#31. Success Story of Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committee in O & M of Water Supply Scheme in Raisiana Village in Tarn Taran District in Punjab
Issues:
This is a case study of Raisiana Village of Tarn Taran District in Punjab, where lives of people are improved due to provision of water supply to all households of the village. For improved water supply situation and O &M of the water supply scheme in the village, the role of Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committee (GPWSC) is significant. Raisiana village has a population of 1656 and total numbers of houses in the village is 316. The village has 4 schools and 7 Anganwadi centers. In the village, there was no regular water supply due to mismanagement of water distribution and wastage of water by consumers. The schools, Anganwadi centers and Govt. buildings in the village were facing problem due to unavailability of piped water supply.
Water Storage Tank in Raisiana Village
Strategy: The strategy for improvement of water supply situation in the village included construction of a new water supply scheme with total involvement of villagers along with simultaneous campaign on importance of safe water use. As an initial step, several meetings and gram sabhas were conducted to discuss the strategy to achieve the Har Ghar Jal status at the earliest. Subsequently, a water supply scheme was constructed with an expenditure of Rs. 35.94 lakhs under World Bank Assisted Project. The beneficiary contribution for the water supply scheme was Rs. 3.99 lakhs. The scheme was commissioned on 20th Oct. 2014. The water supply scheme was upgraded in Oct. 2017 under World Bank Assisted Project Component 2a/2b with an expenditure of Rs. 3.64 Lakhs and provision of 100% water connections to households. The scheme has a OHSR of 75,000-liter capacity. At present, every household in the village has water connection under Har Ghar Nal Har Ghar Jal program of Government.
Announcement in Gurudwara
In the scheme, GPWSC is maintaining records of water connection installed in each house and collecting water supply revenue every month. The GPWSC committee has installed a loudspeaker on the storage tank of the water supply scheme. In the meeting held every month, the committee prepares the list of defaulter consumers and announces the names of defaulters through the loudspeaker to ensure that every household pays water bill on time to maintain their respect in the society. In the village, volumetric water billing is done by GPWSC. Initially, there were some challenges in collection of user charges as many consumers were not paying the water bills on time and wastage of water was done by many consumers. To address the challenges, the GPWSC committee and DWSS officials did many social interactions and informed beneficiaries about the importance of making payment in time and avoiding wastage of water. In this regard, a penalty of Rs. 50 is imposed on the consumer for not paying the bill within 7 days from the last date of every month. The GPWSC also implemented a provision that, for getting a new water connection or reconnecting a household, a connection fee of Rs 1500 will have to be deposited. As a result, all water revenue arrears were received by GPWSC. Proper chlorination of water is being done by the pump operator. Regular testing of residual chlorine is also being done by the pump operator with help of field test kit. Biological and chemical testing of water are also done regularly with the help of field test kits. All records like ledger, cashbook, logbook, chlorination register etc. are maintained. Now, the scheme is financially sustainable with timely billing and collection of water revenue.
Main credit to run the water supply scheme goes to GPWSC Chairperson Sh. Nirmal Singh and GPWSC Secretary Sh. Lakha Singh. Champions of the village along with DWSS Team conduct intensive Social and IEC campaign regularly to motivate community regarding 24×7 water supply in the village. Promotion of Save Water Save Life & Maintenance of Dawn to Dusk Water Supply are conducted through various tools and techniques. The following activities were taken up to generate awareness among the community regarding 24X7 Water Supply:
- Door to door campaign
- Organising water testing camps
- Announcements from Gurdwara Sahib
- Muniyadi
- Women empowerment Camps
- Training programme with ASHA worker, AWWs and women member of the village.
- Capacity building trainings for men, children, and women.
- Training to pump operator on documentation and record keeping.
- Wall writings.
Outcomes
Due to the interventions, people of Raisiana village especially the women are very happy as water supply is running 24 hours a day since 20th Oct. 2014. People obtain water at any time when needed and turn off the tap, when water is not needed. When the villagers were asked about this, they replied that after a long time they have got pure water for 24 hours continuously. They also responded that, if they do not save water today, their future generations will be forced to drink contaminated water. At present, the community is totally aware about the advantages of 24X7 water supply and potable drinking water. People have enthusiasm to pay bills due to continuous supply of clean and hygienic water. The surplus balance available in GPWSC bank account is Rs. 2 lakhs. It is a good example of sustainable operation and maintenance of water supply scheme. Villagers are aware about the difference between contaminated water and potable drinking water. No one in the village is wasting water and regular payment of monthly remuneration to pump operator is done.
Distribution of IEC Materials toBeneficiaries
Paani di Kahaani (ਪਾਣੀ ਦੀ ਕਹਾਣੀ) 