from policy to practice

Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO)

From Policy to Practice:Users as Managers of

Rural Drinking Water Supply Systems

Contents

Gujarat: A Water Scarce State 01Systemic Innovations for Community Engagement 07Building Partnerships 16Information Education Communication 22Capacity Building 30Social Processes for Community Engagement 35Fostering Leadership 49Financial Management 55Operation and Maintenance 60Strategy for Drinking Water Security: Water Resource Management 65Sanitation 75Evaluation Reflections and Social Audit 82Replicable Learnings 99Scaling Up 108Recognitions 121

Gujarat: A Water Scarce State

Gujarat has diverse geological ,hydrological , cl imati c and soi lcondi ti ons, al l of whi ch hadimplications on the status of surfaceand groundwater resources in the State.Most part of Gujarat State comes underscarcity prone area. The distributionpattern of rainfall in the State rangesfrom over 2000 mm in the Dangs inSouth Gujarat to about 200 mm inKutch. Typical geological formationsacross the State make water storage inthe aquifers and percolation for groundwater recharge difficult.

Gujarat has long coastl ine and twohuge gulfs the Gulf of Cambay andthe Gulf of Kutch. The entire LittleRann of Kutch and Greater Rann ofKutch are inundated with saline seawater for a long period of the yearwhich deteriorates the ground waterquality in adjoining areas. In a largearea of the State over drafting ofground water mainly for agricultureand subsequent depletion of aquifershas had a great impact on the wateravailability during the recent past.

From Policy to Practice: Users as Managers of Rural Drinking Water Supply Systems

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Fresh Water Availability

Drinking Water Scenario

The State has 5.96 percent of nationsgeographic area wi th 5 percentpopulation but only 2.63 percent ofcountrys water resources. The per capitafresh water availability in the State as perthe study done in 2001, has beenestimated as 1,137 M3/annum as against


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Fully covered habitation (FC) 25217 Not covered habitation (NC) 166 Partially covered habitations (PC) 9462 Total 34845

the countrys per capi ta renewablefreshwater availability of 2000 M3/annum.Regional variations are also very high. TheSouth and Central Zones, which havemajor rivers like Narmada, Mahi, Tapi,Ambica, Poorna, etc. and forested areas,have 1932 M3 per capita per annum freshwater. (This is equivalent to 70% of thetotal State freshwater availability). InKutch i t i s 875 M3/annum and inSaurashtra, it is 624 M3/annum, whereasNorth Gujarat has lowest freshwateravailability with 427 M3/annum.

In the past 75 years, 26 years weredeclared as drought years. The StateGovernment spent about 125 to 150 crorerupees annually on making emergencyarrangements of drinking water toovercome the scarcity during droughtsupto 2002. People also spent aboutRs.700 to 800 crore on water and socialcost of paucity of water was estimated tobe Rs.2,000 crore per annum. 74 percentof the drinking water supply wasdependent on the groundwater sources.

The water quality problem in terms ofexcessive fluoride and nitrate content aswel l as sal ini ty was observed insignificantly high number of habitationswith Dangs being the only district withoutany quality affected sources. Moreover,new areas were also emerging as beingquality-affected. Recurrent emergence ofnot covered (NC) or particially covered(PC) habitations is observed every time a

fresh survey is carried out in spite oftaking up strong measures to cover thesehabitations. Supply through tankers wasnot a common phenomenon in the Stateduring drought years as well as summermonths during non-drought years. During2000-01, 4054 vi l lages were to besupplied drinking water through tankers.During the drought year of 2000, evenwater trains too had to be run. Thus, theState administration was required to putin lot of efforts and financial resourcesduring drought years for relief measures.

The detailed analysis of the habitationsurvey data (GWSSB, 2003) indicates that10287 habi tations covering a totalpopulation of 11.65 mn,. (34.4 per centof the total State Population) are gettingdrinking water supply at a level of at least40 litres or more per capita per day. Asper the survey conducted in 2003 forascertaining the status of drinking watersupply facilities in the habitations ofGujarat, the status is as under:

In addition to this 7675 habitations werefound to be quality affected having highconcentrations of fluoride, salinity andnitrates. As per this survey, more than 50percent of total habitations were facingeither low water availability or the waterqual i ty problems. State has tried toaddress this situation on a long termbasis by ambitious planning for droughtproofing by creation of Statewide drinkingwater grid for bulk water transmissionfrom sustainable water sources to thedrought prone areas, taking up large scalewater conservation measures andextensive engagement of community formanaging the water supply infrastructureand service delivery at the village level.


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Vision and Mission of WASMO

Vision

To enable rural communities to haveadequate, safe and sustainable drinkingwater supply and improved habitat byensuring empowerment and activecommunity-management of naturalresources, leading to an improvement intheir living standard.

Genesis of WASMO

At the level of Government of Gujarat(GoG), it was decided to create a SpecialPurpose Vehicle for meeting the specificinstitutional needs for facilitation andempowering the user communities in thevillages. However, util the year 2000, nosteps in this direction were taken up. Theobjectives of the Royal NetherlandsEmbassy (RNE) supported GhoghaRegional Rural Water Supply Project(GRRWSP) for 82 villages of Bhavnagardistrict that was designed as a communitymanaged project were not beingachieved. From 1996 to 2000, not evena single Village Water and SanitationCommittee could be formed. The RNEcommissioned Institutional DevelopmentMission consisting of Shri SudarshanIyengar and Mr. Jaap Boomsma noted intheir report that the Gujarat Water Supplyand Sewerage Board (GWSSB) had onlya lukewarm appreciation and receptionfor software part of the project. Themission members blew the whistle andreminded the Government that priorityhas to be accorded to community-managed systems and a paradigm shiftfrom role of provider to that of facilitator.It was t hen considered to create agovernment supported institution thatwould promote, support and monitor thecommunity participation and communitybased management in water andsanitation projects. A software unit calledCoordination, Monitoring and SupportUnit (CMSU) was created. After thesevere earthquake of 26 January 2001,water and sanitation faci l i ties weresubstantially damaged in five districts ofGujarat State, more extensively in Kutch.RNE again expressed interest forsupporting the community-managed

Peoples participation the need of thehour

Gourisankar Ghosh, former Executive Director, WaterSupply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, Geneva andan ex-GoG officer said in the Rainwater International,2001, Mannheim, Germany on 11 September, 2001, thatthe problem at the core was water management throughengineering approach. The development of modern watermanagement science had put all the traditional approacheshidden and in the backyard. Policy-makers were heavilyinfluenced by the large structure proponents. They hadslowly neglected basic principles of water managementthat have been developed by mankind over the centuries.Moving away from the structures which are seen, builtand maintained by people themselves, policy-makers andplanners heavily depended on systems far away frompeople, and converted the management of naturalresources into a simple supply and demand model.

rehabilitation and reconstruction of waterand sanitation facilities in four districtsand the need for setting up a SpecialPurpose Vehicle was felt more strongly.After careful consideration for facilitatingthe community-managed demand drivenapproach, WASMO was set up as aninsti tutional innovation in thegovernment. It is perhaps a uniqueinstitution in the country in the WATSANsector.


Mission

Empowering communities to plan,own, construct, manage and maintaintheir water supply and sanitationfacilities

Ensuring participation of communitiesand women in managing their watersupply and sanitation

Attaining drinking water securitythrough a combination of local andbulk water supply systems along withvillage level infrastructure

Encouraging and empowerment ofcommunities to adopt best practices onlocal water resource management,including rainwater harvesting

Bridging the existing information andknowledge gaps among community on

Excerpts from Institutional Development Mission Report

It is beyond doubt that Gujarat will require infrastructure facilities (hardware) to provide the growingpopulation with water for both productive and domestic use. Intensive efforts of GoG in this respectare laudable indeed. Politicians, administrators and engineers are firmly geared up towards creationof such infrastructure in Gujarat.

Yet, the ground assessment suggests that effective and sustainable water supply, sanitation and watermanagement require more than the current mainstream of business as usual supply of infrastructure.There is already, for some years, a world-wide wave about water supply, sanitation and watermanagement. This water wave manifest during the World Water Forum in March 2000 and in thepolicies declared in Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission (RGDWM), addresses basically the sameset of software issues as GRRWSP does. All major players and actors in the Water and Sanitation(WSS) sector within the Government appear to recognize this water wave well. However, despitesome progress in the software development over some years, the Mission observed that withinthe Narmada, Water Resources & Water Supply (NWR & WS) Department and the Gujarat WaterSupply and Sewerage Board (GWSSB), there is only a lukewarm reception for software development.The Government and the agencies such as the Board appear to regard software as important, butnot their business. The Government still continues to work and strengthen its role as a provider offacilities and hardly as an able facilitator. A firm and clear strategy on the development andimplementation of software is still not established or forthcoming. And although NGOs are involvedin implementation of projects, it is done on an ad hoc basis and not as a partnership.

The mission can emphathise with the feelings within GoG that the Ghogha project has not broughta quick solution for the water supply crisis in the project area. However, the mission doubts whethercalling the project a failure and, perhaps as a result of this, stopping the technical assistance and/orabandoning the project will bring a solution. This would also mean that the participation, interestand potential of the community on for e.g. sanitation, hygiene promotion, cost recovery and localwater resources management will be discarded. Additionally, the process of learning and capacitybuilding within the water sector will loose momentum.

Co-authors: Mr. Jaap Boomsma and Mr. Sudarshan Iyengar

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water resource management, waterconservation, safe drinking water,hygiene and environmental sanitationissues

Creating a pool of manpower andstrong knowledge base in the water andsanitation sector.

Strategy and Approach

WASMOs approach is to be a facilitatorin developing water and sanitation facilitiesin villages that are owned and managed bythe communities in order to createsustainable systems in WATSAN. The keystrategies adopted for achieving itsobjectives are:

1. Empowerment and strengthening ofvillage level institutions;

2. Emphasis on surface water sources,capturing rainwater runoff to rechargegroundwater, roof-top rainwaterharvesting, and utilising the bulk watersupplies from major river projects ofwater surplus South Gujarat to waterdeficient North Gujarat, Saurashtra andKutch;

3. Building demand-driven, communityowned and decentralised local watersupply and sanitation systems;

4. Sanitation campaigns in villages topromote hygiene and cleanliness,especially among school children;

5. Partnerships with l ike-mindedorganisations.

How does WASMO Function?

WASMO is governed by a governing bodyand is headed by the Chief Executive Officerwho is a government officer. He directlyheads and supervises technical cell, projectmanagement units, documentation unit,finance and accounts and management

support unit. Out of these units thetechnical cell guides water supply cell,water resource management cel l ,environmental sanitation cell and waterquality cell. The management support unitguides administrative cell, HRD andestablishment cell and MIS cell.

Programmes faci l i tated byWASMO

1. The Community-managed water supplyand sanitation programme inearthquake-affected villages of Gujarat(ERR project) to provide safe and securedrinking water and sanitation facilitiesacross all 1,260 earthquake-affectedvil lages in the districts of Kutch,Jamnagar, Patan and Surendranagar.

2. Swajaldhara in 13 districts of Anand,Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, Bharuch,Bhavnagar, Junagadh, Panchmahals,Patan, Rajkot, Sabarkantha, Surat,Vadodara and Valsad. Sector ReformScheme (state) in 11 districts. Theproject was launched in November2004 by the Gujarat government toprovide demand-based, in-village watersupply and sanitation facilities in thedistricts of Amreli, Dahod, Dangs,Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Kheda,Mehsana, Narmada, Navsari ,Porbandar and Surendranagar.

3. Integrated development of water supplyand sanitation systems in tribal areasof Gujarat: WASMO has initiated aproject in a cluster of 100 villages - 45in Kaprada, 30 in Dharampur and 25in Vansda talukas in South Gujarat, toaddress the drinking water andsanitation issue

4. National Rural Drinking Water QualityMonitoring and Surveil lanceProgramme (NRDWQM&SP).

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WASMOs outreach At a glanceA) Decentralised community-managed water supply programme

i.) No. of Village Water and Sanitation committees (VWSCs) formed

13963 (75% of total villages)

ii.) No. of projects commissioned by VWSCs 4050 iii.) No. of projects under implementation 3800 iv.) No. of villages having institutionalized tariff

mechanisms

2900

v.) No. of villages on the waiting list 1150 vi.) Total fund allocated to Villages INR 882.54 Mn. vii.) Community contribution towards capital cost

received from villages INR 83.83 Mn.

viii.) No. of women headed VWSCs. 2800 ix.) Total number of women in VWSCs 42700 x.) No. of NGOs as partner Implementation Support

Agencies(ISAs) 75

xi.) No. of districts covered All 26 districts B) User level Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance

i.) Villages where awareness generation campaigns taken up

All 18600 villages

ii.) Villages where water quality teams formed All 13984 PRIs iii.) Water quality kits distribution to villages 13904 iv.) Water quality kits distribution to Municipalities All 284 Municipalities v.) No. of persons trained for Water Quality

Monitoring and Surveillance 1,19,648

vi.) No. of bacteriological testing vials distributed 6,69,000 vii.) No. of villages from where Water Quality

Surveillance results are retrieved from local teams. 17961

viii.) Sanitary surveys conducted 13984 ix.) Mapping of drinking water sources 24262 x.) Multi-districts assessment of water safety done with

the help of UNICEF 8 districts

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When I attended the operators(linemen) training, people wondered howa woman could be an operator? But thePani Samiti , NGO and WASMOsupported me. I have learnt technicalaspects including repairing works andchlorination process, requi red forsuccessful operation and supply ofassured potable water to people in myvillage.

- Jamanaben, Nagdhaniba villageBhavnagar

The total cost of creation of in-villagewater supply facilities was Rs.13,30,000.Whi le planning for the communitycontribution, i t was real ised thateverybody did not have the same capacityto pay. So collectively, we decided to fixdi fferential rates for contribution.Accordingly, socially and economicallybackward households paid Rs.50 and thewell-off households paid Rs.1000 perhousehold. There was no disagreementabout this and the village shelled outRs.1,35,750 as ten per cent communitycontribution wi th each and everyhousehold in the village contributing.

- Gangadas, Pani Samiti member,Kholadiyad, Surendranagar


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I earn my living from block printing, soconstruction was not at all my subject.But the training helped me effectivelymonitor the quality of construction. Infact, two contractors were forced to quitwork and leave, since I insisted on goodquality material and work.- Abdul Rehman, Pani Samiti Chairman,

Ajrakhpar, Kutch

We have a regular schedule for cleaningthe village. By having faliya (habitation)wise meetings we tried to motivate thepeople and wi th participation ofcommuni ty we could make 283household toilets in the village. Taking astep further, we placed dustbins in everyfaliya and encouraged people to use them.This collected garbage is used to prepareorganic manure. Due to all these effortsin spite of heavy rains and epidemicbreakout of Chikun guniya, our village didnot suffer a single case.

- Jitubhai, Mota Fofadiya, Vadodara

These are the words of ordinary peoplein villages of Gujarat where community-managed in-village water supply schemeshave been implemented. They suggest thesense of ownership that the community

Systemic Innovations for CommunityEngagement


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feels for the work taken up in the villageand also reveal that, be it planning forthe most suitable method of recoveringcommunity contribution, supervising theconstruction quality, keeping the villageclean or operating and maintaining(O&M) the system in the village thecommunity has a role to play in everysphere of planning and management forwater and sanitation (WATSAN).

Community engagement is easier saidthan done. Involvement of usercommunity and making them responsiblefor water supply has been a significantshift in the role of governance andprovided to faci l i tate. Hi therto theGovernment Department wasresponsible to create and maintain thewater supply systems. Due to distantlyplaced delivery institutions it was difficultto maintain the efficiency of servicedelivery and more often the provider wasdeveloping a complacent atti tude.Community engagement and taking it toscale called for completely new practicesand systemic transformations that wereundertaken in the following areas:

i.) Conceptual Innovationii.) Institutional Innovationiii.) Organizational Innovationsiv) Process Innovations

Conceptual Innovation

Community participation approachneeded an altogether different kind ofgovernance which would provideenabling environment for engaging theusers in planning, development ofinfrastructure and owning up of Operationand Maintenance of service delivery. Thetraditional approach was not able to

engage the citizens in the programme.RNE assisted project was struggling formore than four years since 1998 and stillno village water and sanitation committeecould be formed. A feeling of trust that isneeded for community engagement couldnot be developed and the partnershipswith NGOs was also not working due torigid engineering bureaucraticdominance.

Due to the above scenario, it was decidedat the level of Government of Gujarat toinnovate a new form of governance thatwill provide enabling environment to thecommunity wherein social process willbe of paramount importance. The policymaking and the implementation at thegrass-root level will be interactive and willstrive for engaged governance. Peoplewill be involved at every level of planningand implementation, they wi l l beinvolved in decision making and will begiven full control over finances. As perthe principle of subsidiarity wherein it isstated that anything that can be done at alower should be done at that level itself,devolution of functions, funds andfunctionaries to the lowest level ofgovernance is required. At the policylevel, the above 3 Fs may suffice but aproactive facilitation was envisaged as aconceptual innovation for thedecentralized community managed watersupply programme. It was also decidedto develop horizontal networks with NonGovernmental Organizations, FundingAgencies and other sector players.


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Institutional Innovations forImplementing Reforms

Establishing WASMO

Although a few initiatives were taken bythe State, they did not meet with muchsuccess. The Royal Netherlands Embassy(RNE) sponsored Ghogha project in 82villages of Bhavanagar district, envisionedas a community managed programmewas unable to achieve its objectives. From1996 to 2000, not even a single VillageWater and Sanitation Committee couldbe formed. When this project was studiedby a panel of experts appointed as a partof the Institutional Development Mission,their observation was that the typicalGovernment machinery was notequipped to handle software mattersrelated to the involvement and capacitybuilding of people. The need for a specialorganisation having the requi redpersonnel and skills to handle communitymobilisation and participatory planningwas suggested by the Mission.

An organisation that would focusspecifically on the empowerment of theuser communities in the villages had tobe conceived. Unlike the conventionaldrinking water supply departments andits field offices, the new institution alsohad to address and facilitate creating andstrengthening in-vil lage sources andenvironmental sanitation. The newinstitution had to be flexible, innovativeand act as facilitating partner and not asa quick fix provider. Thus, Water andSanitation Management Organisation(WASMO) was created as a SpecialPurpose Vehicle for empowering therural water user communi ties in

managing drinking water and sanitationfacilities.

Registered as a society under the SocietiesRegistration Act, 1860 and as a publiccharitable trust under the Bombay PublicTrust Act, 1950, WASMO has a uniqueorganisational structure. It has aGoverning Body with five civil societymembers in it and is headed by the ChiefExecutive Officer who is a governmentofficer. Within WASMO, the units aretechnical cell, project management units,documentation uni t, finance andaccounts and management support unit.WASMO has a multidisciplinary teamwith young professionals from a widerange of fields, who are guided by seniorofficials most of whom are on deputationfrom the government departments. Itshead Office is located at the State capitalof Gandhinagar, while through its variousoffices WASMO has a presence in all 26districts of Gujarat.

New organisational culture

According to organisation behaviourexperts WASMO fol lows a matrixstructure which facilitates coordinationbetween a multiplicity of complex andinterdependent activities. To describe thestructure in a simple way, WASMO isgoverned by a governing body and isheaded by the Chief Executive Officerwho is a government officer. He directlyheads and supervises technical cell,project management uni ts,documentation unit, finance and accountsand management support unit. Out ofthese units the technical cell guides watersupply cell, water resource managementcell, environmental sanitation cell andwater quality cell. The management


support unit guides administrative cell,HRD and establishment cell and MIS cell.

Human resource planning and selectionprocess

A multidisciplinary team has been builtconsisting of young professionals whohave had crucial experience in the sector.The team is not dominated by engineersselected through a government process.Instead special emphasis has been givento the social sciences to address the needfor social mobilization and constructivedialogue wi th the communi ty.Professionals from the fields ofenvironmental planning, management etc.too have been roped in. The positions areadvertised in the open labour market anda team of selectors drawn from both thegovernment and outside, but havingexpertise in the sector interview thecandidates and judge the suitability andcompetence. Personnel are hired oncontract by offering competi tiveremuneration. A large number ofprofessionals are young and they areguided by relatively very seniorprofessionals most of whom are ondeputation from the governmentdepartments. A performance appraisalsystem is in place. Systematic review iscarried out after every six months toprovide financial up gradation and otherincentives and consider extension of thecontracts. At the time of its establishmenta special project Institutional Support toWASMO was implemented tostrengthen the organization, whichcontinued till September 2007. Throughthe External Advisory Services supportedby RNE, A team of national andinternational experts assisted theorganisation in effective policy and

strategy development, strengthening oforganisation and institutional structure.

Training and capacity building

Orientation and training programmes areorganised at regular intervals. The themeshave been water, sanitation, hygienepromotion strategy; drinking water andsani tation problems of rural areas;rainwater harvesting); and generalorientation. The orientation and trainingprogrammes have not been limited to theWASMO team members only, but theISAs have also been included.

Work environment

A healthy work environment takes morethan office space or a desk and a chair.From the very beginning WASMO has laidstress on creating a comfortable, inspiringand appropriate work environment, bypaying attention to every employeesspecial needs, interests, values, andpersonal goals. Unl ike many othergovernment organizations, the generaloffice environment is less formal, openand encourages sharing of ideas andinformation. While working in a teammode has been accepted as an underlyingprinciple, each individual is encouragedto take lead in his/her own work and takeownership for the results.

WASMO also has an interesting feature.Giving up the normal hierarchy, vehiclesare made available to functionaries whohave to be mobile. Quick and assuredaccess has made functionaries moremobile and work output has improved.Similarly, office automation and internetconnectivity, has given scope to builddatabase, library, reference material etc.10


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Key elements in the empowerment of PRIs True representation brought about by the formation of Pani Samitis with representation from

marginaliased communities and one third members as women, who are the primary managers ofwater at the domestic level.

Legitimacy of the Pani Samiti as a result of the fact that it is formed as a sub-committee of the GramPanchayat and thus upholds the decentralised democratic process initiated in the country with the73rd Amendment to the Constitution. It is formed in accordance with the Government Resolution passed by the State Government of Gujarat in 1995 and amended in 2002.

Bringing in accountability and transparency - which is done by the Pani Samiti consulting the GramSabha and getting its approval at various important stages, processes and expenditure of the projectand displaying all project details (physical and financial) at a prominent place in the village.

Capacity building of the Pani Samiti and the community on a variety of issues like general aware-ness on water, sanitation, health and hygiene, environmental sanitation etc; construction management and supervision; masons training; financial management; book-keeping and maintenance ofrecords, O&M of the system including water quality testing so as to develop a good understandingon various project components and processes.

The environment in general helps indeveloping professionalism.

WASMO has also been appointed asState Water and Sanitation Mission(SWSM) and is involved in the facilitationof all decentralized community-managed

in-village water supply and sanitationworks through various GoI and GoGprogrammes. The interpretation andprocess of community participation havecome to mean different things to differentstakeholders. But broadly some of the

common pr inciples of communi tymanagement include:

Participation: The community-managedapproach should enjoy broad communitysupport, all sections of the society needto participate and for community to takeon ownership of the systems andstructures created, the participation andsupport should continue way past theconstruction/development phase.

Control: The community should beequipped to take decisions with regardto the systems they want to develop inthe village and in charge of the everydayO&M of the system.

Sharing costs: People who have stake insomething, work at it and experience asense of ownership over the infrastructure/assets. Hence the community needs toput in a contribution towards capital costs(in cash or kind depending on individualcircumstances) and contribution for O&Mto meet the recurrent costs.

Partnerships with NGOs

The second innovative mechanism wasto build strong partnerships with 75NGOs based on clarity in roles andresponsibility. This led to developingoperational relationships, whichrecognize and capitalize on each others


ski l ls and strengths. Accountabi l i ty,respect and trust have been the keyelements for this synergy. NGOs havebeen selected through a structuredprocess to act as Implementation SupportAgencies (ISAs) to the villages describedin the section on Partnerships.

Developing local inst i tut ions invillages

One of the primary requirements forengagement of the community wasrecognised to the presence of grassrootslevel institutional mechanisms. In orderto improve institutional arrangements forthe provision of water supply andsani tation services in rural areas,WASMOs focus has been on theempowerment and capacity building ofthe Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI).Empowerment involves various aspectssuch as decentralisation, devolution offunctions and power, communi tyinvolvement, power and capability tochallenge various types of discriminationetc. At the same time it is also understoodas communi tys abi l i ty to assumeresponsibility, make informed choicesand decisions, manage resources andinstitutions, address conflicts and buildnew capaci ties to deal wi th futurechallenges etc. In order to bring about thisempowerment, appropriate legal andinstitutional mechanisms with a specificmandate have been devised that can besummarised as:

Innovations in processes

Innovation, l ike many businessfunctions, is a management process thatrequi res speci fic tools, rules, anddiscipl ine. (Davi la et al . 2006).

Organisational process innovations refersto general processes and procedureswhich are altered taking into account theinsights from existing mechanisms, pastexperiences and leading to significantorganisational improvements in terms ofimproved or new products, services, orinternal processes.In order to facilitate a true bottom upapproach and smooth grassroots levelprocesses several path-breaking changeswere brought in by WASMO some ofwhich are given below:

Reducing the levels of hierarchy

A conscious decision was taken tointeract and facilitate Gram Panchayatsdirectly, bypassing the district and talukapanchayats. There were several reasonsfor this. The thinking was that if theprojects were to go through the upper twotiers this would imply dealing with ahierarchal system where the desireddelivery may not be achieved. A truebottom-up approach would be one whereeach Gram Sabha and Gram Panchayatis directly approached. True decentralisedempowerment and planning wouldemerge from this. Even though thisimplied additional expenditure in termsof human resources and expenditure, theobjective was to directly empower thelowest rung of governance, to build up astrong base, so that not only wouldvillagers be able to manage their drinkingwater systems, but would also be able todeal with other developmental issues.

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Community control over finances

The Pani Samitis have been given fullcontrol over their funds, by directlytransferring the funds into separate bankaccounts held by the Pani Samitis. NeitherNGOs, nor any intermediary level ofgovernance is a signatory to theseaccounts. In the ini tial phases, thisdecision met with a lot of resistance bothfrom the NGOS and the talukapanchayats, yet full faith was vested inthe Pani Samitis. The Pani Samiti receivesadvances in proportion to the communitycontribution that it has been able tocollect so that they do not get trappedwith contractors. The Samitis are giventhe management support for audit andsubsequent release of fund throughinstallments

Social process driven approach

The most distinct feature of WASMOsapproach has been the emphasis onsocial processes adopted and spacecreated for community to participate atevery stage of the programme. The wholepremise for establishing WASMO was tocarry out strong social mobilization,generating a genuine interest and demandfrom the community and building theircapacities. The entire decentral izedprogramme rests on the socialmobilization process which involvesactivities such as awareness generationthrough information, education andcommunication (IEC), Participatory RuralAppraisals. Since the community hasdirect control over the finances, steps andprocedures have also been introduced tomake sure that all records are maintainedin a transparent manner. The VillageAssembly has been given due importance

and the peoples right to raise queries inthe vi l lage assembl ies and theaccountability of the Pani Samiti to thecommuni ty by sharing projectinformation with the communities helpscreate an environment of trust andtransparency.

Clear project cycle for time boundimplementation

In each village a project implementationcycle is fol lowed. The project isimplemented in around 18 months andis divided into two cycles. The first cycleof around six months is for communitymobilisation and the second 12 monthcycle involves actual execution. Thesetwo cycles are a mix of social and civilengineering components. Activi tiesundertaken in the first cycle include:

Project introduction to generatedemand;

Pani Samiti formation; Assessment of requirements by the

vi l lagers and Pani Samiti /GramPanchayat;

Development of Village Action Plan(VAP) by the villagers with technicalsupport from the ISA and WASMO;

Approval of VAP by the Pani Samiti/Gram Panchayat in the Gram Sabha;

Fixing of community contribution andits deposit in separate bank account;

Training on issues related toconstruction and financemanagement;

Planning for work execution; and, Release of the first installment of

funds from WASMO.


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The second cycle involves actualconstruction which includes:

Supervision and moni toring ofconstruction by Pani Samiti/GramPanchayat with technical supportfrom the ISA and WASMO;

Maintaining transparency andaccounts;

Setting of water tari ff throughcommunity involvement and gettingit approved in the Gram Sabha; and,

Commissioning of water supplyscheme and i ts O&M by thecommunity.

Commissioning completed works

WASMO has created a unique systemthrough the Atmarpan ceremony(dedication to self) for commissioning thecompleted works to the communities. Itis an elaborate ceremony where all PaniSamiti members take an oath in front oftheir village communities to operate,maintain and manage the schemes. Sincethe ceremony is a public village function,there is a great sense of responsibilitycreated among the Pani Samiti membersin caring for the village assets.

Operation and maintenance (O&M)by the community

One of the accepted principles ofdecentralization is that the communitytakes over the responsibility of the O&Mof the systems developed. For the first timein the history of rural water supply in theState this was done through WASMO.This has been possible only because ofthe intensive social processes and therapport created with community, due to

which the significance of O&M has beenable to transferred to the community. Thecapacity of the people to carry out O&M(both technical and financial) has been builtand people have accepted this role too.

Innovations in service delivery

To provide improved access to watersupply through WASMO, the GoG hastaken up several pol icy changes inplanning for rural water supply systems,which are broadly given below.

Household water connectivity and24X7 supply

It is wel l known that householdconnections can have a great impact onthe household hygiene and family healthand hygiene, especially for children, andthe result on school and workforceparticipation. Another important impactis that on the health of women who areresponsible for fetching the water, byreducing their drudgery and the impactof freeing time from water transport dutieson leisure, labor supply and educationalattainment. To that extent a womans rightto having access to water at the doorstephas been recognized. Similarly round theclock supply can greatly impact thequality of life.Household connections and 24x7 supplyare therefore being promoted at the userlevel, wherever they are technically andeconomically feasible. With increasedaccessibility of drinking water throughgrid, augmented supply from local watersources, and community-managed watersupply system in the villages, it is aimedto cover 75% of the household with tapconnectivity by 2010.


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Habitation as a unit

In Gujarat, typically villages are organisedusually on the basis of castes in varioushabitations. Particularly, in tribal areasthe habitations are very far flung anddispersed, hence the unit of a village forplanning the water supply system oftenproves to be insufficient to meet the needsof all groups.

Dual water supply and strengtheningof local source:

Government of Gujarat has taken up dualsupply as a pol icy and encouragesconjunctive use of water at the village levelso that increasing demand for water is metlocally and State Water Supply Gridsupplements the supply through qualityassured safe water. Encouraging peopleto use piped water for drinking andcooking, while for other purpose, theyshould use water drawn from localsources is a pragmatic approach. Attemptsare being made to strengthen existingdrinking water sources, mainly thosesupporting Regional Water SupplySchemes, which are mostly based onunderground water. Technologyinterventions such as bore blasting andhydrofracturing have been taken up afterfeasibility studies and this programme isbeing accelerated based on the impactseen so far.

O&M incentive policy

A one -time incentive for O&M of thewater supply systems has been put inplace for villages who demonstrate thecapacity to carry out O&M effectively fora year. This incentive is based on variousfactors such as:

(i). regular supply of water,(ii). regular tariff collection,(iii) regular water charges to be paid to

GWSSB, if villages are using thewater of GWSSB,

(iv) cleanliness in and around the watersupply components,

(v) safe disposal of waste water and(vi) overall cleanliness in village and in

schools.

Installation of meters

It is observed that in general economicuse of any commodity can only beensured if consumer pays for what hasbeen consumed rather than at a flat rate.The GoG has already initiated the processfor installation of one water meter at eachvillage covered under RWSS. Since theexperience in the community managedapproach to water supply has shown thatawareness generation and communityparticipation are very important for anyservice or system to be acceptable atvillage level, WASMO has been assignedthe work of installation of meters and togenerate an acceptance for this concept.


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Setting the scene

On analysing the context and the scaleof the problems with the rural drinkingwater supply sector in the State ofGujarat, it was clear that communitymanaged rural water supply could not bea one-man show of the Government. Toful fi l l this need i t would require apartnership between three main playersnamely, i.) the Government supplier,which was aiming at a paradigm shift,ii.) the community, who were to take onthe responsibil ity of in-vil lage watersupply systems, and iii.) the regionalNGOs, which were well conversant withthe social and cultural context of thecommunity and would act as a l inkbetween the Government and thecommunity.

For a successful partnership it is essentialthat the partnership must have a clearmission. Recognising the fact that eachpartner has its own mission, a commonmission needs to be formulated in whichevery partner still can perceive the workas being in i ts own interest. Theexperience from the first Phase of the

community managed Ghogha rural watersupply programme where not a singleVillage Water and Sanitation Committeecould be formed in five years and whichcould not meet the programme objectiveshelped in formulating this commonmission for the State, the villages and theNGOs working in the water supply andsanitation sector. The mission was enablerural communities to have adequate safeand regular drinking water supply andimproved habitat empowerment andactive community management of naturalresources.

Under the people centred WATSANprojects in Gujarat the first and the mostimportant partnership is with the ruralcommunity through vi l lage levelorganizations namely the Pani Samiti(Village Water and Sanitation Committee)and Gram Panchayats (Discussed underthe section social processes. The secondpartnership is that with NGOs who areinvolved in the decentralisation processas Implementation Support Agencies whohave to act as intermediary between thestate level organisations and the villagelevel organisations. The third group

Building Partnerships


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consists of the state, national andinternational level organisations.

NGOs as Implementat ionSupport Agencies (ISAs)In the people centred WATSAN projectsinsti tutional capaci ty wi th thegovernment departments is limited inhandling community mobilisation issues.In keeping with the guidelines issued byGoI for the Swajaldhara programme,NGOs have been involved as ISAsparticularly for activi ties l ike socialmobilisation, communication, capacitydevelopment, participatory ruralappraisals, developing the Village ActionPlan, and technical support for thesmooth implementation of the scheme.Hence NGOs have also emerged as keypartners in community owned andmanaged WATSAN schemes. The rolesand responsibi l i ties of the ISAs asenvisaged in the projects are:

i) Communi ty mobi l isation byawareness generation and solicitingtheir participation;

ii) Institution building by forming PaniSamitis in accordance wi th theguidelines; sanitation and hygienepromotion through awarenesscampaigns that especially involvewomen and children and facilitate theconstruction of sanitation facilities;

iii) Ensuring womens involvementthrough their participation as PaniSamiti members and addressing theirwater and sanitation needs;

iv) Ensure equity in and across thevillages and interest of weaker sectionin the society is fully protected;

v) Water resource management byfaci l i tating plan preparation inconsultation with the community;

Grading and selection process

Assessing the competencies of eachorganisation and making sure that theright partners are involved was veryimportant for community engagement indecentralization of water supply andsanitation and hence the selection ofNGOs was been done in a very systematicand transparent manner. To start with anadvertisement was placed in the leadingnewspapers of Gujarat invi tingorganisations interested in providingsupport to this programme. In responseto this advertisement WASMO received516 applications.

A selection committee was formed whichconsisted of members from the civilsociety, who have experience in thesector and other developmental work.Cri teria for selection of NGOs andweightage for each were fixed. It wasdecided that experience of theorganisation would be given 60 per centweightage, while 40 per cent would begiven for the personnel employed withthe organisation. Experience in variousaspects such as - community-managedprojects and participatory approach,drinking water and sanitation sector,water resource management, mobilisingwomen and mainstreaming gender,number of years in development work etc.was considered, while the personnelstrengths of the organisation wereassessed in terms of thei r profi le(technical and social sciencesbackground), qualifications, years of


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experience in the field etc. It was decidedthat a score of 60 per cent should be keptas a cut-off point for the NGOs to avoida compromise on their quality of workFurther, criteria were fixed for allotmentof numbers of NGOs in a district, numberof villages to each NGO and number ofdistricts to each NGO etc. NGOsblackl isted by other Governmentdepartments were disqualified.

After a rigorous selection exercise, now,more than 75 reputed NGOs are involvedin communi ty-managed water andsanitation works as ISAs. This has set veryhigh transparency standards at villagelevel, which in turn, has resulted intogood qual i ty works and very goodcommunity involvement.

Putting Learning Partnershipsto work

In the absence of formal structures,partnerships among organizations andinstitutions can be reduced to loosecol laborations, where mutualaccountabi l i ty and meaningfulcooperation is undermined. Functionalrelations, brought out through formalagreements and based on mutual dignity,trust and value for each others skills andresources enable partners to maximizetheir resources and work together moreeffectively.

In Gujarat, this has been done by drawingformal agreements (MoUs) that are signedbetween the partners and it provides arobust way of dealing with disagreementsand increases transparency. WASMO hasentered into a MoU with each of the ISAs,for a term of 18 months which is in line

with the project cycle at the village level.As the realm of work expanded so didthe list of agencies. ISAs were involvedin water quality monitoring and capacitybuilding of the water quality team atvillage level. Depending on the nature ofwork allotted to each ISA, the MoUs toowere different.

Building a partnership cannot be a linearprocess. On the contrary its a continuouslearning cycle whereby information fromthe different phases is used as feedbackon the programsme and wherebypolicies, processes and activities etc. canbe adapted when necessary. As thecommunity managed programme scaledup in the State and experience was gainedin faci l i tating the communi ty toimplement the programme on their own,the agreements to have been modified(particularly the one between WASMOand the ISAs) and made more realistic.In mid-2007 WASMO undertook aninternal review of the work done by thevarious ISAs since most of these MoUswere to come to an end in July. Midprogramme evaluation were done toidentify gaps in project implementationand assess the quality of work done byISAs, based on which additional villageswere assigned to the ISAs. New NGOswere included as ISAs based on acomposi te grading system whichinvolved desk appraisal and field visits.

The administration fees of the ISAs wereconverted from quarterly claim model toone which was based on identi fiedmilestones. The new model ensuredexpediting the project implementationschedule and provided clarity on releaseof funds to ISAs.


Partnering with UNICEF

WASMO is closely associated with Stateoffice of UNICEF and i ts Chi ldEnvironment Porgramme. In the earlyyears, UNICEF provided cash support forthe three members of District Core Teamof the Swajaldhara project and the fieldtravel support in nine districts. Similarly,it also provided support to WASMOthrough training and field test kits toWASMO water qual i ty programmebefore the launch of the national waterquality monitoring and surveil lanceprogramme

Through support from UNICEF WASMOhas also been able to organise variouscapacity building programmes for its staffon themes such as gender sensitization,leadership and team building skil ls,

Maintaining records from the start

A simple step of giving every Pani Samiti a kit called Ofiice-in-a-bag before the community contributionis collected and physical works actually begin, has been found to be very useful. WASMO has receivedsupport from UNICEF, which has provided these standardized kits. The kit consists of registers formaintaining various records, a measurement book, measuring tape, receipt book, correspondence fileand tender file, pens, pencils etc. The kit helps the Pani Samitis to keep all important documents andrecords of bills at one place and is also found handy during verification of accounts by WASMO staff.In villages where the Samitis were unable to record accounting entries, the safeguarding of these bills inthis kit helped in writing of accounts later and also helped auditor to verify fund utilisation.

documentation of processes and successstories etc. Facilitation by UNICEF forparticipation in national reviews and inter-state learning on rural water supply hasalso greatly benefi tted several staffmembers of WASMO.

A unique initiative supported by UNICEF,Office-in-a-bag (provision of stationerykits to the Pani Samitis), which started asan experiment has gained much favourwith the community. This kit distributedto the community at the very beginningof programme implementation has beenfound to be very handy as it helps themto maintain records from the very startand also helps inculcate administrativediscipline. Kits for O&M were also givento villages in order to facilitate simplemaintenance and repair works at thevillage level.

In an attempt to bring in professionaltechniques and develop linkages with theCentre for Environmental Planning andTechnology, UNICEF supported a detailedstudy by the students from the institute todevelop architectural plans for extendingAnandshala concept to Ashramshalas(residential schools for tribal children). Ithas supported training of Ashramshalateachers to build the capacity of teachers

and help them to support the studentmental growth and overall development.

One of the major activi ties whichWASMO could undertake with supportand guidance from UNICEF has been theMuti-District Assessment of Water Safety(M-DAWS). So far the M-DAWS hasbeen completed in eight districts of theState.

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With UNICEF support WASMO has beenable to take up innovative ways likerooftop rain water harvesting in schools,cluster storage systems to ensure equityin dispersed habi tations and alsodocumentation studies such as evaluationof cluster storage strategy in Gujarat andwomens participation in Swajaldhara.

Other partners

WASMO has also developedpartnerships with Gujarat Water Supplyand Sewerage Board (GWSSB), the armof the Water supply department that isresponsible of providing water upto thevillage level and integral part of theprogramme.. It has also over the yearscollaborated and developed partnershipswith various government departmentsthrough convergence of their activitiessuch as Rural Development, Forest,Heal th and Fami ly Welfare, TribalDevelopment and Urban Development.At the national level it has a partnershipwith the Rajiv Gandhi National DrinkingWater Mission.

In addi tion, WASMO has soughtnetworking with an NGO Arghyam inthe field of WRM and sustainability ofsources in Kutch, Oxfam, The Energy andResource Institute (TERI), and otherplayers in the sector and research

organisations in the state and in thecountry. One of i ts most recentpartnerships is with the Sir Ratan TataTrust and the Coastal Salinity PreventionCell (CSPC) for a community managedrural water supply and sanitation projectcovering 300 villages in coastal talukas.

The partnerships at all levels have beennurtured so as to develop operationalrelationships, which recognise andcapitalise on each others capacities, beit WASMO, the ISA or the community.The roles and responsibilities of eachpartner have been clearly enunciatedtaking into account the capacities andconstraints of each partner. Throughmutual dignity and respect, the skills,resources and knowledge that eachpartner brings to the programme arevalued. Transparency in processes as wellas openness and sharing of perspectivesand information has fostered a healthyrelationship between partners and onseveral occasions also helped to arrive atsolutions on crucial issues. The profoundexperience of ISAs in dealing with ruraldynamics and rural development, coupledwith a shared vision and common goalshas made implementation of programmespossible and propelled the process ofscaling up.

Partnership networks

Partnership networks are advantageous generally because they emphasise joint cooperation by allthe partners.

They strengthen capacity of all members in the network. They identify and implement strategies and are capable of translating the networks knowledge and

experience into policy and practice.


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The success of partnership networks inWASMO can be attributed to adoptionof the following principles:

Partnership networks are purposedriven, focused on demand drivenapproach.

Partnership networks are driven byimplementation. The partnershipnetworks are far more work thannet.

Partnership networks are based oninsti tutional commitment or theparticipation of individuals, wherein

accountabi l i ty, continui ty andcommitment of resources are assured.

These networks are built on expertise,not mere interest.

Partnerships have been buil t oncredibi l i ty of ISAs selected byaccredi tation and working byfollowing work protocol.

Partnership networks are aimed atdeveloping and strengtheningcapacity in all the member partnersas well as the entire team.

Information Education Communication


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Within WASMOs larger framework, IEChas been integral to supporting projectactivities. It is a necessary and cross-cutting component of the project throughall i ts phases and interventions andincludes a comprehensive package ofcommunication media and approachesthat are participatory, flexible andsystematic.

Role of IEC

The role of IEC is in the area of:

Promoting decentral isation fordevelopment of drinking water andsanitation systems and village self-reliance

Community mobi l isation andawareness generation about theproject and its activities

Education and capacity building formaking informed decisions abouttechnology options and communityorganisation through Pani Samitis

Developing messages and strategiesthat can generate interest in andwillingness to pay for facilities

Addressing challenges and barriers tosanitation and hygiene practices

IEC target groups

Pani Samiti members and villagers School group/teachers and students Operator of vil lage water supply

scheme Health workers/ASHA workers Gram Mitras Anganwadi workers Self Help Groups Members of milk cooperatives Gujarat Water Supply Board staff

Since communities are neverhomogeneous, IEC strategy andinterventions need to be tai loredaccordingly. Di fferent messages,approaches and media need to be usedfor the older groups and children, men andwomen, higher and lower socio-economicgroups, and different occupational andcaste groups. Apart from the enlistedprimary target groups, WASMOs IECstrategy has also included key opinionleaders such as teachers, panchayatleaders, and religious and caste leaders.


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Institutional mechanisms

WASMO has developed i ts owninstitutional mechanisms to cater to itsIEC needs. In the initial period, certainIEC material, particularly in relation tocapacity building, was sourced fromother organisations. However, as itsrequirements increased and becamemore specialised, it was necessary tocreate an in-house team that coulddevelop material that was relevant toits projects. The Documentation andCommunication (D&C) Unit that hasbeen set up at WASMO develops anddisseminates sui table material fordifferent projects and components. Thefield offices at the district level haveD & C members who provideinformation from the vi l l ages,collaborate with the ISAs and also assistin the dissemination of IEC material.The uni t, along w i th i ts fi eldcounterparts also coordinates anddevelops material for large, state-levelevents that cal l for demonstrations,models and other IEC interventions.

Evolut ion of WASMOs IECstrategy

WASMOs IEC strategy has evolved andgrown with i ts programmes as theymatured. During its inception five yearsago, the village communities were notfamiliar with WASMOs mandate andactivities. The preliminary measure thatwas undertaken before approaching thecommunities was of making contactwith village sarpanches. Personalisedletters were sent out to each sarpanch,informing them about the organisationand its mandate.

The initial efforts focused on brandingextensively. WASMOs logo wasdeveloped for easy recognition of theorganisation. This logo was accompaniedby simple messages on water andsanitation and was painted extensively onwalls in villages and along highways.Also, posters and brochures were alsosimultaneously created to disseminateinformation about the primary activitiesof the projects and were placed atstrategic locations such as panchayatoffices, schools, PHCs and local fairs andmeetings.

Array of materials for various projectcycles

The ini tial IEC efforts contributedsignificantly to community mobilisation,and led the projects into thei rimplementation phase. As knowledgeabout WASMOs work increased and theprojects gained momentum, the need forproviding thematic material arise.Information booklets on the project andguidelines for the formation and role ofthe Pani Samitis were publ ished.Manuals, training modules for O&M andfinance and technology wereconsequently developed. Simultaneously,to stimulate cross-learning andexperience sharing among community,project partners, pressure groups andpolicy makers, a regular bi-monthlynewsletter, Loksamvaad, also began to bepublished.

Developing a media-mix withscaling up

Six years down the line, WASMO projectsand programmes that had hitherto been


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implemented in more than one third ofthe villages of the state, are now beingscaled up. The media mix has beenexpanded to also include hot media suchas the radio, television and street playsto reinforce key messages in the writtencommunication. The messages are directand simple.

Tools and Means

Interpersonal Communication

One to one interaction with peopleat appropriate levels including doorto door visits

Interaction wi th groups onprogramme introduction and forcapacity building

Meetings at habitation and socialgroup levels

Separate meetings with women andwomens groups,

Gram Sabhas Meetings at schools with teachers and

school children Meeting with identified groups like

Self Help Groups, Mahila Mandals,youth groups, religious groups etc.

Print Media

The following types of publications aredesigned in-house, printed and used fordissemination of information andknowledge to stakeholders and targetgroups.

Brochures: Brochures were designed andpublished covering wide themes andtopics for information sharingon WASMOs overview, Swajaldharaprogramme, Earthquake Rehabilitation

Reconstruction programme, GhoghaRegional Water Supply project, waterconservation methods and internship andvolunteer programme etc.

Leaflets: Leaflets giving simple messageswith graphics and sketches on aspects ofconcern in the sector are also publishedon chlorination, safe drinking water,sani tation and hygiene, fluoridecontamination and preventive measures,toilet construction etc.

Booklets: Booklets and detai ledguidelines for Pani Samitis have beendeveloped explaining the concept of PaniSamiti and roles and responsibilities asmembers of the Samiti. Booklets on watercontamination and water safety are alsogiven. District-wise booklets wi thdescription of status of drinking waterschemes and new projects are alsoprepared and updated every year forsharing wi th local governanceinstitutions, leaders and interested groupsand persons.

Success Stories: About 100 successstories of villages are documented andpublished in the form of booklets todistribute among the village community,Pani Samiti and Panchayat members.

Magazine: A Gujarati bi -monthlymagazine Loksamvaad meaningDialogue with the Community hasprovided a platform for community toshare their experiences. 20,000 copies ofthe magazine reach the l i teratecommunity members of all programmevillages who have an influence on thecommunity and can further disseminatethe information.

The change hasbeen brought throughIEC. With WASMOthe difference is thatinformation hasmoved intoinvolvement of thepeople and then toimplementation. Fromeducation, we havemoved to extensionwhere people arebecoming aware ofwhat needs to bedone and how to doit themselves.Education has led toempowerment,especially of women.Communication hasbeen converted intoconviction.

-P.K. Laheri,

Former Chairman andMD, Sardar SarovarNarmada Nigam Ltd.


Posters and Flexes: Posters are developedand printed on hygiene, householdcleanliness, village sanitation, safe water,steps for chlorination, water-bornediseases, toilet construction, ideal villageetc. These posters outline the processesand steps necessary to meet good hygienestandards. Flexes depicting communityini tiatives and innovations, vi l lageexperiences and voices are used tomotivate other villages during fairs andMelas.

St ickers: Spreading messages onenvironmental sanitation has been one ofthe most di fficul t tasks under theprogramme. Stickers carrying messageson personal hygiene and cleanliness andjudicious use of water are distributedamong school children to generate theirinterest and participation.

Documentation on experiences andlessons learnt : Achievements,experiences gained and lessons learntduring various stages of the programmehave been documented for larger sharingamong planners and policy makers ofdifferent states and leading national andinternational organisations associated

with drinking water sector and ruraldevelopment.

Mass Media

RadioRadio is still a popular medium amongrural masses and is effective to reach outto the remote areas. Messaging on radiothrough spots, features, and talks weavingaround programme objective, benefits ofcommuni ty-managed water supplysystems, ownership of village drinkingwater infrastructure, water qual i typroblems, contaminants of drinkingwater, water-borne diseases, concept ofsafe water, testing of water, toi letconstruction, maintaining vi l lagecleanliness are broadcast regularly fromAll India Radio covering the entire statein relevant slots for rural audiences.Programmes in local dialects are alsoprepared for focused regions.Programmes for Kutch district and tribalareas have been specifically prepared andbroadcast for effective participation of thetarget groups of these regions. Theregional programme Gam Jo Choro in(village-meeting centre) is well receivedand it is about to cross 100 episodes.

Inspiring people to take on the community-managed approach

Rising early to complete household chores and fetch water for the household is a routine activityfor rural women. Hansaben, of Majewadi village of Junagadh district, was listening as usual to theregular radio programme one morning when she got to know about the Swajaldhara programme. For acouple of days she listened to the programme and understood the concept thoroughly. Then, accompaniedby other women from the village Hansaben met the officials for more information. Seeing an opportunityin the programme the village has taken up the community-managed approach and is now on the way tohave household connections based on Narmada river water.

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Television

Television having a visual impact is alsowidely used for IEC. The genre ofprogrmme include spots, quickies, fulllength television serials anddocumentaries .

Spots: Spots on Pani Samiti formation,village cleanliness and water resourcemanagement activities for sustainability,need for chlorination of drinking water,judicious use of water are televised onDoordarshan Kendra, Ahmedabad (thepublic broadcaster) and cable network tocomplement the campaigns run atgrassroots level or part of emergencyefforts during disasters.

Quickies: Thematic quickies of 30seconds are televised on need of watertesting in laboratory, water testing of localsources at village level, disinfection ofwater, fluoride and fluorosis, nitratecontamination, water impurities, water-borne diseases and preventive measures

Television Serials and documentaries:

Pani No Mahima (Significance of Water),Jal E jivan (Water is Life) beamed onDoordarshan Kendra and local cablenetworks reach almost every corner ofthe state. It has episodes on crucialaspects like collective efforts to equip thevillage with water supply structures,strengthening of existing local sources ,paying for drinking water faci l i ties,collective ownership of the drinkingwater systems, hazards of opendefecation, need for building individualtoilets, rain water harvesting etc.

Documentaries in English and Gujaratihave been produced on WASMO as theState Water and Sanitation Mission thefacilitator of demand driven, community-managed approach. Besides, the real lifeexperiences of the community activelyparticipating in community-manageddrinking water and sanitation programmehave been captured in Gujaratidocumentaries Pani Lokj i Vani(Peoples Voice on Water) and NirmalJal, Nirmal Gram(Safe Water, CleanVi l lage).These documentaries areavailable on CDs and are shown at GramSabhas and Pani Samiti meetings inaddition to training programmes. Theseefforts have facilitated the process oftransparency.

The use of television as a medium togenerate interest in communi tymanagement and create and air of trustand transparency has even beendemonstrated by the rural communities.

In village Bhimrana, the Pani Samiti inJamnagar district produced a short filmout of the footage they shot during theconstruction process of water supplysystems and showed it on cable network.The effort fetched considerablecommunity contribution for the villageworks and today, the film is a source ofinspiration for many other villages.

Folk Media

Street Theatre

Street theatre is a form of theatricalperformance and presentation inoutdoor public spaces. These outdoorspaces can be at a suitable place where


Effective Tool for Peoples Contribution

Ratnapar village of Mandavi taluka is a example for initiating an innovative method for collection ofpeoples contribution. The village readily agreed to join when the community managed water supplyand sanitation programme was introduced. Pani Samiti was also formed soon. But the process gotstalled when people showed reluctance to contribute later. Some efforts were made by the Pani Samitiand ISA to make people aware on the need for community involvement and contribution but in vain. Atthis crucial juncture the Pani Samiti decided to try other alternatives for community mobilisation inorder to collect the much needed community contribution for water facilities. Pani Samiti opted for apopular folk form - Lokdayra.

The essence and concepts of community managed programme was shared with the performers of theLokdayra the local artists, under the guidance of ISA and WASMO team. The focus areas were community ownership, contribution and need for sanitation, health implications and sustainability ofwater systems. A Lokdayra was arranged at night which was attended by people of all age. The eventgenerated a lot of interest amongst them and the message woven in the performance clicked with theaudience. People were so encouraged that the required contribution was collected in no time after theshow. The contribution was then utilised for village cleanliness, construction of sanitation units for thepoor, water resource management, plantation, and development of school. Due to these activities, thevillage achieved the Nirmal Gram Puraskar.

large numbers of people can becomfortabl y accomodated. Thismedium requires no stage and a bareminimum of props. The main purposeof this medium is to bring awarenessthrough 360 degree communicationand bridging the physical gap betweenthe performers and the audience. Streetplays have proved to be an effectivemeans of mobil ising, informing andentertaining the rural communi ty.Professional media groups are engagedto perform street plays on safe drinkingwater, health implications of consumingunsafe water, village cleanliness, rolesand responsibi l i ties of Pani Samiti ,programme implementation processand O&M contribution. More than 500region specific street plays have beenperformed so far and have proved to bevery effecti ve in mobi l i zing the

community and ultimate acceptance ofthe programme.

Lokdayra

At the vi l l age level a variety oftraditional folk-forms popular in theregion are used. For instance thelokdayara (mostly made up of story-telling and songs) are found to be veryeffective in Surendranagar district,whi le in the tribal areas of SouthGujarat the tamasha and in NorthGujarat bhavai , both essential l yconsisting of drama, and dance are verypopular. The use of traditional media,which are very entertaining, has beenfound to be very effective in taking themessages to people without soundingcondescending and serve as a good toolfor infotainment.

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Jal Yatras as part of World Water Day Celebrations

On the occasion of the World Water Day which is celebrated every year on 22 March, WASMOplanned Jal Yatras during16-19th March 2008 for creating awareness for water conservation andcommunity participation. Four routes were identified for the Jal Yatras, starting from Jamnagar, Kutch,Junagadh and Amreli disitrct. All the four routes converged on 19th March 2008 at Ambaji, a prominentreligious place in the tribal district of Banaskantha. All the experiences, learnings and insights gained enroute were shared with participants from all the four routes at Ambaji and interacted with the HonbleChief Minister of Gujarat.

The Jal Yatra aimed at raising the overall awareness on decentralised community-managed water supplyand sanitation schemes and also focused on demand generation for community participation. Thesefour routes covered 12 districts of the state (out of 26) passed through about 42 villages. At each centrearound 400 persons from nearby 100 villages participated. The participants took part in workshops andattended talks by eminent persons from the field of development and water and sanitation.

Skits and plays in schools

WASMO has also used this effectivemedium for spreading the message ofcleanliness among school children. Thescript of a short skit on good hygienepractices has been brought out in the formof a booklet and distributed in 300 schoolsacross the state during World Water Week.Around 200 schools have adopted andperformed the play in their respectiveschools. Since the script is available withthe schools, it can be performed on anyoccasion and the message can be reiteratedand reinforced. Nikunj Jadav, a 11 yearold boy who played Rangalo (a clown)says, We now understand the importanceof cleanliness and that too by laughing allthe way.

Fairs or Melas

Fairs are qui te useful for messagedissemination where rural communitiesespecially women and children gather inlarge numbers. These fora are used to givemessages on sanitation, hygiene, toilets,

soak pits, water resource management androoftop rain water harvesting structures.Specific models working as well as statichave been developed for exhibition stalls.The famous Tarnetar fair in Surendranagardistrict, Ravechi Mela at Rapar, VandhaMela at Samkhyal i , Yaksh Mela atNakhatrana, Kutch, Shabari Mela insouthern tribal belt, Janmashtami Melaacross the entire Saurashtra, North andCentral regions are some of the fairs wherestalls having displays are arranged.

Campaigns and drives

Special drives are initiated in the villagesfor specific result oriented activities. Thisinclude Cleanliness drives of villages,cleaning of drinking water storage and itssurrounding, greening of villages, waterconservation, clean river drive, cleanschool drive.

With active involvement of ISAscampaigns are launched on variousoccasions and events.


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1. World Water Day: March 222. World Environment Day: June 053. Independence Day: August 154. Republic Day: January 265. Childrens Day: November 146. World Science Day: February 287. International Womens Day: March 088. Kite Flying Festival January 14

School focused campaigns

Interactive communication, games, songs,essay and painting competitions anddemonstrations are the main methodsused to shape childrens attitude towardspersonal hygiene and sani tation.Messages are then further backed byconstant vigilance by teachers to ensurethat hygiene practices are imbibed bychildren. In about 140 schools, studentsand teachers have been teamed up for skit

performance on hygiene and thisinitiative is being spread to many moreschools.

Video Conferencing

For quality surveil lance programme,efforts towards mass awarenessgeneration have begun through videoconference using satellite technology.Interaction wi th rural audiences isfocused on district specific problem offluoride and measures for ensuringconsumption of safe water. So far, videoconferences have been conducted for 12districts - Mehsana, Vadodara,Panchmahal, Dahod, Sabarkantha, Patan,Banaskantha, Surendranagar, Amreli,Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Kheda. Inall, 5136 participants from 2561 villagesattended these programmes.

Capacity Building


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Need for capacity building

Involvement of people as partners in theprogrammes at various stages in planningand implementation called for buildingcapacities for partnership among thecommunities. There were at least threereasons for this.

One, compared to the conventionalarrangements of drinking waterstorage and supply in the villages,new sources and techniques hadcome into practice. Regional watersupply schemes have the sourcesaway from the villages and water istransported through pipelines. Thus,nei ther the vi l lagers themselvescreate the source nor they have directcontrol of the source. They have toparti cipate in the process ofdistribution and maintenance.

Second, techniques of maintenanceand management including accountkeeping etc. have also changed inmanaging new water sources. Peopledo not have expertise in it. Thus, inbui lding communi ty capaci ties

government has realised the need forintermediary agencies. NGOs are toassume this role.

Third and most important reason forbui lding capaci ties of thecommunities at the village level wasthat over last four decades or sopeople have almost forgotten that theirelders used to manage the drinkingand domestic water resources withpracti cal l y no governmentinvolvement in it. The conventionsand traditional management skillswere not passed on to the newgenerations. If people have to onceagain assume maintenance andmanagement responsibilities, theircapacities would have to be rebuilt.Similarly, the development of sourcewithin village areas also calls for newskill as the traditional well-pond-tankcombinations are no longer viable.New technologies and techniques areto be used in rain water harvestingand creating other sources includinglined ponds and reverse osmosis.


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Developing capacities and localskills

WASMO is an organisation, whichbelieves in investing time and resourcesfor building capacities of each partner andstakeholder. Development of humanresources is an important activity, which canhelp people perform their jobs/ tasks in adesired manner, thus aiming to achieve themission and objectives of the organisation.Developing capacities helps to

measure and unify standards create and sustain dialogues and

relationships, which increases thelevel of understanding about theservice

identify issues that need to be dealtwith

identify the members of staff that needfurther support, assistance or training

help staff appreciate their professionalrole, which will be reflected in theirwork

be used as an opportunity to reinforceorganizational aims

be used to subtly review areas forimprovement to maintain the qualityof the service

provide opportunities for feedback

Capacity building for variousstakeholders

Capacity bui lding is not only of thecommunities involved but also of theISAs and the other individuals in theorganisation and it also differs dependingon the programme and focus area. AsImplementation Support Agencies (ISAs)are the major partners in the field, hencecapacity bui lding support to ISAs is

important for WASMO. The training alsoencourages a culture of collaboration andfai th between various partners viz,NGOs, government and the privatesector. At WASMO, capacity buildingprogrammes are organised at three levels:

Programmes organized at field levelsfor Pani Samiti, community and othervillage functionaries

Programmes organized by WASMOfor stake holders at state, district andtaluka level

Programmes attended by WASMOpersonnel

Steps to organise capaci tydevelopment programmes

Since training is a continuous activity, asa strategy WASMO has prepared a teamof trainers among its own staff and ISAsassociated with WASMO. The trainingunit of WASMO is responsible for overallplanning of capaci ty developmentprogrammes for WASMO and i tspartners, while trainers at district levelmodify the training designs as per theneed of the area or community, based onthe background of learners and their rolein the organisation, Training is designedfor the participants based on the requisitecontent areas, subject matter and usingappropriate methods, materials andresources. If the need for a subject matterspecialist is felt, WASMO utilises theservices of a range of resource personsavailable in the field. While planning, theideological framework of participatorytraining, the potentials and limits of eachmethod, the learners possible physical,psychological and emotional needs istaken care of. The comfort level ofparticipants and learning atmosphere is


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an important consideration while makingarrangements for the capaci tydevelopment programmes. For thecommunity the venue is kept easi lyaccessible to them.

A capacity development programme canbe made more effective through a followup and evaluation of the programme inthe context of possible roles andresponsibilities of the trained participants,emerging needs and concerns etc. Specialcare is taken to improve the skills ingathering and analysing information,using this to adjust the course of thetraining, in maintaining contact andproviding continued support, writingreports and documentation and hencetraining in this area is a continuous effort.

Major areasCapacity development is a continuousprocess and new issues and areas keepemerging over time. It is thereforeessential have intermittent contact withthe community. Capacity developmentstarts with building an atmosphere of faithand understanding the foundation of thecommunity managed approach. This isfollowed by the planning, administrativeand managerial ski l ls necessary forimplementation. Thus capacity buildingis done at the pre-construction,construction and post-construction stage.Some of the major areas where capacitybuilding is done are:

Encouraging collective action andunderstanding

group dynamics Technical know-how Construction monitoring Financial monitoring Record keeping

Water quality Personal hygiene Operation and maintenance

Fostering leadership

Repeated and continuous capaci tydevelopment has been able to encourageand develop new leadership at villagelevel. Local leadership gives the project asocial dimension. Building leadershiphelps in cutti ng the bureaucrati cdominance and procedural delays. Thefocus is on bui lding the ski l ls andknowledge base of people who can takelead in project implementation. It isemphasised in the programme thatpeople from the weaker section come tothe forefront i.e. women, schedule casteand schedule tribe or people from theOBC groups. Even i f a parti cularcommunity is unable to take on theimplementation process w i th theanticipated speed, the community is notrushed through. Instead, more time isspent on the above process. Thus,capaci ty bui lding is not l imi ted toachieving short-term goals of communitymobi l isation ti l l the time of projectcompletion but aims at sustainability in amanner such that even after WASMOmoves out, the community is able to runthe water supply system independently.

Exposure visits

Classroom training, demonstrations andhands-on training are some of thestandard methods adopted for buildingcapacities at various levels. But exposurevisi ts have thei r own role to playparticularly in motivating communitiesand instilling faith in their own capacities.It is often found that a visit to anothervillage, which is in fact a peer, can often


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Water and entrepreneurship development

Navaratanpar is a coastal village 22 kilometers away from Bhavnagar town that faced acute drinkingwater shortages. Capacity building and participation under the Project has been instrumental inboosting the confidence of the women.

Both, Tidiben and Harshaben are members of the Self Help Group in the village. They bid for acontract that was offering a dam site near Palitana for fishing and were awarded the tender. In spiteof facing threats from other male bidders, they went ahead. Members of the SHG have now visitedfar off places like Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh for selling their catch. Mobile phone in hand, and nowa successful businesswoman, Harshaben says, We realised our strength during the implementationof our village water supply programme. We started attending meetings and going to the banks. Ourdecisions were respected during meetings.

The pre-construction training received during the programme has ensured that there is good qualityconstruction under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojna (PMGSY). When the road was beingconstructed, Tidiben and other women compelled the road contractor to use proper material.Tidibens explanation is simple. Now that we know that public money is being used, it is our dutyto see that it is appropriately utilised. Besides, being a construction laborer, I know what qualitywork is.

set the ball rolling in a community withlow confidence and motivational levels.The principle of Seeing is believing,comes in vary handy. People (women

included) come back inspired and startto take charge of their own affairs.

Maximising returnsWASMOs strategy of capacity building has sometimes proved to be good business sense since thefraction of the total budget spent on training programmes has yielded far reaching results. The PaniSamiti members and the villagers are confident that they can now demand what is rightfully theirs.

Lachhibai, a member of the Pani Samiti in Pipari village, Mandvi block, while talking about the sarpanchsays, As a sarpanch it is his job to ask women their problems and solve them. If he does not work in theinterests of the village, we will remove him.

In Ajrakpur village, the Pani Samiti president, Abdul Rehman, says, Construction was never my subject.I earn my living from block printing. After training, I could effectively monitor the quality of construction.In fact, two contractors left midway since I demanded good quality material and work.

Capacity building of ISAs

The ISAs are a crucial link between thecommunity and the government. Henceit is an absolute essential for both the

stakeholders to be on a common planeas far as the principles, processes andconcepts of the programme areconcerned. Regular meetings with thefield staff from the ISAs are held at the


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distri ct l evel and also w i th theorganizational heads as and when theneed arises. Moreover, there is anenvi ronment of sharing and open-mindedness due to which the ISAs canapproach WASMO to deliberate on anyfield, process or administrative issues.Orientation and training of the staffemployed by the ISAs is an importantinvestment for WASMO, especially as theprogramme evolves and newinterventions and policies are put intoaction. For instance in February 2009 anon-field training programme wasorganised for 21 technical staff membersfrom ISAs of eight districts in the State.The objectives of the programme were:

Orientation on WASMOs culture,mission and objecti ve and thecommunity managed programme

Enhancing their capaci ties for aparticipatory approach, having adialogue with the community andidentifying field issues that need tobe dealt with.

Enabling the technical team to drawthe design layout of water supplysystem as per the requirement of thecommuni ty and prepare vi l lagescheme.

During the nine day training theparticipants carried out Gram Sabha,village mapping, PRAs, technical survey,water qual i ty testing and preparedhydraulic designs in the villages w

from policy to practice

Documents

water storage

paucity of water

drinking water security

water resource management

capitafresh water availability

water scarce stategujarat

water quality problem

drafting ofground water