Assessment of kardex system for handpump programme

The handpump in rural areas of India is becoming largely accepted as a reliable and safe mode of water supply. The India Mark II has emerged as an ideal pump to fulfill the water needs of the Indian rural population; however, it was found that 80 per cent of pumps were inoperative within a couple of years of installation. Therefore the government began to focus on the maintenance, repair and monitoring of handpumps, and, as a result of the need for a basic data capture mechanism to record handpump installation and repair/maintenance, the Kardex system was developed. The Kardex system was launched with a larger purpose of making available an efficient data capture mechanism for the computerized management information system. The Kardex system was introduced on a trial basis in five districts of four states: Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Orissa. The evaluation of this demonstration project, based on a detailed investigation carried out by a central team, is the basic purpose of this report. The field study report looks at organization and operations and includes field observations for each of the four sample states. This is followed by a diagnostic study of the prevailing situation in the sample states. As well as this evaluation, the report proposes a complete system of related data management, and programme operation and evaluation based on modified Kardex and books/registers for the better management of the handpump programme. A large scale implementation of the augmented system has been planned to follow. The report also includes recommendations on standardization of monitoring procedures and formats at different levels. Annexure vol. 1 contains detailed responses to the questionnaire used in the evaluation at various levels of administration for the sample states. A manual of operation for the Kardex system is provided in Annexure vol. 2.