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WaterAid India2006

in Rural Areas

Water and SanitationWater and Sanitation

of Madhya Pradesh

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WaterAid India is thankful to all the different donors/agencies

for their support and assistance

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of Madhya Pradesh

WaterAid India2006

in Rural Areas

Water and Sanitation

Prepared by

Amod KhannaChitra Khanna

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WaterAid India, 2006

Any part of this publication may be translated or reprintedwith due acknowledgement to WaterAid, India

Design and PrintingNew Concept Information Systems Pvt. Ltd.New Delhi -110 076Tel : 91-11-26972748, 26973246

Research Team

Principal Researcher Amod Khanna

ResearchCoordinator Chitra Khanna

Research Associates Yogita SaxenaGauri BelapureLakhan Singh Jatav

ResearchInvestigators Vijay Shanker Barua

Dharmendra Singh GurjarSushma KushwahaAjay Singh YadavNagina BanoAadesh ChauhanPreeti BhargavaRupendra Kumar SinhaMahesh Parmar

Published byWaterAid India1st Floor, Nursery School BuildingC-3, Nelson Mandela MargVasant Kunj,New Delhi - 110070Tel: 0091-11-46084400Fax: 0091-11-46084411

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Foreword v

Abbreviations vi

Executive Summary vii

CHAPTER 1

Introduction 1

1.1 WaterAid India 11.2 WaterAid India (West) 11.3 Summary of Desk Review 1

1.4 Field Study 2

CHAPTER 2

Methodology 3

2.1 Objectives of the Study 32.2 Research Question 32.3 Scope of Study 32.4 Sampling Plan 42.5 Method of Data Collection 62.6 Training Research Associates 7

2.7 Limitations of the Study 8

CHAPTER 3

Water 9

3.1 Sources, Availability and Accessibility 93.2 Demand and Consumption 173.3 Quality 183.4 Water Supply 23

CHAPTER 4

Sanitation 30

4.1 Private Toilets 304.2 Sanitary Complex 314.3 Personal Hygiene 314.4 Solid Waste Disposal 324.5 Liquid Waste Disposal 33

Contents

iiiContents

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CHAPTER 5

WATSAN in Institutions 36

5.1 Education 365.2 Health 385.3 Panchayat Bhawan and Community Hall 395.4 Public Health & Engineering Department 39

CHAPTER 6

Financing for Water and Sanitation 41

6.1 Level of Funding 416.2 Water Sector 416.3 Fund Utilisation in Water Sector 436.4 Sanitation Sector 43

CHAPTER 7

Recommendations 46

7.1 Approach to Programming 46

7.2 Programming Interventions 46

Annexure 48

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vForeword

The Human Development Report, 1999 articulatedthe challenges of globalisation as globalisation withethics less violation of human rights, not more;equity less disparity within and between nations, notmore; inclusion less marginalisation of people andcountries, not more; human security less instabilityof societies and less vulnerability; of people, notmore; sustainability less environmental destruction,not more; and development less poverty anddeprivation, not more. The policies and practices ofgovernance when assessed within these parametersshould be able to fulfill the standards laid down in theinternationally accepted covenants of human rights.The present study explores the issue of water andsanitation in various dimensions and finds out thatthe current state of water and sanitation in MadhyaPradesh falls short on equity, inclusion, ensuring watersecurity, sustainability of water sources and their longterm impact on environment.

Consequently the study proposes to adopt the humanrights framework to develop programmes and a rightsbased approach for designing interventions in the

sector of water and sanitation. The study has comeout strongly on the issues of social exclusion in anywater supply project and the further marginalisationof the poor. It argues that a rights based perspectivewill enable institutions to focus on the needs of thepoor, build their capacities to enable them to enlargetheir choices and give them socio-political space totake charge of their lives and circumstances. Thestate of social and economic inequity prevailing inthe rural areas are creating differentiations in access,availability and affordability of services related towater and sanitation and the delivery machinery does

not seem to be equipped to handle these inequities. Italso sends a warning signal on the deteriorating water

Foreword

quality and its impact on health and well being of thecommunity. Issues of governance need to be closelyintegrated in any water and sanitation programmeapproach with a sharper focus on entitlements and thequality and efficiency of delivery mechanism.

This study was done by WaterAid India to assess andunderstand the context of Rural Water and Sanitationprogramme in the state of Madhya Pradesh. This is afollow up of a desk review that was earlier done, thatreflected the concerns and priorities of the service

delivery system which was based on informationgathered from the secondary sources. The presentstudy assumes that each context presents its ownarray of related issues that have to be addressedthrough a matrix of programmes that strategiseinterventions in terms of geographical and thematictargeting to maximise impact on vulnerable groups.Therefore this study was undertaken to profile theState, Institutions and Policy Environment of MadhyaPradesh in 2005.

The issues identified by the study would seem

relevant in the light of a rights based perspectiveand I hope that the study will allow the governmentagencies and civil society actors to sharpen theirfocus and evolve and develop strategies that are ableto withstand the rigour of ensuring full enjoyment ofhuman rights by all and accomplishment of MillenniumDevelopment Goals that have been accepted by theGovernment of India.

Mamita Bora ThakkarRegional Manager

WaterAid IndiaRegional Office West,

Bhopal

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CBOs Community Based Organisations

DPAP Drought Prone Area Programme

EGS Employment Guarantee Scheme

IEC Information Education and Communication

LPCD Litres Per Capita Per Day

NGO Non Governmental Organisation

O&M Operation and Maintenance

OHT Overhead Tank

PHED Public Health Engineering Department

PRIs Panchayati Raj Institutions

PTA Parents Teachers Association

PWS Piped Water Supply

SHGs Self-Help Groups

TSC Total Sanitation Campaign

WATSAN Water and Sanitation

Abbreviations

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1. Background

The WaterAid India (West), responsible for thestates of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and UttarPradesh, had commissioned a study to profile theState, Institutions and Policy Environment of MadhyaPradesh in 2005. The study outlined the state of waterand sanitation in Madhya Pradesh and drew contoursof issues that seemed relevant at the state level. Thestate level study is followed with a field study inselected areas to deepen the understanding of theissues identified and also to assess whether thereare other issues that are not reflected in the dataat the state level but are nevertheless critical at thecommunity level. The present study is the follow up ofthe desk review and draws its methodology from thedata presented in the earlier report.

2. Research Question

The study is focused on the main research questionthat has been stated as: What is the state and statusof water and sanitation in the villages selected for thestudy?

The term water includes water required for domesticconsumption; and sanitation refers to personalhygiene, disposal of human and animal excreta, liquidwaste and household solid waste. The term state hasbeen used to reflect the present levels of demandand supply of water and sanitation in the village/household and the term status is used to make anassessment of services in water and sanitation withrespect to their adequacy and quality. The expressionstatus has also been interpreted to take in to accounttrends related to levels of and services for demandand supply at the village level.

The main research question was further broken in toresearchable issues that included: Demand for Water;Sources of Water; Accessibility of Water; Adequacy ofWater Quality of Water; Sanitation and Institutional.

3. Methodology

The present research is a primary level study thathas adopted the methodology of purposive samplingto initiate a detailed inquiry in to issues that havebeen identified during the desk review and also toaddress concerns of communities and individuals in

water and sanitation at the village level. Six districtswere selected as representative sample of the issuesidentified in the Desk study. Two Gram Panchayatswere selected in each of the two blocks that were

Executive Summaryidentified in the sampled district. Thus the sample size

of the study comprised of 50 villages in 12 blocks of6 districts in the state. The districts covered include:Bhind, Shivpuri, Raisen, Shajapur, Chhindwara andDindori.

The method of data collection included preparationof schedule of questions that were used as checklist to collect information on Water (Resource andUse); Sanitation (Personal Hygiene, Cleanliness andSanitation); and Institutional Roles. The information atthe community level was collected from a wide arrayof stakeholders that included elected representatives

of the Gram Panchayat, Government Officials at thevillage level, Office bearers of Community BasedOrganisations, Village Opinion Makers, Membersbelonging to different caste groups, Women, Seniorcitizens, Traders, shop owners and artisans.

The tools for data collection included IndividualInterviews, Focus Group Discussion, Observation,Social Mapping, Time Line and Resource Mapping.

A team comprising of twelve persons as ResearchAssociates were trained over a period of six days that

included classroom and field practice sessions.

4. Main Findings

The main findings of the study are as follows:

Sources of Water The historical water sources used by the

community that were perennial in naturehave become seasonal at present due to overexploitation of water for livelihood purpose. Theseasonality of these water sources has adverselyaffected the availability of water for domesticpurposes for the households.

The community fulfills its water requirementsthrough a source-mix depending upon theseasonal availability of water in each of thesesources. In most cases all such sources do notform part of the water sources developed by theformal system responsible for supplying water tothe communities.

With water shortage becoming a regularphenomenon, community and their sub-groupshave not been able to develop effective copingstrategies to deal with these shortages. Their

choice is to go farther leading to loss of wagesor to pay for water leading to higher cost forprocuring water or to tap seasonal sources(jhiriya) that have variable consistency in terms of

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potability. As a collective the communities havenot been able to identify the core issues leadingto water shortages nor their respective role inperpetuating these shortages.

The formal system does not lay emphasis onrecharging of water drawn from ground water

sources as a result of which the numbers ofsuch sources becoming dry are increasing.The Departments view is that it is impossibleto recharge dry sources; hence they focus onidentifying and accessing new sources of water. Inmost cases the current strategy of the departmentis to go deeper and tap more in to ground watersources.

Accessibility of Water The current policy for the implementation of

interventions for provisioning of domestic

water is habitation centric. It does not take into account the social and economic dimensionof such provisioning. The principles of abilityto pay and payments as per usage have to beinstitutionalized to make the policies equitableand enable equity in accessing benefits bydifferent economic groups in the village.

Piped Water Source Tube well is the main (albeit the only) source

of water for Piped Water Schemes implies thatsooner or later the source will go dry and willinvolve additional costs for deepening of the

source or drilling of another tube well. These costsare not built in at the time of designing of thescheme.

It seems that the department has not undertakena proper assessment of its existing schemes nordoes it have a vision or a strategy to upgradethe existing schemes that have a better option ofensuing water without raising expectations andcost of supply to the community.

In all the villages the main complaint of thecommunity was the irregular supply of electricityand its impact on regular and timely supply

of water. The success of Piped Water Schemesdepends entirely on availability and quality ofelectric supply.

As a distribution system the way Piped WaterSchemes has been designed and implementedit falls short on the principles of ensuring socio-economic equity for the poor and the sociallymarginalised sections of the population: A comparison of the capacity of the overhead

tank and the population covered impliesthat the Piped Water Schemes are unable toprovide water as per entitlement defined in

the policy. Piped Water Supply (PWS) system is notsupplied to all the households or the colonies.In all the 16 cases, the study found out that

the groups that are left out belong to thesocially marginalised community- scheduledcaste, scheduled tribe or the backward castehouseholds/colony.

PWS has had a positive impact on constructionof private latrines in villages. The households that

have a tap water connection within the househave gone in for construction of toilets withintheir premises. Since the private tap connectionshave been taken by the better off sections of thepopulation the benefit of private latrines has alsoflowed to these groups in the village.

Since the PWS rely heavily on ground water, anycontamination of ground water will seriouslyimpair the availability of water for a large numberof households. Going deeper would imply tappingin to fossil water and going farther will entailadditional costs. Secondly, the ground water

provided through the PWS is raw un-treated waterand it should be consumed within 36-48 hoursafter it has been drawn from the tube well or tillwill not be safe for drinking purposes.

The chemical quality of water has an impacton the costs related to maintenance of thedistribution system. For example, dissolved solidscontaining excessive sodium salts contributes tocorrosiveness and pitting properties. Similarlythe presence of iron above 1 mg per litre leadsto deposition of iron sediments in the pipeline and encourages growth of micro organismsleading to complete blockage of pipe line

within a short period. The rusty iron particlesincrease the turbidity of water. This issue has notbeen discussed either at the community or thedepartment level and neither has it been built into the design and budgeting of the PWS schemes.

Demand for Water The demand from the communitys perspective is

for households as a unit that comprise of demandof water for animal and occasional cleaning of thehouse/animal. The need is to bring the expectation(of the community) and delivery standards

closer so as to make the approach driven byclient expectations rather than on a theoreticalunderstanding of the situation.

The tendency to view drinking water needs ofhumans and animals differently does not work outin an economy where animals have a definite roleto play. The discourse on safe drinking water forhumans have to include and develop standardswhere the animals used for drought and dairyingpurposes, are included in the entitlements andrights issues. The dangers for not including theneeds for animals have implications where the

access of the poor and the marginalised for safedrinking water sources will be adversely affectedat the cost of providing safe drinking water toanimals.

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the village. The PHE office should locate differentmodels of toilets within its premises and maintaina high standard of cleanliness so that rural visitorscarry the message with them and strengthen theIEC messages.

The general quality of building of the institution

is important before undertaking construction offacilities for toilets and urinals. Since the twoconstructions fall in to separate administrativedomains- Directorate of Public Instructions(school building) and PHE Department (toilets)it is seldom that the two departments convergeand identify buildings of reasonable quality thatshould go in for construction of toilets.

There is high level of awareness in the childrenregarding hand washing practices, dentalhygiene, bathing, personal hygiene, waterhandling practice and community sanitation. They

can even recall the benefits of toilet in housesand institutions. Yet the actual behaviouralpractice of children is in stark contrast to theirlevel of awareness.

The general availability of water in the villagedefines the content of what the teachers inschool teach and monitor regarding hygiene andcleanliness among children. In villages where thereis water shortages the teachers reported that theyfind it irrelevant to discuss about bathing dailyand maintaining high standards of cleanlinesswhen they are aware that there is general watershortage in the village. Similarly in villages

that are affected by water quality the teacherswere concerned as to how much should theyemphasize on cleanliness when they are aware ofthe poor quality of water that is available to thecommunity.

5. Recommendations

The main recommendations of the study are asfollows:

(a) Approach to Programming

The study proposes a Human Rights Developmentperspective as an approach to programmedevelopment. The Rights perspective focuses onthe entitlements defined in the state policies anddesigns interventions that enable the state to fulfillits commitments. At another level the perspective alsoidentifies gaps in the present policy and dialogueswith the state in fulfilling these policy gaps.

In addition to the fact that the rights based approachfocuses entirely on the issue of good governance,in the present context it will also highlight the

state of social and economic inequity prevailingin the rural areas that are creating differentiationsin access, availability and affordability of servicesrelated to water and sanitation. The other issuesof deteriorating water quality; and the degree

and nature of participation of the poor and themarginalised too will come at the centre stage ofinterventions. An important area that should, and islikely to emerge, within the rights based frameworkis the missing discourse on entitlements related tosanitation.

(b) Programming InterventionsDevelopment of Demonstrative Models: Developingdemonstrative models based on the principles ofintegrated and holistic planning has repeatedlyemerged in the discussion of the data collected fromthe villages. The term integration refers to sub-sectoralintegration (water and sanitation) and the term holisticrefers to planning in entirety (planning for watersource, water use, supply mechanism etc given thecompetitiveness between alternative uses of water).

The community hitherto had been accustomed toresource availability is now faced with a situationof shortage of resources. Its use patterns and itsculture of resources sharing are coming under stressleading to potential areas of socio-political conflicts.Symptomatic treatment of the problem by exploiting-more-to-satisfy-more is not sustainable and cannotlast beyond the short-term. The need for preparationof negotiated plans between competitive uses of waterwould be able to effectively address the core issueof making water sources sustainable (perennial) andwater use pattern.

The demonstrated plans should address the issuesrelated water stress, water security, water quality,water distribution, water and sanitation andenvironmental sanitation practices. The Programmefor demonstrative model should not only restrict itselfto the preparation of the plan but also implement theplan as well. Such demonstrations will serve as thelearning hub on issues related to water and sanitationin the state for the government as well as the civilsociety actors

Programming for IEC: IEC components are either

not given enough emphasis by the governmentor they tend to have messages that are generic innature expected to fit all situations and context.The current study has repeatedly pointed out that itis not the level of awareness that is the inhibitingfactor but the behavioural aspect that need to beaddressed. This would require preparation of contextand situation specific IEC campaigns and modulesthat work as functional models that can be usedby field functionaries. Such an IEC programmeshould also focus to develop institutions that arenearer to the community or its groups like schools,

Anganwadi centres, Health workers etc. That is anIEC Programming could be taken up that developsmechanisms and processes to make the IEC relevantand effective.

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Advocacy: The advocacy framework for water andsanitation should be primarily focused on the issue ofgood governance. That is, policy statements relatedto water entitlements need to reinterpreted andrefocused based on the perspective and needs of thecommunity and its sub-groups - the poor, the socially

and economically marginalised.

The advocacy effort should make the politicalrepresentatives equally responsible and accountablefor the state and situation of water and sanitation asit would hold the delivery mechanism of governmentdepartment responsible for the efficiency andeffectiveness in implementation.

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1Introduction

1.1 WaterAid IndiaWaterAid is an international Non govenmentalorganisation (NGO) focussed exclusively on ensuringthe provision of safe domestic water, sanitation andhygiene education to the worlds poorest people. Withits headquarters in the United Kingdom, WaterAidworks in 15 countries, mostly in Asia and Africa.

WaterAids India programme started in 1986 witha dominant presence in the southern states ofthe country. With the Country Programme Office atTiruchirapalli, WaterAid has been working with more

than 70 partner organisations in Tamil Nadu, AndhraPradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa and Karnataka.

A review of the India programme in 2002 underlinedthe commitment of WaterAid in developingmethodologies that set standards of good practicefor water, sanitation and hygiene projects in thesestates. The demonstrated impacts in the southernstates gave confidence to WaterAid to focus on thepoorer states in the northern part of the country. Asa strategic move the headquarters of the countryprogramme was shifted to New Delhi to work closer

with policy makers. Regional offices were opened inBhopal and Bhubaneswar in 2002 to work closely withmost vulnerable communities in Madhya Pradesh,Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and

Jharkhand.

1.2 WaterAid India (West)

The WaterAid India (West) office is located at Bhopaland works in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and UttarPradesh. The regional office is expected to work withinthe strategic framework of the country programme of

intervening through integrated projects that combinewater, sanitation and hygiene promotion to maximisebenefits to poor communities.

WaterAid recognises that each context presents itsown array of related issues that have to be addressedthrough a matrix of programmes that strategiseinterventions in terms of geographical and thematictargeting to maximise impact on vulnerable groups.Consequently, each regional office is expected toidentify and develop its operational strategy for thestates it is intervening in. The WaterAid India (West)office commissioned a study to profile the state,

institutions and policy environment of Madhya Pradeshin 2005 in persuance of this requirement. The studyoutlined the state of water and sanitation in MadhyaPradesh and drew contours of issues that seemed

relevant at the state level. The state level study hasbeen followed with a field study in selected areas tounderstand issues better and to assess whether thereare other issues that are not reflected in the dataat the state level but are nevertheless critical at thecommunity level. The present study is the follow-up ofthe desk review and draws its methodology from thedata presented in the earlier report.

1.3 Summary of Desk Review

Madhya Pradesh with a population of 6.03 crores hasa higher growth rate than the national average and is

characterised by low density that is reflective of thespread and sparse nature of its 1,26,310 habitations.The 35 per cent of the population belongs toScheduled Caste and Tribe that are concentrated in 19and 13 districts of the state respectively.

Agriculture is the main source of occupation (71per cent of the work force) but suffers from lowproductivity. This is reflected in the fact that 37.43 percent of the states population is below the povertyline.

Institutionally, decentralised governance in the statehas endowed Gram Sabhas with substantial powersto set in motion a system of participative democracy.The three-tier system of Panchayat Raj institutions isin place to support and coordinate the activities of theGram Sabha.

The rainfall in the state has a high degree of temporaland spatial variability. The state is richly endowed withsurface water and encompasses five major river basinswithin its political boundary. However, 99 per centof the drinking water needs are being fulfilled withground water and 90 per cent of the ground wateris being used for irrigation purposes, signifying toomuch reliance on groundwater utilisation. There is nonotable evidence of conjunctive exploitation of groundand surface water and the groundwater has beenfound to be affected with fluoride, salinity and iron.

The current strategy of the government does not seemto address the issue of water quality in its holisticperspective. The main approach for provisioningof drinking water is habitation-centric, which doesnot give importance to issues related to sourcesustainability, or achieving an optimal mix of surface

and groundwater. The community on the other hand ispredominantly dependent on sub-surface water (dugwells) for fulfilling its drinking water needs. Thereare indications at the state level that the piped/spot

Introduction

CHAPTER 1

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2 Water and Sanitation in Rural Areas of Madhya Pradesh: WaterAid India 2006

water schemes are faced with problems in sustainingcommunity participation.

There is lack of critical data at the state level for bothdemand and supply of water. The data on differentsources of demand and their seasonality, how they are

currently being met or the cost of procuring water arenot available. Similarly, on the supply side, the dataon slippage of habitation are not available.

In sanitation, only nine per cent and 19 per cent ofthe households in rural areas in the state have privatelatrines and are connected with wastewater drainagerespectively. The low coverage spreads across allregions and districts. Guided by the policy of TotalSanitation Campaign (TSC), the main assumptionof governmental intervention is that if the facility isprovided it will lead to behavioural change within the

community. Information Education and Communication(IEC) interventions that aim towards behaviouralchange to generate demand for better sanitary andhygiene practices have not been given due importancein the implementation of the Campaign.

At the institutional level, the main responsibility ofproviding water in rural areas is that of the PublicHealth & Engineering Department (PHED). TheDepartment is however ill-equipped to set in motionprocesses related to community participation as itdoes not have a cadre of extension workers. Thereis no systemic evidence of convergence between

the PHE department and other related departmentsnotably Health, Rural Development and Agriculture.In terms of decentralisation to Panchayat Institutionsthere has been transfer of power without consequenttransfer of funds and functionaries which has rendereddecentralisation ineffective.

The rural Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) in the stateis financed from centrally sponsored schemes. Thescope for community contribution is only in case ofinterventions related to sanitation only. The budget forwater and sanitation is Rs 178 crores for 2004-05. Of

this 77 per cent is for water, 18 per cent for sanitationand 5 per cent for, administration cost. The lowlevel of priority to sanitation is thus reflected in thebudgetary provisions of the PHE Department.

The state government has a draft Water Policyand Health Policy. The former does recognise the

importance of drinking water, but falls short ofaddressing the concerns of the poor, women andthe issues related to sustainability. Within the healthpolicy, there is no mention of water and sanitation asthe key determinants of health. This is an importantomission, as the policy downplays the ability of the

communities to address the determinants and controltheir lives better.

1.4 Field Study

The findings of the desk review identified issues atthree levels.

1. Sub-regional issues that are specific to selectedareas in the state based on indicator selectedfor review. For example, the issues of resourceendowment, quality of resource, resource

utilisation patterns, and coverage reveal a regionalvariation and form clusters within the state. Thisimplies a differential programming interventionthat is sub-regional in character based on thechoice of indicator.

2. Systemic issues which are generic and globalin nature. For example, choice of technology,institutional mechanisms, role of Panchayatinstitutions etc. These are issues that wouldprevail in any given district of the state and willtherefore form the common base for programmaticintervention for the state.

3. The issues identified and articulated in the deskreview were based on secondary literature whichprimarily reflected the needs and concerns of thedelivery system. Peoples issues appear as a datagap in the study. For example, the mix of formaland non-formal sources of water, issues in hygieneand sanitation perceived by the community,notions of water quality, coping strategies ofcommunities during periods of water stress etc.

The field research was thus conceived of as a primary

level study with a purposive sampling bias to initiate adetailed inquiry into issues that were identified duringthe desk review and also to address concerns ofcommunities and individuals in water and sanitationat the village level. WaterAid India (West), the primaryuser of the research, will use it to develop programmeinterventions in Madhya Pradesh.

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3Methodology

2.1 Objectives of the StudyThe aims of the study were with WaterAid Indiaregional office. The field study was carried out to

1. assess the demand for and supply of water incommunities and strategies adopted by them,including water markets, in fulfilling their demandfor water;

2. identify the role of women and children inaccessing water for the households and theperception of the community towards them;

3. assess the social dimension of WATSAN delivery

(disabled, untouchables, dalits etc) and theimpact on these groups because of lack ofdelivery system;

4. identify the communitys perception relatedto hygiene and sanitation and assess howmuch of their requirement is being fulfilled bythe current governmental/non governmentalinterventions;

5. assess the measures undertaken by thecommunity/government for ensuring sourcesustainability for drinking water;

6. assess the role and capacities of the institutions

of local governance in providing water andsanitation services including operations andmaintenance (O&M), to the community and thehouseholds;

7. assess the role and capacities of the governmentdepartment in providing water and sanitationservices including O&M to the community andthe households;

8. identify the issues related to implementation levelof government programmes including role andkind of information, education and communication(IEC), who is involved and in what;

9. identify specific cases to establish linkagesbetween poor WATSAN delivery and poor healthin the community; and

10. analyse the findings in the light of currentpolicies and programmes of the governments andnon governmental agencies.

The study thus sketches a wide canvas wherein ittreats water as a resource and a public good subjectto private demand for domestic consumption. Thefocus of inquiry is on the nature and quantum ofdemand for water, the various mechanisms adoptedto fulfill these demands and whether these systems

operate differently for marginalised sections. In thecase of sanitation, the study is client-centric and seeksto assess their perception related to hygiene andsanitation and the adaptability of the delivery systemto address their requirement.

2.2 Research QuestionThe main research question for the study is articulatedas follows:

What is the state and status of water and sanitation inthe villages selected for the study?

The term water includes water required for domesticconsumption the term sanitation refers to personalhygiene, disposal of human and animal excreta,liquid waste and household solid waste. The termstate has been used to reflect the present levels of

demand and supply of water and sanitation in thevillage/household. The term status is used to assessthe adequacy and quality of water and sanitationservices. It also accounts for trends related to levelsof and services for demand and supply at the villagelevel.

The researchable issues that follow from the mainresearch question are

1. demand for water(purpose, seasonal variationsand notions of quality associated with the

purpose for which water is required);2. sources of water(different water sources, trendsin water availability, relationship between sourcesand purpose for which water is required);

3. accessibilityofwater(social and economicaccessibility to water, governmental and nongovernmental interventions that increase/decreaseaccessibility to water);

4. adequacyofwater(extent of demand-supply gapand of its seasonal variations);

5. qualityofwater(notions of quality, levels ofawareness on quality of water, governmental andnon governmental interventions to improve qualityof water);

6. sanitation(sanitary practices of the community,perception on hygiene and sanitation); and

7. institutional(type and quality of governmentaland non governmental intervention on waterand sanitation, role of panchayati raj institutions(PRIs) and community-based organisations (CBOs)in ensuring services, interventions related toawareness and behavioural change).

2.3 Scope of Study

The present field study is limited in that it focusses on1. water for domestic consumption and sanitation

related to personal hygiene, solid and liquid wastegenerated by households;

Methodology

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2. inquiry will be in selected villages based on thesampling plan of the study;

3. the findings and conclusions of the study willbe based on the primary information generatedduring the course of inquiry with the community;and

4. the analysis of the information will be guided bythe needs of the primary audience of the study,WaterAid India.

2.4 Sampling Plan

The design of the present study is directed to instituteinquiry into specific issues as highlighted by the deskreview of water and sanitation in Madhya Pradesh.Consequently, the sampling plan for the selection ofstudy area is purposive and biased in favour of studyproblem areas only.

2.4.1 Selection of DistrictsThe data generated by the desk review was used todevelop the sampling plan for the district.

Step 1: List of districts that fall within the low rainfallregion and the districts that are categorised asDrought Prone Area Programme (DPAP) wereselected. This led to selection of 21 districts.

Step 2: Districts selected in Step 1 were furthergrouped as districts that have low rainfall andare also DPAP and districts that are only DPAP.The regrouping of districts in this fashion ledto the following matrix:

Districts with Low Rainfalland also DPAP

Districts that are onlyDPAP

BhindShivpuriJhabua

KhargoneBarwaniKhandwa

Ratlam

ShajapurDhar

RaisenRajgarhBetul

SeoniShahdolJabalpur

Rewa

ChhindwaraSidhi

DamohPanna

Step 3: The two categories of district were groupedinto 2x2 matrixes where the issues ofwater quality and of level of groundwaterexploitation were marked on the vertical andhorizontal axis respectively.

Step 4: There were thus 15 districts with problemof water quality of which four had problemsof both water quality and over exploitationof ground water. It was decided to select

one district from each of these boxes as therepresentative district of the particular issue.

Step 5: To narrow the selection of the district, theadditional criteriawas1. Comparison of Poverty Ratios to select

district with the higher ratio;2. Proportion of SC and ST to select district

with higher percentages; and3. Preference for sector reform district.

The application of these criteria led to theselection of the following districts1. Bhind2. Shajapur3. Raisen4. Chhindwara

Step 6: The coverage data of the districts revealedvery low sanitation coverage for Dindori. Thusas a special case, Dindori was selected as the

fifth district.

Step 7: The regional office of WaterAid has started itsinterventions in Madhya Pradesh. At the timeof the study, it was intervening in the districtsof Bhind, Morena, Datia, Shivpuri, Gwaliorand Bhopal. The regional office was interestedthat the field study should take an additionaldistrict where WaterAid is currently interveningthat will enable an reassessment of its currentinterventions. This led to the selection ofShivpuri as the sixth district for the study.

The districts that were finally selected for the studyand their representative characteristics are as follows:

Low Rainfall & DPAPDistricts

DPAP Districts

WaterQuality P

roblem Bhind

ShivpuriJhabua

Ratlam

ShajapurDhar

RaisenRajgarh

BetulSeoni

ShahdolJabalpur

Rewa

Dewas

Chhindwara

NoProblem

KhargoneBarwaniKhandwa

SidhiDamohPanna

Not Over

Exploited

Over

Exploited

Not Over

Exploited

Over

Exploited

Ground Water Exploitation

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5Methodology

Table 2.1 District Selected for the Study and their Representative Characteristics

District Rainfall DPAP Quality Groundwater* Poverty Ratio#

SC/ST Sector Reform

WAIDistrict

Bhind < 100 cms Salinity Safe 51.5% 21% SC -

Shivpuri < 100 cms Fluoride SC-3 blocks 46.9% 19% SC -

Raisen > 100 cms

Fluoride

SalinityIron

SC-3 blocks 59.1% 16% SC

-

Shajapur < 100 cms

Fluoride

SalinityIron

OE-1 block

C-1 blockSC-4 blocks

52% 22% SC - -

Chhindwara > 100 cms Fluoride OE-1 block 56.9% 34% ST -

Dindori > 100 cms Fluoride

SalinityIron

Safe NA 60% ST - -

* SC : Semi-Critical; C : Critical; OE : Over Exploited; # Figures from Human Development Report, Madhya Pradesh, 2002

Map 1 Districts Selected for the Study 2.4.2 Selection of BlocksTwo blocks in each district were selected. The criteriafor the selection of the block were to be the same asthe criteria for selection of the district. For example,if Chhindwara district was selected because it hasproblems of water quality and excessive ground waterexploitation, then the selection of block within thedistrict was undertaken by applying the same criterion.The selection of blocks was done in consultation with

PHE Department at the district level. Blocks selectedin each district are given in table 2.2.

2.4.3 Selection of Gram PanchayatTwo Gram Panchayats in each of the selected blockswere selected for the study. The criterion for the

Table 2.2 Blocks Selected for the Study and their Selection Criteria

District Block Quality Ground water SC/ST Other Reasons

BhindBhind - Safe 20% SC WAI block

Mehgaon Salinity Safe 20% SC -

ShivpuriShivpuri Fluoride Safe 19% SC WAI block

Pohari - Safe 20% SC -

Raisen

Sanchi - Semi-critical 19% SC Sector Reform

Gairatganj Fluoride

Salinity

Semi-critical 21% SC Sector Reform

ShajapurSusner Fluoride Critical 24% SC -

Nalkheda Salinity Semi-critical 24% SC -

ChhindwaraAmarwada Fluoride Semi-critical 39% ST Sector reform

Pandurna - Semi-critical 40% ST Sector reform

Dindori

Amarpur - Safe 65% ST Innovation by PHE

Mehadwani - Safe 77% ST High NC habitations

Samnapur Fluoride Iron Safe 64% ST -

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selection of the Gram Panchayat was the same asthe criterion for the selection of the block so thatrepresentative character of the block is maintainedat the primary level also. The selection of GramPanchayat was done in consultation with the PHEDepartment at the district and sub-divisional/block

level. The Gram Panchayats selected in each of theblocks were as follows:

Table 2.3 Gram Panchayats Selected for theStudy and their Selection Criteria

Block GramPanchayat

Reason forSelection

Number ofVillages

Bhind Didi WAI Village 2

Sarsai Depleting Water Table

2

Mehgaon Gata Quality, DepletingWater Table

2

Gaheli Quality, DepletingWater Table

3

Shivpuri Dhaulagarh Piped Water

Scheme, DepletingWater Table

1

Sakalpur Depleting Water Table, Quality

2

Pohari Bhainsrawan Depleting Water Table

3

Agarra Watershed works 3

Sanchi Narwar Sector reform 1

Kharbai Sector reform

Quality

2

Gairatganj Pati Sector reform

Quality

4

Bhanpurganj Quality 4

Susner Barai Depleting Water Table, Quality

1

Naharkheda Depleting WaterTable, Quality

2

Nalkheda Gudrawan Depleting Water Table, Good

sanitation

2

Berchakhedi Depleting WaterTable, Quality 2

Amarwada Singori Depleting Water Table, QualitySector Reform

1

Babai Sector Reform 2

Pandurna Umri Kalan Depleting WaterTable, Quality

2

Sirata Depleting Water Table, Quality

1

Amarpur Khajrimal Traditional system 3

Balpur Not covered

villages

4

Samnapur Bargaon Quality 2

Kiwad Depleting Water

Table, Quality

2

Thus the sample size of the study comprised 50villages in 12 blocks of six districts in the state. Itneeds to be reiterated that the selected villages arebiased in that they are representative of specificproblems related to water and sanitation.

2.5 Method of Data Collection

2.5.1 Schedule of QuestionsA checklist of questions and issues was preparedfor four different aspects to collate the informationcollected from the villages. These checklists wererelated to information about the village, wateras the resource and its usage, practices relatedto sanitation and roles and responsibilities ofinstitutions.

Village Schedule

The schedule was designed to collect information on1. population including number of children, castes

in the village; groups belonging to the rich, themiddle class and the poor in the village, andpersons with disabilities;

2. information related to members of GramPanchayat;

3. information related to social and civic structuresand services in the villages including the namesof persons appointed to deliver these services;

4. connectivity of the village;5. major occupations pursued by people in

the village and people belonging to theseoccupational categories; and

6. CBOs, SHGs in the village and names of theiroffice bearers.

Water Resource and Use1. listing of all water sources in the village;2. seasonal availability of water in the sources;3. identity of persons/groups that use water from

each source;4. responsibility for maintenance of water sources;5. information about sources that have dried up;6. water requirement for personal hygiene, domestic

purpose, occupation and livestock;7. specific problems about water; and8. notions about water and its quality.

SanitationPersonal Hygiene, Cleanliness andSanitation1. practices related to bathing, hand washing,

cutting of nails, place for defecation, waterhandling and dental hygiene;

2. practices related to liquid and solid wastedisposal;

3. practices related to safe handling of vegetables;

4. practices related to cleanliness of livestock andtheir shelter;5. practices related to cleanliness of water sources;6. perception related to need for private latrines;

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7Methodology

(d) Social Mappingwas conducted to map thehabitation and settlement pattern of the villageand also to identify social and economic groupsin the village.

(e) Time Line of the village to capture the history of

the village in general and history of water morespecifically.

(f ) Resource Mappingto locate water sources andsocial and civic services in the village.

2.6 Training Research Associates

A team of 12 Research Associates was trained over aperiod of six days:

Days One and Two

These were classroom sessions that discussed issuesin water and sanitation, research processes andmethodologies, practices on mapping techniques andunderstanding the checklist of questions.

7. practices related to cleanliness of drains andvillage streets;

8. relationship between Gobar Gas and cleanlinessof the house;

9. occupations in the village that generateunsanitary waste, and mechanisms for disposal

of such waste; and10. perception on relation between sanitation and

diseases.

Institutional Roles1. responsibility for maintenance of handpumps;2. responsibility for maintenance of cleanliness in

the village;3. role of Non governmental organisations (NGOs);4. role of Community-based organisations (CBOs),

Self-help groups (SHGs), Village Committees inwater and sanitation;

5. role of Panchayat in water and sanitation;6. role of government in water and sanitation; and7. perception of the messages related to hygiene,

cleanliness and sanitation.

2.5.2 Sources of InformationAt the community level two sources of informationhave been identified:

Individuals with Specific Characteristics Elected representatives of Gram Panchayat

(Sarpanch and Panch) Government officials at the village level (teachers,

Anganwadi workers, Auxillary nurse midwives(ANMs), Veterinary assistants, Panchayat Secretaryetc.)

Opinion-makers of the village (big landlords,Patels, priests, traditional leaders etc)

Office bearers of CBOs, SHGs and other informalgroups in the community

Groups with Specific Characteristics Caste groups Womens groups Senior citizens

Children Artisans and people engaged in handicrafts Traders, shop owners, hoteliers etc.

2.5.3 Tools for Data CollectionThe tools for data collection included:(a) Individual Interviews with persons identified

with specific characteristics. The interview wasconducted through a semi-structured format thatserved as a checklist.

(b) Focus Group Discussions with identified groupsin the village to converse and discuss issuesbased on a checklist prepared for thepurpose.

(c) Observation by the research team through a semi-structured format.

Tool Used Where it was Done With Whom

Time Line,

Social andResourceMapping

Darohi colony

Pandit colonyPal colonyMuslim colony

Womens Group

Mens GroupMens GroupMixed group

FocusedGroupDiscussions

Pandit colonyMuslim colonyDaarohi colony

Pal colonySchool colony

Men and WomenMen and WomenMen and Women

Men and WomenChildren

Individual

Interviews

PRI Representatives Sarpanch

Ex-Sarpanch

Governmentpersonnel

TeacherANM

AssistantVeterinary ClinicAnganwadi

Worker

Others Shops OwnersDhaba Owners

Teacher of PrivateSchoolPersons with

Disability

VillageTransect

All sources of waterSite of Brick Kiln

Sanitation & SWDdisposal

Along withpersons from the

village

Data Collection Process in Kharbai Village (SanchiBlock of Raisen District)Three days were spent in Kharbai village to complete thedata collection process. The process involved the use of

following tools:

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providing water is not based on any assessmentof the technical details of the geo-hydrology. Theappropriateness of technology is commentedupon more in terms of its ability to provide waterto the communities and its varioussocio-economic groups.

2. The data on quality of water that has beenused in the analysis is based on the dataprovided by the PHE Department or by thecommunity. The study did not undertake aquality testing of water of the villages studied.The analysis is based on the informationprovided by the community and on theirnotions of quality.

3. In the absence of historical data on diseasesin the village the study was not able to

establish the relationship between waterand disease pattern in the village. The casesidentified were anecdotal and hence theanalysis and the conclusion are impressionisticin nature.

Days Three and FourTwo teams were formed that visited two GramPanchayats in Raisen that had been selected for thestudy. The tools of data collection and the list ofquestions were used and field-tested.

Days Five and SixThey comprised sharing of experience and fine-tuningthe checklist and the tools to be used at the villagelevel. The framework for data compilation and analysiswas developed during these discussions.

Day six involved completing the field work in theselected Panchayats and compiling the data of thevillages.

2.7 Limitations of the Study

The study in its current form has the followinglimitations.1. The study has not collected data on the geo-

hydrology of the study area. As a result theappropriateness on the choice of technology for

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9Water

3.1 Sources, Availability and Accessibility

3.1.1 Sources of Water

Traditional Sources of WaterHistorically, human settlements have had the tendencyto gravitate towards areas that had a perennial supplyof water. The study inquired into the history of watersources that were used for domestic purpose1 ineach village. The data provided by the community ispresented in Table 3.1.

The table highlights the fact that the early

settlers ability to convert natural endowmentsinto resources depended largely on the contextualfactors of the region that included the topography,the geo-hydrology and the vegetative pattern ofthe area. For example, Dindori is located in Maikalranges and forms part of Narmada basin. Thearea is thickly forested and due to the presenceof basalt, the geo-hydrology allows availability ofsub-surface water at shallow depths. The Baigas,the inhabitants of the district, were nomadic andhave been practising settled agriculture sincethe past hundred years only. The early settlersamongst this community found it convenient todig shallow wells (jhi ri) that are 9-10 feet deep(6-7 haath). As a result , the traditional sources of

Water

CHAPTER 3

water for most villages in the hills and forests are

shallow wells.

The water sources in Chhindwaraand Raisen presentsimilarities. Both the districts form the water dividearea: Narmada and Wainganga river basins in case ofChhindwara; and Narmada and Betwa river basins incase of Raisen. Both the districts has dense forests andparts of the districts comprise Satpura Mountain rangethat tapers off towards the plains of central MadhyaPradesh and plains of Nagpur sub-region, respectively.The area thus has an abundance of perennial rivuletsand attracted a number of early settlers.

Bhind lies in the Chambal valley. The hills are few,small and isolated. The topography of the area ispredominantly that of valley plains. The division intopography is offered by rivers that criss-cross thedistrict. Chambal and Sind are the main rivers of thedistrict forming part of the Ganga drainage system.These two rivers are joined by Kunwari, Pahuj, Asanand Vaisali at different points in the district. In sucha topography, it is but natural that the early settlerschose to locate their settlement near a river that ispart of the drainage network system of the district.The discussions on the history of settlements with thecommunity revealed that these rivers were perennial(barah masi).

Table 3.1 Traditional Sources of Water in Villages Selected for the Study

Bhind Shivpuri Shajapur Raisen Chhindwara Dindori

No of Villages 10 9 7 11 6 7

Surface Water

River 7 - 5 6 6 5

Rivulet - 2 5 2 2 -Stored Surface Water

Ponds & lakes - 4 - 2 - -

Sub Surface Water

Wells 7 6 4 6 - 7

Bawadis - - 6 - - -

Jhiriya - 4 - 5 2 7

Ground Water

Handpump - - - - - -

Tubewell - - - - - -

1Domestic Water includes water required for drinking, personal hygiene, washing clothes and utensils, cooking and water required for livestock.

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The Shajapurdistrict has deep black and shallowblack brown and alluvial soils of the northern region.The district comprises of the Agar plateau; forestedupland; Kali Sindh basin and Shajapur upland. Thehill tracts comprise a chain of hills rising in the middleof the district and play a major part in determining

the drainage of the district. Being an upland areawith characteristics of Malwa plateau it gives rise toa number of seasonal streams that dissect the hillsforming draining patterns that feed into and maintainthe perennial flow of Choti Kali Sindh, Lakhundar, Ahu,Namwaj and Parbati rivers. The settlers in the districtwere careful not to locate themselves too close tothe rivers as the water levels would rise during andimmediately after monsoon. This necessitated thatthey also adopt the technology ofbawadisto supportthe availability of water during dry summer months.

Shivpuri district comprises three geological regionsof Bundelkhand trap, the Deccan trap and the UpperVindhyas. This has resulted in a topography that isa mixture of uplands with shallow valley, undulatingplains and flat-topped ranges. The district falls in thewater divide area of the basins of Chambal, Betwaand Ken rivers. The district is served by four perennialrivers the Parbati, Betwa, Sindh and Kuno. But, dueto its topographical characteristics, most of the districtis eroded by seasonal streams and rivulets. The earlysettlers, therefore, preferred to locate themselvesin areas where they were assured of water supplythrough perennialjhiriyasand wells. History mentions

the wells and the different water sources that therulers of the areas created in their lifetime.

The community in each of the villages studied didnot recall any instance where the inhabitants hadexperienced extreme water stress or had to migratefor short periods in search of water. According to thecommunities, the water sources had enabled them tosustain over long dry spells and delayed rains in the

past. This situation, however, has changed over thepast 15-20 years.

Present Sources of WaterThe inquiry into current sources of water used fordomestic purposes in the surveyed village generateddata that is given in Table 3.2. The sources of waterthat have been mapped are the ones that are used inthe normal course in the village.

Table 3.2 reveals that among the present sources ofwater there is a high degree of dependency on sub-

surface and groundwater sources. The exploitation ofgroundwater for domestic purposes is evident in allthe regions of the state, though at present this degreeis lower in case of Dindori. In the villages studied thehistory of exploitation of groundwater is not morethan 25 years old (the oldest handpump among theselected villages was in 1978).

As stored surface water source, ponds and lakes alsoexist in all the selected districts. However, in termsof prevalence, villages in Shivpuri and Dindori havea higher prevalence of ponds than in other districts.The water from ponds is largely used fornistari2

purposes.

Table 3.2 Present Sources of Water in Villages Selected for the Study

Sources of Water Bhind Shivpuri Shajapur Raisen Chhindwara Dindori

No. of Villages 10 9 7 11 6 7

Surface Water

River 2 - 2 3 4 5

Rivulet - - 4 1 1 -

Stored Surface Water

Ponds & lakes 2 8 4 1 3 6

Sub Surface Water

Wells 10 6 7 8 1 6

Bawadis - - 3 - - -

Jhiriya - 1 - 1 2 7

Ground Water

Handpump 10 9 7 10 6 7

Tubewell 6 9 1 1 4 -

2 The term nistari is commonly used in Madhya Pradesh to express domestic use of water for other than drinking and irrigation purposes- bathing, washing,

water for animals etc

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11Water

The surface water does not appear to be veryimportant as a water source to fulfill the domesticdemand for water.

ComparisonPast and PresentDuring discussions with the community on the

existence of water sources in the past and at presentthe data of both time periods were compared and thegroup was asked to identify and analyse the reasonsfor change in dependence on the water source over aperiod of time.

(a) Decrease in Dependence on Rivers and RivuletsThere were 25 villages (50 per cent) that weredependent on rivers as a source of water in the past.The number of villages reporting their dependenceon water from rivers has decreased to 12 at present(24 per cent). In the case of rivulets, the number of

villages has decreased from 11 (22 per cent) to 6 (12per cent). The different groups in the community wereasked to reflect on this decrease in surface water. Theresponses have been tabulated in Table 3.3.

According to the community, there are three factorsthat have led to a decreased dependence on riversand rivulets: decrease in water as input; increasein the quantum of output (water drawn); andintroduction of comfort technology (handpump) inthe village. When the community was asked how theincrease in sins have decreased the water in riversthey were unable to answer.

In addition to the above the study team observedthat in the communitys collective perspective it isthe responsibility of the government to provide waterto the households. The government in turn makes

this provision through handpumps or tubewellsand not through rivers/rivulets. Hence, when thecommunity demands facilities for water, they demandhandpumps.

(b) Increase in Ponds and Lakes

It needs to be pointed out that the sample selectedfor the study was biased in that it selected districtsand villages that have the problem of falling watertable. In these areas ponds and lakes have beenmade with the aim of providing water fornistaripurposes and to act as water bodies to rechargethe water table. As a result of this, comparisonsof the number of villages dependent on ponds inthe selected districts reveal a higher dependenceon ponds at present as compared to the past. Thisis more evident in case of Shivpuri, Shajapur andDindori where the numbers of villages dependent

on water from ponds have increased (impact ofPaniRoko Abhiyaan).

(c) Subsurface WaterThe dependence on wells for providing waterhas increased in all the districts. The use andconstruction of new bawadishave been discouragedby the Government of India under the Guinea WormEradication Programme. Among other districts in thestate this Programme was implemented in Shajapur.On the whole as water source the sub-surface waterhas maintained and even increased its importance forthe communities.

ConclusionAt a wider level, it would seem that the watersource-mix of the villages would have gained on account ofthe increase in the ability to tap groundwater sources

Table 3.3 Reasons for Decreased Dependence on Rivers and Rivulets as a Source of Water forDomestic Purpose

District Villages where the community wasearlier dependent on river/rivuletbut is not dependent at present

Reasons for decreased dependence on rivers/rivulets

Chhindwara Gada Chota Water drawn for irrigation through diesel/electric pumps Damming of water upstream and controlled release of

water primarily for irrigation Decrease in forests/trees that have reduced water

availability in rivers/rivulets

Decrease in rainfall because of decrease in forest/treecover

Installation of handpumps and the comfort provided by

it in terms of taking water at any time of the day Handpumps near the habitation hence less time spent in

taking water for the household

Sins have increased on earth (dharti mein paap badhgaye hain)

Shivpuri Agarra

Bhavkhedi

Shajapur NaharkhedaBarai

RojadiSamri

Raisen Kharbai

MendoriBodhraDhangawan

Bhind DidiSarsaiBariyan

MajpuraGata

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through the introduction of handpumps and tubewells.This is not the case always. The surface sources havebecome dry and are not being used at present to fulfillrequirements of water for domestic purposes. Thereasons are related to the competitive use of waterfor livelihood purposes (irrigation) and decrease in

support structures (tree/forest cover) that would haveensured water availability throughout the year. Thatis, the perenniality of the rivers, a factor preferred bythe early settlers, have been adversely affected andhave been replaced with efforts to tap more of groundwater.

3.1.2 Availability of WaterEach of the water sources identified by the villagerswas mapped out in terms of the availability of waterthroughout the year. The source-wise information isgiven in Tables 3.4 A to D.

(a) Rivers and RivuletsAmong the sources of water, the rivers and rivuletsthat were perennial when the early settlers came andstarted the habitation have become dry at present,except in Dindori. The main reason for this particularwater source changing its nature from a perennialsource to a seasonal source is explained in the abovesection. The process of drying up is best exemplifiedin the case of Gata (see Box).

Stories similar to Gata have been narrated by thecommunity in Shajapur, Chhindwara and Raisen. The

fact is that there has been no regulation or formalmechanism to control drawing of water for irrigationin these areas. At Dindori the agriculture has notprospered (irrigated agriculture) to the level it has inother districts and hence the problem of perennialrivers drying up has not been experienced so far inthe villages.

(b) PondsThere are 61 ponds in the villages covered in thestudy. Locally these are referred to either as talabortalaidepending on their size.

The water from the ponds in all the selectedvillages is primarily used for providing water foranimals and othernistaripurposes. However,due to seasonal character of this water sourcethe problem of providing water to the animals persistsin summers in all the villages surveyed. There are twoexamples in the present context that are noteworthy.One is that of Kerkui, where 23 ponds (talai) wereconstructed under the watershed programme.The study team was informed by the district ruraldevelopment agency (DRDA) that the quality of work

at Kerkui is such that all the handpumps in the villageare overflowing with water. The village visit presenteda contradictory picture where out of four handpumpsthree were closed and the only well was dry. The

Table 3.4A:Availability of Water in Rivers andRivulets in Selected Districts

District No. of Villages

Villageswith Riversor Rivulets

No. of Rivers/Rivulets

Perennial Seasonal

Bhind 10 2 - 2

Shivpuri 9 - - -

Shajapur 7 5 - 5

Raisen 11 3 - 3

Chhindwara 6 5 - 5

Dindori 7 5 5 -

GataGata village is located in Mehgaon block of BhindDistrict. The village was established in 1256 near Besliriver. These settlers used to use the water from theriver which was able to provide water round the year.

People from all castes would draw water from thevillage and there is no history where the village had atany time faced water shortage. Interestingly the wells

near the habitation always had saline water where aswells at a distance of 2-3 kms from the village hadsweet water.

Before independence (in 1940s) a dam was built on theriver near Gohad that is upstream of the Gata village.

After the construction of the dam there have beencontrolled releases of water, the need for which wasguided by the need for irrigation. However, the extent

of agriculture till 25-30 years ago was at a level thatdid not affect the flow and availability of water in theriver.

With the advent of diesel and then electric motors itbecame possible for the farmers to draw water over a

long distance as a result of which the river graduallybecame dry. There are no control mechanisms thatdetermine the amount of water that a farmer can draw

from the river. Consequently at present the river iscompletely dry during summers.

With the water in wells near the village being saline thevillagers had to look for alternative sources of water. Anattempt was made by the Forest Department to supply

water through the pipe towards the Brahmin mohallah.The other caste people (Parihar who had no watersource in their colony) were not allowed to take water.

This was resisted and the net result was that the pipeline was permanently damaged.

At present there is one well near the river thatfunctions as the popular source of water as it haspotable drinking water. But due to shortage of water

in summers most of the people go at night to fill waterfrom the well. The economically well-off members of thevillage have employed persons (@Rs 800 pm) to get

water from the agriculture fields (wells and tubewell) totheir house.

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13Water

village was getting water from the tubewell and onehandpump at the time of survey.

Narwar village in Sanchi block of Raisen is locatednear a talab(approximate size 36 acres). Accordingto the inhabitants of the village, till two years ago,the pond always had water throughout the year. Thepond provided water for animals and was used by thevillagers for bathing and washing of clothes. The waterfrom the well near the pond was used for drinkingwater purposes. However people from the villagestarted using pond water for irrigating their fields. Thishas led to a situation where the pond is dry by end ofFebruary and there is severe water crisis in the villageduring summers. The study team observed that the

pond is also being encroached for setting up housesand for agriculture and if the trend is unchecked thewater body will die soon.

(c) Sub-surface WaterThere were 162 wells that were being used by thecommunity to fulfill their requirement of water forvarious domestic purposes. These wells are in thepublic domain, that is, they were either constructed bythe government or Panchayat or were private wells theuse of which is open for general public. Out of thesewells 45 per cent were found to be perennial at thetime of study.

The community categorically asserted that the wellsfunction as the buffer during times of acute watershortage. In all the villages the community was able toidentify at least one well that has not gone dry so far(see Box on Samri).

Bawadis, as has been stated earlier, had beendiscouraged by the government under the GuineaWorm Eradication Programme. The old bawadis arestill being used to provide water that in communitysperception is cold and sweet (sheetal hai aurmeetha hai).

Table 3.4B:Availability of Water in Ponds inSelected Districts


No. ofPonds

No. of Ponds

Perennial Seasonal

Bhind 10 19 - 19

Shivpuri 9 26 - 26

Shajapur 7 4 - 4

Raisen 11 3 - 3

Chhindwara 6 3 - 3

Dindori 7 6 - 5

Table 3.4C: Availability of Water in Sub-surface Sources of Water in Selected Districts


No. of sub-surface water sources Sub-surface water sources that areperennial

Wells Bawadi Jhiriya Wells Bawadi Jhiriya

Bhind 10 106 - - 46 - -

Shivpuri 9 18 - - 6 - -

Shajapur 7 6 4 - 4 2 -

Raisen 11 11 - - 0 - -

Chhindwara 6 4 - 8 1 - 0

Dindori 7 17 - 19 16 - 14

SamriSamri is located in Nalkheda block of Shajapur district.

The village has a population of 450 persons belonging

to Gujars, Brahmins, Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes groups. The settlement pattern is such that the

village appears as a compact unit located at a distanceof less than 2 kms from Batan river.

There are five handpumps around the village to giveeasy access to the inhabitants. These handpumpsbecome dry by Oct-Nov every year. The villagers

have to walk 3 kms to the well that provides waterthroughout the year. According to the villagers it takesthem 4 hours to procure and transport water to their

houses.

There is one private bawadiin the village belonging to

Bhagwan Singh. The water is potable and the bawadiis located in the village, but Bhagwan Singh does notallow villagers to fill water from his bawadi.

The villagers said that in their village even the guestshave to go and fill water for their needs. Most of the

time it is men who go to the well to get water for thehousehold. The water is carried by them on bicycles incans. The extent of water shortage is best expressed

in the words of Prem Bai of the village who said that,ghee dhal jaye to man ma na lage, par pani dhal jayeto man ma lage (one will not mind too much if the

gheespills, but it hurts when the water spills)

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There are two types ofjhiryasthat were identifiedby the study team. One isjhiriyathat is dug alongthe river in monsoon and in the river bed duringsummers. By their very purpose they are seasonal innature. The second type ofJhiriyasare those foundin Dindori. These are dug 9-10 feet deep and made

permanent by casing their sides with logs of salwood (to prevent collapse). The local inhabitantsbelieve that the wood has medicinal properties. Inits traditional form the casing is square that isfitted in a round pit. The PHE Department has takenupon itself to convert thesejhiriyasinto permanentdug wells by increasing the depth and by makingconcrete walls.

(d) Ground WaterThere are 307 handpumps in the 50 villages coveredunder the study. Out of these only 53 per cent

handpumps are perennial in nature. That is, thesehandpumps provide water throughout the year. Theremaining handpumps have either been closed orbecome dry for a substantial part of the year.

Among the perennial handpumps (69) half of themhave water but due to fall in water table it requiresgreater effort/time to draw water during summers.

Out of 122 tubewells only 45 per cent are perennial.The others have been closed down primarily becauseof fall in water table that had rendered the tubewellsdry.

ConclusionsThe data from the villages selected for thestudy reveal that the community fulfills its waterrequirements through a source-mix depending uponthe seasonal availability of water in each of thesesources. In most cases all such sources do not formpart of the water sources developed by the formal

PRA Map of Village Samri showing location ofWater sources

Umri KalanUmri Kalan (Chhindwara) is a Panchayat headquarterwith a population of 1150. The village traditionallyused to get its water from the Wardha river and the 4

wells in the village. The PHE Department installed 5handpumps in the village during the middle of 1980s.

In 1990 the first bore well was installed in the village.According to the community the handpumps went drywithin a couple of years of installation of the bore well.

Three more attempts were made to provide the villagewith bore wells. But all three failed.

At present the village is supplied water through onebore well (400 ft deep). All the handpumps have beenclosed as these sources have become perennially dry.

The availability of water is critically dependent on theavailability of electricity in the village.

For most part of the year the water needs of

the village are being met by the river and throughthe well in across the river (in Maharashtra) and the

jhiriyasmade near theriver during monsoon.

Table 3.4D: Availability of Water in Handpumpsand Tubewells in Selected Districts


No. of groundwater sources

Sub-surface watersources that are

perennial

Hand-pump

Tube-well

Hand-pump

Tube-well

Bhind 10 99 13 69 6

Shivpuri 9 47 6 30 5

Shajapur 7 53 2 14 2

Raisen 11 48 3 22 3

Chhindwara 6 36 88 14 40

Dindori 7 24 10 14 0*

Note: * All bore wells failed

system (PHE Department) responsible for supplyingwater to the communities.

The Departments view is that it is impossible torecharge the dry sources. Hence the departmentfocuses on identifying and accessing new sources

of water. In most cases the current strategy of thedepartment is to go deeper and tap more into groundwater sources.

The perenniality of surface water sources (rivers/rivulets/ponds) is under sustained pressure ofproviding increasing amounts of water for irrigationconverting erstwhile perennial water sources intoseasonal sources. The ground water sources tooface competition for irrigation and in the absenceof recharging structures they either become dead or

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15Water

provide water seasonally. It is the sub-surface watersources, namely dug-wells that act as buffer (gap-filling) sources to make water available to the ruralcommunities.

3.1.3 Accessibility to Water SourcesThe physical accessibility to water sources isdependent on the social and economic accessibilitiesof different communities in the village. This factor wasassessed during discussions with different caste andeconomic groups in the village.

(a) Social Accessibility

Water as a natural endowment is a common propertyresource. As long as it is consumed from its naturalform rivers, rivulets and ponds it does not entailsocial dimension in sharing of the resource. This hasbeen reported in all the villages that were selected forthe study. The social dimension of water sharing thatis, division of water sources on caste lines takesplace in case of sharing of water from sub-surfaceand ground water sources. These water sources haveexclusivity attached to them.

All the villages that were covered under the study

were heterogeneous villages in terms of presence ofdifferent caste groups in the village. The discussionwith different caste groups on the issue of socialaccess to water sources took place in subduedtones. The people from the marginalised castegroups (scheduled caste, backward castes, andscheduled tribes) were not open and forthcoming inexpressing their opinions and views and the personsin higher caste groups generally adopted politicallycorrect postures. The data on actual usage of waterby different caste groups was used to generatediscussion on the issue of social accessibility towater sources. These discussions revealed thefollowing:(i) as far as handpumps are concerned all caste

groups want an exclusive pump within their

neighbourhood. In fact even the members ofscheduled caste groups prefer a different sourceof water exclusively for them in order to avoiddaily humiliation at the common water source(all districts)

(ii) there is an understanding that in cases where

same source provides water to different castegroups, the higher caste person will have theright to take water first. Also at the source thelower caste person will ensure that his vesseldoes not touch the vessel of the higher castegroup (villages in the districts of Shivpuri,Shajapur, Chhindwara and Bhind);

(iii) where animals are an important source ofincome for the higher caste groups, the animalswill drink water first before the members oflower caste groups will be allowed to take water(Gudrawan, Shajapur)

(iv) members of scheduled caste groups have usedthe provisions of Prevention of Atrocities onScheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes Act toassert themselves in accessing water from thesource (Dhaulagarh, Shivpuri)

(v) in case of piped water supply inability to payfor individual water connection has been usedas the reason for providing community tapconnections to the lower caste colonies (allvillages with PWS except Mendori in Raisen)

(vi) cutting of connection or non-release of waterthrough pipes towards scheduled caste/tribecolony has been undertaken by the higher

caste groups, especially during times of watershortages (Gudrawan, Shajapur)

(vii) the caste lines become deeper during timesof acute water shortage. The members ofupper caste groups do not allow access tothe members of the lower caste to commonand private water sources within theirneighbourhood or on their fields. Consequentlythe lower caste households have to accesswater source that is at a longer distance(Shajapur and Chhindwara)

(viii) there in no parity in the location of water

sources (handpump and well) on the basisof population in the village. The higher castethough less in number corner larger number ofwater sources (almost all villages more visible inBhainsrawan (Shivpuri); Kharbai and Amgawan(Raisen);

(ix) in the opinion of the lower caste groups it takeslonger for the handpump in their neighbourhoodto get repaired than it takes in the colony ofthe upper caste (Ajnol in Bhind and Agarra inShivpuri)

(b) Economic AccessibilityThe factor of economic accessibility comes into playdirectly when money has to be paid to gain accessto a service or a facility, like tap connection for a

Map of Umri Kalan showing location of watersources in different seasons

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piped water supply or purchase of water from aneighbouring village. Indirectly the economic factoris also accounted for in the loss of wages that occurwhen the earning members of the households have todevote time and energy in transporting water to theirhouse.

As a direct economic accessibility adversely affectingthe poor to access better service is evident in PipedWater Schemes. In all such villages where the schemehas been implemented all the households areexpected to pay an equal amount as contribution forgetting the tap connection and a fixed sum of moneyas recurring cost. The principle of ability to pay asinitial contribution and the amount of water consumedas recurring cost has not been applied. As a result theschemes have become inequitable in providing accessto the poor households.

In villages where the water has to be transportedfrom a longer distance the well-off households eitheremploy a person to get water for their house (e.g.Gata in Bhind, Umrikalan at Chhindwara, Narwarin Raisen) or resort to buying water (Singodi,Sirata and Hiwra Prithviram at Chhindwara). Thisimplies increased expenses for procuring water forthe economically better households. For the poorthis situation implies loss in wages as the earningmembers of the family have to devote almost half aday in getting water to the house.

ConclusionThe issue of social and economic accessibility comesinto play with investments that lead to increase incomfort levels for getting water well, handpump andpiped water schemes. These investments are corneredby the socially and economically elite group in thevillage and the benefits in terms of services are alsomonopolised by them. The caste factor is used toassert the political supremacy and the economic factoris used to decrease the level and intensity of serviceto the economically and socially marginalised groupsin the village.

Issues in Water Sources, Availability andAccessibility

Perenniality to SeasonalityThe historical water sources used by the communitywere perennial that have become seasonal at presentdue to over exploitation of water for livelihoodpurposes. The seasonality of these water sourceshas adversely affected the availability of water fordomestic purposes for the households. The seasonalityfactor of new sources of water, handpumps and

tubewells, are also visible as a result of the impact ofthe same forces that had made the traditional sourcesseasonal. The need is to understand the relationshipbetween the competitive uses of water in the context

of the village while planning for water sources at themicro level.

Integrated Planning for Water SourcesIt is apparent from the above data that discussionand planning for water for domestic purpose is not an

isolated sub-sector anymore. The planning for waterfor domestic purpose will have to account for wateruse pattern for other competitive uses, especiallyfor livelihood purposes. Sophisticated techniquesof participatory water budgeting will have to beemployed for developing water use plans for each ofthe uses. Similarly conjunctive use of different watersources for different purposes will have to form thestrategic component of such plans. These are issuesthat need to get legitimacy in the policy as well asbacked by appropriate regulatory mechanism.

Source SustainabilityThe present trends of water use and the availabilityof water is indicative of and is borne out by thedata as adversely affecting source sustainability. Theformal system does not lay emphasis on rechargingof water drawn from ground water sources as a resultof which the numbers of such sources becoming dryare increasing. The choice is between additional costsof installation of another source vis--vis cost ofappropriate technological interventions that effectivelyrecharges ground water to ensure availability of waterfrom the existing source. This is an issue that hasnot been reflected or given due importance in the

policy for provisioning for domestic water for thehouseholds.

Social and Economic AccessibilityThe current policy for the implementation ofinterventions for provisioning of domestic water ishabitation centric. It does not take into account thesocial and economic dimension of such provisioning.The principles of ability to pay and payments asper usage have to be institutionalised to make thepolicies equitable and enable equity in accessingbenefits by different economic groups in the village.

In terms of social accessibilities, which are but a sub-set of the prevailing culture in the village, the IECand mobilisation of the community towards fulfillingof basic human needs with dignity will form the coreapproach in implementation of programmes.

Peoples Coping StrategyWater is a basic human need. Till recent past with nohistory of water shortage the communities were notconcerned with the emerging patterns of water use.However, with water shortage becoming a regularphenomenon, community and their sub-groups have

not been able to develop effective coping strategiesto deal with these shortages. Their choice is togo further leading to loss of wages or to pay forwater leading to higher cost for procuring water or

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17Water

to tap seasonal sources (jhiriya) that have variableconsistency in terms of potability of water. As acollective the communities have not been able toidentify the core issues leading to water shortagesnor their respective role in perpetuating theseshortages. They are dependent on government for

solutions that are temporary in nature and are oftennot equitable.

3.2 Demand and Consumption

3.2.1 Demand for WaterThe study mapped the different purposes for whichthe households demand water and sought to quantifythese demands. The information collected from thestudy villages has been tabulated in Table 3.5.

The major question that generated information for

Table 3.5 that was asked during the focus groupdiscussion and individual interviews was what arethe purposes for which the household require waterand how much water does a household require foreach purpose? The answers were given in terms of thevessel that is generally used for procuring and storingwater. The capacity of the vessel was later convertedinto litres. Secondly, the information provided by thecommunity was for one household that was laterconverted for one person/one animal.

The community was categorical that the demandfor water should include the demand for water foranimals and water required for cleaning of the house

(lipai-putai). The latter represents demand for apurpose that is not conducted every day but has aperiodicity that is important for the rural households.With respect to animals the households with livestockholding (cows and buffaloes) were categorical that thedemand for water should include demand for water

by animals as one person from the family is alwaysinvolved in getting water for the animals and alsothat the drinking water for the animals is also securedfrom the same water source that is used by humans.Consequently these sources of demand were alsoincluded in drawing up the list of purposes for whichwater is demanded and quantification was also donefor each of these purposes.

Thus according to Table 3.5 the demand for water bya person who bathes daily is 43 litres per day duringsummers and 40 litres for the remaining part of the

year. Similarly, for the occasional bather the demand is51 and 49 respectively. The additional daily demand forwater for drinking purposes for one animal is 20 litres.

ConclusionThe figures given in Table 3.5 are the average andaggregated figures of all the 50 villages covered bythe study. At the aggregate level the demand forwater by the households seems to be similar to theentitlements defined in the government policy40litres per person per day. However, during discussionswith different groups in the community it wasapparent that more important than the quantum of

water required for the household is the time andeffort required for securing this water for the family.Hence for the community it is the comfort

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