About URWSSP :

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Uttarakhand Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Project (URWSSP):

1 Period

Project Start date: 30th November, 2006;

Project End date: 31st December, 2015
2 Project Development Objective To improve the effectiveness of rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) services through decentralization and the increased role of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and the involvement of local communities in the state of Uttarakhand.
3 Project End Target Population: 1.2 Million; Habitations: 8270; Open Defecation Free (ODF): 30% of project GPs (470 GPs); Catchment Treatment: 970 Schemes
4 Implementing Agencies Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam (UJN), Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan (UJS) and Project Management Unit, SWAJAL.
5 Project Cost The total water sector investment committed is $224 million for the SWAp. Partners for the SWAp pool ($224 million) include Government of India (31%), Government of Uttarakhand (67%); and the User Communities (3%) financial share. The International Development Association will reimburse the Government of Uttarakhand share of SWAp basket up to $120 Million, against an annually varying reimbursement pattern, agreed in the PAD.
6 Project Components

SWAp Program Components

Total Budget

World Bank share

Million $

A

RWSS Development

5.02

3.59

B

RWSS Infrastructure Investments

196.78

104.91

C

Program Management Support and M&E

22.09

11.50


Total

224.00

120.00

7 Project Cycle for implementation of the project

(i) Pre-planning phase: (ii) Planning Phase: (iii) Implementation Phase :

(iv) Operation and Maintenance Phase and thereafter : (v) exit
8 Community Contribution The upper ceiling of upfront community contribution for private water connection is Rs. 600.00 and Rs. 300.00 for General Category and Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe (SC/ST) population respectively. In case of public stand post, the upper ceiling is Rs. 300.00 and 150.00 for General Category and SC/ST population.
9 Uniqueness of the project
  • The project makes extensive use of existing government systems for funds flow, financial control & financial reporting.
  • The project is envisaged on the principle of ‘subsidiarity’ viz., that a particular decision/activity will be made/take place at the lowest most appropriate level.
  • The habitation is the focal point for planning, implementation, operation & maintenance of the water supply scheme, rather than revenue village or the Gram Panchayat (GP).
  • Users Water Sanitation Sub Committee (UWSSC) is in most cases, the primary management unit exercising control over resources & decision making.
10 Innovations at a Glance
  • Planning Unit: Habitation;
  • Legal Status to UWSSC;
  • Model Bye-laws for UWSSC;
  • Fine-tuning of SOs Selection Criteria;
  • Constitution of Technical Review Committee at district level;
  • Single Set of Schedule of Rates;
  • Capacity building of all stakeholders;
  • Web based online Sector Information System (SIS):- URL: swajalsis.uk.gov.in/
  • Community Contracting;
  • Social Audit Committee;
  • Insurance of schemes.
11 Impacts

Communities have the following advantages:

  • Lesser Dependence on Outsiders for water supply service i.e. Gram Swaraj (Village Self Rule)- leading to ‘community pride’ & ‘community control’.
  • Reduction in Coping Cost as well as more availability of house hold space due to elimination of storing water in larger containers
  • Elimination of Travel Time and Travel Cost in lodging no-water complaints, making payment of bills and getting sanction of new water connection
  • Improvement in Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF); due to better quality of repairs and strict control/supervision by the community.
  • Reduction in Women’s Drudgery: of about 2-3 hours per day leading to better quality of life i.e. utilization of their quality time in caring their children and leisure time besides income generation in some cases.

Savings for the State Exchequer: Detailed assessments show that by decentralizing service delivery to local communities, the state government’s savings include: savings in institutional costs and O&M costs. Thus the State Government has to provide lesser budgetary support through State Exchequer as GP meets the O&M expenses including energy costs.

Greater Availability of Time for Line Departments: GP/UWSSC takes up the full responsibility of O&M, with back-up support by the UJS, as and when required. Thus line department have more availability of time for managing complex schemes and lesser management problems.

Employment Generation:

  • About 2800 Single Village Schemes have been completed (as on June 30, 2013), commissioned, operated and maintained by the UWSSCs. Every UWSSC has appointed at least one Village Maintenance Worker (VMW) for operation and maintenance of the scheme. It implies that about 2800 local people have been provided employment at the village level by the GPs. 
  • Apart from this, about 7400 personnel employed by the Support Organizations/Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) for community mobilization activities in planning and implementation phase.

Table 2: Ratings of World Bank Mission: May, 2014

India:Uttarakhand RWSS (Project ID: P083187; Loan/Credit No. 42320)

Key Project Data Current Ratings and Flags
Effectiveness Date 11/30/2006 Development Objectives Satisfactory
Closing Date 12/31/2015 Implementation Progress Satisfactory
Project Age 7.6 years Problem Flags None
% Disbursed as of May, 2014 88% Original Project; 74% Original Project plus AF for Disaster Management