Monitoring of rural water supply and sanitation : a study conducted in Punjab and Haryana

This report is the result of a study undertaken in two northern states, Punjab and Haryana, to assess the present status of the rural water supply and sanitation programme, to ascertain people's perception about this programme, and to evaluate the community involvement in the implementation of water supply schemes.Two districts were selected in Punjab, Bhatinda and Hoshiarpur, and two in Haryana, Hissar and Panipat,and research was conducted in April-May 1998, by direct interviews of village level functionaries, housewives/heads of households, and village opinion leaders in a total of 60 villages and by observation. Results of the research for Punjab (Part A) are outlined in three parts. Part I, on rural water supply status, shows that, as of March 1998, 56.5 per cent of Punjab was covered by piped water supply, far short of fixed targets. Part II deals with usership of drinking water sources. It profiles household respondents, and discusses dependence on public/private sources, timing and duration of piped water supply, problems encountered in the operation and maintenance of the water supply, distance of public water sources, quality of water, and community involvement in cost and operation and maintenance of rural water supply schemes. Part III, which looks at the availability of sanitary latrines, points out that 42 per cent of household respondents in the two districts have their own private latrines, 1% use community latrines, and the remaining 57 per cent defecate in the open. Some programmes for the construction of latrines have been discontinued. Thirty per cent of respondents in Bhatinda and 14 per cent in Hoshiarpur report the prevalence of such water borne diseases as diarrhoea, malaria, typhoid, skin infection and cholera. The same format is used in Part B to present the findings for Haryana. The research shows that the situation of water supply in Haryana is not as good as the state claims with only 6 out of 15 villages surveyed in Hissar being covered, and only 8 out of 15 in Panipat. With regard to sanitary latrines, 34 per cent of households surveyed have their own latrines, 1 per cent use community latrines, and 65 per cent defecate in the open. As well, the status of cleanliness in rural areas of Haryana is not satisfactory and there is a higher prevalence of water borne diseases than in Punjab.