Training on Community Based Detailed Project Reports (DPRs)

PRIA organised a three day training programme on Community Based Detailed Project Report related to Water Security Plans at ViSWA (Vishvesaraiya Sanitation and Water Academy), Ranchi from 16  to 18 June 2016. A total of 31 participants (21 Male, 10 Female) from 16 CSOs across 12 districts of Jharkhand actively participated in this training programme. This water security related DPR training programme was a first-of-its kind capacity building process in Jharkhand. The objective was to build capacities of participants to support their communities to draft Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) pertaining to water security.

The training programme was designed to include both participatory discussions and practical exercises. The participatory discussions included topics like evolution of National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and policy framework of rural water supply in India; constitutional provisions and role of community/community based organizations regarding water management; elements and steps of Water Security Plan (WSP) preparation; steps and processes of DPR preparation for rural piped water supply schemes; Schedule of Rates (SoR) for different items under DPR; and mechanisms for ensuring accountability through Operation & Maintenance (O&M) component of the DPR. Practical exercises included identification of stakeholders and their role in water management through stakeholder analysis; calculation of elevations of different points with the help of auto-dumpy level instrument; and drafting of DPR based on standard format.

The capability enhancement sessions were provided both by in-house mentors and experienced resource persons. Mr. Pranav Kumar shared his experience of working with PRADAN in the rural piped water supply sector in Chandwara block of Koderma district in Jharkhand. He enabled the participants to understand the processes involved in DPR preparation and innovations in piped water supply projects. He also helped the participants get acquainted with the standard format of DPR and ways to fill different sections of a DPR. He emphasized the importance of community organizations in ensuring sustainability of any water supply related project.

Mr. Abhik Ambala, Assistant Engineer, SPMU, Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ranchi added to the capacity of particiapants by focusing on the technical aspects of a DPR. He broadly categorized the steps of DPR preparation into survey report, hydraulic design, structural design, estimation and drawing. He emphasized that the survey report should be carefully prepared because it helps in deciding a number of factors later. He helped the participants understand the auto-dumpy level instrument and its importance in assessing the elevation of any point. These assessments help in knowing the direction of water flow and deciding an appropriate place for setting up any infrastructure. The participants were excited to know about the low cost standard model design of recharge pit for water harvesting and motivated to promote the same in their intervention areas.

This training on DPR preparation was the first of its kind in Jharkhand and helped bust the myth that DPRs need to be prepared solely by engineers/technical experts. After all, 90% of the components of a DPR are community driven and only 10% is technical, which requires the support of experts.