Drinking Water

Factors affecting the successful implementation of the water and sanitation initiatives - Case studies from different parts of the country and lessons learnt

This article includes case studies on the successful implementation of the water and sanitation programme from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa
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4 min read

1. Critical investments for 24x7 water supply: Lessons from Ramachandrapuram village in Karimnagar district, Andhra Pradesh

This video describes the critical factors that helped in making Ramachandrapuram village in Karimnagar district in Andhra Pradesh have a continuous 24x7 supply of water for both domestic and drinking purposes, which has been a very unique and successful effort by the village. Mr Bhanu Prakash, the village sarpanch informs us of how this was achieved and what were the critical investments needed.

Source:subramanyamrayapati

As Mr Bhanu Prakesh informs, the power problem in the village was solved by establishing an electricity substation with the support of electricity department while land was contributed by the villagers. It was infact because of the cooperation between the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department and the Electricity department that it was possible to achieve 24X 7 water supply to pumping stations, says Mr Bhanu Prakash. Water tariff for this effort was hiked from Rs 10 to Rs 25 per month.

Rural Water Supply and Sanitation department provided grants for pumping, storage and distribution. Even though the water supply was continuous, households were provided water for only upto 4 hours per day.Water tariff was used for Operation and Maintenance (O&P), repairs, chlorination, replacement of parts etc. Three members were employed from the Gram Panchayat to maintain environmental sanitation while a part of the tariff was also used for payment of these staff. More money was also made available in situation of need in the form of special departmental grants. Investigations were done to make water supply sustainable in the long run, through an understanding of the geology of the area and exploration of water sources and structures to store water and rainwater harvesting through grants from the irrigation department.

The video can be accessed at this link

2. Seven secrets for achieving results in rural sanitation by Gram Vikas


In this video, Mr Sojan Thomas, Manager, Gram Vikas describes the experiences of Gram Vikas in successfully implementing the rural sanitation programme in Orissa.

 

 Source:subramanyamrayapati

He highlights some of the important strategies that can lead to positive outcomes, which include:

  • 100% coverage is important, if one family left out the output is always equal to zero, as even one person can pollute the water source and cause illhealth
  • It is important to create a win win situation,  to achieve the final goal and motivation and the need to smooth out differences to achieve a common goal are very important
  • It is important to ensure that appropriate water and sanitation services reach each and every household
  • Role model villages can trigger change and motivate other villages
  • There is a need to have patience, give adequate time and adequate support and resources for villages to achieve results
  • Cost sharing is a core value, all need to understand that water and toilets cannot be free of cost, but are made sustainable through cost sharing by all
  • It is important that the organisation provides resources that are not available locally. Villagers contribute in terms of local materials and labor.

The video can be accessed at this link

3. Financial arrangements for better WASH services: Lessons from the Jalaswarajya project, Government of Maharashtra

In this video, Mr Hanif Mujawar and Mr Vijay Goregaonkar point at some important lessons that emerged from the project.

 

Source:subramanyamrayapati

These include:

  • Lesson 1: Village water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC) can receive funds directly from the district authorities and execute the approved plans. However, they need support in planning and implementation
  • Lesson 2: Direct support cost at the village water and sanitation committee (VWSC) level is essential. these support costs are meant for taking the services of Support Organisations, technical support Providers (TSPs) who provide technical and managerial support to VWSCs. This cost is 7% of the total budget.
  • Lesson 3: Village action plans should include different components such as infrastructure plans, source stabilisation related interventions, plans for operation and maintenance, capacity building etc.
  • Lesson 4: Women self help groups can play an important role in operation and maintenance of WASH facilities. The tariff includes the service charges of these community based organisations
  • Lesson 5: Costing of WASH services should include community based financial arrangements, cost of support services and systems for operation and maintenance.

The video can be accessed at this link

4. Importance of software component in the WASH

sector


In this video, Dr Ratna Reddy, Researcher, WASHcost discusses the importance of software in achieving sustainability of water and sanitation programmes.

 

 
 
He argues that the relevance and importance of the software component is even more in the sanitation sector, where the success of any programme depends upon a range of behavioural factors such as personal hygiene, education, awareness, socioeconomic and cultural aspects. He argues that sanitation has been receiving less funding till now and that there is an urgent need to give more importance to the software component in sanitation and also increase resource allocation for the software component from the current share of 2% to 3% to 10%

The video can be accessed at this link

5.Importance of support costs in sustainability of WASH: Reflections of Chitra Ramachandran, Principal Secretary, RWSS, AP


In this video, Ms Chitra Ramachandran highlights the importance of software such as IEC, community participation and community responsibility in the successful implementation of the water and sanitation programmes.

 

Source:subramanyamrayapati

She adds that people should appreciate the importance of water as a valuable resource and understand the cost component of water and thus not waste water. She emphasises the importance of giving equal consideration to the software component in addition to hardware while understanding water and sanitation programmes and informs that her job is to achieve harmony or try and bridge the gap between the different levels of implementation of the water and sanitation programmes and the actual people at the ground level.

The video can be accessed at this link

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