CHAPTER - 4 

OPERATIONAL GUIDELINES FOR SECTOR REFORM PROJECTS FOR IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY BASED RURAL WATER SUPPLY PROGRAMME

(Extracts from the Project Concept Document, as amended)

4.1       Funding of the project 

Funding is governed by paras 3.2.1and 3.4. The fund kept aside for sector reforms is to  be utilised inter-alia for implementation of approved  sector reform projects in identified pilot districts, which would be fully financed by the Govt. of India. .  The unutilised sector reform funds of any state would be given to the states reporting better implementation of sector reforms.  If funds are still not fully utilised, the balance available funds would be distributed to all the eligible States as per the allocation criteria, as additional central assistance under ARWSP(normal).   

As such, normal ARWSP funds allocated to each State should not be utilised for Rural Water Supply activities in the pilot districts once the sector reform pilot project proposal in respect of  identified districts are approved. However, ongoing schemes may be completed under normal programme simultaneously.  

           4.2        Institutional Arrangements 

The State government and its lead sector institution viz. PHED/Water Supply and Sanitation Boards/Nigams/Authority would be the coordinating agency for the project.  However, their role in the project would primarily be that of a facilitator rather than that of an implementor.  An exclusive institutional structure consisting of State-level and district-level and grass root level units would be set up for project implementation.   The salient features of the institutional framework are as under : 

The new institutional framework would: 

(a)       promote adoption of a demand driven and participatory approach to service delivery through maximum empowerment of villagers in decision making on the choice of service levels;

(b)       provide government at State, district and village level (PHED or Water Suppy and Sanitation Boards, Zilla Panchayat and Gram Panchayat) with a facilitating role in scheme selection, and effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms to ensure a high-quality of construction and sustainability of investments;

(c)       ensure the effective integration and co-ordination of project components at the village and district level;

(d)       have sufficient autonomy to take decisions and implement them promptly;

(e)       have an incentive structure conducive to hiring and retaining highly qualified staff;

(f)         have a good mix of professionals from private sector, NGOs and government and reflect an adequate gender balance; and

(g)       be replicable for district-wide and eventually state-wide transformation of service delivery system. 

4.2.1     The State level Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) would be overall responsible for the following: 

(i)     Overall policy guidance

(ii)    Liaison and coordination with various concerned departments of the  State Government and other sector partners

(iii)   Monitoring and Evaluation of the project implementation

(iv)   Ensure coordination among various pilot districts

(v)    Ensuring of Audit by competent authority

(vi)   Interaction with the Central Government 

4.2.2        The role of District Water and Sanitation  Mission (DWSMs)  

(i)    Formulation and management of project implementation in the district and ensuring that the project development objectives are achieved in the district. 

(ii)    Receipt of central funds for the project and its management for effective implementation of the project.

(iii)   Selection, of private sector agencies and/or NGOs on a competitive basis, and  signing MOU with them for project implementation and overall supervision.

(iv)   Sensitizing the Panchayati Raj functionaries, related Govt. officials, local opinion makers, and politicians regarding the merits and modalities of the community managed programme.

(v)    Formation of Village Level Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) at every Gram Panchayat(GP)  level after generation of demand for any particular scheme as per the sector reforms concept.

(vi)   For taking up the scheme under this programme there should be a bi/tripartite agreement between VWSC, GP/Block Level Panchayat Samiti as the case may be and the DWSM.  Contract documents may be prepared by DWSM in consultation with the VWSC and GP.

(vii)  Should tie up with key institutions for imparting training on all aspects of the programme with special emphasis on community managed programme implementation to all levels of stakeholders.

(viii)  Carrying out IEC (awareness) campaign and Training (HRD) activities.

(ix)    Interaction with Government of India.  

4.2.3     Village Water and Sanitation Committees(VWSCs)  

(i)    To be set up after the demand for any particular water supply scheme is generated as per the sector reforms concept explained above. 

(ii)    To be set up in each Gram Panchayat for implementation of Water Supply Scheme of their own choice with active participation of the villagers. In case the scheme covers more than one GP, such Committee may be constituted by involving representatives from all concerned Panchayats.   

(iii)   The membership of a VWSC may consist of about 6 to 12 persons, comprising members of Panchayat.  Women, SC/STs and poor sections of the village may be given due representation in the VWSC.  Provision may also be made for co-option of other stakeholders, subject matter specialists, etc. 

(iv)   This Committee shall function as a Committee on Water and Sanitation of the Gram Panchayat.  In case a scheme encompasses more than one GP, a similar Committee may be constituted under the Block level Panchayat Samiti.  These committees should be an integral part of the Village Panchayat / Block Panchayat for which, if necessary, appropriate amendments in the State Panchayati Raj Acts / Rules / Bylaws may be made. 

(v)    The composition and functions of the VWSCs can be regulated by a set of by-laws under the State Panchayati Raj Acts. 

(vi)   Till such time as States make suitable amendments in accordance with the above for composition and functions of VWSCs, suitable Government orders to that effect may be issued. 

4.2.4            Role of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) 

(i)         ensuring that the GPs take up the issues related to this programme in  each Gram Sabha meeting;

(ii)        ensuring community participation and decision making in all scheme activities;

(iii)        arranging community contributions to capital costs, both in cash and kind (land, labour or materials);

(iv)       opening and managing bank accounts for depositing community cash contributions and for management of project funds that may be solely channelled through them;

·        signing on behalf of the community,  various agreements with the DWSM;

·        planning of water and sanitation activities;

(v)        Procuring construction materials/goods and selection of contractors for construction activities related to RWS and Sanitation sectors;

(vi)       supervision of construction activities related to RWS and sanitation sectors;

(vii)      signing off on all completed works and community development activities;

(viii)      commissioning and eventual takeover of completed water supply and sanitation works through a joint inspection with DWSM;

·        creating hygiene awareness;

·        collection of funds through a tariff system for O&M of water supply and sanitation works;

(ix)       managing and financing of O&M of the services, on a sustainable basis;

(x)        Empowering of women of the villages for O&M and day to day affairs of the scheme;

(xi)       Participation in HRD and IEC activities in other villages after completion of the scheme in own village 

4.2.5            Role of Women 

(i)         The project envisages empowerment of community through VWSCs and GPs. It is a well known fact that collection of drinking water in a village is primarily done by women.  These women can thus involve themselves in implementation of water supply schemes by functioning in close coordination with the VWSCs.

(ii)         To strengthen women’s participation in the project activities, specially in the area of sustainability of the system, formation of user groups comprising exclusively of women in each village may be taken up.   These women groups shall act as sub-committees functioning in close coordination with VWSCs.   Since this approach is new, different methodologies based on local situation may be evolved. Lessons learnt from other programmes may be useful. 

(iii)        The overall objective is to improve the user owned sustainable water supply maintenance system and related sanitation conditions through empowering the women from all sections of the society into the mainstream of water supply maintenance process and the immediate objectives are:

·        to create awareness about the importance of community participation in establishing sustainable water supply maintenance system and maintaining a clean environment ;

·        to sensitise women to take active role in the process of  maintenance  of water supply and sanitation systems;

·        to create a sense of empowerment and ownership responsibilities among the users;

·        to improve the knowledge and transfer technical skills on the preventive maintenance/minor repairs;

·        to identify suitable means for fund raising process and ensuring maintenance fund availability at all times;

·         to create awareness on handling and management of water supply. 

4.3            Sequencing Project Activities  

Scheme Cycle 

During project preparation, a detailed project implementation schedule would be developed for a three-year project implementation period. The project would follow a  scheme cycle not exceeding 36 months consisting of four distinct phases and  a post project completion phase:- 

4.3.1            Institutionalising Phase –Not more than 3  months:  This comprises of - 

Ø       Formation of SWSM, DWSM and DWSC and establish linkages vis-à-vis PRIs 

Ø       Opening of bank accounts for receipt of funds from the Centre at the district level 

Ø       Generation of base line data 

Ø       Identification of NGOs/ training institutes, etc. for various activities 

Ø       Monitoring mechanism to be put in place (familiarising the proforma, questionnaire for obtaining information from the field and submitting information to the Government of India). 

Ø       Initiate action for amendment of State Panchayati Raj Acts/Rules / Bylaws for constitution of VWSC 

4.3.2     Sensitisation and Identification phase - Not more than 12 months: This would involve –  

Ø       Sensitizing and awareness creation among implementers (Government functionaries/ political representatives/PRIs/NGOs/etc.) at all levels through various communication channels about the programme 

Ø       Assessment and analysis of the existing water supply and sanitation systems (village-wise) through primary data collection 

Ø       Analysis and Identification of the villages to be taken up in the various phases depending on demand by the beneficiaries and the available resources.  (a) For Water Supply – each phase may comprise of construction of new schemes, augmentation and/or rejuvenation of the existing system and handing over of the complete (acceptable) system to village Panchayats.  (b) For Sanitation – The phase may comprise of setting up of RSM/Production Centre (PC) as an alternate delivery mechanism - Habitations where implementation is to commence immediately to be identified (preferably NC/PC habitations and those where the success rate is likely to be fast, higher and sure ) and intimated to the Government of India 

Ø       Agencies for IEC, HRD to be identified and intimated to the Government of India along with explanation of HRD and IEC strategy 

Ø       IEC campaign for awareness creation and demand generation 

ü       IEC campaign should clearly give the following messages: 

1.       The beneficiaries will own the assets created;

2.       The government will not maintain the assets created;

3.       This is the one time investment in the district;

4.       On completion of the project, the district will be considered fully covered;

5.       Two or more alternative technologies suitable to a particular area along with information regarding its capital cost, the beneficiary share, the O & M cost, the replacement cost etc. in respect of each technology;

6.       Full O & M and replacement cost and part capital cost is to be borne by the beneficiaries;

7.       Importance of water quality monitoring & surveillance;

8.       Importance and benefits of water recharging activities;

9.       Possible technologies for water recharging activities in the area;

10.   Any other local issues pertaining to the area. 

ü       Various IEC modules to be prepared accordingly giving the above information. 

ü       IEC modules to be prepared in the local language also. 

ü       Agencies for preparation of the above modules and carrying out IEC activity to be identified. 

Ø       Training activities to equip the villagers for implementation and operation and maintenance and management of schemes of their choice 

ü       Training to be given at the following levels: 

1.       Departmental Level 

a)       Behavioural sciences – interaction with the villagers.

b)       Sociological aspects

c)       Importance of traditional schemes – needs to be propagated.

d)       Trainers’ training to train villagers for installation, O & M, water quality testing, water recharging and harvesting technologies

2.       District Level and NGOs 

a)       Managing and supervision of project implementation

b)       Identification and selection of agencies for various activities of the project

c)       Recruitment (on contract basis) of experts as per the requirement

d)       Monitoring of physical and financial progress – collection of data and submission to the Govt. of India

e)       Various IEC campaigns to be carried out and related behavioural sciences – interaction with people.

f)         Record keeping and documentation of project implementation – both progress and process activities. 

2.       Village Level (VWSC) 

a)       Record keeping – financial management, transparency, maintenance of minutes of proceedings of VWSC meetings

b)       Communication with villagers – IEC activities

c)       Technical matters like installation, specification of various components, procurement procedures, contracting procedures, etc.

d)       Matters related to O & M, replacement of the schemes, water quality monitoring, water harvesting structures etc. (during and after implementation of the chosen scheme)

e)       Collection of funds – capital cost share, monthly O & M cost, maintaining its records

f)         Crisis/conflict management 

3.       Villagers (selected/interested villagers) 

a)       Technical matters like installation, specification of various components, procurement procedures, contracting procedures, etc.

b)       Matters related to O & M, replacement of the schemes, water quality monitoring, water harvesting structures etc. (during and after implementation of the chosen scheme)

c)       Collection of funds – capital cost share, monthly O & M cost, maintaining its records

d)       Crisis/conflict management 

ü       Preparation of manuals/modules for the above training including in the local language.  

ü       Identification of agencies for the above agencies and getting it done. 

Ø       Getting the schemes of their choice identified by the villagers (decision making process). 

Ø       Creation of Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC) and opening their accounts. 

4.3.3            Scheme/System Planning - Not more than 9 months: This comprises of  - 

Ø       Rough design and estimation of the water and sanitation schemes/units based on the community’s choice. 

Ø       Consensus on the most appropriate scheme based on affordability and technical feasibility 

Ø       Further awareness and training campaigns for collection of people’s contribution and its deposit in VWSC account 

Ø       Collection of part (percentage to be decided by DWSM in consultation with the VWSC) of the beneficiary’s contribution for starting detailed planning and design of the water supply schemes.  In case of sanitation, it may be as per the Restructured CRSP guidelines (TSC)

Ø       Detailed designing, planning, estimation and seeking approval of the competent authority as decided by the DWSM.  In case of household latrines, it should be as per the beneficiary’s choice and affordability 

Ø       Identification of the contractors and assigning the job for implementation 

Ø       Release of Government share from DWSM to VWSC account  

4.3.4     Implementation and Commissioning/Handing over   - 12 months: This comprises of  –  

Ø       Collection of the balance beneficiary contribution in terms of cash/kind/labour (contribution in terms of labour and kind should be quantified and treated as the cash contribution of such contributors and a proper record of the same must be maintained) 

Ø       Procurement of materials – the VWSCs shall purchase the materials.  No centralised purchasing be done.  However, in exceptional cases and as the situation demands w.r.t. certain items, centralised purchasing may be opted but only with due consultation with the VWSCs.  The DWSM shall guide and assist VWSCs to ensure that standard quality of materials is purchased. 

Ø       Execution of work – actual implementation of the scheme of choice of the villagers 

Ø       Supervision by VWSC and DWSM for water supply and community based sanitation schemes. In case of household latrines, joint supervision by the NGO and the beneficiary 

Ø       Completion, commissioning and handing over of completed scheme to the villagers / PRIs / VWSCs for its continued O&M and replacement. 

Ø       Awareness and training campaigns for water quality monitoring and surveillance 

Ø       Development of data base with updating mechanism 

Ø       Training to VWSC and selected villagers for O & M, etc. as explained earlier at sensitizing stage

Ø       Monitoring and evaluation of the scheme by the VWSC 

Ø       Participation of the VWSC whose scheme has been completed in awareness and training campaigns in other parts of the district 

·        A continuous process of monitoring and evaluation, review and mid-course correction (if any required ) will be carried out by the DWSM, SWSM/State Government, RGNDWM and implementing agencies. 

·        All the above four stages may co-exist at the same time at any given point of time in various places within the same district. 

4.4      Concurrent activities during and post project implementation:   This would involve the following activities –

 ·         Introduce community based appropriate  water quality monitoring and
       surveillance;

·         Development of data base with mechanism of updating;

·         Monitoring and evaluation of all aspects of the project;

·         Analysis of the data base generated and taking up corrective measures, if required; 

4.5            Technology Options and Choices          

As these projects are proposed to be community participation oriented, a part     (minimum of 10% for the proposal with designs   as per the RWSP criteria)  of the capital cost should be borne by the community themselves.  The balance amount would fully be provided by the Government of India.  

The selection of water supply technology for a given locality (e.g. habitation, Gram Panchayat) could be determined by a number of factors, such as technical feasibility (e.g. water quality conditions), user preferences and requirements combined with affordability and willingness to contribute towards implementation, (capital cost), and O & M  

In some cases, specially in the southern and western parts of the country, the limiting factors in relation to technololgy options and choices are mainly related to the scarce groundwater resources and/or the groundwater quality.  

           The principles for the choice of water supply technology should be that: 

i)                  the level of service shall, if at all possible, be in accordance with the user preferences and expressed demands, their level of affordability and their willingness and ability to take active part in planning, implementation and maintenance at village and Gram Panchayat level.  

ii)                The criteria and technologies applied should emphasize least-cost solutions and should allow for flexibility since the community based demand driven approach might call for a flexible interpretation of existing norms.  This implies that minor deviations from the present design criteria and standards should be allowed for, as per the requirement of the community provided they are willing to pay more for the relaxed criteria.   

iii)               Highest priority should be given to rehabilitation and/or extension of existing schemes, whenever feasible, in order to gain most benefit from previous investments.  

In case of sanitation programme the vertical upgradation should be encouraged keeping in view the affordability of the economically weaker sections of the society. 

4.6            Other Issues: 

                ·       The water supply and sanitation, including health and hygiene component
                  for rural schools should form an integral part of the project.

·         Water Quality monitoring and surveillance: The community based water quality monitoring and surveillance involving schools, Institutions viz. Health Department etc. as indicated in the Rural Water Supply Programme guidelines  should also form an integral part of the project.

·         Documentation (both in print & video) of the implementation of the project should be integral part of the project.

Index