Report No: ACS13318

Republic of India

Support to Drinking Water Security Pilots in India {P131954}

{12 May 2015}

GWASS

SOUTH ASIA

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Standard Disclaimer:

This volume is a product of the staff of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/ The World Bank. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the views of the Executive Directors of The World Bank or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries.

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Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................. 5 1

1.1 Rural Water Challenges in India ................................................................................................................... 5

1.2 Setting Up a Drinking Water Security Pilot .................................................................................................. 6

1.3 Technical Assistance to the Pilot .................................................................................................................. 7

Support to the Drinking Water Security Pilot .......................................................................................................... 8 2

2.1 Institutional Sustainability.......................................................................................................................... 10

2.2 Source Sustainability .................................................................................................................................. 11

2.3 System Sustainability ................................................................................................................................. 12

2.4 Sanitation ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Achievements of TA supporting the Pilot and Social Benefits ............................................................................... 13 3

3.1 Usefulness of the Technical Assistance ...................................................................................................... 13

3.2 Usefulness of the Pilot ............................................................................................................................... 14

3.3 Preliminary Outcomes of the Economic Study........................................................................................... 14

Effectiveness of Knowledge Transfer ..................................................................................................................... 16 4

Policy Lessons for Scaling up the Government’s Pilot ........................................................................................... 18 5

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This assessment was undertaken by the Water and Sanitation Program of the World Bank. Acknowledgement is due to officials of Governments of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh. Thanks are also due to Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India and to the peer reviewers: Senior Social Development Specialist Suryanarayan Satish, Senior Water and Sanitation Specialist Claire Kfouri and Lead Irrigation Specialist Jacob Burke. While all efforts have been made to ensure that the data presented are correct, any inadvertent errors remain the responsibility of the team. Task Team Leader: Manish Kumar

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ABBREVIATIONS

APFAMGS Andhra Pradesh Farmer Management Groundwater Systems CEO Chief Executive Officer CGWB Central Ground Water Board CLTS Community Led Total Sanitation GP Gram Panchayat GVS Gram Vikas Samstha HGM Hydro Geomorphological Maps ICT Information Communication Technology LPCD MDWS

Liters Per Capita per Day Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation

NGO Non-Governmental Organization NRDWP National Rural Drinking Water Program NRSC National Remote Sensing Center ODF Open Defecation Free PHED Public Health Engineering Department PPMS Pilot Project Monitoring System PRI Panchayat Raj Institution SLWM Solid and Liquid Waste Management SO Support Organization TA Technical Assistance ToT Training of Trainers VWSC Village Water and Sanitation Committee VWSP Village Water Security Plan WASMO Water and Sanitation Management Organization WBE Water Budget Estimation WSP Water and Sanitation Program

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Drinking Water Security Pilot was launched by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Government of India in 2011 to address the emerging challenges of rapidly depleting groundwater, increased geo-genic and anthropogenic contamination and rapid system degradation from poor operation and maintenance practices, threating the sustainability of access. The objective of the Pilot was to ‘achieve drinking water security in a holistic manner’, by combining the top down inter-ministerial coordination of water resource management with bottom-up coordination led by Gram Panchayats (GPs). A total of 15 over-exploited Blocks1 across 10 states with a total population of 2.25 million showing alarming levels of groundwater depletion were selected for the Pilot. The financing for the activities came from existing allocations under the “Sustainability” and “Support” components of the Government’s own Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) and various other schemes of different line departments.

The objective of the Technical Assistance (TA) by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) comprised of i) providing technical activities on project design and implementation, ii) developing master trainers for community management of water resources, and iii) technical support for monitoring to measure performance. The scope of the TA within the Pilot encompassed four pillars essential to achieving drinking water security: (i) institutional sustainability to enhance local government institutional capacity to manage the process, (ii) source sustainability to ensure sustainability of the drinking water source, (iii) system sustainability to ensure water quality and regular operation and maintenance of supply system, and (iv) improving access to sanitation and reducing open defecation, resulting in improved water quality. To hand-hold the GPs and the Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) for implementing the Pilot, local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were hired as Support Organizations (SOs). The Pilot was proposed to be implemented in four phases: Preparatory Phase; Capacity Building, Surveys and Analysis; Implementation of the Drinking Water Security Plans and Monitoring Improvements. By February 2015, in eight blocks out of fifteen the Pilot has progressed into the third phase.

As one of the key objectives of the TA was knowledge transfer, a separate in-depth case study revealed that overall, knowledge transfer under the TA was moderately satisfactory: community members understood and appreciated the relevance of the Pilot and the villagers had taken positive action. However, improvements for the future knowledge transfer processes and institutional set up have also been suggested in report.

In the policy implications for scaling up the Government’s Pilot, it is acknowledged that drinking water security is a complex issue, requiring strengthened cross-sectorial coordination. Importantly, the institutional role and responsibilities of state governments in respect to the Pilot needs to be defined and strengthened. Lack of adequate engagement of the state government with Pilot resulted in poor contract management and delayed payments to SOs. Going forward, the Ministry should have a clear policy on engagement of SOs as well as ensuring their technical competency. The Ministry also needs a strong nodal unit, sufficiently staffed with experts on various domains of water security.

1 Blocks are the lowest administrative unit where field implementation of development programs are coordinated.

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Introduction 1

1.1 Rural Water Challenges in India

1. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS), Government of India, succeeded in providing access to drinking water to more than 90 percent of rural inhabitants by 2005. However, new challenges have emerged, threating the sustainability of access. High rates of slip-backs of habitations were reported by state governments because of rapidly depleting groundwater, increased geo-genic and anthropogenic contamination, and widespread system degradations on account of poor operation and maintenance practices.

2. The competition for water use in rural India has drastically increased over the last few decades. Domestic rural water supply can no longer be addressed in isolation from water use in agriculture and industry. The drinking water source in rural India is primarily dependent on groundwater, with limited supply coming from treated surface sources. While domestic water for drinking is accorded the first priority use under the National Water Policy, the consumption of water resources for this purpose is a small fraction of the total water usage: approximately 80 percent of the total water resources withdrawn in India are utilized for agriculture. 3. Since the green revolution of 1960s, groundwater extraction for irrigation has increased exponentially. The availability of motorized pumps, accompanied by energy subsidy for irrigation, has resulted in extraction of more water from aquifer than needed for the crops. In areas where aquifers are depleting faster than annual recharge, the habitations are witnessing seasonal scarcity of groundwater for drinking purpose, resulting in state governments supplying drinking water to inhabitants in tankers. As per the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), 802 Blocks out of 5,861 in the country are over-exploited (14 percent). 4. The Government of India has made provisions in the National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) Guidelines, 2009, for water demand estimates and budgeting at the village level. The revised NRDWP guidelines of MDWS provide a holistic and participatory planning approach, promoting:

i. departmental convergence i.e., activities and co-operation from relevant departments and agencies at the village level;

ii. use of multiple water sources, i.e., conjunctive use of surface water, groundwater and rainwater harvesting;

iii. convergence of all water conservation schemes including revival of traditional systems; and iv. re-charge of water sources in the villages.

5. The NRDWP supports transfer of management of water supply assets to the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs) at the Gram Panchayat (GP) level. It is within this institutional context and provisions that the Drinking Water Security Pilot was launched by MDWS in 2011.

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1.2 Setting Up a Drinking Water Security Pilot

6. The need for a pilot emerged from an international workshop organized on “Achieving Drinking Water Security in Water stressed and Quality-affected Areas”, held on 25-26 May 2010 for addressing different dimensions of drinking water security. The Pilot aimed to capitalize on the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India, 1994, transferring to Panchayats a host of powers for economic and social development, including the power to manage water and sanitation locally. The experts in the workshop encouraged MDWS to consider trialing, in addition to top down inter-ministerial coordination of water resource management, the bottom-up coordination potential, with Panchayats leading and coordinating economic activities consuming water. There were small and localized experiences of such bottom-up model managed by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), mostly for conserving water for agriculture purpose but it was unclear if these were scalable or could be applied to drinking water security. The consensus view from the workshop was that a pilot by the government would provide insights on the efficacy and scalability of a government managed, bottom-up program on drinking water security.

7. The Pilot was formally launched in Pune on 9-10 September 2011 through a national workshop. Building on the institutional framework laid out in the NRDWP, the objective of the Pilot was determined as ‘achieving drinking water security in a holistic manner’. 8. MDWS, in consultations with State Governments and CGWB, selected aquifers/sub-watersheds/hydrological units in 15 over-exploited Blocks showing alarming levels of groundwater depletion. The participating Blocks across the 10 states and their profile is given in Table 1 below.

Table 1: List of participating Blocks Block, District, State # of GPs

in Block # of Villages

in Block Population (in

‘000) SC/ST (%) OE/SC/C/S*

1 Morshi, Amravati, Maharashtra 67 111 154 30% OE

2 Warud, Amravati, Maharashtra 66 117 167 33% OE

3 Gorantalu, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh

25 30 94 20% SC

4 Moothey, Nalagonda, Andhra Pradesh

18 20 44 43% SC

5 Pileru, Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh 15 17 87 15% SC

6 Kheralu, Mehsana, Gujarat 45 50 107 10% n.a

7 Kaithal, Kaithal, Haryana 63 63 235 24% O.E

8 Mulbagal, Kolar, Karnataka 30 298 205 36% O.E

9 Piploda, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh 52 88 140 33% n.a

10 Rampur Baghelan, Satna, Madhya Pradesh

98 206 270 28% n.a

11 Dhuri, Sangrur, Punjab 41 41 83 32% O.E

12 Raipur, Bhilwara, Rajasthan 22 89 100 22% O.E

13 Morappur, Dharampuri, Tamil Nadu 43 43 134 23% O.E

14 Mauranipur, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh 55 84 162 36% S

15 Barauli Aheer, Agra, Uttar Pradesh 55 68 252 23% n.a

Total 695 1325 2234 27% O.E

*O.E = Over Exploited; S.C = Semi Critical; C = Critical; S = Safe (as defined by the Central Ground Water Board)

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9. The Blocks were to finance activities related to drinking water security from existing allocations under the “Sustainability” and “Support” components of NRDWP as well as from various schemes of different line departments over which Panchayats have financial control, such as Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Program, Integrated Watershed Development Program, Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (now, Swachh Bharat Mission), etc. The costs of preparation of Village Water Security Plans (VWSPs) were being met from the support funds allocation of the NRDWP. The costs of implementation (i.e., the hardware activities) of VWSPs were met from the sustainability component of NRDWP and the fund sourced from above listed government schemes.

1.3 Technical Assistance to the Pilot 10. MDWS requested the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) to provide technical support to the Pilot and build institutional capacity. The development objective of the TA was to share knowledge and facilitate processes for rationalizing local water resource use, following a community-driven approach for achieving drinking water security in 15 blocks across 10 states of India. The TA comprised of

i) providing technical activities on project design and implementation; ii) developing master trainers for community management of water resources; and iii) technical support for monitoring to measure performance.

11. Table 2 below shows the achievement against intermediate outcomes and indicators based on the original results framework of the TA.

Table 2: Achievements against Results Framework Intermediate outcomes Indicators Achievements

Enabling Institutions: VWSC capacity enhanced to undertake key tasks of ground water level monitoring, water usage budgeting and implementation of water storage and aquifer recharging.

Clear definition of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders

Water budget documents are drafted and operationalized in GPs

Appointment and Training of Support Organization for MDWS

Carried out Water Budgeting Exercise in one GP/Pilot Block

Developed Framework/Template for Preparation of Drinking Water Security plan

Toolkit for Water Budget Estimation

Toolkit for Preparation of Drinking Water Security Plan

Monitoring of Drinking Water Security Plan documents by WSP consultants at the Ministry

Training on HGM Maps

Toolkit on Participatory Groundwater Management

Indovation workshops I & II

Enabling Citizen’s Voice: VWSC capacity to influence decisions affecting the community is enhanced.

Local population is consulted in planning

Local population has information and knowledge

Local population participates in implementation

Exposure Visit to Andhra Pradesh Farmer

Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS)

and Dakshin Kannada and Malkapur

Toolkit for Training of VWSCs

Training on Community Led Total Sanitation for Swatchatadoots

Enabling Monitoring and Evaluation: Central, State

Periodic analysis of pilots are undertaken at the

Held National Level Review workshops and undertook periodic visits to the pilots

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Intermediate outcomes Indicators Achievements

and village level capacity to monitor water resources available to the community is enhanced.

State/Central level

Periodic analysis includes how the pilots are inclusive of reaching the poor and vulnerable

Developed monitoring indicators for tracking progress

In Depth Case study on knowledge transferred and uptake

Compendium of Good Practices in Rural Water Supply Schemes

12. The state governments appointed, on contractual a basis, technically qualified local NGOs as Support Organizations (SOs) to hand-hold the GPs and VWSCs for implementing the Pilot. WSP shared technical knowledge with MDWS officials, State and District level officials and SO staff through training sessions, workshops and technical documents.

13. The scope of the TA activities encompassed four pillars essential to achieving drinking water security: (i) institutional sustainability to enhance local government institutional capacity to manage the process, (ii) source sustainability to ensure sustainability of the drinking water source, (iii) system sustainability to ensure water quality and regular operation and maintenance of supply system, and (iv) sanitation to improve sanitation and reduce open defecation, resulting in improved water quality. Implementation of these is described in the subsequent section.

Support to the Drinking Water Security Pilot 2 14. The pilot was proposed to be implemented by MDWS in four phases: preparatory phase, capacity building, surveys and analysis phase, implementation of the drinking water security plans phase and monitoring improvements phase. In some states, the progress of Pilot has reached as far as the third phase, while lagging in other. The progress of the Blocks in respect to the four phases discussed below is illustrated in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Progress of Blocks Block, District, State Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

1 Morshi, Amravati, Maharashtra Yes Yes Limited No

2 Warud, Amravati, Maharashtra Yes Yes Limited No

3 Gorantalu, Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh Yes Yes Limited No

4 Moothey, Nalagonda, Andhra Pradesh Yes Yes Limited No

5 Pileru, Chitoor, Andhra Pradesh Yes Yes Limited No

6 Kheralu, Mehsana, Gujarat Yes Yes Yes Limited

7 Kaithal, Kaithal, Haryana Yes Yes Yes No

8 Mulbagal, Kolar, Karnataka Yes Yes Yes Limited

9 Piploda, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh Yes Yes Yes No

10 Rampur Baghelan, Satna, Madhya Pradesh Yes Yes Yes No

11 Dhuri, Sangrur, Punjab Limited Limited No No

12 Raipur, Bhilwara, Rajasthan Yes Yes Yes No

13 Morappur, Dharampuri, Tamil Nadu Yes Yes Yes No

14 Mauranipur, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh Yes Yes Yes No

15 Barauli Aheer, Agra, Uttar Pradesh Yes Yes Limited No

15. Phase 1 – Preparatory Phase: In this phase, the pilot districts and blocks were selected by MDWS in consultation with state governments and the Central Ground Water Board. Reputed NGOs were

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selected as SO to handhold the Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC) and GPs for developing drinking water security plans. Baseline data was collected from relevant government agencies (including primary data collection, as needed) to characterize the aquifers, surface water resources, rainfall patterns and demographic profile of each block. Demonstration visits to the APFAMGS project2 and other good practice sites were organized. The role of WSP during this phase was to provide technical advice to MDWS, develop terms of reference for hiring of NGOs as Support Organization, provide technical advice for collection of baseline data, and organize demonstration visits to the APFAMGS sites.

16. Phase 2 – Capacity Building, Surveys and Analysis: In this phase, training materials were developed for water budget estimation, groundwater management and participatory approach to water security planning. The SOs were trained for engaging the GPs and VWSC members, thereby building their understanding of the local aquifers. The SOs also imparted knowledge to villagers on crops, water consumption and cropping patterns that optimize productivity and minimize water consumption. Following the trainings by SOs, the efficiency and effectiveness of the existing water supply systems was reviewed and assessed by community members, and measures initiated to improve operation and maintenance of water supply systems. The GP level drinking water security plans were prepared. The role of WSP during this phase was to develop training materials, provide training to master trainers belonging to SOs and develop framework/template for preparation of drinking water security plans by the GPs.

17. Phase 3 – Implementation of the Drinking Water Security Plans: Following the knowledge flow from SOs to GPs/VWSCs, the implementation of the drinking water security plans were undertaken by the respective GPs/VWSCs with the support of Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) or other relevant local agencies. The role of the WSP was limited to monitoring if the drinking water security plan documents were being implemented.

18. Phase 4 – Monitoring Improvements: The VWSC are to be trained to monitor the improvements from the implementation of the water security plans. Information communication technology (ICT) applications are to be used, including mobile telephony, telemetric devices and web-based tools, to monitor progress and take corrective actions. WSP’s role has been limited to providing technical advice to the Ministry and SOs on how ICT-based monitoring mechanisms could be developed and used for tracking progress.

19. During these four phases of implementation, the TA was expected to support institutional sustainability, source sustainability, system sustainability, and sanitation.

Institutional sustainability: Secure and sustainable drinking water for the rural areas, as envisaged by the Pilot, required an integrated approach, with community capable of undertaking and monitoring activities related to source sustainability, system sustainability and water quality. The sustainability is most likely achieved when there is participation and ownership of the local community. As water management is linked to behavior change, this understanding and ownership is important. The driving principles of WSP support were, therefore, training of SOs for raising awareness of communities and enhancing local government institutional capacity to manage processes promoting sustainability of source, operation and maintenance and water quality. To enhance the capacity of the government functionaries and the SOs, these were equipped with relevant technical knowledge so that they could then impart

2 developed by FAO

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to GP level pilot functionaries. In addition to technical trainings, review workshops were organized, toolkits and training modules developed, and exposure visits arranged.

Source Sustainability: The primary source of rural drinking water is groundwater, though in some areas, surface water is also tapped. Large, uncontrolled agricultural abstractions have resulted in overexploitation of the groundwater resource, with concomitant drinking water shortages, particularly in the dry seasons. Measures for water conservation and demand management are a critical component of ensuring long term source sustainability. The master trainers from SOs were provided with knowledge on water budgeting, re-charge techniques and development of village drinking water security plans.

System Sustainability: The systems created for delivery of water, such as hand-pumps and piped water supply systems, have to be operated and maintained on a regular basis. Regular payment of user fees by consumers and budget allocations by government, for minor and major repairs, electricity charges and salary of operators are critical for long-term sustainability of the system. The SOs and local officials of two Blocks were taken for exposure visits to villages having robust water supply systems in Maharashtra and Karnataka for the SOs and officials to draw lessons from their observations, and apply them to the context of their GPs.

Sanitation: Often, drinking water in rural areas does not conform to water quality standards of potable water, largely due to bacteriological contamination from open defecation and poor solid and liquid waste management practices. These must be effectively managed to ensure that water consumed is of good quality. The SOs were trained on Community Led Total Sanitation techniques.

20. The activities and outputs supported by WSP, and the achieved and anticipated outcomes these are related to, are listed in Table 4; the first column of the table lists the problem situation at the start of the Pilot that the activities aimed to resolve. In the outcomes section cells highlighted in green have been fully achieved whereas cells highlighted in red have been achieved partially. In the following chapters after the table the activities, achieved outputs and outcomes are elaborated further.

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Table 4: Activities, Outputs and Outcomes as well as expected Outcomes

Situation Activities Achieved Output by WSP (to address the situation)

Outcomes*

Short term (0-1 yr) Intermediate Term (2-3 yrs) Long Term

Institutional sustainability

VWSCs lack technical and institutional capacity regarding drinking water security.

i) Developed the terms of reference (ToR) to hire SOs to support VWSCs ii) Developed toolkit for Training of VWSCs.

- Workshops to train SOs conducted.

- VWSCs trained by SOs

- Trained VWSCs and convergence between government schemes; - improved co-ordination between government departments at the State, Block and District level

- Seasonal drinking water scarcity decreased in villages - Rural drinking water quality improves.

MDWS's lack of capacity for monitoring

i) Concept note and ToRs prepared to hire technical consultants for MDWS to provide monitoring support.

- Developed monitoring indicators

- Monitoring indicators used to identify activities, outputs and outcome.

- Monitoring indicators are measured

ii) Study of good practices in ICT monitoring for WSS delivery

iii) Provided technical support to monitor implementation.

- National level review workshops and periodic visits to the pilots conducted.

- Improved quality of implementation

- Increased accountability of state level departments to implement the scheme.

Lack of knowledge on technical solutions

i) Technical support to the MDWS on rural sanitation and drinking water quality technologies.

- Conducted workshops - Indovation I and II

- Knowledge transferred and technology uptake

- Implementation of technologies

Source sustainability

Excess groundwater withdrawal for irrigation Lack of

i) Prepared handbook on Water Budget Estimation (WBE)

- WBE demonstration in one GP/Pilot Block conducted.

- Trained SOs conducted WBE in all pilot GPs - Community has knowledge

to update and implement Drinking Water Security plans

ii) Prepared toolkit on Preparation of Drinking Water Security plans

- Conducted a workshop to finalize a Model Drinking Water Security plan

- SOs facilitated preparation of GP level Drinking Water Security plan

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Situation Activities Achieved Output by WSP (to address the situation)

Outcomes*

Short term (0-1 yr) Intermediate Term (2-3 yrs) Long Term

knowledge in community about water cycle

iii) Provided technical support to MDWS on hydrology.

- SOs and state department officials trained on use of Hydro-geomorphological Maps

iv) ToR prepared to hire a resource agency Gram Vikas Samstha (GVS) to conduct exposure visits to good practice site - APFAMGS Project

- Exposure visits conducted for state/ district officials and SO's

- Knowledge transferred to SOs and community members

- Community increases investments in groundwater recharge measures - Improved groundwater management

v) Prepared ToR to hire a resource agency (MetaMeta) vi) Prepared Groundwater management training manual

System sustainability

Poor O & M i) Technical support on best practices in O & M.

- Exposure visits conducted to model villages of Malkapur and Dakshin Kannada

- Knowledge transferred on 24x7 and water tariff systems

- Improved O&M and tariff collection

Water quality and contamination issues

This was addressed in the toolkits for i) Drinking Water Security plans and ii) Groundwater Management.

- Knowledge transferred, - increased water quality testing

- Measures taken to improve water quality

Sanitation

Open defecation and poor hygiene

i) Hired a resource agency to conduct a Training of Trainers workshop on Community Led Total Sanitation

- Workshops held in 5 blocks to train community volunteers in CLTS methods

- Raised awareness in community towards open defecation free ODF) communities.

- Improved sanitation and use of toilets.

- Rural drinking water quality improves.

*

Outcomes fully achieved Outcomes partially achieved

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2.1 Institutional Sustainability

21. The activities undertaken by WSP for strengthening institutional capacity of government officials and SO staff on managerial and technical aspects of the Pilot consisted of workshops, trainings, exposure visits, etc. All these activities were performed between 2012 and 2015 and reached a total of more than 1,000 participants. The exact figures are presented in Annexure 1, Support to the Drinking Water Security Pilot - activities. 22. To upgrade their technical capacity MDWS also asked for technical and co-ordination support to monitor the progress of the Pilot. In response, WSP placed consultants in MDWS office to enhance national capacity for managing the pilot. The scope of work for the consultants included technical activities on the drinking water security plans developed by the Blocks, communication and co-ordination with the states and monitoring the implementation on a regular basis. 23. WSP also provided MDWS advice on drafting of Terms of Reference for procurement of SOs. The SOs, hired then by the state governments, were to provide handholding support to the VWSCs, coordinate at the GP level the development of a village water security plan and facilitate the convergence of activities of various departments for implementing the plan. The SOs’ work encompassed community mobilization, capacity development of VWSCs and GPs, enabling communities to identify their challenges in water security, suggesting to GPs the technical options for water conservation and assisting the GPs in the development and implementation of the drinking water security plans. 24. For conducting the training in GPs a manual for training of village water and sanitation committees was prepared by MDWS, with the support of WSP. The manual covered social, technical and financial aspects of community-based water management was meant to be a resource for trainers or facilitators for conducting training of the GPs. Based on the framework outlined in the manual, the village level participants were expected to conceptualize their own procedures, operation and maintenance schedules, forms and other management instruments. This was to ensure that outputs from the training sessions were developed in close collaboration with the participants, thereby building ownership and increasing their chances of use (Annexure 2, Toolkit for Training of VWSCs). 25. To monitor the Pilot an online Pilot Project Monitoring System (PPMS) was hosted on the MDWS website with a timeline of activities to be completed in each phase of the Pilot. Data to assess progress was collected in regards of (i) completed block level activities, (ii) baseline data on a one-off basis for each phase and against the financial year of implementation, and (iii) monthly progress reports (Annexure 3, Monitoring Formats). 26. Also four National Level Review Workshops including field visits were held to monitor progress, deliver key messages to the officials of state government and SOs, encouraging cross-learning between states and for sharing critical technical knowledge.

27. The Pilot also empowered VWSC and GP members, and community at large, to monitor local water resource management practices and envisaged potential use of innovative ICT applications such as mobile telephones, web based tools and other telemetric devices. Accordingly, international experience in use of ICT for monitoring water supply and sanitation service was compiled and it was

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observed that there are tremendous opportunities for its use in strengthening accountability and enhancing transparency. (Annexure 3, ICT in the Water Sector – a Review of International Experience). 28. To provide technical support for the Pilot two national level workshops showcasing innovative technologies from the private sector on rural water and sanitation were organized. In these workshops, the participants included Union Cabinet Minister in charge of drinking water and sanitation, Secretary of MDWS, senior officials of MDWS, Cabinet Ministers of State Governments in charge of water and sanitation, Principal Secretaries of State Governments, official of the Support Organizations, etc. The workshops also increased private sector awareness about water quality related challenges in India and the demand for providing appropriate solutions and need for innovations.

2.2 Source Sustainability

29. WSP activities promoting source sustainability included water budgeting exercise, using hydro-geomorphological maps for planning local water use, development of drinking water security plans, groundwater management and exposure visits to villages that have successfully adopted community based water security practices. Activities reached a total of more than 700 participants. (Annexure 1). 30. For water budget exercise a handbook was developed with simplified, scientifically credible methodology, drawing from the experience of crop water budgeting approach of the APFAMGS project in Andhra Pradesh, to guide VWSCs in calculating water balance at the GP level as well as of various hydrological basins within the Block. The WBE handbook was designed as a training of trainers (TOT) manual and could also double up as reference manual. The target audience were state level administrators, engineers, SO staff, members of GPs and VWSCs, local volunteers, etc. (Annexure 4, Handbook for Water Budget Estimation). In a day long participatory training in one GP of each pilot Block, the consultants of WSP demonstrated how the handbook can be utilized in practice for computing water use in a GP. 31. To conduct a technical workshop on hydro-geomorphological maps, WSP collaborated with National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad. The training on remote sensing and the use of HGM Maps for water resource planning was attended by SO staff and state government officials. Currently, hydro-morphological maps are being used in the GPs, with technical assistance from SOs, for developing the Drinking Water Security Plans. The maps help the VWSC teams to confirm locations of re-charge sites and enable decision making on the desirability of recharge structures, given geo-morphological characteristics of the village, and when desirable, the type of structures needed. The maps also help in flood/storm water planning, locating observation wells for monitoring water level or discharge and for overlaying with administrative boundaries. 32. In order to prepare the Drinking water security plans a toolkit was designed to equip SOs, field level engineering agencies, Gram Panchayats and VWSC members, Panchayat Development officers and other government functionaries with necessary tools and techniques required for adopting a systematic, step by step approach to prepare the plan (Annexure 5, Toolkit for Preparation of Drinking Water Security Plan). Also a GP level plan framework was developed jointly with SOs in a workshop and shared by MDWS with all pilot Blocks as a model. (Annexure 6, Model Drinking Water Security Plan). The SOs were then to support to the GPs and VWSCs on formulating their Drinking water security plans. The completion status of the Drinking water security plans can be seen in Table 5 below. By April more than 400 water security plans were made following the state-wise example plans approved by MDWS.

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Table 5: Status of Village Water Security Plan Preparation (completion/expected completion)

S. No. State District/Block VWSP preparation and completion status (%)

Timeline for completion

1. Karnataka Kolar/Mulbagal 100 % Complete

2. Tamil Nadu Dharmapuri/Morappur 100 % Complete

3. Uttar Pradesh Jhansi/Mauranipur 100 % Complete

4. Madhya Pradesh Satna/Rampur Baghelan 100 % Complete

5. Telangana Nalgonda/Moothey 100 % Complete

6. Uttar Pradesh Agra/Barauli Ahir 75 % 31 March 2015

7. Madhya Pradesh Ratlam/Piploda 70 % 31 March 2015

8. Andhra Pradesh Anatpur/Gorantala 60 % 20 March 2015

9. Andhra Pradesh Chittoor/Piler 60 % 20 March 2015

10. Rajasthan Bhilwara/Raipur 50 % 20 March 2015

11. Haryana Kaithal/Kaithal 40 % 31 March 2015

12. Punjab Sangrur/Dhuri 35 % 30 June 2015

13. Maharashtra Amravati/Warud Prepared, under state approval 30 June 2015

14. Maharashtra Amravati/Morshi Prepared, under state approval 30 June 2015

15. Gujarat Mehsana/Kheralu 10 % 30 June 2015

33. The pedagogical objective of groundwater management training was delivering basic knowledge of groundwater management and hydrology to literate community members in GPs. The manual provides simplified techniques, following a participatory approach, of village-level groundwater budgeting and hydrological monitoring (Annexure 7, Groundwater Management Training Manual). 34. As a part of the capacity building activities, WSP designed and managed study tours for SO staff to good practice sites and model villages, such as to Andhra Pradesh Farmer Managed Groundwater Systems (APFAMGS) sites. These visits served to enhance the quality of knowledge acquired by SOs and eventually transferred to the GPs/VWSCs. To facilitate the exposure visits Gram Vikas Samstha (GVS) to provide learning of Block level teams about practices and institutional setup in these model villages, assisting the team in observing the functioning of local committees, hydrological unit network leaders, staff, etc.

2.3 System Sustainability

35. GPs/VWSCs were to outline measures for systems sustainability in their Drinking Water Security Plans. These measures are specific to local conditions, taking into account groundwater and surface water availability, rainfall patterns, topography, etc. To facilitate learning exposure visits to GPs in Maharashtra and Karnataka, which have robust water supply systems and are recognized by MDWS as examples of good practice sites, were organized for SOs, District, Block and GP members. Participants were then expected to share the knowledge with GP/VWSC members in their respective areas to adopt and implement ideas. (Annexure 1.) 36. In Malkapur Block, Maharasthra the Jeevan Pradhikaran Mantralaya (the State Water Supply and Sanitation department) has been providing technical support and GP/ VWSCs have been mobilizing funds and managing system up-gradation from intermittent supply system into 24x7 supply. In Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka, to achieve equitable distribution, saving of water and energy and reduction in disputes, many GPs have mobilized local communities to adopt meters for their household connections. By December 2014, nearly 70% of rural household connections in the area were metered.

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37. In order to educate state governments to address poor maintenance of assets and poor recovery of water usage tariff from the community WSP also compiled a collection of success stories and best practices from various projects spread across the states of Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Punjab and Uttarakhand as a compendium to address key challenges in providing piped drinking water supply (Annexure 9, Compendium of Best Practices in Rural Water Supply Schemes).

2.4 Sanitation 38. Drinking water sources are contaminated by poor sanitation in the villages. The Pilot addressed the concerns of open defecation and unsafe disposal of solid and liquid waste by organizing trainings to SOs, local officials and GP/VWSC members on community led total sanitation. The training focused on building volunteers’ technical capacity and skills required to facilitate information, education and communication programs at the community level and trigger communities towards collective local action for achieving ODF status. (Annexure 1). 39. The GPs and VWSCs, with support from SOs, also conducted baseline surveys of existing sanitation systems in the GPs, identifying areas for improvement and drawing up actions plan for solid and liquid waste management (SLWM), along with cost estimates, which in turn were incorporated in the Drinking Water Security Plans.

Achievements of TA supporting the Pilot and Social Benefits 3

3.1 Usefulness of the Technical Assistance

40. The technical assistance, helping MDWS to design and launch India’s first Pilot on water security, was moderately successful. In the initial stages it shaped the Pilot by drafting the initial concept note and the terms of reference for hiring SOs as well as launching workshops. During the implementation phase, the TA supported the Pilot with orientation and training, development of different material, periodic review and monitoring. The consultants deployed through the TA were instrumental in imparting training at the field level which resulted in transfer of knowledge to lower levels and building a cadre of community leaders sensitized on the various aspects of water security and the ways and means to address them. The field exposure and training organized at GVS, Madanapally (APFAMGS Program) were very effective in imparting knowledge on water budgeting, crop budgeting, ground water recharge measures etc. 41. The Pilot had several teething problems which were resolved mainly with the technical support from this TA. For example, monitoring of the Pilot was challenging due to the limited manpower in MDWS. Therefore, the TA provided consultants to support the Ministry in coordinating the projects spread across pilot blocks monitoring the work. Also national review meetings on the Pilot helped in maintaining the momentum of the project in the Blocks. Periodic visits to the Blocks by the staff and consultants hired through the TA provided guidance and supervision for improving the quality of implementation. 42. Though the TA could not achieve all its desired objectives, such as better convergence between government programs in the district level, and its focus was more on the knowledge transfer instead of

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coordinating financing and technical knowhow, the TA helped in raising awareness in the community and among the officials working in the field on the importance of water security and developing a framework and strategy for addressing the challenges related to it. The learnings from the TA will definitely help to launch a well-designed scaled up program in the country. The effectiveness of knowledge transfer and the suggestions for improvement are discussed in chapter 4.

3.2 Usefulness of the Pilot

43. Although the achievement of Technical Assistance was moderately successful, the overall the success of the MDWS pilot project by March 2015 is rated as partially successful. This is because the Pilot needed government actions at much larger scale, in addition to support provided by TA. Further, within the same Block, some villages received greater government attention than others. This section briefly discusses the achievements and challenges of the government Pilot. 44. One of the achievements of the Pilot has been its success in bringing the issue of water security to a bigger and wider debate in this country. The Pilot has been successful in getting attention of the planners and administrators to the crucial issue affecting the sector and the significance of water security approach in addressing the challenges. By April 2015 more than 400 water security plans were made. During the past two years Rajasthan has reported convergence with departments of agriculture, irrigation and watershed as well as with MNREGS and NBA worth a total of INR 99,500,000 (USD 1.6 million) of which nearly 50 % came from irrigation. In Madhya Pradesh, the total amount of INR 766,800,000 ( USD 12.5 million) was spent through PHED, rural development including projects like NREGS and SBM, irrigation department, agriculture and community contribution. In Karnataka, the funds spent from other departments or schemes were as high as INR 1, 849,400,000 INR (USD 30 million), sanitation (SBM) contributing approximately 45 % of the total amount. 45. However, on the ground the projects suffered from various handicaps: The Pilot could have drawn several lessons from the APFAMGS program but had to move further to a wider and bigger canvas to cover the various stakeholders related to water sector in this country. The limitations of MDWS and the state governments in getting convergent support from the various government institutions in water sector also hampered the success of the Pilot – not all states have found convergence easy, even as a few, listed above, have done well. All the same, as a beginning and learning by doing, it was an approach worth trying and the lessons will definitely help in shaping up a better program in the future. The policy lessons from the Pilot are discussed in chapter 5.

3.3 Preliminary Outcomes of the Economic Study

46. A field survey was undertaken in six villages in Mulbagal Block, Karnataka state in February and March 2015 to compute the socio-economic benefit of the Pilot in three high intervention villages compared to another three with limited interventions.3

3 The villages with low interventions had a lower frequency of regular visits from the community mobilizers

(approximately 50% less than high intervention villages) and participated only in the water budgeting exercise and sanitation training. High intervention villages profited from more visits from the community mobilizers, undertaking all workshops, additional exposure visits and strong support of the VWSC members, e.g. for representing their work at district level meetings.

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47. The theoretical concept chosen for this analysis is the multi water-use services (MUS) approach. A systematic literature research on this approach, as well as a detailed appraisal of the Pilot has identified four areas of analytical interest: health, economy, environment and time savings. These four areas and the chosen MUS approach ensure that the main socio-economic aspects are integrated into the analysis and accounts for the existence of fixed village boundaries in the no-border medium of water. In the field of health, a WHO approach allowed including morbidity as well as mortality effects. The economy has been evaluated by measuring the crop and live-stock situation. Environmental outcomes are derived through the water needs of crops and livestock, but also by recharge effects from newly installed infrastructures. Time savings have been measured through improved access to water and sanitation as well as changes in irrigation techniques. 48. Two reference points were chosen to measure the economic impact of the Pilot. Firstly, the situation before the Pilot was compared to the current situation. Secondly, three villages from the Pilot Block with limited interventions were compared as a control group to the other three villages from the Pilot Block with high amount of interventions. These two reference points adhere to the so called pretest-posttest control group study design which ensures that distractions from maturation of the individuals, historic tendencies, pretesting and measuring instruments are neutralized. One major precondition - the equality of control and intervention group before the start of the Pilot – was fulfilled in terms of number of villages, number of households and inhabitants, access to medical services and rainfall data. Minor differences where furthermore equalized through adjusting to per capita values. 49. The outcomes of this study are currently in a preliminary status and further in depth analysis are undertaken. The overall situation shows a net increase of about INR 4 million (USD 70.000) in the control group and by approximately INR 22 million (USD 270.000) in the high intervention4. Hence, a total net benefit of roughly INR 18 million (USD300.000) is found to occur on account of the Pilot intervention. 50. Looking closer at the four areas of the economic investigation – health, economy, environment and time savings - the control group shows negative results in each of the fields except for the environment5, whereas the three villages with high interventions show a negative tendency only in the economy group (nearly INR 50 million, approximately INR 2 million less than in the control group). The other three fields - health, environment and time savings – show positive monetary outcomes6. It can therefore be concluded that the Pilot villages with high interventions show better results in each of the investigated fields7. 51. The field study also has implications for the four pillars of the technical assistance – institutional sustainability, source sustainability, system sustainability and sanitation. The study indicates that, concerning institutional sustainability, the different intensity of support from the SOs, the workshops and the exposure visits are responsible for most of the described benefits, because the basic support by the SOs as well as information about the toolkits and training modules was available to both, control and intervention group. Source sustainability has also been better managed in the intervention group. This becomes obvious by the benefits compared in the environmental field (INR 57 million (USD 1 million) in control group vs. INR 67 million (USD 1.2 million) in intervention group). An in depth analysis

4 All numbers are given in 2013 values.

5 INR -1 million, -52 million, 57 million and -0.3 million respectively (USD -20,000, -900,000, 1 million and -5,000).

6 The numbers for all four areas are INR 2 million, -50 million, 68 million and 2 million (USD 40,000, 900,000, 1.2

million and 30,000). 7 A difference of INR 3 million, 2million, 10 million and 2 million (USD 60,000, 40,000, 170,000 and 40,000).

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currently undertaken will shed light on the different contributions of crop and livestock, water costs, irrigation methods and recharge infrastructures. 52. System sustainability is currently undergoing a stress test. Most probably because of the declining rainfall and the groundwater overexploitation, the availability is widely declining: In 2011, the three intervention villages had on average 19, 18 and 31 liters per capita per day (lpcd) of water available, but only 17, 15 and 10 lpcd in 2014. The three control villages show a decline from 25, 32 and 25 lpcd in 2011 to 22, 26 and 14 lpcd in 2014. Many interventions of the Pilot, like tap connections and ground water refill infrastructures are relying on available rain and ground water and can therefore not enfold their total capacity at the moment. This might be the reason why the health data shows negative morbidity effects for helminthes, acute lower respiratory infections and scabies, even in the villages with most interventions (The control group shows negative tendencies for all diseases studied.8). These negative health effects are however neutralized by positive morbidity and mortality effects which can be attributed to the sanitary interventions of the Pilot. 53. Overall, the economic analysis found positive impacts comparing the pre and post status in the villages from the Pilot Block and also by comparing the situation to a low intervention village group. The total number of benefits attributable to the pilot project is INR 18 million (USD 300,000).

Effectiveness of Knowledge Transfer 4

54. The TA outcomes were evaluated through the effectiveness of the knowledge transfer processes. Therefore an in-depth case study was initiated covering five Pilot Blocks, as listed in Table 6 below. The study focused on three aspects - knowledge transferred (quality and relevance), the knowledge delivery mechanisms (trainings, workshops, exposure visits, etc.) and the institutional set up that supports the Pilot. The methodology included semi-structured interviews at village level (Gram Panchayat members, Village Water and Sanitation Committee members), government institutions at Block/District/State and national level (Block Resource Centre members and District Water and Sanitation Mission members, PHED officials, MDWS officials, etc.) and through consultation with partners (Support Organizations and others contributing to pilot).

Table 6: Case Study of Blocks for understanding knowledge transfer process State District Block # GP's #Villages

Karnataka Kolar Mulbagal 30 298

Maharashtra Amaravati Morshi 67 111

Madhya Pradesh Satna Rampur Baghelan 98 206

Uttar Pradesh Agra Barauli Ahir 55 68

Gujarat Mehsana Kheralu 45 50

55. Overall, knowledge transfer in selected Blocks was found moderately satisfactory. Community members were found to understand and appreciate the relevance of the Pilot. Knowledge transfer from water budgeting and other trainings has resulted in villagers taking positive action (such as reducing water waste, repairing leakages, building recharge structures, improving overall sanitation and getting

8 Diarrhea, helminthes, malnutrition, malaria, dengue, acute lower respiratory infection, measles and scabies.

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involved in the O&M of their water supply systems). Expectedly, the level of uptake differed from block to block. 56. The potential for improving technical knowledge transfer is possible through specific attention to (i) identifying specific technical knowledge essential for sharing with a given Block (targeted approach than wholesale, academic knowledge dissemination), (ii) choosing suitable pedagogic style, (iii) devising strategy for sustained knowledge transfer, (iv) focusing on communication styles and (v) emphasizing solutions for vulnerable groups. Regarding the improvement of knowledge transfer processes specific attention should be paid to (i) designing training and workshops, (ii) focusing more on water budgeting exercises and (iii) increasing exposure visits. The improvement of institutional arrangement supportive to knowledge flow is possible through specific attention to (i) training of government officials in addition to SO staff, (ii) formalizing processes of SOs and rationalizing the number of experts employed in SOs and (iii) enlarge the scope of discussions in GP/VWSC meetings. The findings of the case study are summarized in Error! Reference source not found.7 below and explained in detail in Annexure 10, ffectiveness of knowledge transfer - study findings.

Table 7: Summary of recommendations from the Knowledge Transfer Study

Knowledge Transfer related Process Recommendations Institutional Recommendations

Technical Knowledge: - More engagement with community to further enhance technical knowledge and to customize learning process to their particular situation. Pedagogic Approach: - Use simplified training material and language which villagers can understand and relate to. - Professors, teachers and religious figures should be enlisted for awareness programs. School curriculum could also be amended. Design and Strategy: – Exercises on WBE, DWSP and VWSC rejuvenation should be dynamic i.e. assessed regularly. - Follow up visits by SOs and other officials are crucial to sustaining community interest and ownership. - Develop champions /motivators facilitate IEC campaigns and awareness programs. IEC campaigns: - Make use of simplified banners and billboards depicting best practices/ village maps etc. Gender:

Trainings and Workshops: – Consider developing a web based training module designed for all stakeholders, which will transcend attrition of pilot project personnel. - Technical knowledge of the SOs including social mobilization techniques should be reassessed and improved. - Improve technical knowledge of the GPs through allocating more time for discussions with VWSCs and villagers. Water Budget Estimation and Drinking Water Security Planning: - Allocate more time to train GPs and villagers on budgeting. Exposure visits: - Involve village champions and VWSC members as these are the real beneficiaries of the possible learning exercise.

Government: - PHEDs and other line departments at the State, Block and district level should be trained with the SOs, regarding the Pilot content and objectives. Support Organization: – Social Mobilizers employed by the SO should also have the requisite technical knowledge to tackle the technical issues at the village level. Villagers: - Allocate plots of land and select community leaders to try out new interventions and innovations. - Train further motivators/innovators to proactively participate in the learning process and planning exercise.

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- Bigger role for women the planning and implementation process is needed, especially in systems and sanitation measures where women can play a substantial role as motivators.

Policy Lessons for Scaling up the Government’s Pilot 5

57. MDWS will have to consider policy implications of scaling up the Pilot and experience of the 15 Blocks over last several years has important lessons in this regard. Firstly, drinking water security is a complex issue, requiring cross-sectorial coordination for managing resources and constructing infrastructure. The management of water resources, which is the key to drinking water security, is not the core function of MDWS or the nodal department in the states for water supply and sanitation. The technical expertise for water resource management resides in the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India and its associated agencies, such as the Central Ground Water Board. Although a committee was constituted early in the Pilot for coordination, with officials of both the Ministries as members, the committee hardly ever met. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Government of India, as a consequence, has spent much energy and attention in the Pilot on imparting water resource management trainings – an area outside its core area of expertise - with the help of partners such as the Water and Sanitation Programs. These trainings could have been better designed, organized and delivered through the Ministry of Water Resources and its partners. In going forward, the scale up of pilot should consider actively involving the Ministry of Water Resources and its associated agencies. 58. The convergence of fund from multiple government programs for construction of infrastructures for water resource management requires complex inter-department coordination. At the lower levels of government, the most effective and credible authority for coordinating actions of development departments lies with the District Collectors or CEO, Zilla Parishads. Given that the pilot projects in the Blocks are primarily driven by SOs, with limited linkage to Collectors/CEOs office, the speed of inter-departmental coordination and convergence of fund for meeting pilot objectives has been understandably slow. The connection between SOs and Collector/CEOs office has to be strengthened for the pilot to make significant impact through construction of infrastructures for water resource management. Further, the community resonance was found highest on the topic of water budgeting, influencing them to conserve water and change cropping patter. Going forward, the training on water budgeting should receive the highest attention.

59. Secondly, the institutional roles and responsibilities of the state government in respect to the Pilot need to be strengthened. In the way Pilot is currently managed, the national government interacts directly with SOs and the state government departments often have marginal involvement. As a result, the state agencies at district and block level show limited interest in the Pilot. The SOs are able to mobilize community and take the planning forward but actual implementation requires state agencies owning the plans and financing it which is found wanting. In scaling up, the MDWS should consider organically linking the Pilot to specific department of the state, assigning clear roles and responsibilities. 60. One particular issue of concern arising from lack of adequate engagement of the state government with the Pilot has been poor contract management of Support Organizations. The state governments are responsible for contract management and timely releasing payment to the SOs.

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However, the payments were often delayed by months, resulting in good staff of SOs quitting jobs for more stable options. Although the Ministry intervened on the issue many times, the contract management by the state government remained a constant frustration and continues to be. Further, the contracts of many SOs expired midway and decisions for extension took a long time to come. During this period, the SOs continued to work without any certainty that they would be paid for the work they were doing. This affected motivation and led to good staff in SOs seeking better employment. Going forward, the Ministry should have a clear policy on engagement of Support Organizations, their payment and extension or termination, as the case might be. The roles and responsibilities of state government in managing the contract should be clearly defined. 61. Thirdly, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has lacked in capacity to drive the pilot. The Ministry needs a strong nodal unit, sufficiently staffed with experts in various domains of water security. The staffs currently posted are engaged in multiple tasks, unable to focus their attention on Pilot outcomes, coordination with Ministry of Water Resources or coordination with state governments. Lack of technical expertise has resulted in confusion about responsibilities, leading to delays. As for example, the drinking water security plan submitted early by the GPs were held up in the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation because the officials were confused if their responsibility included approving the plan and estimates; these plans were merely meant to be aspirational statement of the community, along with a rough projection of budget requirement. The Ministry was only expected to verify if all information as needed per the framework on drinking water security had been discussed by GPs and reflected in their plan. Such problems can be obviated if a nodal unit is created in the Ministry for drinking water security and manned with appropriate domain experts working full time on this task. 62. Finally, the technical competency of Support Organization has been found to vary significantly. The Pilot outcome is directly related to the quality of SOs and, therefore, they should be engaged with much care and attention. In some instances such as Gujarat, a local government agency, WASMO, has been successfully functioning as SO. In others, professional agencies and NGOs have performed (Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, respectively). The knowledge of local context, local language and ability to mobilize community are critical for the success of SOs.

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ANNEXURES Annexure 1: Support to the Drinking Water Security Pilot - Activities Annexure 2: Toolkit for Training of VWSCs Annexure 3: Monitoring Formats Annexure 4: ICT in the Water Sector – a Review of International Experience Annexure 5: Handbook for Water Budget Estimation Annexure 6: Toolkit for Preparation of Drinking Water Security Plan Annexure 7: Model Drinking Water Security Plan Annexure 8: Groundwater Management Training Manual Annexure 9: Compendium of Good Practices in Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Annexure 10: Effectiveness of Knowledge Transfer - Study Findings