The India Village Water Supply Programme : situation, observations and recommendations

This report covers the status of the India Village Water Supply Programme as of December 1976. So far the programme has provided 30,000 deep wells drilled in the southern and central hard rock areas of India, 20,000 of which have been equiped with hand pumps. It is now being expanded to encompass the northern and eastern areas. One main problem, the fact that in many areas 70% of hand pumps were out of order at any given time, has caused the programme to shift to better designed hand pumps - the "India" hand pump, to establish a hand pump maintenance system at village level, and to provide sanitary education linked with the introduction of sanitary excreta disposal. This report outlines the scope, policies and funding of the India Village Water Supply Programme. Supplies and logistics are set out including details about the development, special features and distribution of the "India" hand pump, and, as well, implementation strategies in hard rock and other areas, field assistance and environmental concerns are described. The report calls for more planning to be done between the state authorities and UNICEF in order to determine the type of input required and the overall programming. A review including the systematizing of supply logistics is foreseen, especially as to the spare parts supply for drilling operations. With regard to manpower and training, more trained staff and upgrading of the existing ones are needed to keep pace with the growing demand on acceleration of the programme including the training of national staff to upgrade the implementaion of the programme, and UNICEF-assisted training for technical staff, instructors, and field workers. The report also deals with community involvement, hand pump maintenance and latrine construction, noting the importance of education on such topics as the environment, sanitation, health and nutrition to community development. Finally, the report recommends the systemization of monitoring and reporting, an evaluation of the impact of the programme on health and socio-economic conditions, and the consolidation of UNICEF's organizational structure to meet the changed scope of the programme.