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CHAPTER 5.5

RURAL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

5.5.1 In line with the National Agenda forGovernance, safe drinking water is to be providedin accordance with the stipulated norms on asustainable basis to all habitations by March 2004.This is also one of the monitorable targets in theApproach Paper for the Tenth Plan.

5.5.2 The 54th round of National SampleSurvey (July 1999) on drinking water, sanitationand hygiene in India provides data relating tosource, quality etc. of drinking water, andconditions of sanitation and hygiene ofhouseholds. This data was collected in the firsthalf of 1998. Around 50 per cent of ruralhouseholds were served by a tubewell/handpump, 26 per cent by a well, and 19 per cent bytap. Only about 31 per cent of rural householdsreported having their source of water within theirpremises, the rest had to go out to fetch theirdrinking water. About 60 per cent did not have togo beyond 0.2 km for this. Seasonal disruptionof supply was common, especially in the summermonths. Households still depended onsupplementary sources, especially wheretubewell or handpump was the main source.Practices of filtering or boiling water beforedrinking were almost non-existent.

5.5.3 States have reported that more than 95per cent coverage has been achieved. However,reliable data on the ground reality of rural watersupply is lacking. A re-assessment survey of ruralhabitations has become necessary and the datashould be updated periodically through a ‘ReturnFiling’ system whereby each panchayati rajinstitution (PRI) will report on the status of theseservices in its area. Random sampling will needto be done to validate this. In view of theimportance of basic data, however, Centralassistance for PRIs and urban local bodies(ULBs) could be made conditional on a ‘ReturnFiling’ system being established.

5.5.4 The following priorities will be set forachieving the objective of providing safe drinkingwater supply to all rural habitations:

i. Highest priority to be given to ensuring thatthe ‘not covered’ habitations are providedwith sustainable and stipulated supply ofdrinking water.

ii. It will be equally important to ensure thatall the ‘partially covered’ habitations havinga supply level of less than 10 litres percapita per day (lpcd) and those habitationsfacing a severe water quality problem arefully covered with safe drinking waterfacilities on a sustainable basis.

iii. Thereafter, other ‘partially covered’ and‘quality affected’ habitations are to becovered.

iv. Once drinking water supply facility isprovided to all rural habitations as per theexisting data by 2004, the remaining periodof the Tenth Plan would be utilised forconsolidation. This will involve coveringnewly emerged habitations and thosewhich have slipped back to ‘partiallycovered’ or ‘not covered’ status due to avariety of reasons.

v. Simultaneous action is needed to identifyand tackle habitations where water qualityproblems have emerged recently.

vi. It should be ensured that scheduled caste/scheduled tribe (SC/ST) population andother poor and weaker sections arecovered fully on a priority basis. Asystematic survey of all such identifiedhabitations will be undertaken.

TENTH FIVE YEAR PLAN 2002-07

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5.5.5 The stipulated norms of supply would be40 lpcd of safe drinking water within a walkingdistance of 1.6 km or elevation difference of 100metres in hilly areas, to be relaxed as per fieldconditions applicable to arid, semi-arid and hillyareas. At least one handpump/spot-source for every250 persons is to be provided. Additional water isto be provided in the Desert DevelopmentProgramme (DDP) areas for cattle , based on thecattle population. The water requirements for cattleneed not necessarily be met through piped watersupply and could be made through rain-waterharvesting structures/spot sources.

5.5.6 In the states where 40 lpcd has beenachieved in all habitations, the next step is to raisethe level of availability to 55 lpcd. Population/distance/elevation norms for coverage may also beliberalised during the Tenth Plan for states whichhave achieved full coverage as per the existingnorms, subject to cost sharing by the beneficiaries.

DECENTRALISATION OF RURAL WATERSUPPLY

5.5.7 Though planning for rural water supply ismade at the Central and State levels, responsibilityfor proper implementation has to be borne at thelocal level, by the PRIs, with the help oforganisations of the users.

5.5.8 Under Article 243G of the Constitution, theState legislatures may, by law, endow thepanchayats with the powers and authority necessaryto enable them to function as institutions of self-government. Further, such law may containprovisions for the devolution of powers andresponsibilities with respect to:

(a) The preparation of plans for economicdevelopment and social justice.

(b) The implementation of schemes foreconomic development and social justiceas may be entrusted to them, includingthose relating to matters in the EleventhSchedule, which include drinking water andmaintenance of community assets.

5.5.9 As such, PRIs should be the keyinstitutions for the convergence of drinking water

supply programmes at the ground level. However,the financial and administrative authority has notbeen devolved to PRIs to the extent needed.

5.5.10 Emphasis must be laid on the participationof stakeholders at all levels, from planning, designand location to implementation and management.Presently, water supply projects are designed andexecuted by the implementing departments andpassed on to the end-users. Experience has shownthat panchayats are unwilling to shoulder theresponsibility for operating and maintaining theseprojects. On the other hand, the State Governmentsdo not have an effective machinery at the villagelevel to maintain the assets.

5.5.11 This calls for a radical change in themanagement system. Rather than being supply-driven, the decisions relating to installation of watersupply schemes, should be based on the level oflocal demand and capabilities to meet theresponsibility for operation and maintenance. Thesedecisions should take into account user preferencessuch as preference for shared hand-pumps or standposts versus household connections, and otherrelated issues which will emerge when people aretaken into confidence and consulted. People shouldbe aware of the technologies, and O & M costsinvolved in every available option, and given thefacility to make their own choice, while asimultaneous exercise in capacity-building is carriedout. People’s participation at all stages of the projectimplementation is likely to help tackle the problemof sub-standard materials, poor workmanship andinadequate maintenance.

5.5.12 Besides, PRIs should meet part of theexpenditure on the project. Being institutions of localself-governance, PRIs should be strengthened andentrusted with all activities relating to water supply,sanitation, hygiene and nutrition. Variousdevelopment functions may be handled by the singleinstitution of the gram panchayat, as this willincrease the possibility of convergent planning anddelivery of services.

5.5.13 The participatory approach, which is a partof the sector reform programme, must be seriouslyaddressed in the Tenth Plan. However, while partof the project costs should progressively be borne


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by the beneficiary community, the major source offunding for rural water supply schemes has to bethe budgets of the Central and State Governments.The provision of adequate support under Planprovisions has to continue till all rural habitationsare provided with a satisfactory and sustainablewater supply arrangement.

INTEGRATED WATER MANAGEMENT IN RURALAREAS

5.5.14 The three major and widely prevalentproblems in sustainable supply of drinking water —scarcity, brackishness and excess fluoride content— are manifested mainly in the low rainfall and highpotential evaporation areas. An integrated watermanagement approach is, therefore, necessary tosolve these problems. Water harvesting andconservation measures in a watershed as a naturalphysiographic unit, with emphasis on direct orindirect artificial recharge of aquifers by utilisingsurplus run off water, can lead to a simultaneousmitigation of all three problems.

5.5.15 Integrated water supply and sanitationprogrammes, with emphasis on conservation ofwater, will be increasingly implemented during theTenth Plan. The implementing machinery in theCentre and the states will require organisationalrestructuring in order to work in a mission mode,guided by the Rajiv Gandhi National DrinkingWater Mission Authority and its empoweredcommittees. Micro watershed-based masterplans should be prepared to ensure thesustainability of water sources by taking care ofdemand and supply. The inputs of professionalinstitutions, non-government organisations(NGOs) and community-based organisationsshould be utilised in planning, development andmanagement. All possible measures must betaken for rain-water harvesting and ground waterrecharging. Continuous monitoring of the sourcesis necessary, so that the habitations that arepresently covered do not relapse into the categoryof uncovered. Inter-departmental coordination atthe block level needs be activated for this. Linksof water supply schemes with watersheddevelopment programme should be madestronger for greater sustainability of drinkingwater sources.

5.5.16 As part of the integrated watermanagement approach, traditional sources of watershall be identified, strengthened and developed withcommunity involvement. Rehabilitating the existingvillage tanks, creating detention basins by storingrain water in local depressions, abandoned mines/quarries etc. for water harvesting needs to beencouraged for the development of water resources.In view of the higher efficiency of micro-watershedareas for water conservation, small dams shouldbe built, wherever a suitable site is available. Toavoid evaporation losses from such small storages,underground siphon systems which conserve waterand recharge the aquifer should be used. As ageneral principle, open storage should be avoidedand closed contour trenches should be developedas water harvesting structures in order to reduceevaporation losses which , at times, are as high as30 per cent of the total storage.

5.5.17 The cropping pattern in drought-proneareas should be sensitive to local constraints withregard to availability of water. In areas where thereis shortage of water, farmers should be discouragedfrom water-intensive cash crops. Agriculture bore-wells should not be allowed to be deeper thandrinking water bore-wells. Recycling of waste waterand use of such water for crop cultivation, shouldbe encouraged as a part of enhancing theproductive use of water.

INSTITUTIONAL FINANCE

5.5.18 Currently, rural water supply schemes areconceived as grant schemes. However, it isnecessary to get institutional funding for this sectorin order to mobilise additional resources forimplementation of projects. The role of financialinstitutions like the Housing and Urban DevelopmentCorporation (HUDCO), Life Insurance Corporation(LIC), Infrastructure Development FinanceCorporation (IDFC), ICICI etc. would be vital in thistask and their potential should be tapped. However,efforts should be made to meet a part of the projectcost through recovery of user charges.

OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE

5.5.19 More than 3.5 million hand pumps and over100,000 piped water supply schemes have been


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installed in the country under the Rural Water SupplyProgramme. The total estimated cost for operationand maintenance (O&M) of this, at the presentvalue, would be around Rs. 2,000 crore per year(10-15 per cent of the capital cost). A majority ofthe schemes remain non-functional and manyothers become permanently defunct due to lack ofproper maintenance and repairs for want of funds.It is, therefore, necessary to give highest priority toO&M. Most states face resource problems and,therefore, tend to neglect maintenance. Fundsunder the Minimum Need Programme (MNP) andthe Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme(ARWSP) are already available to meet some ofthe O&M costs.

5.5.20 Suitable institutional and fundingarrangements through community participationneed to be evolved to get the installations working.The problem of poor maintenance can best betackled by decentralising O&M by making thebeneficiaries and panchayats stakeholders in thesystem. The responsibility of O&M should rest withthe panchayats, as already conceived in the sectorreform programme. ‘Village Water Committees’should be actively involved in the maintenance ofdrinking water supply schemes and a system ofbeneficiary participation introduced. Participation ofvillage women and NGOs/voluntary organisationsshould also be encouraged. The mechanism andthe funds available under the Training of Rural Youthfor Self Employment (TRYSEM) programme shouldbe used to impart training, so that trained manpowercan be mobilised locally for the maintenance of theassets. Major repairs and replacement/rehabilitationprojects may be allowed as Plan schemes.

WATER QUALITY MONITORING ANDSURVEILLANCE

5.5.21 In view of the increasing problem of waterquality and the resultant health hazards, it isnecessary to institutionalise water quality monitoringand surveillance systems. Water quality surveillanceshould be done by an independent organisation,

more appropriately by the Health Department whichshould be provided with adequate funds for the task.Routine analysis of water samples for their physico-chemical and microbial quality should be undertakenand monitored at the state level by the Public HealthDepartment. Central assistance under the ARWSPshall be utilised for setting up stationary as well asmobile water testing laboratories in all districtheadquarters.

5.5.22 The community has to be made consciousabout water quality through health education andawareness campaigns and water testing kits shallbe made available to a range of institutions,including schools and colleges and qualified NGOsin the area.

5.5.23 All possible measures should be taken toremove the disparity in access to potable wateracross regions and socio-economic groups. Asystem of random checks should be developed todetect the poor quality of construction.

5.5.24 The choice of technology in case ofschemes related to water quality (detection offluoride, iron, arsenic), shall be district/block specific.Further research is required to improve availabletechnologies for treatment of chemicallycontaminated water, in terms of their simplificationand increased cost effectiveness.

Water Supply and Rural Development

5.5.25 Rural water supply and sanitationfacilities are vital elements in the overallprogramme for rural development. Other relatedelements include infrastructural issues like landand watershed management, soil conservation,afforestation etc. and social issues like primaryhealth care, eradication of illiteracy, women’swelfare, child nutrition, immunisation etc. It isdesirable that the thrust and implementation ofas many of these programmes as possible areconverged in order to provide for integrated ruraldevelopment.


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BOX : 5.5.1ARSENIC CONTAMINATION

Arsenic-contaminated habitations have beenidentified in eight districts of West Bengal (North24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, Murshidabad,Malda, Nadia, Howrah, Hugli and Bardhaman),65 blocks, 757 muzas, 15 non-municipal outergrowth areas, and nine municipalities in an areaof approximately 40,000 sq. kms. About 200,000people are actually affected and a population of5.3 million is estimated to be at risk. There are22,000 public tubewells and 1,30,000 privatetubewells in the affected areas. The range ofarsenic content varies from 0.055 to 3.20milligram/litre (mg/l).

Some of the options for providing arsenic-freewater to the affected rural population are:

l Tapping a deeper third layer beyond 100-150metres below ground level, which is found tobe arsenic-free.

l Adopting arsenic removal technique throughdomestic filters, attached hand pumps andarsenic removal plants in piped water supplyschemes:

i. Oxidation followed by coagulation andfiltration – a widely popular option;

ii. Absorption, also widely adopted;

iii. Ion exchange; and

iv. Osmosis, which is yet to gain popularity.

l Utilizing surface water from rivers, lakes,ponds, which is normally free from arseniccontamination;

l Sanitary protected ring-wells tapping theshallow aquifers.

The Government of India introduced an ‘ArsenicSub-mission’ in 1994 under the Rajiv GandhiNational Drinking Water Mission to tackle thearsenic problem in West Bengal on a 75:25 costsharing basis between the Centre and the State.A large number of projects with a total outlay ofRs. 372.70 crore have been sanctioned underthis Sub-mission.

BOX : 5.5.2USE OF SOLAR STILLS

l In areas like remote islands, deserts andother inaccessible areas, whereconventional energy sources are notavailable or would be a costly proposition,one of the options to remove chemicalcontaminants from drinking water couldbe solar distillation through ‘solar stills’at the household or community level.

l The solar still is a simple device to distillwater of its impurities. Larger solar stillsare generally made of glass over aformed sheet metal. But the base can bemade of any material that will hold upoutdoors. The most important elementsof the design are the sealing of the basewith black, high-temperature siliconerubber. As sunlight warms the blacksilicone bottom and heat is transferredto the water, the top layer of waterevaporates and covers inside of the glasscover, which is ti lted towards thefreshwater drain. Approximately, one sq.meter of glass cover will distill around 4.5litres of water per day with five hours offull sunlight. The capital cost of a solarstill with a one sq. mtr glass cover areawould be around Rs. 4,000. With bulkproduction, the costs may come down.

l Though the technology is appropriate forthe remote, inaccessible areas, thedevice may become dysfunctional, ifsludge removal and cleaning is not doneregularly. Community awareness,motivation and participation would,therefore, be a key to the success of thetechnology. This technology could alsobe used to meet the drinking water needsin schools.

l More work is needed to develop cost-effective models and propagate them.Leading scientific and technologicalinstitutions should be assigned the taskof developing solar still models.


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BOX : 5.5.3WATER SUPPLY, SANITATION, AND HEALTH

Water, which is essential for life, growth and health, can also be a source of spread of disease andcause of ill-health, if contaminated or improperly handled and stored. Safe drinking water and improvedsanitation play a major role in the overall well-being of the people, with a significant bearing on the infantmortality rate, death rate, longevity and productivity.

The poor, both in rural and urban areas, bear a disproportionate burden of non-availability of water, aswell as of poor quality. They often supplement public sources of water with supplies obtained at highprices from other sources. Women bear the physical burden of fetching water. Women and children areparticularly vulnerable to the effects of water contamination.

Water-Borne Diseases: 70-80 per cent of illnesses are related to water contamination and poor sanitation.The national objectives of reducing morbidity and mortality largely depend on the reduction of diarrhoeaand jaundice. In fact, no water supply and sanitation programme can be successful if water-relatedillnesses are not reduced. It is a matter of concern that despite the progress made with water supply, thelevel of water-related sickness continues to be high.

Causes of contamination of water are indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers and chemicals, poorhygienic environment of the water sources, improper disposal of sewage and solid waste, pollution fromuntreated industrial effluents, over-exploitation leading to quality degradation. Thus, the supply ofadditional quantity of water by itself does not ensure good health; proper handling of water and preventionof contamination are also equally important.

Among the most important elements of the rural sanitation package are:

â Safe handling of drinking water.

â Disposal of waste water.

â Safe disposal of human excreta. Human excreta is associated with more than 50 per cent ofdiseases.

â Safe solid waste disposal.

â Home sanitation and food hygiene.

â Personal hygiene, particularly, washing one’s hand with soap.

â Sanitation in community.

Recent studies have shown the importance of washing one’s hands with soap as it reduces diarrhoealdisease by 43 per cent. Respiratory problems such as sniffles and coughs were also brought down by45 per cent when hands were washed five times a day.

Safe sanitation practices should be made a compulsory part of school curricula, and of all programmeswhere women are trained in community, economic and health issues affecting the household.


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SECTOR REFORM PROGRAMME FOR RURALWATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION

5.5.26 In order to address the problem ofsustainability, the Government approved sectorreforms programme in March 1999 to ensure theactive participation of the community in rural watersupply. The implementation of the new policy hasalready commenced. State Governments haveidentified 63 pilot districts for introducing reforms.The reform projects incorporate institutionalisationof community participation through capital costsharing and shouldering of full O&M responsibilities.The experience gained during the implementationof these pilot projects would be utilised for expandingthe reform package to other districts in the secondphase. This will ensure a satisfactory andsustainable rural water supply programme in thewhole country. For the success of the proposedreform process, however, complementary reformsare necessary such as increasing user charges forwater used in irrigation and industry.

l The new strategy thus relies heavily on theuse of Central/State funding as a criticalincentive to drive the reform process. Assuch, it is important that conditionalities fordisbursement of Central funds to stateadministrations and from stateadministrations to PRIs and/or localadministrations, be explicitly defined. Theconditions which must be met and theactivities for which funding can be appliedmust be clearly specified.

l Resources for information educationcommunication/human resource develop-ment (IEC/HRD) now given for differentsectors, particularly ,public health, nutrition,drinking water, sanitation etc. should bepooled together at the district/state levelto the extent possible.

l NGOs are found to be particularly good atoutreach and have the advantage of beingable to sharply focus on and activate theparticipation of communities.

l All existing social organisations, women’sself-help groups, cooperative societies,

civil societies, educational institutions,private institutions etc. should be involvedfor effective implementation of a large-scale sanitation programme.

RURAL SANITATION

5.5.27 The existing Total Sanitation Programmeshould include safe disposal of night-soil, rain water,domestic liquid and solid waste. It should not berestricted to construction of latrines only. Awarenessof sanitation standards and health impact ofunsanitary conditions continues to be low. Ruralsanitation is promoted as a total package consistingof safe handling of drinking water, scientific disposalof waste water, safe disposal of human excretaincluding child excreta, solid waste management,domestic sanitation and food hygiene, personalhygiene and village sanitation. However, there hashardly been any significant change in the sanitaryconditions in the villages in India. The 54th round ofNational Sample Survey indicates that only 17.5 percent of rural population were using latrines. Thereis a need to implement a revitalised progamme forrural sanitation which must have the followingelements:

l Preference has to be given to the twin pitmodel of water-sealed latrines. However,the cost of such a unit may be an inhibitingfactor. The successful model of Midnapurin West Bengal, where a single pit isprovided initially, may also be consideredfor adoption in other districts withappropriate changes to suit localconditions.

l School sanitation (providing toilets) shouldbe given highest priority to inculcate safehygienic habits among school children.

l Village Panchayats should adopt buildingbye-laws where dry latrines are notpermissible. Any latrine to be constructedshould be of the water-sealed type with aleach-pit. This will prevent the emergenceof the problem of manual scavenging.

l Considering that the programme ofinstallation of low-cost toilets has not made


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the expected degree of progress, a freshstart is required. The State Council forSanitation proposed under urban sanitationsector should also have the mandate forrural sanitation.

l Subsidy for the low-cost household toiletsshould only be given to rural below-poverty-line (BPL) families, and it shouldbe on par with subsidy for the urbanhouseholds. For the success of thescheme, a subsidy of 50 per cent of thecost of the unit inclusive of sub and super-structures for the basic twin-pit pour flushsystem appears to be necessary during theTenth Plan.

l A quick exercise to arrive at the realisticpresent costs in different regions, terrains,soil conditions, etc., should be carried outso that the subsidy amount can beestimated. This exercise should becompleted by March 2003.

l In order to mobilise the required funds forrural sanitation, financial institutions/banksincluding HUDCO and the National Bankof Agriculture and Rural Development(NABARD) should extend loans at lowerinterest rates to states for provision ofsanitation facilities. Low cost loan schemeslike micro-credit through NGOs should beadequately supported. Various fiscalconcessions such as reduced excise duty/sales tax and lower electricity charges

should be made available to themanufacturers of low cost sanitarymaterials. Private participation should beencouraged in setting up of buildingcentres and sanitary marts in rural areasto provide cost effective sanitationtechnology to the rural households.

l The recommendations made with regardto urban low cost sanitation also apply tothe rural segment. Creation andmaintenance of a record of locally relevantinformation regarding varioustechnological options, hydro-geologicalinformation, availability of buildingmaterials, choices in design andimplementation etc. at the block levelshould be organized through thepanchayats, sanitary marts and buildingcenters.

l For the success of the scheme, and toovercome the huge problem ofinsanitary practices in the country, alarge programme of education,propagation, training, designing anddevelopment, production, and installation,needs to be taken. NGOs should bemobilised to support to the programme,especially for supervision, monitoring,training and development work. A suitableprovision for the participation of the non-governmental organizations in thesanitation programme should be made inthe project costs.

rural water supply and sanitation

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