A consolidated reply of experiences and examples shared by various members of the Solution Exchange Water Community
From Prakash Kumar, DfID Sector Reform Programme, Patna
Posted 23 July 2010
I work with the Health sector reform programme of the Government of Bihar supported by the Department for International Development. This involves the ministries of Health, Social Development (for nutrition) and the Public Health Engineering Department (for water and sanitation). DfID has supported similar programmes in West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh. In Bihar , Water and Sanitation has been added for the first time to seek convergence and maximize the benefits from the programme. The programme is to be launched soon.
I would like to seek advice from the community members on water and sanitation components of this very important sector reform programme. The coverage of water supply and sanitation in Bihar is very low with just 25 per cent of rural households having some sanitation facilities. Apart from coverage, there are issues of consistent use of the created facilities. The Total Sanitation Programme has not addressed the needs of the poor and vulnerable adequately, and facilities in schools, health centres and anganwadis are very poor.
On the water front, the picture is even worse, with just 4.2 per cent of households having piped water connections against national average of 42 per cent. About 42 per cent of the population is not covered with safe water supply and 22 of 38 districts in the state have quality problems caused by arsenic or fluoride contamination. The number of faulty handpumps outstrips the number of replacements each year. More than 30 per cent of the state is susceptible to floods.
An encouraging development is the government has included TSC in the 5-point agenda of the Chief Minister, but the delivery mechanism needs to be strengthened immediately. Only 198 Panchayat have received the Nirmal gram award so far and there are slippages even in these.
Against this background, I would like advice from members on the lessons from similar sector reform programmes as well as general suggestions from other watsan projects in India .
- How can we strengthen the delivery of TSC to ensure ODF status? How can the private sector help in behaviour change communication?
- What sort of water quality monitoring and surveillance mechanism is needed especially for arsenic and fluoride affected areas? How can these be treated at the household level?
- How can we ensure better maintenance of handpumps?
- How can we meet the water and sanitation needs of vulnerable groups and what sort of capacity-building is needed for the state-level institutions?
These will help us in formulating the programme.
Responses were received, with thanks, from
1. Nick Pilgrim, Water and Sanitation Program, New Delhi
2. Taral Rana, AKRSP (I), Netrang, Bharuch
3. Jyoti Sharma, FORCE, New Delhi
4. Nitya Jacob, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi
5. M. Manoj Kumar, Development Alternatives, New Delhi
6. Sunetra Lala, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi
7. Saurabh Singh, Innervoice Foundation, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh (Response 1) (Response 2)
8. V. S. Prakash, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Bangalore
9. Ramesh Kumar, Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh (GPSVS), Patna
10. B P Shyam Roy, Consultant, Kolkata
11. Arunabha Majumder, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
12. Depinder Kapur, WASH Forum, New Delhi
13. Prakash Nayak, CARE-India, New Delhi
14. Annie George, BEDROC, Nagapattinam
15. Hirudia Raj, Consultant – Water, Hyderabad
16. Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow
17. Shyamnarayan Dave, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Kolkata
18. G. S. Mathur, HCM RIPA Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Further contributions are welcome!
The Government of Bihar has launched a large health sector reform project covering the ministries of Health, Social Development and the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED). The flagship programme to promote rural sanitation, the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), has not addressed the needs of the poor, excluded and vulnerable adequately. This is because of a lack of coordination among the departments concerned at the grassroots level, low levels of sanitation awareness and involvement of panchayati raj institutions (PRIs). TSC has been a centralized and target-driven programme in the state, another reason for its poor performance.
To address these deficiencies, one of the main things is to decentralize the programme and make it a demand-driven one. One very effective example from the neighbouring state of West Bengal describes how the All India Institute of Public Health has worked in coordination with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), NGOs and the state government to make a success of the sanitation campaign through management. The Parishad provides an enabling framework and technical support. The government assists with coordination among departments while UNICEF supports the setting up and running of laboratories, along with training for technical staff. NGOs have set up and run rural sanitary marts and water testing laboratories. Panchayats are responsible for implementation of TSC and rural water supply schemes. There is, therefore, no need to involve the private sector.
Thus, the state government can strengthen TSC by putting gram panchayats in the lead and drawing in NGOs and CBOs for mobilisation, training (especially of masons) and monitoring. It can provide a wider range of toilet options that are better suited to the local soil and climatic conditions, are more acceptable to users and can be built to higher quality standards. It may be necessary to raise the incentive provided for construction of toilets to families below the poverty line.
Behaviour change communications for grassroots mobilisation is essential for this process of decentralization to success, failing which TSC will remain just another target-driven activity. At the community level, self-help groups, community based organisations, youth organisations (selected through the Nehru Yuvak Kendras) and the National Service Scheme volunteers can help deliver these messages and act as sanitation promotion agents. To enforce accountability and coordination, the district collector can convene monthly review meetings of all departments.
An action group of the Water Community comprising several experts on sanitation studied the gaps in rural sanitation coverage in the Vaishali district of Bihar in 2008. The study found behaviour change communication and promotion of sanitation to be the main lacunae in the programme. It pointed to the central role of women in sanitation, both as promoters and beneficiaries.
Panchayats can also play a key role in water quality monitoring and surveillance. In areas where the groundwater is affected by arsenic or fluoride, people can use household water treatment filters though opinion is divided on whether water should be treated at the hamlet or household level. At issue is the cost of treatment and the efficacy of the water method; hamlet level treatment methods defray the cost of equipment over several households making them more affordable and it is easier to check the quality of water than at the household level. In Karnataka, the State Government programme Suvarnajala provides a rainwater harvesting option for people living in villages affected by fluorosis.
So far, little has been done to analyse the data collected on water quality. The data can be analysed for designing preventive and remedial measures while planning water supply systems at the district and local levels. It can also feed into a national network on water quality. This is critical for building linkages with the health sector and capacity for treating victims of arsenicosis and fluorosis.
The new National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) provides the policy, governance and fiscal framework to address these challenges. Village water security plans can be based on (i) having a secure source in terms of quantity and quality as well as conjunctive use of rainwater, surface water and groundwater, (ii) water safety plans, (iii) an operating plan, and (iv) a service improvement plan. The government is setting up Block Resource Centres to facilitate training and technical support. The District Water and Sanitation Missions have a key role in reviewing plans to make sure they meet policy objectives, checking technical, financial and management feasibility, facilitating financing and monitoring implementation and performance.
In Uttar Pradesh, WaterAid has set up a centre to train people to fix handpump breakdowns. Its team of women and men has the tools as well as the expertise to respond to calls within a few hours. In West Bengal, the Mission and gram panchayats have set up Jal Suraksha Samities to handle the maintenance of handpumps. In many hamlets, groups of women fix their local handpumps as the RKMLSP has trained and equipped them to do so. They collect a nominal charge from the households that use the handpump that pays for their travel when they take water samples to the laboratory for testing or have to replace a part.
Vulnerable groups include scheduled castes and tribes and Dalits. They usually live on the periphery of villages or have separate hamlets. The planning and execution agency has to draw them into the process by holding separate consultations as members from these groups may be reticent to speak up in a larger village assembly. Additional research shows that in Orissa, Gram Vikas works on a consensus model; to achieve a consensus on water provisioning for a village, the NGO holds a series of consultations that include all caste groups and especially women. It moves onto the implementation phase only once it has evolved a consensus. These are two methods of involving vulnerable groups in the planning process.
State-level institutions can be sensitized to the need for convergence at the grassroots level and planning. Typically district plans are a compilation of sectoral plans that defeats the purpose. The sector reform programme can design capacity building programmes to enable inter-disciplinary planning, execution and monitoring. Another way to strengthen decentralization is to develop the expertise of communities to conduct social audits and integrate them with the monitoring process.
Karnataka
Construction of rainwater harvesting systems leads to improved health (from Nitya Jacob, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi)
In Karnataka, the state government launched the Sanchetana programme to provide safe drinking water to people in flouride-affected villages. People were assisted in building rooftop rainwater harvesting systems, linked to a tank with a capacity of between 5,000 and 10,000 litres. BIRD-K led the implementation of the programme, which received excellent response, and people noticed an improvement in their health as a result. Read more.
Technical centre reduces lag time for repairing water and sanitation facilities (from Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow)
Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest lag times with regard to repair of handpumps, lasting for a maximum of 45 days. WaterAid implemented a project based on the principle of decentralised O&M under which it set up a technical centre with a team of mechanics, spares and tools. It also provides sanitation services. Due to this, the lag time in the intervention block has been reduced and the breakdowns have come down as quality spares are used. Read more.
From Shyamnarayan Dave, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Kolkata
West Bengal
NGO-managed water testing laboratories help in arsenic mitigation programme
The Government of West Bengal established 20 NGO-managed water testing laboratories, with UNICEF support, to detect arsenic in groundwater. These institutions helped in developing the database for the arsenic mitigation programme. Additionally, one laboratory for each of the 3 blocks have been set up to improve the access to the services uniformly. Some 80 NGOs now have water testing laboratories and systems for domestic filters production. Read more.
Ramakrishan Mission Lokasiksha Parishad (RKMLP) involves communities in water quality monitoring and surveillance programme, Medinipur District
RKMLP has demonstrated the process of community-managed systems for water quality monitoring and surveillance programmes. Women and youths selected from user groups for decentralized maintenance of public water sources are imparted training on upkeep and maintenance of hand pumps. User groups for each source have been formed. Nearly 1900 user groups in 28 GPs have now been formed consisting of 10 members in each group. Read more.
Access to Sanitation, its sustainability and behavioural change in Subhai, Senduari and Pahetia panchayats of Vaishali district, Bihar (from Nitya Jacob, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi)
Case study; by Veena Upadhyay; Sulabh International Academy of Environmental Sanitation; Bihar; 2008;
Available at
ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/wes/resources/ag_rep_sanitation_250608.pdf, (PDF; Size: 1.39MB)
The study covered the sanitation status of three villages in the Vaishali district of Bihar and has useful pointers for any programme on sanitation
From Sunetra Lala, Research Associate
Battling Water-borne Diseases in Cyclone-affected West Bengal
Article; by Jorge G. Caravotta; UNICEF; New Delhi; 2009;
Available at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/india_50730.html
Outlines the need for sustainable efforts at the community and facility levels to support water and sanitation facilities during disasters
Disposal of Garbage and Rubbish
Article; www.ChefNoah.com;
Available at http://www.chefnoah.com/sanitation2.htm
Provides useful tips on good sanitation practices; also explains the process of preparing an Emergency Chemical Toilet
Innovations in Emergency Sanitation
Emergency Sanitation Workshop; Oxfam GB;
Available at
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/learning/humanitarian/workshop_emerg_sanitation.html
Highlights useful ideas on how to improve sanitation practices in a long-term, sustainable manner
Recommended Organizations and Programmes
From Nitya Jacob, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi
73, Lodhi Estate, New Delhi 110003; Tel: 91-11-24690401, 24691410; Fax: 91-11-24627521,
24691410; newdelhi@unicef.org; http://www.unicef.org/wes/index_emergency.html
Provides immediate assistance to ensure continued and effective functioning of water and sanitation systems during emergencies
P. B. No.3 'Kamdhenu', Sharda nagar, Tiptur 572202, Karnataka; Tel: 91-8134-250658, 250659; Fax: 91-8134-251337; birdktpr@gmail.com; www.birdk.org.in
BIRD-K has designed and installed rainwater harvesting systems for individual households in fluoride-affected areas of Karnataka
Sulabh International, New Delhi (from Sunetra Lala, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi)
Sulabh Gram, Mahavir Enclave Palam-Dabri Road, New Delhi 110045; Tel: 91-11-25031518; Fax: 91-11-25034014; sulabh1@nde.vsnl.net.in; http://www.sulabhinternational.org
Provides sanitation services across India, and has built 1.2 million Sulabh Shauchalayas, which are used by 6 million people
Megh Pyne Abhiyan, Bihar (from Ramesh Kumar, Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh (GPSVS), Patna)
Gramyasheel, Behind Jail, Nayanagar, Supaul 852131, Bihar; Tel: 91-9430858277; graminunatti@gmail.com
A functional network of grassroots organizations and professionals, has been facilitating sustainable water management and sanitation practices in Bihar
WaterAid, Madhya Pradesh (from Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow)
E-7/846, Arera Colony, Bhopal 462016, Madhya Pradesh; Tel: 91-674-2531266; wairoe@wateraid.org;http://www.wateraid.org/india/about_us/default.asp
An independent organization, which enables the world’s poorest people to gain access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene education and began working in India in 1986
All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, West Bengal (from Shyamnarayan Dave, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Kolkata)
Department of Sanitary Engineering and Environmental Sanitation, 110 Chittaranjan Avenue,
Kolkata 700073, West Bengal; Tel: 91-33-315286 ; http://mohfw.nic.in/kk/95/ib/95ib0y01.htm
Conducts research relating to various health problems and disease in the community; and provides sanitation support services in urban (slum) and rural areas
Ramakrishan Mission Lokasiksha Parishad, West Bengal
Po Narendrapur, Kolkata 700103, West Bengal; Tel: 91-33-4772201; Fax: 91-33-4772070; rklmpndp@cal.vsnl.net.in
Was recognised as one of the four National Key Resource Institutes in the year 2004-05 for Capacity Development of key functionaries of the TSC programme
From Sunetra Lala, Research Associate
The Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council, Switzerland
International Environment House, 9 Chemin des Anémones, 1219 Châtelaine, Geneva, Switzerland; Tel: 41-22-9178657; Fax: 41-22-9178084; wsscc@who.int;
Multi-stakeholder partnership organization which promotes collaborations and works in the area of sanitation and hygiene promotion at the community level
Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods, USA
124 Church Road, Sherburne, NY 13460, Halti, USA; soil_info@yahoo.com;
The organization works on preserving soil resources in Halti; has provided on its website information on the importance, use and construction of dry (urine-diverting) toilets
WASH Institute, Tamil Nadu
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Institute Secretariat, "Ashwat Nivas", 5-296, Anandhagiri, 7th Street, Kodaikanal 624101, Dindigul District, Tamil Nadu; Tel: 91-4542-240881; Fax: 91-4542-240882; secretariat@washinstitute.org;
http://www.washinstitute.org/about_institute_interventions.php
Provides both short and long-term courses with a focus on water supply and harvesting, sanitation, hygiene, integrated water resource management, etc
No.12, 4th Cross West, Thillainagar, Tiruchirappalli 620018, Tamil Nadu; Tel: 91-431-402156;gramalaya@airtelmail.in;http://www.gramalaya.in/community.php
Assisted in the construction of community toilets, along with local authorities in Tiruchi City Corporation, which are maintained by Sanitation and Hygiene Education teams
Nick Pilgrim, Water and Sanitation Program, New Delhi
The new national rural drinking water programme now provides the policy, governance and fiscal framework to address these challenges.
In particular village water security plans are to be based on (i) having a secure source in terms of quantity and quality as well as conjunctive use of rainwater, surface water and groundwater, (ii) water safety plans, (iii) an operating plan, and (iv) a service improvement plan.
GPs and VWSCs can't do it alone. The NRDWP is investing in the establishment of Block Resource Centres to facilitate training and technical support and District Water and Sanitation Missions have a key role in reviewing plans to make sure they meet policy objectives, checking technical, financial and management feasibility, facilitating financing and monitoring implementation and performance.
Decisions about bulk supplies (water resources) can also be taken at the district or block level and inform village planning. The private sector has a key role in service provision under oversight by DWSMs and VWSCs.
A challenge is to ensure appropriate training and technical support for all levels of the PRIs, and to identify the right cost effective technology choices including water quality treatment and bulk supplies.
Nationally there is a shift to piped supplies and house connections but clearly each state would need to move at its own pace and a first step is to ensure that handpumps are providing safe and adequate supply which you have correctly linked to CLTS.
Taral Rana, AKRSP (I), Netrang, Bharuch
I work with NGO in water sector in Gujarat.( South Gujarat ) In this area following is the points of attention for better governance.
- Meeting at village level with individuals, leaders, SHG members and User's group for better understanding of their problems.
- What are their local solutions for their problems?
- Give training to local people for hand pump repairing (Practical) with the help of local government officials, local NGOs and PHED.
- Take some people's contribution in terms of cash as well as kind from the village habitation by the trained hand pump mechanic.
- Local organisation, NGO, Village Panchayat give some incentive in terms of cash to hand pump mechanic to motivate them.
- Review work of hand pump repairing regularly.
Jyoti Sharma, FORCE, New Delhi
In response to some of Prakash Kumar's questions, I would like to make the following observations:
For question 3 – how to ensure better maintenance of hand pumps - the first step would be to understand how hand pumps/tubewells fail!
Most hand pumps fail because of the decline in water table. As water table starts declining, the yield of the hand pump reduces. This makes people pump for longer hours which makes the situation worse because it does not allow the aquifer surrounding the hand pump to recoup. This then leads to silt getting sucked into the hand pump borehole which finally clogs the bore holes. This whole process gets further accelerated by the overall decline in the water table of the area and the hand pump has to be abandoned when the water table recedes below the depth of the borehole.
To prevent/slow down the above process, it is important to do Rainwater Harvesting in the zone of extraction of the hand pump. For efficient and quick results, the rainwater harvesting design has to be such that it recharges directly to the active aquifer - even if the recharge is a few feet above the water table. When RWH is done, in the first stage, the recharge creates a hump in the recharge area. If there is groundwater extraction nearby then the hump does not get time to spread. Instead it creates an artificial increase in water table of the hand pump which increases yield both in quantity and quality.
Therefore, the cheapest and most sustainable solution to hand pumps going bad is rainwater harvesting, if possible, nearby.
For fluoride and arsenic affected areas, a huge thrust should be given to direct storage and usage of rainwater in artificial tanks. Arsenic affected East India has a higher annual rainfall quantity and also higher frequency of rainfall in the year. Hence, use of rainwater for cooking and drinking is a viable proposition. Though artificial recharge to groundwater can also help improve the quality of groundwater, in severely affected areas, the change will be gradual and will need concerted, collective efforts.
Nitya Jacob, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi
The Water Community of Solution Exchange had set up an action research group in 2008 to study the gaps in sanitation coverage and ways to address it. We had shared the report and are happy to provide the link again. The study covered selected villages in the Vaishali district of Bihar and has useful pointers for any programme on sanitation. You can download the report from ftp://ftp.solutionexchange.net.in/public/wes/resources/ag_rep_sanitation_250608.pdf, PDF, 1.4 Mb)
For detecting arsenic and fluoride contamination in drinking water, it is necessary to test every source. The government can train one person per village to collect and transport these samples to the nearest district laboratory and provide him/her sample collection bottles. Additionally it is important to test for bacterial contamination and nitrates. Field test kits are unreliable so it is better to test at a laboratory. This requires the creation of a working network of district level laboratories to begin with, and block level laboratories where needed so samples can be collected and tested within a reasonable time span. It also requires trained personnel, reagents and equipment. In Bengal , the government and UNICEF have paid for setting up some laboratories, while the panchayat and government share the running cost; the laboratories charge for testing that helps to partly defray the cost of operation. If a source is found to have arsenic or fluoride, it is critical to mark it unsafe and inform the local people not to drink from it. It is equally critical to immediately provide for an alternate source in the absence of which people will be forced to drink contaminated water.
While there are household treatment options for arsenic and fluoride, they are not without their own risks. Many have been highlighted in previous discussions in the Community. The best option to provide drinking water is to find an alternate source. In Karnataka, the state government launched the Sanchetana programme to provide safe drinking water to people in flouride-affected villages. People have been assisted in building a rooftop rainwater harvesting system, linked to a tank with a capacity of between 5,000 and 10,000 litres depending on the size of the family. The water goes through a sand filter and into the tank. The size has been calculated to provide 20 litres per day of this water. It has received excellent response and people have noticed a major improvement in their health after they have stopped drinking contaminated groundwater. BIRD-K is the NGO that has implemented this programme in some of the villages.
Handpumps break down frequently either because of substandard drilling, washer or fulcrum failure. Getting an engineer from the local water supply department to fix it can take many days and visits. A better option is to train a few people in the village or habitation to fix it themselves and equip them to do so, since they are mechanically simple devices and all but serious faults can be fixed locally.
While planning for water supply in a village or habitation, the planners have to take inputs from women, Dalits and tribals since they are seldom consulted. If Dalits are to be serviced, their habitation has to be covered with its own water supply since caste divides are extremely deep in parts of rural Bihar . While imperatives of social justice may demand that these divides be bridged, it is more important to provide them water first. As women are tasked with providing drinking water, handpumps, wells or even rainwater harvesting structures have to be placed/designed in consultation with them. In Karnataka, women sent drinking water to their daughters in other fluoride-affected villages; they budgeted for this while making their own RWH systems and this was factored into the planning process.
I feel the officials and junior functionaries of state-level institutions have to be sensitized to the nuances of participatory planning rather than taking an engineer-driven benefactor approach. Participatory planning, stakeholder identification, resource mapping with an overlay of gender concerns are some concerns that have to be addressed in the departmental approach to water supply and sanitation. Further, it is necessary to find out exactly why department personnel take long to respond to faults and address these. The study, whose link is given above, provides some other pointers on the sanitation issue.
M. Manoj Kumar, Development Alternatives, New Delhi
I have a small comment on the efficacy of the field test kits. It is mentioned in the below note that field test kits are unreliable. This is not true in general. Based on some experience we can not reach to a conclusion saying the field test kits are un-reliable.
We must understand the scope and purpose of which these test kits were/have been developed in the country. Of course the performance of these kits varies from case to case, manufacturer to manufacturer and so on. Therefore we must pick up those kits which are reliable (UNICEF itself carried out so many performance evaluation studies with different agencies such as SRIRAM, etc) and we have relatively good information available on these kits. Field test kits will not give 100 % performance or results like Laboratory or u won't get decimal points accuracy-which we know by this time. Performance of the kits not only depend on the manufacturer ability and quality control measures but at the usage level-for e.g. a kit may be performing excellent at the site of production but may not be the same case at the field level as it may not be handled properly by the user/performer. Therefore it needs a little training.-which will add a great value to water quality monitoring of the sources. As we also understand that if any parameter-the concern parameter is showing alarming levels (above permissible level)-which it should not-then take the sample and get it tested in the laboratory to further confirm. By doing so we can save thousands of Rupees and time-which we can use on other purposes-which is very precious.
We can set up laboratories at various levels and can be run on payment mode. But we have to work out a business model around it and see the viability. In order to set up laboratories whether large or small -needs investment and we need to understand the size of these investments.
Certain parameters like ARSENIC and FLUORIDE testing you need a skilled person at Laboratory level. Handling AAS and Ion meter requires skill and experience. It does not come in one day.
We can not say field test kits are unreliable and laboratories are more reliable. Given the circumstances, we have to choose the good options (of course we can not continuously depend on bad or inefficient kits). I know we have kits which are very un-reliable but what action we have taken?
Again on the solution/management options-Rain water harvesting is the better option but I have a different take on it. If a region is suffering from severe drought for last 4 years and even if it rains, is not sufficient to store. In that condition what should be done. So we have to depend on some other options like Technologies or traditional methods of water purification, etc. There is a famous quote which says- catch every drop of water-wherever it falls-according to me -we should not be catching every drop of water but allowing some for Eco-system services.
We need judicious blending of Technical, Social, Financial and Environmental aspects for sustainability of any intervention. Based on one single parameter we can not arrive on a conclusion that -this and that technology/option does not work.
Therefore we should be able to rationalize our approach. Based on the need, we have to choose the options and no single solution or approach will be able to solve the problem- It should be a multipronged approach.
Sunetra Lala, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), New Delhi
At the Visioning Workshop of the UN Solution Exchange's Water Community in March 2007, Mr. A. K. Singh, then CEO of Sulabh International, made a presentation on the strategy for Scaling up Rural Sanitation Coverage. This was followed by on E-discussion in which around 20 people participated and suggested ways in which this was possible. An action group was set up and 10 members met on 3rd February, 2008 in Delhi . At this meeting it was decided to work with the Sulabh International Academic of Environmental Sanitation to test the approach of TSC on the ground in the selected gram panchayats in the Vaishali district of Bihar. These panchayats were selected on the basis of their sanitation performance. This study was led by Veena Upadhyay, Director (Training), SIAES, Patna , in the 3 gram panchayats of Subhai, Senduari and Pahetia in the Hajipur block of Vaishali district.
Two blocks in the Vaishali district of Bihar were among the first to have received NGP when they were declared fully sanitized against the set parameters. This has led to additional initiatives by the blocks and the panchayats for ensuring their respective areas are fully sanitized. Lessons from one location are applied to another, helping replicate/innovate strategies and approach.
This transfer of knowledge is important in speeding up sanitation coverage, and this study has been planned against this background, to capture the outcomes, strategies and processes from three Panchayats of Vaishali. The three Panchayats differ in their coverage of sanitation, at 15 per cent, 50 per cent and 100 per cent. All the villages from each of the Panchayats were covered and a stratified random sample was drawn to have representative number of respondents from all the villages cutting across different communities. Structured questionnaires, focus group interviews and participative observations were used as tools. Besides, anecdotes, observations and cases were used. The data were analyzed using relevant statistical tools with the help of SPSS. At the end of the analysis the draft findings were presented before a select group of stake holders who responded to the tentative findings. This helped in the triangulation of the findings and the conclusions.
The results indicate:
- The TSC has been a target driven programme and NGP as incentive based strategy has not worked better. NGP's primary focus has been the award and incentive rather than ensuring total sanitation
- TSC has come to be identified with toilets rather than comprehensive sanitation and behaviour chance. This makes it lopsided and demand driven. While toilets are constructed with financial support from the government, the other components of TSC are ignored
- There is growing realization about the need for toilets. Those who can afford them, have constructed toilets in their homes and are using them regularly, while toilets constructed through subsidies are not regularly used owing partially to the small pit and fear of collapse
- The implementation structure is bureaucratic and the partners suffer serious coordination problems. Participating agencies differ in orientation leading to loss of synergy and convergence. The interdisciplinary team at various levels has no opportunity for sharing their strengths and capacities. Instead, they undermine each other
- The SSHE has been an important intervention and has worked better in inculcating awareness of sanitation among children. There is a need to build a strong community interface which seems to be missing at the moment
- PRIs are key to the success of TSC. They are involved at the policy level; the Zila Parishad Chairperson is also the chairperson of the DWSC. Our observation suggests that there is a lack ofthat there is a lack of trust and appreciation by each other, as reflected in statements by the Mukhiyas. They are not fully aware, lack capacity and commitment to sanitation and improvements in quality of life. To them, NGP is merely an award
- The study clearly brings out the central place women have in the programme. They suffer the most because of non-availability of sanitation facilities and are the greatest beneficiaries. The study also brings out the insensitivity of men toward their (women's) sanitation needs. The programme, according to the large number of women is gender blind. They complain that their (women's) involvement in the design and implementation of the programme has hardly been valued.
The recommendations for scaling up include institutional restructuring, offering the programme a sharper cutting edge by adding more vigorous community mobilization, focused BCC/IEC strategies, offering the PRIs a wider and better space, adding aggressive capacity building in-puts and making the programme gender friendly. A comprehensive view of sanitation has been suggested to be taken rather than using toilet as the sole USP.
Saurabh Singh, Innervoice Foundation, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh (response 1)
We worked in Bhojpur in 2009 in arsenic affected villages. My findings are based on a year long experience on this work:
- We noticed that the government has plans for supplying piped supply to these villages. Here we noticed very poor coordination among different stakeholders. There wasn't any mechanism to keep the dialogue process open among all stakeholders. We found that at many places borewells had been laid down but not connected to villages even after years had passed.
- There was also a shortage of electricity required to run such plants.
- The mitigation plans carried out by different agencies were in a very shabby condition. We noticed that in some villages semi-covered dug wells were created but they were hardly used by the villagers. There was no community participation at any level and people had no information on the issue.
- Also the coverage of such programmes was very limited. In the many villages that we toured there was hardly any mitigation efforts.
- We noticed that though there were several people suffering due to high intake of arsenic, there was hardly any initiative at the district hospital for the treatment of these people. People living in villages along the Ganga River were especially severely affected. The worst part was that people suffering due to kerotosis, melonosis, gangrene and other skin ailments did not know how they had contacted them and continued to drink the contaminated water.
- We found the sanitation coverage to be better but the quality of material used was very poor. Also, there was little active participation from the community even though villagers were very agitated due to this.
Our conclusions are that better coordination is needed among all stakeholders. The communities have to be involved in planning, execution, operation and maintenance for any water supply or sanitation programme to succeed. Bihar also has similar problems of arsenic contamination and some of these observations may be of use there.
V. S. Prakash, Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Bangalore
It is time to think of centralized rainwater harvesting systems to cater to the needs of the whole community in areas where the drinking water quality is affected. The limited water storages through individual rooftop rainwater harvesting fails to provide the supply during non-rainy periods when the concentration of the contaminants is very high. Rainwater harvesting farms needs to be developed.
Ramesh Kumar, Ghoghardiha Prakhand Swarajya Vikas Sangh (GPSVS), Patna
We are working on Integrated Water Management in five districts of North Bihar under the Megh Pyne Abhiyan network. MPA works on rainwater harvesting, revival of dug wells and other traditional water reservoirs, home-based treatment for iron removal through the matka filter, water testing and mass awareness on water-related issues.
The WATSAN situation in Bihar is definitely improving as a result of government and other stakeholder initiatives. The number of community/individual hand pumps and toilets have increased in the state. However, the quality of water has been declining in arsenic, fluoride and iron-affected areas. Drinking water is often not safe to drink even though it may be clean.
Under the TSC programme and Lohia Swachhta Abhiyan, low cost toilets have been constructed by the contractors but they have used poor quality material and the toilets are poorly designed. As a result, they are also not regularly used by the family members. Most of toilets are incomplete due to poor monitoring and follow up actions at TSC management level.
The school toilets are being used mostly by the teachers; girls cannot use the toilets because they are usually filthy or locked up.
My suggestions for this query are:
- TSC should be coordinated by CBOs/CSOs and managed by local PRIs. It should be an owner-driven system for construction and maintained by individuals
- The unit cost of toilets should also be increased specially for SC/ST and most marginalized sections so that the best materials can be utilized for superior quality constructions
- The toilet construction design for north Bihar and central/south Bihar should be different. In north Bihar it should be raised platform toilets so that it can be used during monsoon and flood period also. The size of pits can also be reasonable for the longer use of toilets
- The construction of soak pit for hand pumps should be promoted at the individual and community levels
- The social mobilization activities regularly should be organized at different levels. VHSC can be strengthened for effective motivation and BCC at community as well as family level. SHGs and community-based organisation and groups can play vital role for BCC. Multi-stakeholder efforts would be better measures to strengthen the delivery of TSC
- The major focus area for TSC should be areas dominated by SC/ST/marginal communities because they cannot construct toilets and hand pumps with platform and soak pit due to their low income status
- Water testing and treatment lab/centres can be established at every sub-divisions/block level. As the matka filters have been used for iron treatment in our MPA area at household level, similar techniques/alternatives can be explored for arsenic and fluoride affected area with the help of water experts. The model of the DA arsenic treatment method can also be replicated in Bihar . Revival/renovation of dug wells is also a solution for providing arsenic-free drinking water
- Water testing/water level should be done before installing hand pumps so that their proper depth level can ensure for good quality of water
- Construction of raised platform with soak pits and promotion for maintenance at individual and SHG/CBOs level
- The used water of soak pits can be reused for kitchen gardening
- Hand pump repairing training for women among SC and other marginalized communities. The repairing kits should be provided at SHG/CBO level
- Regular social mobilization initiatives through BCC tools
- There should be inter-sectoral convergence of all stakeholders at different levels. The government should involve efficient CBOs/CSOs/SHGs and PRIs to ensure accessibility of water and sanitation facilities and practices of maintenance WATSAN at community level. Special programme and actions should be focused for vulnerable groups through Govt. and other institutions. Action should be taken for context & target group specific
- Social mobilization as well as service delivery programmes for water and sanitation to be focused with certain target area and stakeholders also. The collective efforts and convergence at community, district and state level initiatives would be the better solutions to meet water and sanitation needs of vulnerable groups.
B P Shyam Roy, Consultant, Kolkata
At the first instance, I feel that the high level of deficit in Water and Sanitation areas in Bihar and the proposed initiative now could be a success story on challenging the most difficult job by the collective robust spirit of Bihar and also the fact that the late starter always outpaces others.
My comments are given below.
On Water
- The starting point may be to undertake a natural resources data base mapping which would capture geo-specific status of current level of achievement and its possible quality. The extent of deficit, the scope and limitation of surface based water resources, sustainable ground water availability or the possibility of river-water based drinking water supply services vis-à-vis the population and water users in the given area could be known mouza wise and local administrative boundary wise. This would also provide locations of existing water sources and the length of distance usually required to cover now (and for number of families) and how to address per capita requirements of the selected population, now and in future.
- The water quality monitoring system for plural sources could be structured once the NRDMS has been put in place. This would also pinpoint water source specific deficiency in quality and enable corrective action.
- A district-specific Water Map, indicating the met and unmet status, needs to be published, discussed with the water community of the civil society and its validation appropriately arranged.
- A sub-part of the Water Map may also capture water source specific annual expenditure and the quantum of water supply actually provided in ensuring transparency and also equity in water supply system.
- For removing the leakage in the water supply points, all public tubewells, dugwells, autoflows and river lift drinking systems, etc., have to be serially numbered for maintenance and otherwise.
- The depth of tubewells and connected materials are the areas that give a bad name of quality output. A system of third party verification needs to be put in place in this area.
- Efforts may be made to switch over to piped water supply system as far as possible in ensuring equity in quantum of supply and for optimization of scarce water resources.
- Water has a cost and that minimum floor-level charges (e.g., say Rs. 5 or Rs. 10) need to be levied to institutionalize ownership and demand quality of water. As a part of promoting water cost sharing culture, the habits of economic use of water need to be encouraged and the best way could be by installing water metering system linked with progressive cost for non-frugal use.
- Water testing laboratories need to be decentralized and periodical bulletins published on the quality of water supplied to the citizens.
- A disaster mitigation plan might be worked out at the very planning stage
- Once the basic water map and other areas are firmed-up by water experts in close collaboration with the Environment experts ,based on NRDMS and scientific discipline of the water science, the same be used as data and a platform for working out State level responsibilities, Panchayat-tier wise responsibilities, Municipal responsibilities or for the focused role of specialized NGOs on the water front
- The NRDMS would also enable to divide arsenic zones as critical, semi-critical, and arsenic prone or otherwise. Piped water supply is the only option for arsenic affected areas.
- Rain-water harvesting may be integrated for those areas where ground water table has been going down and that even for drinking purposes the area is heavily dependent on underground water sources.
- It is time that state-level decision on fixing share for drinking water supply from major reservoirs (other than the Ganges ) is necessary to firm up supply side of water.
On Sanitation
- The NRDMS system would also enable location specific deficit picture. Since the target is 100% coverage, it has to be individual family centered initiative with liberal cost sharing basis.
- Women Group, Public Health Activists, Girl students Group and Lady Doctors and Nurses may be specially associated to champion the cause of sanitation.
- It would be desirable to put in place underground sewerage system in big towns and cities.
Saurabh Singh, Innervoice Foundation, Ballia, Uttar Pradesh (response 2)
In Bihar and U P there is hardly any planning at district level. I must clarify am talking about arsenic mitigation and issue of sanitation.
There are certain programmes of line departments that are developed at the state of central level, and then directions are given to the district agencies for implementation. The district agencies carry them out in their own disorganized way without taking communities into confidence. There is little convergence between different departments. Thus the focus is on completing the schemes. There is little urgency in district planning so mitigation plans are usually incomplete.
I strongly feel after working at grassroots level for more than 5 years that there is need to revisit planning and execution parameters at district level. Both in Bihar and U P I have never found any community to be actively involved in planning or execution, not to speak of convergence with other stakeholders.
Arunabha Majumder, Jadavpur University, Kolkata
The Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) must be based on a demand driven approach. Awareness and motivation campaigns must be organised at the grassroots level to generate demand from the villagers for household toilets. Panchayats may play a significant role provided there is a political will among the elected representatives. Credible and dedicated NGOs can be roped in this programme. We can set up Self-Help Groups who can work as facilitators (a token honorarium as a facilitator can be provided for the construction of each toilet). Sanitary Marts play a very vital role in latrine construction. Such infrastructures need to be created in every block. TSC must be target-oriented. The process accelerates if organized successfully. Review meetings must be organised to assess progress, constraints, lapses, system deficiencies, etc., in each block every month.
The design, drawing and estimate of household and school latrines must be prepared considering technical feasibility, economic viability and social acceptability. We have to decide on the amount of subsidy to the BPL families as per field conditions (though Government of India has guidelines) so that the programme is workable. The latrine must be of sustainable structure and masons must be trained properly. The training must be extended to other people involved in the programme.
The water quality monitoring and surveillance programme has several components – water testing, sanitary survey, risk assessment, data analysis, data recording, preventive and remedial measure, etc. Today, except water testing, nothing is being done. We need rural laboratories; at least one lab per three blocks is presently recommended. The lab personnel and water sample collectors must be trained. The testing results must reach back to the villagers (this is not happening currently). Surveillance programmes must be taken up; otherwise safe water will not reach the people. This programme needs to be strengthened. At least 10% water samples must be re-tested in a referral lab.
All the water sources in arsenic-affected areas must test for arsenic. Similarly in fluoride contaminated areas, all water sources must analyzed for fluoride. A gram-panchayat-wise mapping should be done incorporating the water sources and quality. Preferably, all private tubewells must also to be tested. The rural labs can undertake the water analyses as done in West Bengal .
Both arsenic and excess fluoride can be removed. These can be removed by co-precipitation, adsorption, ion-exchange and RO process. Activated Alumina as adsorbent is very good for removal of As and F. In Bengal household filters for As and F removal have been developed. I have developed an arsenic removal unit attached to a hand-pump. But such a programme needs capacity building and an institutional set-up. This can be done by using local resources. As and F removal units can be manufactured in the villages. Local artisans and local facilities can be used for such purposes. We need social marketing to promote household filters.
Depinder Kapur, WASH Forum, New Delhi
I agree with Saurabh on the situation of top-down programme management from state to district levels with little community involvement. The lack of community involvement is the key.
Therefore the answer to the first three questions posed by Prakash, is strengthening community involvement in monitoring for both TSC and for Water Quality. This needs to be done as independent civil society initiative to highlight the gaps in the TSC and Water Quality issues, that will put pressure on the government machinery to deliver. Different donor agencies need to coordinate among themselves better so that while some may prioritise supporting the strengthening of the government delivery systems by working with the government, other donor agencies need to exclusively work with the civil society organisations and strengthen community monitoring and public hearings mode of operations from below.
The same applies for capacity building of programme implementers for the programmes to reach vulnerable communities. Some donors may invest in capacity development while others can invest in developing community monitoring and demand for action through mobilisation and public hearings route.
Private sector can help in the development of behaviour change communication, only if its managers are informed and directed by knowledgeable WASH programme implementation staff on the ground. If there is no connectivity with implementing agencies, fancy communication packages by private agencies can be a waste of money. The issue of coordination comes up again here. Again donor agencies can support the district and state level coordination mechanisms in two ways. Either as a state lead coordination mechanism with the SWSM and DWSM leading it but playing a facilitating role only. Or a civil society lead coordination mechanism that operates like an influencing network.
Treatment of Fluoride and Arsenic at household level is difficult. This should be done at the village/hamlet level. At the household level, how to avoid taking Arsenic and Fluoride contaminated water for drinking – should be encouraged so that people can look for some other sources of water.
Prakash Nayak, CARE-India, New Delhi
The situation of Bihar is unique in taking TSC to household and individual levels. One of the good indicators is that, Bihar has been getting a good number of Nirmal Gram Puraskars at the national level for last couple of years, but it is not reflecting the actual scene of sanitation in the state. While appreciating suggestions of Sudarshan Soni, Dy. Commissioner, Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Bhopal in this discussion, I would like to point out few things which could be done at the district level. Keeping in mind Village Health & Sanitation Committee at village level, the following activities could bring in behaviour change at community, household and individual levels.
- Regular convergence review meeting by the District collector on monthly basis
- Tracking Behavior indicators by analyzing MIS submitted by departments like Women & Child Department, National Rural Health Mission, Panchayati Raj, Rural Development and other departments.
- Prioritized joint field visit and community mobilization and addressing local situation local knowledge and good practices.
- To build commitment of decision makers at district level, exposure visits and linkages could be given to good practices areas.
As of now, the TSC situation is more of a construction-driven activity in Bihar and it hardly accommodates issues like BCC and community mobilization leading to total sanitation. For initiating the suggested activities, adequate budget and manpower is allocated in PIPs prepared before hand. Situation like seasonal floods and arsenic could be included while formulating PIP for district. District collectorate has maximum outreach mechanism compared to any private sector players. So, all the private and voluntary players should be taken into confidence while taking the issue further.
Annie George, BEDROC, Nagapattinam
Total Sanitation Mission itself was redesigned to Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) due to the failure of this top-down approach.
It had been strongly stated that large piped water supply schemes will not be feasible in the long run and we have to start looking at micro-site solutions with a strong component of water recharging mechanism. WSP-SA had also done some studies which showed the costs incurred, in piped water supply schemes, at various levels of decentralisation and recommended the Gram Panchayats as the level of subsidiarity to which this should optimally be devolved.
I am sorry if I sound foolish, but would like to know the role of the PRIs in Bihar , especially in disaster reconstruction. If the PRIs have the ability, then it would be best to follow the sector reform model of rural water supply and sanitation, where the entire water and sanitation project is planned, implemented and monitored by the communities themselves. The project cycle is 18 months right from the pre-planning stage till the post-implementation stage. This is well in keeping with the time frame for disaster reconstruction as well.
While not all civil society organisations can do watsan projects, they can come together to discuss appropriate technologies and most optimum approaches. Based on this, they should concentrate on advocacy and lobbying for the adoption of this approach/ model. Even a PPP model can be explored if the corporates are interested in providing hardware/ resources for capacity building etc.
Hirudia Raj, Consultant – Water, Hyderabad
To implement the sanitation programme successfully, first of all demand from the community needs to be created. The community should be involved right from the planning stage. The toilets can be designed with the choice and options of the community and also an inventory of local construction material that is available and community contributions may be carried out. This will enhance their ownership. WATSAN committees can be set up at the village level with equal representation from men and women. Identify volunteers within the village level for community mobilization and build their capacities and skills. These volunteers can be trained to repair and maintain hand pumps, Fluoride & Arsenic treatment filters both at house hold level and community level. These volunteers may entrusted with the responsibility of lobbying with the Department of rural water supply for periodic monitoring of water quality and also obtain water analysis reports and share with the WATSAN committee and create awareness. A reward and punishment system should be introduced in the villages by the WATSAN apart from the NGP.
Johnson Rhenius Jeyaseelan, WaterAid, Lucknow
We work in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in improving water sanitation services. Uttar Pradesh has one of the highest lag times with regard to repair of handpumps. It lasts with maximum of 45 days. We have implemented a project based on the principle of decentralised O & M. A technical centre has been established which has a team of men and women mechanics, spares and tools and any fault reported in the block is attended to the same day or next day. The centre also provides sanitation services and repair of all water sources. Due to this the lag time in the intervention block has reduced and the breakdowns have come down as quality spares are used.
With regard to sanitation in Bihar , WaterAid was involved in Gram Gaurav Yatra which covered all the districts with focus on campaigns for sanitation. The PHED, district administration, CSOs, PRIs, and NGOs can as a group can bring a change.
With regard to convergence, a WASH for PLWHA (People living with HIV AIDS) is implemented along with UPSACS and WaterAid. We are aiming for integration of WASH into HIVAIDS programming and vice-versa. WASH and the health sector needs to work more closely especially with regard to nutrition.
Shyamnarayan Dave, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Kolkata
My responses to the query in the context of experiences from the state of West Bengal are as under:
How can we strengthen the delivery of TSC to ensure ODF status? How can the private sector help in behavior change communication?
To ensure sustainable sanitation and WASH related service delivery at village level, decentralization is the way to success and should be led by PRIs and CBOs like Self Help Groups that are available at the Gram Panchayat and village level. In West Bengal, the TSC programme implementation and service delivery is led by PRIs and are accountable to ensure 100% sanitation coverage. In addition women SHGs are involved in demand generation and production and promotion of menstrual hygiene management. The NGOs with supply chain at block level provides the sanitary hardware on demand and install at home level. Behavior change is a long term process and has to be dealt locally through IPC, it requires local youths, women group members, grass root functionaries involvement on a sustainable basis. This combination is working well and do not require private sector engagement. Private sector and professional agencies can play a limited role in developing communication tools and campaign designs.
What sort of water quality monitoring and surveillance mechanism is needed especially for arsenic and fluoride affected areas? How can these be treated at the household level?
Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance:
Decentralized programme delivery and strategic alliance with NGOs are instrumental in creating a synergy between rural sanitation and drinking water safety in West Bengal. Partnering with Panchayats (PRI) and NGOs for demand and supply chain management has been the cornerstone for achieving over 86% household toilet coverage in the State. The strategy of using the network of NGO managed Rural Sanitary Marts (RSMs) for setting up water testing laboratories at sub district level has strengthened the process of decentralized management & improving service delivery systems for WASH in the State.
In the year 2002, Government of West Bengal established 20 NGO managed water testing laboratories, with UNICEF support, to detect presence of arsenic in groundwater. To enhance the reliability of the database each laboratory was equipped with UV double beam spectrophotometer and necessary training were imparted to the chemists/ analysts by professional organizations like All-India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health. Subsequently these laboratories were upgraded to test other parameters including bacteriological tests. These institutions worked very well and helped in developing database for arsenic mitigation program. The similar approach was adopted for mapping of fluoride affected areas. It is noteworthy here that the state government after a careful assessment decided to adopt the quantitative approach for water testing for arsenic, fluoride and bacteriological tests to facilitate correct measurement of contaminants. As a preventive measure all safe drinking water sources were marked blue to inform the users to use only the safe source.
In view of the encouraging experience, the Government of West Bengal took a policy decision for setting up one laboratory for each of the 3 blocks to improve the access to the services uniformly in the state and utilize the network for implementing the National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring & Surveillance Program (NRDWQM&SP). As of date, 80 NGO managed RSMs have been up-graded by setting up water testing laboratory and systems for domestic filters production for removal of arsenic, fluoride and iron. One facilitator for every Gram Panchayat has been selected, trained for water sample collection, testing through labs and sharing the test results to the Gram Panchayats.
For sustaining the functioning of the above institutions, the State Government is mobilizing resources from the national flagship programs through a strategic partnership between the departments Panchayats & Rural Development, Public Health Engineering and Health & Family Welfare.
West Bengal now has a network of 114 sub-district level laboratories, of which 80 are managed by NGOs and rest by PHED. It is a unique franchisee approach of both private and public bodies towards water testing of all public & private sources.
Household level treatment of arsenic and fluoride:
UNICEF in collaboration with Bengal Engineering & Science University has developed a domestic filter for removal of arsenic from water having both arsenic and iron at higher concentration. The filter consists of a sand-clay-rice husk candle in the upper chamber for removal of iron. The second chamber houses a bed of Activated Alumina (AA) within a polypropylene sachet in addition to the space to store the treated water. The quantity of AA bed is about 1 kg. The water initially percolates through the candle and thereafter the water passes through the AA bed and stored in the second chamber for withdrawal as and when necessary. The candle needs periodic cleaning to remove the deposited ferric hydroxide particles which gradually clog the water flow through the candle and arrangements are inbuilt for manual backwashing. This candle oxidises iron to insoluble ferric hydroxide that precipitates and its removal by the candle. Ferric hydroxide has been shown to be very effective in removal of arsenic both in trivalent and pentavalent form. Therefore, the candle is observed to remove significant concentrations of arsenic along with iron. The activated alumina subsequently acts as a polishing unit to remove any residual arsenic. The filter media (Activated alumina) requires regeneration after 6 months. The filter is being promoted and fabricated in the sanitary marts (of which there are 66) in the villages. The filter has received acceptance from the user community in terms of the design of the filter, palatability of the treated water and its affordability. The RSMs provides the regeneration services.
Fluoride/Iron removal filter units:
A filter was designed for treatment of water having both fluoride and iron at higher concentration. The aim was to reduce the fluoride content below the level permissible for drinking water (1.5 mg/L) with significant removal of iron also. The filter was quite similar in configuration with the ferro-cement filter used for arsenic removal in villages of West Bengal. The upper and lower chambers have capacities of 9 and 12 litres, respectively. The filter consists of a sand-clay-husk (proportion 1:0.5:0.25) candle (called the Tripura candle) in the upper chamber for removal of iron and the aluminum hydroxide flocs (if alum is used for pretreatment). The second chamber houses a bed of Activated Alumina (AA) (Particle size 0.4 – 1.0 mm) within a PP container for fluoride removal in addition to the space for storage of treated water. The volume of AA bed was 4 L (4.00 kg). The water initially percolates through the Tripura candle and thereafter, the water was introduced to the AA bed from the bottom allowing it to flow upward through the bed before overflowing and storage in the second chamber for withdrawal as and when necessary. There is a provision in the filter body through which air can be blown in the reverse direction occasionally when the candle needs cleaning to remove deposited iron (backwashing). The filter media (Activated alumina) requires regeneration after 6 months. The filters are locally produced by RSMs and are available at affordable cost.
How can we ensure better maintenance of hand-pumps?
In West Bengal spot sources and hand pumps are managed and maintained by PRIs using the mechanics placed with block offices. The Zilla Parishads and blocks use NGOs and RSM network to facilitate water quality testing, sanitary risk survey and corrective action such as disinfection of water sources if found contaminated. To facilitate this, every GP has one trained facilitator who work in close coordination with the respective NGO lab and GP.
Ramakrishan Mission Lokasiksha Parishad (RKMLP) with the help of Government of West Bengal and UNICEF has demonstrated the process of community-managed systems for water quality monitoring and surveillance program in selected Gram Panchayats in the Medinipur district. Women & youths selected from user groups for decentralized maintenance of public water sources were imparted training on upkeep and preventive maintenance of hand pumps.
In the new paradigm of water safety and security, the user families are mobilized to participate for ensuring water quality in addition to the maintenance. User groups for each source have been formed and oriented under the leadership and guidance of the local Gram Panchayat member. As a result, nearly 1900 user groups in 28 GPs have been formed consisting of 10 members in each group. These groups are now popularly known as Jal Suraksha Samities ( Water Safety Committee). These groups have been empowered to take responsibility of upkeep and preventive maintenance of the system and maintaining the standard of water through regular monitoring and corrective measures. The members have also initiated sensitizing the other users on the judicious use of water to ensure source sustainability. Each user family contributes Rs.1/- per month for its upkeep maintenance, water testing and preventive measures for bacteriological contamination.
Decentralized management and related coordination among stakeholders is done at the GP level by Anchalik Jal Suraksha Samity of that GP. It has a member of the cluster organization of RKMLP and Panchayat Pradhan and convenors of users committees. The federation is monitoring the activities of Jal Suraksha samities of the GP and managing the community contribution towards system and source sustainability.
While the above approach has demonstrated alterative system for decentralized management of drinking water source with involvement of Gram Panchayats and has potential for up-scaling as it has increased the community ownership however it will depend on how it draws attention of key stakeholders.
How can we meet the water and sanitation needs of vulnerable groups and what sort of capacity-building is needed for the state-level institutions?
Women SHGs in West Bengal represents mostly the vulnerable and poor sections of societies. These groups have undergone empowerment training and have formed clusters and federations. They have been identified as the motivators and vehicle to reach the un-reached families through sanitation and hygiene in Purulia district and the results after their involvement especially for social mobilization are very encouraging. The SGSY cell within Panchayat and Rural Development department coordinates this activity and facilitates capacity building of all district level rural development cell and SHG federations. Recently collaboration with NRHM has also been established to seek additional resources to up-scale the MHM programme in nine districts. A state level water and sanitation cell located within State Institute of Panchayat and Rural Development (SIPRD) coordinates the capacity building of district sanitation cell and key stakeholders and monitor the TSC implementation in the state. This cell work in close collaboration with state TSC taskforce and CCDU to plan the capacity building of key stakeholders and PRIs to reach the marginalized communities. State government reviews the TSC programme every month through Zilla Parishads at district level and also at block level to accelerate the implementation.
G. S. Mathur, HCM RIPA Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur
We have just completed an environment audit of the lake Mansagar in Jaipur. While we have suggested steps to improve the working of Sewage Treatment plant, TTP, and wet lands through which treated water enters the lake; we are looking for legal criteria to keep the lakes free from pollution.
Some of our views are as under:
Legal Outlook for controlling pollution in lake
Water pollution is one of the major problems facing humanity. Industrialization, urbanization, increase in human pollution are responsible for water pollution. The important sources of water pollution are industrial waste, domestic waste, and agricultural waste. Water pollution management has become an important environmental and public health issue which concerns humanity. The different legislations and laws which are applicable on the Mansagar Lake to provide a sustainable solution for conservation and restoration of the environmentally degraded lake pertaining to water pollution are as below:-
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
- The Water (Prevention, and control of pollution) Act, 1974.
- The Environmental Protection Act 1986
- Constitutional provisions specially Article 21, 32, 47, 48-Aand 51-A(g)
The act 1974 seeks to prevent and control water pollution and maintain and restore the wholesomeness of water with the abatement of water pollution. It gives power to water boards to set standards and regulations for prevention and control of pollution. This act covers all charges in physical, chemical and biological properties of water. In this act, water pollution is also considered as nuisance. Actions can be brought against any person or statutory body for polluting water and its sources. In this act functions of State Boards has been provided which is attached as Annexure 1. Under this act Board can ask relevant information concerning discharge of effluent or sewage. Failure to comply with this is penalized under section 4.0. But no power has been given to stop pollution forthwith or impart directions in cases which cause pollution. It is relevant to state that Central Pollution Control Board has fixed effluent discharge standards but these have not been followed. A note depicting the same is enclosed as Annexure II.
Constitutional Provisions
India has a plethora of Policies, Acts, Rules and Laws in the Water Resources, Environment, Forest , Agriculture, Fisheries and Social sectors, directly or indirectly related to lake management. The Indian Constitution provides, in clear and unambiguous terms, for the State's commitment to protect the environment. Article 48-A of the directive principles states, "The State shall endeavor to protect and improve environment and to safeguard the forests and wild life of the country". Under Article 51-A (g), it is the fundamental duty of every citizen of India "to protect and improve the natural environment, including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life, and to have compassion for living creatures”. The Constitution empowers Panchayats and Urban local bodies with functions and responsibilities, as relevant to Lakes Environment:
Bombay Land Revenue Code declares all lakes and tanks which are not individually owned, to be the properties of the Government. The High Court has made it clear that "The State as the trustee of all natural resources meant for public use, including lakes and ponds, is under a legal duty to protect them." The problem is in making the governments act accordingly.
Several acts and notifications issued by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) provide the legal framework for protection of lakes and reservoirs (wetlands). These deal with environmental protection, pollution control, specific natural resources protection acts, hazardous waste management and the National Environment Tribunal.
Common Problems
The following problems as common to all lakes have been exposed with details available in PIL (CSE, 2002)
- Apathy of the executive in preventing discharge of domestic and industrial effluents into the lakes,
- Lack of proper sewage system
- Encroachments due to the nexus between the executive and the builders lobby
- Lack of access to scientific data and scientific norms for restricting building activity around the lakes
- Ineffective technology for cleaning up pollutants
- Unclear laws, too many corrupt and confused authorities (numerous govt. departments), plethora of land owning govt. agencies, political vested interests, and absence of a clear lake environment policy.
Role of Judiciary and Legal Interventions to stop Degradation of Lakes
A major development in stopping the continuing degradation of lakes has been the involvement of the Judiciary (some times at the highest level, the Supreme Court). The Indian law courts have been extremely proactive on the issue of environmental protection. Groups of affected people and public spirited citizens have been filing Public Interest Litigations (PIL) in courts across the country seeking ‘mandamus’ for remedial actions, specifically in respect of highly polluted urban lakes and water bodies. The ‘mandamus’ is sought, interestingly, under the current constitutional provisions and legislations.
The Supreme Court, in a PIL in the case of Badal Khol and Surajkund lakes in Haryana state, near Delhi , held that “Precautionary Principle" has been accepted as part of the law of the land. The court observed that the "Precautionary Principle" makes it mandatory for the state government to anticipate, prevent and attack the causes of environment degradation. In order to protect the two lakes from environmental degradation and pollution it limited the construction activity in close vicinity of the lakes. The Court further directed that no construction of any type shall be permitted within four km radius of the lakes and that all open area shall be converted into green belts.
STREAM CLASSIFICATION
The stream classification as given by the Central Pollution Control Board is as follows:
Designated best use Class of water Criteria
- Drinking Water Source without conventional treatment but after disinfection A
- Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml shall be 50 or less
- pH between 6.5 and 8.5
- Dissolved Oxygen 6mg/l or more
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20°C 2mg/l or less Outdoor bathing (Organised B • Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml shall be 500 or less pH between 6.5 and 8.5 Dissolved Oxygen 5mg/l or more
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20°C 3mg/l or less Drinking water source after conventional treatment and disinfection C
- Total Coliforms Organism MPN/100ml shall be 5000 or less pH between 6 to 9 Dissolved Oxygen 4mg/l or more
- Biochemical Oxygen Demand 5 days 20°C 3mg/l or less Propagation of Wild life and Fisheries D • pH between 6.5 to 8.5 Dissolved Oxygen 4mg/l or more
- Free Ammonia (as N) 1.2 mg/l or less Irrigation, Industrial Cooling, Controlled Waste disposal E • pH between 6.0 to 8.5
- Electrical Conductivity at 25°C micro mhos/cm Max.2250
- Sodium absorption Ratio Max. 26
- Boron Max. 2mg/l
- Below-E Not Meeting A, B, C, D & E Criteria
- Mansagar Lake is to be developed as a place for recreational activities a minimum of class “D” should be maintained. But since a 5-star hotel is proposed on the shores of it, a minimum stream standard of “B” should be maintained.
Summary
All the lakes, all over the country, without exception, are in varying degrees of environmental degradation. Since the data on lakes is not scientifically compiled, it is difficult to provide analytical solutions to the problems and hence a generic approach.
The main cause for continued degradation of lake environment has been public apathy and government indifference. The situation has changed in the last decade due to public awareness of the need for sustainable environment in general, not of lakes alone. This awareness has led to public protestations, legal interventions and also public participation in restoration actions.
The legal framework for protection of lakes and reservoirs (wetlands) is at present indirectly covered under several acts and notifications issued by the MOEF. A major development in stopping the continuing degradation of lakes has been the involvement of the Judiciary (sometimes at the highest level, the Supreme Court).
Many thanks to all who contributed to this query!
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