A meeting of the District Advisory Committee, formed under the project
Decentralized Drinking Water Security in Jharkhand, was facilitated by PRIA and SATHEE on 29 April 2016 at Vikash Bhavan, Sahibganj. The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Renuka Murmu, President of Sahibganj Zila Parishad. A total of forty-six participants attended, including representatives from government and CSOs; Mr. Rajesh Singh, District Coordinator, SBM (G) Sahibganj; junior engineers from Udhwa and Mandro blocks; Mr. Sunil Yadav, Zila Parishad Vice-President; gram pradhans, gram panchayat presidents, jal sahiyas and community members.
The advisory committee was appraised of the current progress in the project and issues related to safe drinking water in the gram panchayats, especially in relation to the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for rural piped water supply schemes drafted by the communities. One of the key agendas of the meeting was to expedite the implementation processes of the drafted DPRs.
Dr. Neeraj Kumar, Director, SATHEE, welcomed the guests and shared the broad progress made under the project. Kumar Sanjay from PRIA made a formal presentation sharing details of the various steps taken by the villagers and project team to draft the DPRs. The objectives of the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) are not being achieved in the state and Mr. Alok Pandey from PRIA raised the issue of limited support from the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in this context. He also emphasized that newly elected panchayati raj representatives should identify their rights and duties in order to take appropriate action. Emphasizing the role of the zila parishad in the District Water and Sanitation Mission evoked a sense of willingness amongst the panchayati raj representatives to know more about it, and the Chair was proactive in asking questions to seek clarifications. The Engineer-in-Chief (State Project Management Unit, Ranchi) advised the committee of a hydrological study conducted by the district officials of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation that had been submitted to SPMU. He requested the Chair to organize a meeting of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission (DWSM) and review the progress made under the DPRs. Mukhiyas (village heads) and jal sahiyas (water volunteers) from the pilot panchayats communicated the current water crisis in their respective areas.
The highlight of the meeting was showcasing the preparation of Community based Participatory DPRs based on the Water Security Plans prepared last year. This is a first of its kind in the history of decentralized governance in Jharkhand. The pradhan (elected head) of Sri Ram Chauki (Santhali) village lauded the continuous support provided by the community in designing the DPRs. Panchayat representatives were of the view that the implementation of these DPRs would encourage people’s faith in the panchayati raj system and in their elected representatives.
“To ensure drinking water security, alongside creating water structures, capacities of communities to solve problems at the local level is important. Community participation helps in better water management and in ensuring sustainability of water structures,” said Mrs. Renuka Murmu, the Chair, applauding the initiatives to promote grassroots participation undertaken by PRIA and SATHEE. She publicly assured her support in all possible ways so that the model piloted in Sahibganj district can be replicated in other parts of the state.
The advisory committee took the following decisions in the meeting:
• A meeting of the District Water and Sanitation Mission would be organized during 5 to 10 May, 2016
• Progress of the 17 DPRs made under the project would be reviewed during that meeting and administrative sanctions would be given
• If necessary, a resolution would be passed in the meeting for implementation of the DPRs by the end of May 2016
• Mukhiyas from the 6 pilot gram panchayats would also be invited to the meeting
• For rapid implementation of DPRs, a task force at the block level would be formed comprising junior engineers/assistant engineers, gram panchayat presidents, block development officers and pramukhs.
