Community initiative for efficient management of rural water supply in Assam

Drinking Water Supply in rural areas of Assam ( India ) is managed by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Government of Assam and the challenge is indeed enormous and achieving the targets requires well planned and strongly determined strategies and approach. Government has already formulated the necessary strategy to ensure sustained supply of safe drinking water in rural areas. However for achieving the desired end results from the Government initiatives, the community needs to be mobilized to own and sustain these programmes and to become an active partner in their implementation. For such a participatory demand driven approach, necessary awareness generation amongst the Community to realize the need for “total water security” and its impact on reduction of water borne diseases, is highly warranted.

In this backdrop, it is henceforth imperative that the policies, guidelines and implementation mechanisms be focused as decentralized, community-based, simple and yet reliable systems of drinking water supply, that be managed and owned by the users; which would ensure sustainability of the drinking water supply.

Despite such deep focus, it is becoming increasingly evident the Government might not be able to provide the quality services for good to a growing population. The felt need at this juncture is that the role of Government needs to shift from service provider to that of a facilitator. If such is to happen, then Government will provide financial and policy support to the communities and community level institutions for fulfilling the desired levels of services on a sustainable basis.  

Under such ongoing reform initiatives, the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), Assam, has initiated its efforts to encourage the community (users) for active participation in the O&M of rural water supply schemes. Accordingly, Water Users Committees are formed under the guidance of PHED, Assam, for each rural Piped Water Supply Schemes (PWSS) with the representative participations of the users from the areas covered by the PWSS. The major role of such Users Committees is to ensure effective management of the PWSS including its regular O&M, creating social responsibilities in the form of ownership, regular supply of water and also the liaison with the PHED in case of requirement of any technical inputs.

Such endeavour has succeeded to shift the responsibility and the ownership of the rural PWSS to the community (users / beneficiaries) in a result oriented manner. Active participation of the Water Users Committees has resulted social accountability among all and the proactive role of the community has eventually ensured the smooth functioning of the PWSS, with people’s participation. Further, cost recovery for operations and maintenance and replacement costs, in part or full, has also led to the financial viability and sustainability of the schemes.

To boost such efforts, the Government of Assam has introduced last year, two State Level Awards for the successful Water Users Committees of rural water supply schemes, namely, “Uttam Gramya Pani Jogan Parichalana Puraskar (UGPJPP)” and Gramya Jalamitra Puraskar (GJP)”. Accordingly, from different districts of Assam, 10 Nos of Users Committees are awarded with UGPJPP and 3 Nos of Water Users Committees are awarded with GJMP for the year 2009, in an auspicious ceremony by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Assam. Such awards have again renewed the commitments of the Water Users Committees to bear the social responsibilities with the true spirit of cooperation and involvement.

The impact of these social movements on rural drinking water supply has already become transparent through Social Accountability, which refers to the users' point of view - addressing demands / sustainability of supply and its water sources. Rural water supply by default itself is Social Accountability cum Responsibility of the concerned department and the development agents, like NGO, CBO etc. and above all, the Community to ensure safe drinking water for all. So it should be properly advocated to ensure the effective social mobilization and there comes the profound role of development workers / agencies to support the Government approach and activities to pave the ways for fruit bearing implementation to control drinking water borne risks to ensure Water Safety and Security to all.