Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO)Gujarat, INDIA

Gujarat - a water stressed State; regional disparities in freshwater availabilityMore than 50% habitations facing water issuesRecurrent slipping back of habitations - A cause for concernSustainability of safe and assured water supply….A distant dreamCommunity participation and feedback mechanism lackingImpact

Drudgery of women and childrenUnsafe water with bearing on healthIssues of exclusion commonHousehold connections were a dreamSupply driven inefficient service delivery

In May 2002 Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO) was established as a Special Purpose VehicleKey philosophies of WASMO

‘Users are the best managers’and ‘Building partnerships and working together’

Creating an enabling environment to change Governance from:

Slow to fastClosed and secretive to open, inclusive and transparentProvider to facilitatorRigidity in procedures to flexibility

Policy Principle of subsidiarity and decentralizationLegal status to Village Water and Sanitation Committee

Organizational Systemic changes for enabling facilitationCulture – a mix of corporate, NGO and GovernmentNGOs as facilitation partners and process managers

InstitutionalCommunity based VWSC formed by consensusRepresentation of women and all sections of society mandatory

ProcessReducing levels of hierarchyComplete community control over financesExtensive IEC and rigorous social processes

No. of VWSCs -13980 (75% of total villages)

Total funds allocated to villages – Rs. 882.54 mn.

Projects completed -4109 Community contribution – Rs. 83.83 mn.No of projects in progress – 3800 No. of women headed committees -2800Tariff structures institutionalised -

3123No. of women in the committees –42,700

The four ‘Fs’ of decentralisation Funds – directly transferred to the VWSCFunctions – decisions by community executed by the VWSC Functionaries – community representatives carry out different functionsFacilitation – by the Government and NGOs

Empowerment and capacity development of local communityLocal leaderships, micro-links and volunteerismTwo stage project cycle

Software activities (First cycle of 3-6 months)Hardware activities (Second cycle of 6-12 months)

Exhaustive IEC, PRAs, needs assessments, resource mappingTechnological options- innovations and traditional knowledgeStakeholder consultations for finalisation of Village Action Plan General Village Assembly – a tool for conflict resolution, consensus and social audit Community contribution and tariff fixed in Village AssemblySequential capacity building across programme cycleImplementation by the people (directly or outsourced)Steps for transparency and accountability

Partnership with 75 reputed NGOs after accreditation NGOs as Implementation Support AgenciesInstitutional commitment and accountability central to partnershipsClear roles and responsibilities with milestonesDedicated teams of professionals for facilitating communityPartnerships with sector players like UNICEFConvergence with other government departments like health, education and rural development

Partnership between the State and peopleParadigm shift in role of governance from provider to facilitatorOutreach-75% of villages with proactive Pani SamitisOwnership of assets and service deliveryEfficient management- allocative as well as technical Sustainability of sources, institutions and infrastructureAbout 16 million rural population served by household connections

Community able to take effective steps for water quality

Wise water use, sanitation and hygiene

Social bonding and development of local leaderships

Innovative tariff mechanisms and social funds

Impact on Human Development Index

Knowledge base for technological options

Water Quality team formed in 14216 out of 18359 villages

13904 field test kits and 11,72,500 H2S vials distributed

21,625 Gram Mitras involved and trained 1,10,522 water samples collected & tested1 7456 trainings conducted 125167 people trained22,377 sanitary survey forms filled

Users satisfied with the work of Pani Samiti: 96.89%

Financial issues discussed in Gram Sabha: 88.5%

Display of expenditure details in public place: 77%

Gram Sabha held more than 5 times during project cycle: 90%

Improved water service: 81.4%

Tariff per person Rs.114.27 (Govt. Tariff Rs.14)

Access to water at household level increased from 17.8% to 75.6%

Grievance redressal quick in 99.6% cases

Problems OutcomesSustainability of water resources

Due attention given to all sources –surface/ground/rain waterUse of local sources, regional and bulk sourcesWRM measuresConjunctive use of sources

Service delivery was infrastructure driven

Need based demand –driven service deliveryIntegration with local information and wisdom

No role of people in O&M of systems

Local caretakers for local problems - O&M of in-village system the responsibility of village residentsSense of ownership Tariffs not paid by

peopleTariff in community control – the amount, method and frequency of collection decided by people Willingness to pay for improved services

Water quality -only the State purview

User level monitoring institutionalisedConvergence with health functionaries

Scaling up to cover the entire StateA Centre for learning and exchangeOther sectors replicating in StateAlready recognised as a Model for Replication at the

National levelExcerpt of letter from Secretary Water Supply, GoI“You may like to use this (WASMO’s) validated approach/model

with suitable modifications to meet the special requirements of your state to ensure that GPs/VWSCs/Pani Samitis/local communitystart shouldering the full responsibility of drinking water, local water resource management, improved sanitation, hygiene etc. thus bringing in long-term sustainability in the sector. But please remember replicating WASMO or an organisation akin to it will require taking brave decisions and adopting a dynamic approach.”