The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the implementation of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project for Low Income States (RWSSP-LIS) of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh with World Bank assistance over a period of six years (from 2013-14 to 2019-20).

The project is expected to directly benefit a rural population of about 78 lakh persons including 44 lakh Scheduled Castes and more than 8 lakh Scheduled Tribes, with improved piped water supply covering approximately 17,400 habitations in 2,150 Gram Panchayats (GPs) in the following 33 districts of the four States:

a) Assam: 7 districts (Hailakandi,   Kamrup, Jorhat, Morigaon, Bongaigaon, Sonitpur and Sibsagar) with an estimated population coverage of about 14 lakh.

b) Bihar: 10 districts (Patna, Begusarai, Munger, Muzzafarpur, West Champaran, Nalanda, Nawada, Saran, Purnia and Banka) with an estimated population coverage of about 24 lakh.

c) Jharkhand: 6 districts (East Singhbum, Dumka, Garwah, Palamu, Saraikela-Kharsawan and Khunti) with an estimated population coverage of about 12 lakh.

d) Uttar Pradesh: 10 Eastern UP districts (Gorakhpur, Kushi Nagar, Deoria, Basti, Ghazipur, Ballia, Allahabad, Sonbhadra, Bahraich and Gonda) with an estimated population coverage of about 28 lakh.

The key features of the project are:

(i)     Strengthening   and   empowering   of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)   as well   as   ensuring direct involvement of beneficiary communities in the scheme implementation. Schemes   will be   implemented   with   integral   involvement   of   GPs.

(ii)    Sanitation   in   conjoint approach with water is conceptualized   as an integrated component of the proposed project,

(iii)   The project will implement pilot programs such as 24/7 water supply provision in select areas, and new technologies such as use of solar energy,

(iv)   There   shall   be   an   intensive   Capacity   Building   programme   for   all stakeholders down to the GP level,

(v)    Intensive   Information,   Education   and   Communication   (IEC) and Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) programs will be carried out.

(vi)   The project will support the universal provision of household connections, meters for bulk water supply, and promotion of household meters, wherever appropriate,

(vii)  There will be a focus on monitoring and surveillance of drinking water quality,

(viii) Grievance redressal measures of a GP, District and State level will be captured by the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system proposed under the project,

(ix)   Technical,   financial,   procurement and   social   audits during   scheme planning, implementation and O&M will be conducted,

(x)   Demonstration of beneficiary support for the schemes through a one time upfront community contribution (Rs. 450 per household/ Rs. 225 for SC/ST household) towards capital cost,

(xi)  The Project will adopt a phased approach for achieving full Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost recovery through user fees.

The project will improve access and usage of piped drinking water supplied into individual homes. Women and children will benefit significantly from project intervention as they currently bear most of the burden of securing daily water supplies.

The Project will improve sanitation conditions in the targeted districts by adopting the convergence approach with the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA) and the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) and saturate the project area in terms of access to water supply, household and institutional toilets and solid and liquid waste management.

24 quality affected (arsenic/fluoride/iron) districts will be covered under the program to provide potable water.

The rural population will benefit from effective IEC and Behavioural Change Communication (BCC) programs.

The total Project cost of Rs. 6,000 crore will be financed through Government of India [from the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) allocation – 33 percent], State Government (fund sharing as per NRDWP guidelines – 16 percent), beneficiary contribution (1 percent) and external financing (World Bank-IDA funds – 50 percent).

Government of India will repay the amount of US$ 500 million extended as credit by the World Bank over a period of 25 years with 1.25 percent interest rate.

Background:

The 12th Five Year Plan for Rural Water Supply envisages achieving piped water supply coverage for 50 percent rural population in the country with 30 percent rural population having household tap connections. This project is therefore conceptualized to provide a focused thrust in the four low income states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand which have less than 10 percent piped water coverage) and Uttar Pradesh (Eastern) which has high incidences of JE/AES cases.

Rural water supply expansion with community governance and integrated sanitation, backed by phased user fee recovery and external financing. Approval of a World Bank-assisted six year Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project expands piped household connections and sanitation in low coverage districts through GP level implementation and direct community involvement, integrated sanitation, pilots for continuous supply and solar technology, household metering, water quality monitoring, IEC/BCC and capacity building; financing combines central and state shares, external IDA credit and a one time community contribution with phased achievement of full O&M cost recovery by user fees, supported by audits, M&E and multi tier grievance redressal.