Something About Swajal

Ownership through community participation…

Development Alternatives’ Involvement 
Results

The Swajal Project, implemented by the Government of Uttar Pradesh (GOUP) with funding from the World Bank, is a rural water supply and environmental sanitation development project which aims to make a difference in the lives of the poor communities of Uttar Pradesh. Over its six year lifetime (1996-2002), the project will provide access to water and sanitation facilities to 1000 villages in 19 districts in the hill and Bundelkhand regions, and build the capacity of these communities to improve their livelihoods. The overall effect will be an increase in the living standard in rural areas through time savings and income opportunities for women, and improved health, hygiene and gender awareness for all.

Swajal is a unique experiment in community participation and cost sharing. The ultimate sustainability of the water supply and sanitation system depends on the active participation of the villages in all aspects of the development process, including the planning and construction of the system, as well as its daily operation and maintenance. Indeed, the cost sharing component of the project, which requires the villages to carry 10% of the construction and 100% of the operation and maintenance costs, renders the full support of the communities essential to the project’s success.

To assist the villages and ensure that participation is taking place at all levels, the project employs local NGOs to act as Support Organizations (SOs).The SOs are selected by the Project Management Unit (PMU) and are responsible for carrying out the project over the pre-planning, planning and implementation phases. Duties include:

i) Site Selection Selection of the villages is conducted based on ‘transparent’ criteria such as need, technical feasibility, economic viability, social and environmental soundness, and willingness to pay. Chosen communities must also demonstrate a sincere desire to participate in the project and be prepared to take responsibility for the facilities once the project is complete.

ii) Establishment of a Village Water and Sanitation Committee VWSC)

The SO is responsible for facilitating the development of a 7 to 12 member VWSC that is representative of the entire community. By government mandate, women and members of Scheduled Castes/Tribes must comprise 30% and 20% of the committee, respectively. Once created, the VWSC works to mobilize the community and, ultimately, manage the water and sanitation system.

iii) Formation of Women’s Development Initiative (WDI), Hygiene and Environmental Sanitation Awareness (HESA) and Non Formal Education (NFE)

Forming self-help groups and identifying community members for inclusion in training and education programs is an important aspect of the SO’s duties, and is an integral part of the project’s holistic approach to infrastructure development. Effective training and education programs will ensure that the project remains sustainable long after the SO has left the village.

Capacity building is not limited to the rural communities. Participation in the project also benefits the SOs in terms of increasing their experience in community mobilization, improving their training skills and building their engineering capacity with respect to the rural water supply and sanitation sector. It also serves to reinforce the partnership between the NGO, the government and the communities.

The ultimate goal of building the capacity of communities and NGOs in this sector is to facilitate the shift to a more sustainable approach to water supply and sanitation delivery. The first steps towards this new approach involve assisting the GOUP to establish appropriate policy frameworks and strategies. The project will begin this process by conducting special studies to advise the GOUP on how to proceed in improving the capacity of the sector to deliver water supply and sanitation services.  

Development Alternatives’ Involvement

In 1996, Development Alternatives presented a proposal to the PMU and was granted the task of implementing Swajal in the Bundelkhand region of UP. Our goal was simple: by participating in the Swajal project, we would be able to promote sustainable livelihoods in the Bundelkhand and achieve our objective of making rural Indians the custodians of their own future.

We began by assessing the villagers’ interest in the project by visiting several sites and speaking with the communities about their needs and willingness to participate. Over the twelve-month period of the Pre-Feasibility study, we had the opportunity to visit several villages and spent many hours in discussion with the inhabitants. Finally, we submitted an initial list of villages to the PMU. Of these, 26 villages were selected for inclusion in the project.

Once the selection phase was complete, implementation of the project began. The 26 chosen villages were divided into three batches, with 5 villages each in Batch I and Batch II, and 8 villages in Batch III. An additional 8 villages were included in an experimental batch which aimed to explore alternative options for the implementation, such as using the private sector as SOs.

Since work began in 1996, several issues have arisen to challenge the smooth operation of the project. Difficulties in collecting the 10% contribution by the villages, long-standing gender and social equity issues, as well as general impatience on the villager’s part in view of the length of the project have been challenges we have tried to overcome in the field. Based on these experiences, we made recommendations to the PMU to: 

1) collect the village contribution during the pre-feasibility phase and not over the entire course of the project;

2) shorten the pre-feasibility stage as enthusiasm in the project wanes quickly over the course of the one-year period and villagers become impatient and disillusioned;

3) select VWSC members on the basis of their ability to mobilize funds and support for the project during the pre-feasibility stage.

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Results

Despite these setbacks, our efforts so far have met with great success. To date, we have reached over 33,000 people in 26 villages scattered across the Bundelkhand and made significant inroads to our goal of sustainable livelihood creation. Some of the statistics are as follows:

Hardware:
Total no. of villages covered:	26
Total population covered:	33,846
Total no. households covered:	6,507
Piped water scheme: executed in 3 villages, under execution in 3
Total no. new hand pumps installed	81(under installation 107)
Total no. hand pumps repaired	45
Total no. toilets constructed	425
No. toilets under construction	61
No. toilets planned for construction	1,161
Total no. soakpits constructed	189
No. soakpits under construction	19
Total no. compost pits constructed	14
No. compost pits under construction	7
Jobs created:
6 piped water supply schemes	36,000 man days
20 villages with hand pumps	24,000 man days
Enhancement of village economy:
Batch I villages	Rs. 76,07,377.00
Batch II villages	Rs. 11,77,805.00
Batch III villages	Rs. 64,67,451.00

Capacity Building of village community:
VWSC members	260
Village Maintenance Workers (VMW)	26
Village Health Promoter (VHP)	26
Masons	52
Midwives	26
Non Formal Education (NFE) Teachers	80
Beneficiaries of:
NFE	1,170
Women’s Development Initiative (WDI)	520
Hygiene and Environmental Sanitation	680
Awareness (HESA)

Improvement in Quality of Life:

v      access to safe drinking water  

v      reduction in drudgery and time saving in fetching water  

v      reduction in water borne diseases  

v      more time available for child and health care  

v      improved domestic sanitary environment  

v      improved village environment through better disposal of solid and
        liquid waste

v      improved functional and non-formal education level

v      improved women’s participation in decision-making  

v      improved saving culture and income generation through time
       savings and skill up-gradation  

v      improved leadership quality through training and participation  

v      improved self-reliance and problem-solving skills

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