India

SecureWater research in India is centred on the State of Andhra Pradesh (AP). Policy and institutional analysis has been carried out at both national and state level and detailed fieldwork has been conducted in case study villages in the districts of Chittoor and Mahbubgnagar in AP.

The India case study (read here the case study report ) traces the recent evolution of water sector policy in India, specifically the ongoing Sector Reform Programme (SRP), initiated by the Government of India (GoI) in 1999 and led by the Rajiv Ghandi Drinking Water Mission (RGDWM) in Delhi. The SRP was designed to bring about a major shift in policy away from previous government-driven, supply-led approaches towards the adoption of a Demand-Responsive Approach (DRA) to water supply development. It seeks to build on early experiences, notably from Swajal, and elaborate ‘Swajaldhara’ guidelines for the implementation of DRA in the Indian context. Sector reform processes have been supported by various external agencies including the South Asia Water & Sanitation Programme (WSP) with assistance from DFID-India.

The SRP was initially piloted in 57 selected districts but many of the districts did not meet expectations, despite hand holding from central government and external agencies. Major issues of capacity were identified at a number of different levels and capacity building exercises have subsequently been initiated with help from UNICEF and others. Some districts showed encouraging progress and the challenge now is to build on best practice examples and learn lessons from failures. SRP has now been piloted in a total of 67 districts and the GoI remains firmly committed to scaling up sector reforms nation-wide.

SecureWater research has sought to trace how these reforms are understood by decision-makers at different levels, how they are being interpreted by practitioners and the resulting impact on beneficiary communities. Two case study villages were selected. The first - Nattiobannigaripalle in Chittoor district - is an SRP village, the second – Vemula in Mahbubgnagar district is not. In each case detailed research was conducted to understand the livelihood impact of changing water access arrangements, and to identify ways in which DRA planning and implementation might be enhanced to better address poverty-livelihood dynamics, and thereby improve long-term sustainability in service delivery.

The SecureWater team also contributed to the DFID-funded BGS ‘ComMan’ (Community Management of Groundwater) workshop in Delhi in January 2004 and discussions were held with DFID-India and WSP to discuss emerging issues, opportunities for follow-up and entry points where SecureWater research could most usefully inform sector development processes. As part of its efforts to scale-up sector reforms nation-wide, GoI is has requested the development of State-level strategies for implementing reforms. 2004 is thus a watershed year for the development of ‘State drinking water plans’. WSP is seeking to support this process in AP by conducting a review of experience to-date in SRP pilot districts. The SecureWater team therefore agreed to work together with WSP to help frame this analysis and share insights from our recent research.

The India workshop was organised jointly with WSP and timed to inform current policy development processes in AP. The workshop was held in Hyderabad on March 1st, 2004 and facilitated by the Andhra Pradesh Academy for Rural Development (APARD) which is the agency responsible for capacity building and training under the GoI SRP. It was attended by a wide range of sector stakeholders from AP (state government, researchers, donor agencies, private sector and NGOs), plus a number of key national level stakeholders from Delhi (RGDWM, WSP, DFID-India, UNICEF).

The workshop was unusual in bringing together such a range of different stakeholders in one place and resulted in some very frank and open discussions around the challenges associated with the sector reform process. It was also attended by Rajindra de Ariyabandu who provided valuable comparative insights from the Sri Lankan context. There was particular interest among participants in building the lessons from SecureWater research into the development of State Drinking Water Plan. Furthermore there was a general consensus on the need to develop guidelines to assist practitioners in AP and elsewhere in thinking through these issues. The SecureWater team will take these ideas forward in collaboration with UNICEF and APARD.

It was also suggested that SecureWater project would provide a valuable forum for linking various DFID-funded research in the water sector in India, particularly in AP, to draw lessons and identify future priorities for DFID support in India. This discussion will be taken forward with DFID-India next FY with a view to possibly expanding the scope of the final workshop in October 2004.