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As part of the Netherlands and Danish assisted Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Kerala, India, the Socio-Economic Units (SEUs) were set up in 1987.

TitleIntroduction of a consumer oriented approach to rural water supply and sanitation in Kerala, India
Publication TypeMiscellaneous
Year of Publication1996
AuthorsS. Achary, K
Secondary TitleM.Sc. Thesis E.E. / IHE
Volumeno. 223
Paginationxi, 128 p. : fig., map, tab.
Date Published1996-05-01
PublisherIHE (International Institute for Infrastructural, Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering)
Place PublishedDelft, The Netherlands
Keywordsattitudes, community participation, evaluation, funding agencies, india kerala, integrated approach, policies, projects, rural areas, safe water supply, sanitation, water authorities, water supply personnel
Abstract

As part of the Netherlands and Danish assisted Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Kerala, India, the Socio-Economic Units (SEUs) were set up in 1987. The aims of the SEUs were:
- to demonstrate the viability and efficiency of an integrated approach to the Project with an emphasis on community involvement and health and hygiene education; and
- to transfer this integrated approach to local organizations, in the particular the Kerala Water Authority (KWA), the state's implementing agency for piped water supply and wastewater disposal.

The report first provides an overview of the history and performance of the KWA and SEUs against the background of Indian and Dutch water and sanitation policies. It observes that the integrated approach demonstrated by the SEUs improved project performance significantly, but that the approach was not transferred to KWA. The study addresses this failure. It is based on a review of project documents and interviews with 48 KWA officials, 7 SEUs staff, 3 donor staff, 2 state politicians, and 23 users. The study identifies the lack of involvement of KWA in the SEUs projects and poor communication between the two organizations as reasons why the transfer failed. Other obstacles included professional jealousy of KWA staff towards their counterparts in the SEUs. This antagonism was related to the financial backing of the donors for the SEUs in terms of higher pay and secondary benefits, and larger project budgets. KWA staff also feared that integration with SEUs might harm their career prospects. In addition the KWA lacks the autonomy and the budget structure to adopt a more consumer-oriented approach.

The report recommends that future attempts to transfer an integrated approach should be carried out as a stand-alone project in close cooperation with KWA over a period of least ten years.

NotesM.Sc. thesis. - 45 ref.
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