1. Understanding Status of Drinking Water and Sanitation in Gujarat
(On-going)
Study In-charge: Prof. Indira Hirway in collaboration with PRAVAH
Project Team : Mr. Subhrangsu Goswami and Ms Mahua Bannerjee; associates: selected NGOs working in the field of water and sanitation
Sponsoring Agency : PRAVAH
One major limitation of the statistics on drinking water and sanitation in Gujarat is that they do not provide any comprehensive information on the status of drinking water and sanitation in the state. Though there are several sources of data sets, such as
- Data on Fully Covered (FC), Partially Covered (PC) and Not Covered (NC) settlements,
- Number of villages suffering from excess fluoride, excess nitrate, and excess salinity,
- Data on implementation of various schemes like Group Schemes, Individual Schemes, Narmada based Pipeline scheme and other schemes,
- Villages covered by Pani Samities and WASMO activities etc. as well as
- Number of villages covered under TSP (Total Sanitation Programme)etc, we do not really know the overall status of water and sanitation in the state. For example, there is no information on the season wise status of adequacy and quality of drinking water in the villages in Gujarat; there are no data on the different sources of water supply and their sustainability; there is no information available on whether the settlements of SC/ST/OBC get adequate water supply; and how much women and men have to travel to get drinking eater in the different villages in the State. Similarly, there is no information on how many villages and how much population of these villages are covered under sanitation; what are the different provisions for sanitation and public hygiene in different settlements and how many villages have an access to private sanitation facilities.
This study therefore is sponsored by PRAVAH, a state level network on water and sanitation to conduct a systematic survey on the status of drinking water and sanitation in rural Gujarat. About 520 villages have been selected using a stratified random sampling to understand the situation. The report will be ready by mid 2011.
2. Campaign for Water and Sanitation Project
(On-going 2006-11)
Project Team : This important action research project has been undertaken in collaboration with PRAVAH, Network of Academics and NGOs in Gujarat on Drinking Water and Sanitation. Prof. Indira Hirway is Founding President of PRAVAH and at present a member of Board of Trustees of PRAVAH.
Sponsoring Agency 0: HIVOS, India
PRAVAH was set up by a team of experts and academics in 1994 after the seminar that discussed a state level study on Dynamics of Drinking Water in Gujarat (by Dr Indira Hirway and Dr P P Patel). Prof Indira Hirway was the founder president of PRAVAH. She is now a member of the Board of Trustees of PRAVAH. Over the years PRAVAH has worked as a networking and policy advocacy body, and it has now five regional centres and 181 members.
The four broad strategies of PRAVAH are networking, Information sharing,, advocacy, and research and documentation. In order to expand its activities, PRAVAH in collaboration with CFDA has now undertaken this project on Campaign for Water and Sanitation Project. The primary methods for achieving the goals and objectives of the Project are
- Networking
- Information sharing, Research and documentation,
- Capacity building and
- Policy advocacy.
CFDA is largely involved in research, documentation, capacity building and policy advocacy. The project will end in 2011. In the course of the project, CFDA and PRAVAH has made considerable achievements in spreading the activities of PRAVAH and in policy advocacy.
Output: Strengthening of PRAVAH, research studies including documentation of cases and workshops and seminars at the state level and regional levels.
3. Study of Slippage of Wash Services in Gujarat
(Complete 2009)
Project Agency : IRC, Netherland
Project Incharge : Prof. Indira Hirway
Project Associate : Ms. Alka Raval, Ms. Mahuva
One major problem emerging in the field of wash services is slippage. It is frequently observed that some problem habitations, after being covered under some or other schemes and ensured of water supply, fall back to their original position after some time. As a result, one observes wide fluctuations in the number of problem habitations in the country. For example, the number of “no source villages”(i.e. villages without a reliable source of water supply) was 56000 in 1980, 231000 in 1985, 161722 in 1990 and 48000 in the early nineties! Again, the number of problem villages (not fully covered villages) was about 1740 in 2001 and 5800 in 2004! These fluctuations indicate that the problems of water supply are not really addressed adequately by the schemes and programmes, and the efforts made by government and perhaps also non-government organizations are not good enough to solve the problems.
This study examined slippages in the field of drinking water and sanitation in selected pockets in Gujarat. Gujarat.
Output : The report on the study has been submitted to IRC, Netherlands. It is also shared in a workshop organized by VASAN.
2007-08
4. Children’s Right to Water: Problems and Prospects in its Effective Realization in India from Gender Perspective.
(Incomplete)
Project Leaders : Dr. Per Wickenberg, Prof. Hakan Hyden, Dr. Nandita Singh, and Prof. Karsten Astrom
Collaboration with : CFDA (Dr. Shital Lodhia),
Sponsored by : SIDA (Swedish South Asian Studies Network- Swedish International Development Agency)
This project looks at the right to water as a basic right fundamental to the life and development of children. Unfortunately, despite positive actions by the state towards its protection, promotion and fulfillment, problems with access to the right continues at several levels in the country where children, especially girls, continue to face deprivation of the right, leading to ineffective realization of their other rights, notably the rights to health, education and an adequate standard of living. The analysis of such a situation at the ‘third’ level of implementation of the interventions – the ‘interface’ – is extremely significant in identifying the barriers to its effective realization that emerge in the socio-cultural context of children as the rights claimants. Gujarat was selected for the study looking to its problems with respect to drinking water.
5. Action Research Kalyanpur Block, Jamnagar District
Sponsoring Agency: WASMO
Project Team : Prof Indira Hirway, Ms Alaka Rawal and Mr Subhrangsu Goswami
This project was an exploratory study that involved preparation of action plans for coastal villages in Kalyanpur Taluka of Jamnagar District to provide them with sustainable sources of drinking water. Kalyani, a local NGO was the local partner in this project. The major focus of the project was to set up RO plant for desalination of water supply, as this coastal taluka was seen as a taluka where local water resources are not available. The project team visited the taluka and selected three problem villages where the villages where local people were willing to set up RO plants.
Though the idea was to assess the technological feasibility, financial viability and institutional sustainability of installing RO plants, the field visits indicated that (1) it is possible to generate local water resources for ensuring drinking water, (2) RO plant was not feasible in the villages as there was not local capacity to manage it and (3) RO plant still has some problems with respect to discharge of discarded water supply and no easy / cheap solution is available to address this problem.
CFDA therefore withdrew from the project.
6. CFDA – PRAVAH study on Drinking Water and Sanitation Network
Sponsoring Agency : HIVOS, Bangalore
Project Team : CFDA and PRAVAH
7. Safe Drinking Water for All: An Action Plan for Networking & Advocacy in Gujarat for Decentralized and Sustainable Sources of Water
Sponsoring Agency : HIVOS, Bangalore
Project Director : CFDA and PRAVAH
Safe Drinking Water for All : An Action Plan for Networking & Advocacy in Gujarat for Decentralized and Sustainable Sources of Water
Study In-charge : CFDA and PRAVAH
Sponsoring Agency : HIVOS, The Netherlands
Brief Details about the Campaign : This awareness campaign is carried out to support an action plan for networking & advocacy in Gujarat for decentralized and sustainable sources of water – It aims to support advocacy, networking and putting in place alternative systems in different parts of Gujarat State with a view to influencing attitudes and policies both at micro and macro levels to meet the objectives of providing safe drinking water to all through sustainable and decentralized sources.
This awareness campaign was carried out to support an action plan for networking & advocacy in Gujarat for decentralized and sustainable sources of water. It aimed at supporting advocacy, networking and putting in place alternative systems in different parts of Gujarat State with a view to influencing attitudes and policies both at micro and macro levels to meet the objectives of providing safe drinking water to all through sustainable and decentralized sources. This study has an important policy advocacy component.
This is an extension of the earlier project.
8. Monitoring of Narmada based Pipeline Project, CFDA – Pravah – IMWI-TATA (International Water Management Institute and Tata) Project.
Project Incharge : Prof. Indira Hirway
Research Associate : Mr.Subhrangsu Goswami
Sponsoring Agency : IMWI TATA Project and Pravah
The Narmada Canal Based Drinking Water Pipeline Project is one of the biggest drinking water projects in the world. As per the official data, this project will cover about 9500 villages and 139 towns of Gujarat by carrying Narmada Canal water through 2700 km long pipelines. The project will cover entire Saurashtra and Kachchh as well as parts of North Gujarat (parts of Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha) and Panchmahal. The capital cost of the project has been estimated to be Rs. 7470 crores (at 2001 prices) and the operation and maintenance cost of Rs. 511.86 crores (at 2001 prices) per year. The project is important for Gujarat, as it will cover more than half of the villages and more than 85 percent of urban centers of the state. It is important to monitor the project concurrently, as it will help in improving the performance of the project while under implementation. It has been decided therefore by PRAVAH and ITP to initiate a citizens’ monitoring system to monitor the implementation of the Narmada Pipeline Project (NPP) concurrently for the year May 2004 – April 2005 in collaboration with Centre For Development Alternatives (CFDA). This monitoring will be participatory in nature in the sense that it will involve a large number of NGOs, CBOs, people’s organizations and citizens in the process of monitoring. It will thus be an exercise of capacity building and empowerment of people. The findings of this citizens’ monitoring will be used for policy advocacy at the community level, at the village level as well as at the state level. The ultimate objective of this monitoring is to move towards the goal of ensuring safe, adequate and sustainable water supply to all in the state.
Three rounds of the project are over and the report is expected to be presented in a seminar to the concerned officials of the state government.
9. Participatory Monitoring of Narmada Based Drinking Water Pipelines Project in Gujarat
(Complete 2006)
Sponsoring Agency : IWMI TATA Project (ITP)
Collaboration with : ITP, PRAVAH
Project Team at CFDA: Prof. Indira Hirway and Mr. Subhrangshu Goswami
The Narmada Based Drinking Water Pipeline Project is perhaps the biggest drinking water project in the world. Apart from irrigation and power benefits, maximum social value of Sardar Sarovar Project may come from this drinking water project. This project covers 9633 villages (of the total 18114 villages) and 135 urban centres by carrying Narmada water through 3000 km long pipelines. Our study undertook monitoring of the working of the project at the village level. The academic part of the project was undertaken by CFDA, with the support of IWMI and PRAVAH. The project has been used for policy advocacy.
10. Status of Drinking Water in Coastal Regions in Gujarat
Sponsoring Agency : Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell, Government of Gujarat
Project Team : Prof. Indira Hirway (Director) and Mr. Subhrangshu Goswami
Coastal regions where land and water meet are dynamic as well as ecologically sensitive regions. These regions are economically attractive and ecologically sensitive. It is a big challenge for policy makers to promote economic growth in the region in a sustainable manner. Imbalance between the ecology and economy in coastal regions is very common in all coastal state in India including Gujarat. A major consequence of this imbalance is the acute shortage of potable water in this region. Our study examines the status of drinking water in the coastal region of Saurashtra. It also assesses the strength of the different interventions of the government; examines the innovative experiments of NGOs to assess their strengths and impact; studies the village level institutions, including Panchayats and Pani Samitis (Water Committees); and makes recommendations for ensuring drinking water to all in the region.
11. Ensuring Sustainable Water Supply to Jamnagar District
Sponsoring Agency : PRAVAH
Project Team : Prof. Indira Hirway (Project Director) and Mr. Subhrangshu Goswami
Jamnagar, located in the western coast in Gujarat, suffers the most from shortage of potable water supply. The district has the longest sea coast (516 Km) in Gujarat with about 500 villages located on the coast. The main objective of the study was to understand the problem, explore the various possibilities and design a strategy for ensuring potable water to all. The study examined the working of regional schemes in the district, studied the status of water supply in the areas where watershed development has been undertaken, assessed the efforts of NGOs and WASMO, and worked out a strategy for ensuring water to all. The report was presented to NGOs in Jamnagar, and later on to WASMO and GWSSB for the purpose of policy advocacy.
12. Status of Drinking Water in Gujarat – Towards a Sustainable Approach
Research Team : Prof. Indira Hirway and Dr. Shital Lodhia
Sponsoring Agency : World Health Organization, New Delhi
Brief Details about the Project : Gujarat state is facing a serious water crisis at present, which is also reflected in shortage of potable drinking water in several parts of the state. Though efforts have been made to resolve the crisis, these have not been very successful. There is a need to take a careful look at the problem and assess it afresh to reorient the efforts in this sector. This study, which uses the available rich literature on the subject as well as some fresh investigation, presents some suggestions for the consideration of the Government of Gujarat. The study observes that looking to the constraints and potential in this sector in the state, it is possible to design a strategy that ensures drinking water to all in a sustainable manner. Such a strategy will have two components, namely strategy for ensuring sustainable water resources and strategy for providing sustainable water services. The study makes recommendations for the consideration of the Government of Gujarat to enable it to move towards a sustainable approach that is sustainable environmentally, economically and institutionally. The study concludes that there is a need to put a break to the present approach of looking for fresh water in deeper aquifers and farther surface water resources. This is because the reorientation of the approach will drastically reduce the need for the wild search for additional water resources and also enable the state government to avoid the present expensive approach of quenching the thirst of people of Gujarat. The study report is being finalized for submission.