Water, wisdom and wasmo: a learning journey
I recently met a large number of village community leaders and innovators who have achieved remarkable results in collaboration with WASMO in Gujarat in dealing with the problems of drinking water and sanitation.
If through transparency, honesty and self critical attitude, public officials can achieve so much in this program, then surely lessons need to be learned so that other programs can also benefit from similar processes. It is a pity that NREGA funds can not be transferred to wasmo for implementation, we could avoid so much corruption and misuse and ensure much higher productivity through genuine community participation.
Way back in 1984, while summarizing the experience of an action research project of which I was a part during 1978-81, a lesson was learned that if goals or processes of an organization do not undergo shift during implementation, then there is no evidence of participation. In this program, the coordinators did not only encourage but accepted initiatives and innovations by local people and communities in managing water conservation, distribution and utilization. Let me recount some grassroots innovations which made us aware of the range of creative response communities have shown in dealing with variable topographies, water level, pressure, distribution requirements, etc.
Where else will you see a a widow old lady Doodhi ben in Bhavnagar district contributing her life long savings for creation of common water supply facility, or another lady Amba ben donating the amount she had saved for her last rites for similar purpose. When it was realized by some farmers that the guidelines provided for making chamber for controlling water supply underground invariably lead to water collection which led to dirtiness, mosquito breeding etc., they decided to make chamber above the ground. The program managers did not have a problem with that. Similarly, in another village, the source of water and the pump was eight kilometers away from the village, going there everytime power comes would have been tiresome . Why not use mobile phione switching on and off system along with status report of whether power was available or not, and if so inhow many pahes. Plus the whole village could send a sms to that number of the water supply phone and get the status of when the water would be supplied. All automatic. We had a similar innovation in NIF’s database but this one was surely meeting local needs well and was developed by local people through their own ingenuity. In another place, to ensure that ever household gets water at equal pressure, the local community developed a T based water supply points ensuing that every household in every locality got water at the same pressure. Even in this, to claiberate the pressures, they would keep a regulatory point which was sealed after testing it for fifteen days. No body could not change the pressure or add a water point or cheat the system. The additional cost of this system was over alac rupees but the equity does not come cheap. I wish various developmental programes will study the way people have decided to pay more amount( as much as 600 rupees per household per year or as much as 14 rupees per capita per month in some villages) for water, let us find out how much we pay in cities. Let us find out how many housing societies deliver same pressure of water to every body. I do not get the same pressure in my house in IIMA campus being located at the end of the line. Being used to cold water bath daily, I suffer the consequence when a special motor installed does not work often.
There are many more innovative examples of water conservation, distribution and utilization in various villages which we are studying to draw lessons for participatory development not just in the state or the country but the world. It Is not for nothing that Rajasthan Assembly speaker came along with MLAs and chief engineers of water supply to study how Gujarat had done this miracle. That also shows when best practices will be learned across party political lines, nothing will be then come in the way of overcoming shame of this nation which can not provide safe drinking water to thousands of villages around the country after so many years of independence. Gujarat will have solved this problem soon and for good. But on sanitation front, there is still a long way to go. While thousands of toilets have been built, there is still a need for persuading people to understand that microbial load in water in many places is very high because of contamination of catchments. We need to create a consciousness that every drop of water counts. Not one tap should leak, not one drop should drip. Every village community has to clean the catchments from where water drains into water body before rains. And RO water needs to be remineralised else there will be major micro-nutrient crisis and public health problem. I am very optimistic that new milestones will be created and even greater success will be achieved in future. May the new year be happy, healthy and cooperative for all communities without which water will not be available to every body safely and sufficiently.
Anil K Gupta
