the local community to achieve total sanitation.This has come out of the experience in Banna village inNainital district.

In parts of West Bengal, arsenic in ground water hasincreasingly becoming a problem. A number oforganizations and funding agencies are involved intackling this issue. Jalvaani’s technology section briefsreaders on two of the cheapest and most cost-effectivemethods of treating arsenic-contaminated water.

And remember, Jalvaani is meant to be an interactivejournal, so please do send us your comments andsuggestions.

P.V. Valsala Kutty

Director

Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission

Government of India

NEWS BRIEFS

NOTICE BONOTICE BONOTICE BONOTICE BONOTICE BOARDARDARDARDARD

Editorial Board: P.V. Valsala Kutty and Parameswaran IyerEditorial Consultant: Satyajit SinghContributions, comments, suggestions and requests for subscriptionmay be sent to:INSDOC, c/o RGNDWM, Block 11, 6th Floor, CGO,New Delhi 110 003, Tel: 436 1656, 1950 & 2106; Fax: 436 3152;Email: rgndwm@sirnetd.ernet.inIndia Country Team, WSP-SA, 55 Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110 003Tel: 469 0488 & 0489; Fax: 462 8250; Email: wspsa@worldbank.org

editorial

0

l State Water Minister’s

Workshop on Rural Water

Supply Policy Reforms in

India, December 7-8, Cochin

(Kerala). Hosted by the

Government of Kerala and

the WSP–SA in

association with the

l The recurrent financialand investmentrequirements of the sectorvastly exceed the publicfunds likely to be available.

NEW DEPARTMENT OF

RURAL WATER SUPPLY

Provision of safe drinkingwater to people in ruralareas is top priority for theGovernment of India. Tofocus attention on thesubject, it has created anew Department of RuralWater Supply in theMinistry of RuralDevelopment and hasappointed Mr S.K. Tripathias its first Secretary.

WATERTOON

World Bank Institute and

the World Bank.l A meeting of the Global

Water Partnership will be

held at The Hague,

Netherlands, in March 2000.

A preliminary meeting will

be held in November 1999

in Gujarat.

Poor maintenance is a problemthat has dogged many of the150,000-odd hand pumps

constructed by Orissa’s Rural WaterSupply and Sanitation (RWSS)Organization. Many of them havenot been in use for years, despitethe fact that simple repairs couldeasily put them back in operation. Itis against this backdrop that thestate government decided to handover repair and maintenance of thehand pumps to the panchayats,hoping that the user communitywould be more effective.

The two-tier structure for themaintenance and repair of handpumps in rural Orissa is an outcomeof nearly 10 years of experiments inUNICEF and DANIDA projects inthe state.

At the base of the system is theself-employed mechanic (SEM),selected by the gram panchayat

STSTSTSTSTAAAAATESTESTESTESTES

ORISSA

The maintenance person lives in the village

from among localartisans. The SEM willbe given trainingbefore he or she ishired and will be paidRs 15 per month foreach hand pump in hisor her charge. EachSEM will be given acharge of maintaining20 to 25 pumps.

The SEMs willcarry out all minorrepairs and the RWSSOrganization willprovide the spareparts. But it will bethe gram panchayat,which will be responsible for theoverall management and monitoringof the hand pumps and hire theSEMs. A sub-committee of thepanchayat, the village-level waterand sanitation (WATSAN)committee, will assist the grampanchayats and ensure that thereis community participation inthe project.

A mobile RWSS team for eachblock, comprising a junior engineerand technical staff, constitutes thesecond tier of the structure. Thismobile team takes care of all majorrepair works.

UNICEF is assisting the Orissagovernment in handing over O&M ofhand pumps to panchayats in thedistricts of Ganjam, Phulbani,Kandhamal and Puri.

UNICEF usually providestraining, tool kits and spare parts tosupport the SEMs. If the SEM is awoman, she gets a bicycle as well.

All the stakeholders agree thatthe project so far has been a greatsuccess. In Ganjam district, a totalof 68 SEMs have already been

trained and in Kukudakhandi andRengailunda blocks, hand pumpshave been handed over to a total of47 SEMs. In seven other blocks inthe district, SEMs are undergoingtraining. It is estimated that aSEM would, on an average, earnRs 400 to Rs 500 per month throughthe scheme.

But like all new projects, this onetoo has its teething problems. ThePanchayati Raj and RuralDevelopment Department aresupposed to share the cost ofpaying the SEMs for the first threeyears, but the governmentdepartments have not been in aposition to pay the mechanics fortheir services.

UNICEF is now assisting byproviding the initial payments underan agreement that the governmentwould refund it. It is also helpingtowards setting up of repair andmaintenance funds under theWATSAN committees. Thesefunds would provide paymentsfor the SEMs and also pay forminor repairs. n

4

Orissa government hands over maintenance and repair of hand pumps toself-employed mechanics

Women SEM’s repairing a hand pump

Woman SEM checking her tools

It was not surprising that it tooklonger than usual to plan asanitation project for Banna

village. Sanitation projects have hadlimited success in the hills.Therefore, in Banna, as in other hillareas, the target for sanitation hasbeen kept at 50 per cent.

Situated in Dhari block ofNainital, Uttar Pradesh, Banna is avillage that spans an altitude rangeof 600-1,800 meters above sealevel. The Central Himalayan RuralAction Group (CHIRAG) startedwork in this village in the first batchof the Uttar Pradesh Rural WaterSupply and EnvironmentalSanitation Project (SWAJAL) in1996. Under the HygieneEnvironmental Sanitation Awareness(HESA) campaign, efforts weremade to give a 100 per centhousehold sanitation coverage tothe village.

The first step was the formationof a Village Water and SanitationCommittee (VWSC). Twelvehamlets in the village were identifiedby CHIRAG and discussions held toexplain the objectives of SWAJAL

NGONGONGONGONGOsssss

Total sanitation by deft planningVillagers of Banna get together to make an uphill task look easy

and the role of the VWSC. Eachcluster then chose a representative.Once meetings and selections werecompleted, a general meeting of therevenue villages was called to ratifythe choice of representatives. Thegram pradhan and otherrepresentatives of the panchayatwere also invited.

The 12-member VWSC wasadequately represented by allsections of society with four womenand three SC/STs on it. Thecommunity selected all office-bearers. The VWSC members weregiven extensive training by CHIRAGin the planning stages to give themthe capacity to handle project-planning activities includingconstruction of demonstration unitsfor latrines and soak pits.

As the HESA campaign was well-received, the initial plan was toconstruct 143 latrines to cover 90per cent of Banna village. Howeveras the implementation phaseprogressed, every one of the 155households in the villageconstructed latrines. All householdsalso constructed soak pits, and most

constructed a bathroom adjoiningthe latrine. The constructionsexceeded the initial plan drawn upby the villagers. The VWSC wasactive in motivating and guiding thepeople, and when constructionstarted, the VWSC, along withCHIRAG, supervised the activitiesand ensured quality control.

The success of the SWAJALproject in Banna has had a positiveimpact on nearby villages that arenow being covered under the nextbatch of the project. These villages,which have completed their planningphase, are extremely enthusiasticabout SWAJAL. They have not onlydeposited the cash contribution, buthave also collected the localmaterial required for theconstruction of hardware items. Thesuccess of the project in Banna canbe attributed to the people’s activeacceptance of the HESA campaignand their desire to improve theirquality of life. Other Bannas in themaking are shattering the myth thatsanitation has a limited coverage inthe hill areas. n

Keeping the surroundings of his latrine clean

6

WSP-SA, funded by the

UK Department for

International

Development (DFID),

endeavors to assist select state

governments translate

Government of India (GOI)

Policy Reforms in the Rural

Water and Sanitation Sector

(RWSS) into ground reality.

These policies of the GOI

promote a strategy for

achieving accelerated coverage,

improved sustainability and

improved water quality. Key

reform issues include greater

community participation,

increased cost recovery from

user charges and decentralized

authority from state level to

Panchayati Raj and community

level. It is believed that many of

these reforms can be realized

through demand-responsive

approaches.

The objective of the three-

year project is to assist in

building capacity in two states

to implement institutional

reforms to improve the

performance and sustainability

of rural water and sanitation

projects.

The DFID-funded program

proposes to initiate a multi-

pronged intervention at the

national, state and district level

including:l Promoting an enabling

environment for RWSS policy

reforms at the GOI and state

level through national, state and

district-level workshops,

Translating policy reformsto reality

The Ninth Five Year Plan continues

to promote the reform agenda in the

water sector. It enunciates some key

principles such as water being managed as

a commodity and not as a free service;

adopting a demand responsive and

participatory approach to service delivery;

and users being allowed to levy charges to

cover full O&M costs. Twenty per cent of

the funds under Accelerated Rural Water

Supply Program are being released to

states willing to adopt a demand

responsive approach in the collaborating

pilot districts identified so far.

l Andhra Pradesh: Chittoor, Guntur,

Mahbubnagar

l Arunachal Pradesh: Lohit, West Siang

l Assam: Kamrup, Sonipur, Jorhat

l Bihar: Dhanbad, Vaishali

l Gujarat: Rajkot, Mehsana, Surat

l Haryana: Gurgaon, Rohtak

l Himachal Pradesh: Sirmour

l Jammu & Kashmir: Srinagar, Udhampur

l Karnataka: Bellary, Mysore, Mangalore

l Kerala: Malappuram

l Madhya Pradesh: Sehore, Gwalior

l Maharashtra: Dhule, Amravati, Nanded,

Raigarh

l Manipur: Thoubal

l Meghalaya: Ribhoi, East Khasi

l Mizoram: Aizwal South

l Nagaland: Kohima, Dimapur

l Orissa: Koraput, Ganjam & Bolangir

l Punjab: Bhatinda, Moga

l Rajasthan: Ajmer, Barmer, Sikar, Jaipur

l Sikkim: Sikkim South, Sikkim West

l Tamil Nadu: Coimbature, Vellore,

Cuddalore

l Tripura: West Tripura, South Tripura

l Uttar Pradesh: Lakhimpur-Kheri,

Baharaich, Aligarh, Rai Bareilly

l West Bengal: Midnapur, North 24

Parganas

l Andaman & Nicobar: Andaman

RGNDWM

Piloting reforms

FUNDING AGENCIESFUNDING AGENCIESFUNDING AGENCIESFUNDING AGENCIESFUNDING AGENCIES

6

publication of a quarterly

newsletter.l Helping build institutional

capacity to analyze/formulate

and implement policy reforms in

two states. Setting up a Policy

Support Cell and strengthening

a state training institution to

provide human resource

development and training to the

different stakeholders to

operationalize the new

approach at the state level.l Helping these two states

actually implement the policy

reforms on a pilot scale, which

would later lead to replication

across the state.

Through its activities in the

pilot districts in two states,

WSP-SA hopes to set a high

standard in pilot design,

capacity building,

implementation and monitoring

that will be either adapted or

replicated in the other pilot

districts across the country. As

the RGNDWM is piloting the

GOI reform process in 58

districts across India, the WSP-

SA project will run in

conjunction with the activities

of the RGNDWM and the state

governments that are

implementing the reform

process. It is hoped that, with

the creation of an enabling

environment for the reforms in

the two states, the state

governments may be able to

attract large investments to

promote efficient and

sustainable RWSS services. n

RGNDWM

WSP-SA – DFID

7

The presence of arsenic ingroundwater poses a serioushealth hazard in several

regions in rural West Bengal, whereaquifers are the main source ofdrinking water.

Arsenic is a heavy toxic metal andingestion of amounts beyond 0.05milligrams per liter of water cancause abdominal pain, diarrhoea,muscular cramps, weakness, and inmore severe cases, ulcers, skindisorders, neurological problems,peripheral vision and even skincancer leading to deaths in extremecases. Symptoms of arsenicpoisoning can take eight to 14 yearsto manifest in a person. If caughtearly, however, the poisoning can bereversed.

Currently, experiments are beingundertaken with a number of arsenicmitigation technologies. The basicmethods involve oxidation-coagulation-flocculation-sedimentation-filtration.

Two of the cheapest and most

Removing arsenic from drinking water iseasier than one thinks

TECHNOLTECHNOLTECHNOLTECHNOLTECHNOLOGOGOGOGOGYYYYY

cost effective methodsare described here.

BUCKET TREATMENT

METHOD

(COAGULATION AND

PRECIPITATION)

The bucket treatmentmethod is simple andcost effective. Based onthe chemical behavior ofarsenic in water, thebucket-type chemicaltreatment was designedto develop a method toremove arsenic fromwater. The method usesa ratio of chlorineor potassiumpermanganate and alumto treat ground water forarsenic removal. Thewater is collected in a bucket andthe chemicals are mixed andrigorously stirred. After a few hours,the arsenic sludge settles down atthe bottom of the bucket. The

arsenic-freewater is thendrained out fromthe top.

This method issimple and cheap,(Rs 120 perannum perfamily), but thepoor quality ofchemicalsavailable in theopen markettends to limit itsimpact.

WATER FILTER

METHOD

(ACTIVATED

ALUMINA)

The waterfilter has twochambers. The

upper chamber has a nylon bagcontaining activated alumina (AA).The nylon bag makes it easier towithdraw the entire mediumwhenever needed either forregeneration or washing. Thenylon bag usually has a perviousbottom and impervious sides. Theupper chamber is fitted with a flowcontrol orifice and a nozzle at thebottom to achieve the desiredcontact time between the mediumand the water. One batch of AA(either fresh or regenerated) canserve for a number of months,giving a daily output of about 50liters. There are a number oftypes of AA available in themarket and selection depends onthe level of arsenic in the water.Poor quality AA can make thefilter process ineffective. AA canbe substituted by activatedcarbon, hydrated ferric oxide orsilicon oxides. A major drawbackof the filter is that it tends to getclogged. Efforts are underway totackle this problem. n

BUCKET TREATMENT METHOD

7

WATER FILTER METHOD

8

A newsletter

jointly produced by:

Rajiv Gandhi NationalDrinking Water MissionGovernment of India

RGNDWM

Water and SanitationProgram–South Asia

WSP-SA

JalvaaniJal means water and vaani, voice.

This newsletter aims at communicating key

themes and messages on water and sanitation

to different stakeholders in India.

Produced by Media Workshop India Pvt Ltd.

INTERVIEWINTERVIEWINTERVIEWINTERVIEWINTERVIEW

Power to the people

8

What do you think of the recent

efforts of decentralization?

Power should be with thepeople, especially in the waterand sanitation sector. We haveseen that state agencies like theKWA have limitations. Thanks tothe decentralization program, wehave already constructed 1,000latrines in our panchayat. Weneed another 3,700 latrines inorder to achieve total sanitation(population 40-45,000). As wedecide on how to use a largeproportion of the state finances,we can draw up programs tomeet our needs. For instance,when the government and donor programs talk ofsanitation, they only mention latrines. However, we arealso taking steps for solid waste management (SWM)as part of the campaign to achieve total sanitation. Withall the waste now being dumped in the rivers andcanals, SWM is a major issue for Kerala panchayats.

Do the poor really have a voice and choice or are the

panchayats being run by the elite and a partisan political

party?

As the Socio-Economic Unit Foundation (SEUF), anNGO, has worked with this panchayat for the last threeyears, it has already introduced the concept of people’sparticipation here. We are not talking to politicians, bethey UDF or LDF members. We are talking tobeneficiaries of the programs. In our panchayat, wehave 40 neighborhood groups. Each neighborhood group

Mrs P.D. Malathi, President, Mararikulam South Panchayat, Alappuzha Dist, Kerala

sends three participants (includingone woman) to the water andsanitation (WATSAN) committee.The WATSAN committee meets atleast twice or thrice a year. Withthe people involved in the decision-making, there is no question ofelite rule.

Was it difficult to get elected as a

woman?

Our government has made surethat 33 percent of gram panchayatpresidents are women. However,my panchayat is not a reservedseat (for women). I was electedbecause I am aware of the needs

of the people in the panchayat and have worked for anumber of years for their good. Many of the issues thatwe deal with in the panchayat level are concerns ofwomen, like water and sanitation. I encourage both menand women to participate in the panchayat programsand the women can easily approach me with theirproblems. Involving women in the planning process iscritical.

Should panchayats be asking the villagers to contribute

towards the cost of infrastructure projects?

We get limited funds from the government and arenot able to meet all the demands of the people. As thepeople themselves decide on how to use these fundsthey have to make choices. Everybody wants thegovernment to provide free rural infrastructure.However, this is not always possible. n

ISSN 1564-6823