Orientation Workshop : Project Swajal
H C Srivastava

The Department of Rural Development   UP is implementing, with World Bank assistance, a Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Project for 1000 selected villages of Uttrakhand and Bundelkhand regions of the state.  The project, now termed as ‘SWAJAL’ Project and being managed by a Government sponsored registered society, known as Project Management Unit (PMU) and located at Lucknow envisages planning and implementation of single village-based water supply and environmental sanitation schemes through beneficiary communities with the active support of selected NGOs (termed as SOs or Support Organisations).  Project period is 1996-2002.  Target villages will be covered in four successive batches each of about 24 months duration.  The first batch started in Sep. 1996. 

Development Alternatives, Jhansi is one of the 5 NGOs selected for batch 1 villages in Bundelkhand and is carrying out work in 6 villages of Jhansi District whereas the remaining 4 NGO’s are working in one village each in other districts.  For the second batch, which is to commence from September 1997, the PMU has selected 10 NGOs, as Support Organisation (SOs) and again D.A. Jhansi is one of them.  D.A. Jhansi was retained as consultant for giving orientation to remaining 9 SOs of Bundelkhand, on how to conduct Prefeasibility Studies for the SWAJAL project.  Venue of the programme was the Indian Grassland & Fodder Research Institute, Jhansi.  The workshop was conducted from 10th to 12th April.  Twenty five participants attended from 9 organisations.  Each participating team consisted of one team leader, one Senior Engineer and one community development supervisor.  The training methodology consisted of lecture presentations, case studies, experience sharing, group-exercises on various topics and presentation on field work.  DA’s team of resource persons comprised AVM S.Sahni, S.C. Srivastava, K.N. Gupta, Neeta Goel, R. Samadhiya and A.K. Srivastava.  Officers of District Project Management Unit were also present on all the days to assist in the conduct of the workshop.  At the outset the current status of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation was explained followed by salient features like of the SWAJAL Project.  Each of these evoked animated discussion and generated sharply queries specially from the experienced NGOs.  Amongst the participants were three SOs of the first batch.  The remaining participants were keen to know of their experiences and the former fully cooperated in giving the details and also gave brief narrative of unforeseen problems, experiences by them.  The crucial aspects of the project, particularly the novel approach of planning and implementation of rural water supply and sanitation project by the beneficiary communities assisted by SOs (NGO’s), the organisational set-up, working at the village level and the cost sharing aspect (between the Project authorities and the rural communities) were also discussed to develop sound understanding amongst the participants on the vital issues.

On the second day of the workshop the components of the prefeasibility study were explained as also the methods and techniques to actually carry out the study in the field.  The participants then proceeded to a preselected village to carry out the field study.  They were divided into four groups.  The first three consisted of team leaders and community development supervisor and were engaged in the task of information/data collection on demographic features, time-saving study (time savings to women because of provision of improved services), communities willingness to pay and community capacity to undertake developmental activities.  The fourth group consisted of engineers and was assigned the task of Water Source Adequacy Assessment through actual field measurements of known water sources.

On the third and the final day each group presented the results of its field-study and the difficulties experienced therein.  It was followed by a cross-group discussion.  At the end of the workshop the participant did programme evaluation, individually, to help the organisers in improving similar events later.  Performance of each participant was also evaluated through a structured schedule.

The workshop provided a unique opportunity in terms of capacity building of the DA’s SWAJAL project team as well as strengthening its own project implementation strategy.  As a spin-off, it is also expected that project team will be now more equipped to undertake prefeasibility studies in 2nd batch of villages.   q    

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