Community participation in rural drinking water and sanitation projects : a comparative study of five projects in India

Although the Government of India has made considerable efforts in the past decade to supply safe drinking water and to provide sanitation to Indian villages, its performance in terms of delivery, operation and maintenance has been disappointing. Since it has become evident that community participation (CP) is essential for the success of any water and sanitation project, the Government of India's Eighth Five Year Plan (1991-96) focuses on CP in all water and sanitation projects. The central objective of this study is to understand the factors which promote or hinder participation, the institutional options being used to facilitate participation, and the role of participation in achieving better outcomes. Factors affecting community participation including system level variables, such as the policy environment, project organization and delivery mechanisms, and community level variables, such as the existing water and sanitation facilities in the village and the effectiveness of local institutions, are taken into account. In this study, participation is seen as a means to an end: the end being better outcomes in terms of use of facilities, reliability of services, changes in health habits and sustainable operation and maintenance. The study is based on a comparative analysis of five bilaterally assisted projects in India, in the state of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala and Karnataka. Data was collected in 78 villages, spread over the five projects, through a series of structured and unstructured interviews with project officials, village leaders, community members (half women) and caretakers of water facilities. The study is organized in three sections; namely, an overview of the projects and the results of the survey, an analysis of data and discussion of results, and conclusions and implications.