Imagine a rural India where every household taps into a lifeline – a reliable source of clean drinking water flowing directly into their homes. This isn't just a dream; it's the ambitious goal of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a flagship program by the Government of India that aims to provide every rural household with a tap connection for clean drinking water by 2024. However, ensuring this lifeline remains strong and steady requires more than just laying pipes.
A recent report, “Policy Suggestions for Enhancing Sustainability of Jal Jeevan Mission Schemes”, delves deep into the complexities of this monumental task. It outlines key challenges and solutions using four focus domains: Physical, Operational, Financial, and Institutional.
Drawing insights from a national symposium held at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) on 2nd November 2023 and consultations with various stakeholders, the report dissects the challenges and offers recommendations. It combines secondary research with field observations across states.
This article explains the four domains in simple terms, shares important recommendations, and shows how state governments can use them to improve water supply policies.
The symposium was anchored along the Four Domain (4-D) framework for analysis of water utilities (A.K. Biswas et al, 2021) to assess the sustainability of rural piped water assets.
This article breaks down these four domains in simple terms, shares key recommendations, and examines how state governments can apply them to improve water supply policies.
The symposium was guided by the Four Domain (4-D) framework for analyzing water utilities (A.K. Biswas et al., 2021), a structured approach to assessing the sustainability of rural piped water infrastructure.
The "Four Domains" framework, outlines the crucial elements for ensuring a sustainable water supply framework.
Physical domain: This domain focusses on the infrastructure and system established to ensure an adequate and sustainable supply of clean water for present and future needs. It emphasises collecting rainwater, recharging groundwater, and treating wastewater. Solutions also include employing technologies suitable for different regions, such as desalination plants in coastal areas or rainwater storage systems in hilly areas.
Operational domain: This domain considers how water is delivered, treated, and stored. It emphasises the role of local communities in managing their water supply, the importance of training workers for daily operations, maintenance, and repairs, and the utilisation of technology to monitor water quality.
Financial domain: This domain focuses on securing the necessary funding to maintain water supply systems. It encompasses planning for financial resources, collecting water usage fees, using grants effectively utilising grants, and managing funds efficiently.
Institutional domain: This domain emphasises collaboration between government departments, village water and sanitation committees, and organisations to ensure smooth operations and strong community involvement.
Physical domain
Source sustainability in piped water schemes must be prioritised, and institutional capacities at the Gram Panchayat level strengthened. This will ensure that source sustainability is integrated into the Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP). Aquifer mapping should be implemented, and Village Action Plans (VAPs) developed as dynamic documents integrated into the GPDP.
A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual should be created to guide efforts in source sustainability and water quality management. Programs like the MGNREGA, Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Swacch Bharat Mission-Grameen 2.0, and Atal Bhujal Yojana should be aligned with the Jal Jeevan Mission to ensure cohesive efforts in rural water supply schemes.
Greywater management should be enhanced through community-level solutions like soak pits and Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS). Region-specific technologies, such as energy-efficient desalination plants in coastal areas and rainwater harvesting systems in drought-prone regions, should be deployed.
Local people should be trained to test water quality and learn how to protect water sources. Finally, high-performing districts and states should be recognised and rewarded for their efforts in source sustainability.
Operational domain
Clear delineation of roles between day-to-day service providers (Anurakshak/Jaldoot/Jal Mitra/Pump Operator) and the local body (Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/Water User Committee (WUC)/Ward Implementation and Management Committee (WIMC)/Pani Samiti) to manage Operations and Maintenance (O&M) is crucial at the village level. Service providers must be accountable to the local body.
Provisions for a Defect Liability Period (DLP) of at least 12 months post-completion is essential to ensure the contractor/agency’s accountability in the smooth and functional operation of the household tap connections as per JJM guidelines for a year before the system is handed over to the Gram Panchayats.
During the Defect Liability Period, VWSCs should be strengthened, and their capacities built to enable them to effectively oversee and manage O&M from the contractor and address grievances. This is critical, as robust involvement of local bodies and communities could not be adequately achieved during the mission mode to establish the piped water supply infrastructure.
Village-level personnel, such as Jal Mitras and Jal Vitaran Sanchalaks, should be trained to manage water systems. Standard Operating Procedures should be developed, particularly for Single Village Schemes (SVS), where the local Field Level Worker (FLW) and local body are responsible for O&M, including minor and major repairs, preventive maintenance, and water quality monitoring.
IoT-enabled systems should be implemented for real-time monitoring of water quality and supply. Mobile water quality labs should be established, and existing testing infrastructure should be modernised.
Financial domain
A comprehensive costing approach should be adopted that accounts for all system costs, including maintenance, manpower, and future asset replacement. Funding sources, such as user tariffs, grants, and local budgets, should be mapped against these costs.
The state’s budget must include a specific budget line item to cover any shortfalls in system costs that cannot be covered by sources such as user fee collection or central government grants, such as those from the 15th Finance Commission.
Electricity charges for piped water should be paid by the Gram Panchayats rather than the states. This practice will help benchmark electricity costs across schemes and incentivise cost savings.
Community acceptance of user charges can be promoted by demonstrating reliable service delivery. Gram Panchayats should be encouraged to create corpus accounts for managing major repairs.
VWSCs should be trained to prepare and manage annual budgets and financial statements.
Fund allocation under the 15th Finance Commission (FC) should be linked to performance metrics, such as tariff collection.
Institutional domain
States should develop and enforce comprehensive policies that encompass source and infrastructure, operational, financial, and institutional sustainability for rural piped water services. These policies should clearly delineate the roles of different government departments, agencies and local governance institutions at various administrative levels.
The gradual handover of responsibilities from implementation agencies to community-based entities like VWSCs can ensure smoother transition and foster capacity building for sustainable management. Capacity building efforts should focus on addressing both small capacity gaps and larger capacity issues, including the creation of an ecosystem for service providers.
A culture of community centric governance should be fostered by conducting regular community meetings to ensure transparency and accountability. Involving women’s self-help groups (SHGs) in operations and revenue collection is crucial.
The role of Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs) during the O&M phase of JJM needs careful consideration. Community mobilisation, building capacities of local bodies, and awareness and behaviour change communication may not have been adequately addressed during the implementation phase of JJM, potentially leading to low community ownership. Therefore, ISAs can play a vital role in addressing these aspects during the O&M phase.
Across the four domains, the role of digital tools needs to be actively explored and leveraged. These tools offer significant opportunities to streamline processes and tasks, while also providing real-time visibility into relevant scheme status information, ultimately supporting sustainable water management.
The sustainability of rural piped water schemes under the Jal Jeevan Mission hinges on a multi-dimensional approach that integrates physical, operational, financial, and institutional considerations. By incorporating the recommendations outlined in this report, state governments can develop robust O&M policies that ensure reliable, equitable, and sustainable drinking water services for rural communities.
This approach emphasises addressing all four domains, strengthening institutions, fostering community participation, capacity building, and exploring innovative solutions. This comprehensive strategy not only facilitates the achievement of the mission’s objectives but also lays the foundation for a resilient water governance framework for the future.