A field note by the Water and Sanitation Program - South Asia (WSP-SA) documents the evolution of three large, river-based schemes in Aliparamba Gram Panchayat near Kozhikode in the north of Kerala state, India.
Published on: 22/08/2008
This success story is significant because the schemes are the first of their kind in Kerala to have been planned and implemented by the Gram Panchayat [village councils] and User Groups [groups of 25-30 households formed with the help of an NGO] and to institute a management model that invests ownership and corporate oversight with a Scheme Level Committee representing participating User Groups, that is overseen by a Gram Panchayat-level Coordination Committee. The schemes, which are providing potable water to 3,532 families in an area where 90 percent of open wells run dry from February to May each year, serve as a model for effective, decentralized planning and implementation. Many innovations were required to address social, technical, institutional, and financial issues. These are documented here, and provide valuable lessons to policymakers and practitioners in scaling-up such approaches.
The approach used "are seen to represent a real opportunity in Kerala to advocate for a more nuanced approach to devolution with specific responsibilities assigned to appropriate tiers of local government with necessary funds and skills. This would allow infrastructure projects to dovetail with institutional support from local government, which is necessary for scaling-up and longer term post construction sustainability. The Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency is already implementing another 10 similar schemes. Thereafter, the Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency intends to conduct a larger performance assessment and lessons learned exercise, and also prepare detailed guidelines and manuals for building and management of rural water schemes by village communities.
In addition, the Government of Kerala is attempting to pilot a partnership model between the Kerala Water Authority and the Gram Panchayats for the implementation and management of large ‘multi-Gram Panchayat' water supply schemes, where the Kerala Water Authority will provide bulk supply and the Gram Panchayats will manage internal water distribution, including billing and cost recovery.
Pilgrim, N., Samuel, S. and Abhyankar , G.V. (2008). Local governments and user groups plan and implement large water supply schemes : success story in Kerala. (Field note / WSP). New Delhi, India, Water and Sanitation Program - South Asia. 12 p. 5 boxes, 1 fig., 3 tab. 8 ref. Download PDF file
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