Innovative projects

Published : Nov 16, 2007 00:00 IST

A farmer drying grapes at his farm at Gangapur in Nashik district. - PAUL NORONHA

A farmer drying grapes at his farm at Gangapur in Nashik district. - PAUL NORONHA

The rural development projects are aimed at increasing access to improved and sustainable drinking water and sanitation services.

A farmer drying

SOME 55.7 million people live in rural Maharashtra, accounting for 58 per cent of the States population of 96.7 million (according to the 2001 Census). Of the 35 districts, 33 come under the rural category. The mission of achieving the overall development of some 40,785 villages is thus a challenging and complex one.

The basic developmental initiative would be to ensure the supply of potable water to the villages and build irrigation schemes. Pressure on water resources has been growing, and it is in this sector that the government has pioneered reforms by enacting the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Act and the Management of Irrigation Systems of Farmers Act, 2005. Maharashtra was the first State to adopt a reform policy in 2000, based on the Government of Indias Sector Reform Programme.

The reforms are based on the principles of community ownership and management and are aimed at strengthening decentralised service delivery and resource management through the panchayati raj institutions (PRI). Earlier, state agencies such as the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran or the Zilla Parishads were responsible for identifying the needs, constructing works, and ensuring their operation and maintenance. Villagers were not involved in development works and did not pay for the services. This top-driven policy meant that despite huge investments, implementation at the ground level was not successful.

Following decentralisation, gram sabhas have been appointing the Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSC). These committees take care of decision making, execution and service delivery. One of the stipulations of this bottom-driven approach is that 50 per cent of the committee shall comprise women and representatives of beneficiaries. Existing government or private agencies can act as technical consultants to the VWSC/gram sabha.

The created infrastructure will belong to the village and will be managed through an appropriate water charge. One of the big success stories of the new reform policy in Maharashtra is the Sant Gadge Baba Clean Village Campaign adopted in 2000. It has set an example for other development programmes. The SGBC is unique in the sense that it is a campaign to mobilise rural communities to participate in works that will keep their villages clean. Independent committees then evaluate the works and award prizes. The prize money is meant to be utilised for developmental works. Rural communities are gaining self-confidence and mobilising their own resources to create a positive physical and social environment. It was found that the total resources mobilised by communities was Rs.800 crore as against the Rs.16 crore spent by the government by way of prizes.

The lessons learnt from this campaign helped the government design the World Bank-funded Jalswarajya project, aimed at increasing rural households access to improved and sustainable drinking water and sanitation services. The project will benefit 2,800 village panchayats in 26 districts. The remaining six districts will be served by the Aaple Pani project funded by the Government of India and the German government.

Another rural water project adopting this new approach is the Shivkalin Pani Sathvan Yojana. This scheme will adopt rain water harvesting methods in some villages and, interestingly, will use traditional methods to recharge tanks in forts built by Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Mahatma Phule Jyoti Abhiyan will place emphasis on low-cost conservation structures built entirely through voluntary labour.

One of the major rural programmes has been the Total Sanitation Campaign, or the Hagandari Mukt Gaon scheme. Initially, the sanitation policy for the rural areas was confined to the construction of toilets and drainage. The implementation was target-oriented and supply-driven. But since the success of the Sant Gadge Baba Abhiyan, there has been a paradigm shift in the approach to rural sanitation. The underlying concept now is to put the onus on individuals to switch from a practice that is a health risk for the entire community to a sanitary way. Sanitation coverage has increased from 9 per cent to 40 per cent in rural Maharashtra.

Another innovative rural scheme that appears to be making a headway is the Mahatma Gandhi Tanta Mukt Gaon Yojana, or the scheme for dispute-free villages. The brainchild of Deputy Chief Minister R.R. Patil, the scheme inaugurated on August 15 aims at peoples participation to end disputes.

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