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End –Term Evaluation of Community Participation Unit (CPU) under “Aapni Yojna” Submitted By: Development & Research Services Pvt. Ltd. New Delhi Introduction About the Project It is an integrated water supply, sanitation and health education programme Mission- Improve the overall standard of health of the population Objectives Reduction of wastage of water Contribution of the community towards cost recovery To create awareness and responsibility for the consumption of water (through Water & Health Committees) To implement the construction of low cost sanitation facilities To launch women development activities and promote family welfare measures To implement ad hoc measures to according to a particular situation of the village Objectives of the present study To assess the effectiveness of the CPU and other project partners in changing the lives of the beneficiaries in terms of their attitude towards health, living conditions, local level participation and self-governance To recommend, if any, improvement of the approach to community mobilization To assess the viability of the Aapni Yojna model for future projects in Rajasthan and thereby make proposals to the policy makers. Methodology Sampling 12 village level socio-economic indicators were identified from census data Scores were allotted to all villages on the basis of indicators The project and non-project villages were arranged in ascending order and villages were chosen through Circular Random Sampling The non-project villages with similar scores as the sampled project villages were selected in a similar manner Contd….. Sampling Project Villages NonProject Villages Total Churu 27 27 54 Hanumangarh 13 13 26 Total Villages 40 40 80 Respondents per village 35 35 35 1400 1400 2800 Total Respondents Tools for Data Collection Household Interviews In-Depth Interviews WHC members CPU staff Focused Group Discussions Project villages Non-project villages Community Members Women Group Asset Verification Respondent Profile Respondent’s Profile Approximately 89% respondents in project villages and 88% respondents in non – project villages falls in the economically independent age group. About one third of the total respondents in project villages and 15% in the non-project ones were women respondents. About 98% of the respondents and in the non-project villages about 93% of the respondents are Hindus Jat (OBCs) forms large proportion of population in both project (42%) and non project (43%) villages. The tribal population in the districts is very low Respondent’s Profile Close to 90% of the responding households in both project and control villages has family size of less than 5. One fifth of the respondents in both control and project villages are BPL card holders. 90% of the families in project villages earn less than Rs.4000 per month. Half of the respondents in project villages and two fifth in non-project villages are illiterates. About 80% respondents in project villages and 75% in nonproject villages are either cultivators or agriculture labours. Average cattle head in project villages is 3.3 where is it is 2.9 in control villages. Findings Asset Verification PSP and CWT A total of 274 PSPs were visited. About 84% of the PSPs had attendants. About 80% of the attendants were trained. 91% of the PSPs were found to be functional. As envisaged on an average 29 families depends on one PSP. 68 CWTs were visited. 82% of the CWTs were functional 80% of the CWTs had functional float valves 68% of the CWTs had functional gate valves 43% of the CWTs had attendants 28% of the CWTs were found to be clean. One CWTcaters to about 617 cattle heads as against 400 envisaged Sanitary Units A total of 210 sanitary units were visited. All the units had latrines and bathrooms. 98% latrines and all the bathrooms were functional 98% of the latrines had soak pits of which 99% are functional 99% of the families reported that bathrooms are used by the whole family 94% of the families reported that latrines are used by the whole family Civil work of all the units are in good condition. Water Distribution Water Distribution(Preparation and Operation stage) Little over 53% of the total community members participated in the meetings. Caste wise distribution shows, higher caste (59%) participated more as compared to Jats (56%), SCs and other OBCs (47%) and STs (33%). Over two fifth participated in social mapping exercise and little over one fifth received community level training. Over four fifth participated in census survey, selection of WHC members and contributed voluntary labour. Over 90% pay regularly towards user charges and contribute towards repair and maintenance. Water Distribution (Shift in water usage) The usage of Kunds is still popular in project villages. The prominent change in the usage pattern has been the shift from hand pumps, individual wells and Johads or ponds to AY installed PSPs. 97% of the respondents use AY installed PSP for all purposes. 30% of respondents use Kund water specifically for drinking purposes. Usage of CWT is a major shift. Substantial section of community believes that the kund water is healthier than the water of Aapni Yojna There is some discontent about the taste and quality of the water of the Aapni Yojna. Water Distribution (Dependency and Sufficiency) 49% of respondents in control villages uses Kund water specifically for drinking purposes. On which source you depend the most? In project villages 95% of the total respondent households depend on AY installed PSP and CWT. In control villages, more than 90% depend on hand pumps and wells. Water from which source is sufficient for entire year? In project villages, more than 88% reported that PSP and CWT water. In control villages, more than 94% said hand pump and 88% said well. Water Distribution(Water Quality) Perceived quality of water: In project villages over 90% of users of PSP said water is colour less, 85% said taste is good and about 90% said it is odourless. Substantial percentage still uses kund water and Kunds are considered better than that of the PSPs at least in terms of the taste and the smell of the water. This can be attributed to the fact that the water from the Aapni Yojna is chlorinated and treated with camphor to reduce the chances of any contamination in it. However, the taste and the smell of this treated water were disliked by the community However, in comparison to the PSPs of the PHED, the community favours the quality of the AY installed PSP in terms colour, taste as well as smell. Water Distribution (availability, charges & positive impacts) It takes less time to repair the PSP/CWT in project villages, as compared to control villages. Average monthly charge towards usage of water for a family and cattle head is Rs.25. Convenience(64%) and 24X7 water supply (58%) has been cited as major advantage of AY. In control villages also convenience (49%) and 24X7 water supply (42%) has been cited as major advantage of AY In project villages, 45% and 41% respondents feel that there has been a decrease in water borne diseases and skin infection respectively. The average time for water collection has come down to 10 minutes per family per day as compared to 48 minutes per family per day in pre-project scenario. Sanitation Sanitation About 58% of the families have permanent sanitary units Of these about 80% have a complete set i.e., bathroom and toilet. About 65% of the households received some kind of assistance towards construction of toilets. Over one third of the households received partial material Little over one fourth households received all material. 79% of the respondents cited convenience as the most important reason for building sanitary units Sanitation (Awareness) About 35% of respondents reportedly dispose off baby faeces in toilets as against 18% in control villages. About 22% respondents in project villages wash their hands with soap after defecation as against 14% in control villages However washing hand with sand is still prevalent in project villages (57% of the total respondents). About 94% of the respondents reported financial problems for not having toilets at home in control villages. Women Empowerment Women Empowerment (Awareness) More than two fifth of the total women members were aware of sensitization programme of AY More than four fifth has better say in household matters now Over two fifth contributes towards family income Over 70% are able to save time for other activities However, only 3% are member of WHC and just 9% are involved in group based economic activities. Only 11% of the total women population participated in social mapping. Women Empowerment (Participation) More number of women members from SC category have turned out to be leaders than from the higher caste The maximum participation for social mapping has been from OBC women members. In planning stage, participation of women members was found to be high in water distribution management In Implementation and monitoring stage, participation was more in fault reporting Very low percentage of women members participated in construction of sanitary units. Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Knowledge, Attitude & Practices Containers of drinking water are kept closed in both project as well as control villages by over 97% of the respondents. Over 20% respondents from project villages pour water from container for drinking as compared to just 12% from control villages. About 5% respondents from project villages wash their hands with soap before cooking as compared to just 1% in control villages. Washing hands before eating is common practice in both project as well as non-project villages. Knowledge, Attitude & Practices Over one fifth of the project villages respondents clip their nails twice a week as compared to 14% respondents of control villages. However, 12% project villages respondents have no fixed frequency as against 6% of control villages. Over 70% people in the project villages take bath everyday as compared to about 40% in the nonproject villages Perception in Town Perceptions in Towns The programme faced initial hiccups in urban areas during implementation. Population was not adequately covered during social mapping exercise in the town. No census survey was carried out. The elite of the town selected the sites for the installation of PSPs under the project. Discontent among people regarding duration and quality of water supply. Health Impacts Health Impact Health Impact in Project Villages Health Impact in Non- Project Villages Village Level Institutions Village Level Institutions (Case Study 1) In village Ladam, district Hanumangarh, Mr. Vikram Singh refused to pay the water bills. When approached by the villagers, he said he would pay whenever he feels like doing so. WHC members approached court. District court summoned Mr. Singh and asked to pay up or else face an imprisonment of three and a half months. He immediately paid up and has been paying his water bills regularly since then. This action had its effect on other defaulters too and the WHC did not have to face any such problem as of now. Village Level Institutions (Case Study II) In village Ojariya of Churu district, during summers a relative of one of the villagers, Mr. Mahendra (S/o Nirana Ram), who belonged to the Jat community, had visited the village with his herd of 400 sheep. According to the rules of the WHC, if the number of cattle is too large then the WHC used to charge at the rate of Rs.25 per 100 cattle heads. Mr. Mahendra and the visitor refused to pay up. The villagers reported to the police and police forced the relative of Mr. Mahendra to pay the money but Mr. Mahendra got agitated and one night he deliberately kept the tap of a nearby PSP open resulting in waste of water. Another report was filed against Mahendra and he had to pay a fine of Rs.551. Since then there is no problem in the village. Village Level Institutions (Lessons Learnt) WHCs at village level and Pani Panchayat at the cluster level requires enough legal support to achieve their goals. Success of the village level institutions depends on necessary support from block/district officials Community should be empowered enough to cater to any malfunctioning of the institutions itself Feeling of ownership is important among the community to sustain the programme. Sustainability Sustainability Project can be termed as sustainable because: Gram sabhas being held in large number of villages Census in over 80% of the villages Large number of contribution towards voluntary labour and regular payments for repair and maintenance Large number of functional assets; High dependence on PSPs installed by project; Close to 90% feel water supplied through project installed PSPs is sufficient Sustainability Regular payment by the beneficiaries towards use of water Enhanced knowledge, positive attitude and improved practices towards health and hygiene; Enhanced household income primarily because of contribution of women Strong village level institutions along with empowered community The feeling of ownership among the community makes the project socially sustainable. Sustainability of programme in urban areas however, is doubtful. Conclusions Conclusions Foundation of first pillar of the programme “community participation” has been strongly laid. Community was taken into confidence before that launch of project. A programme can be sustainable only if there is “sense of ownership” among the community towards the assets created. Large number of trained attendants and functional assets indicates towards this aspect of the programme The programme is not only providing “safe drinking water” to parched villages, adequacy of the programme can be judged from the fact that every PSP caters to about 150 persons which is exactly what was envisaged However, dependency on cattle water trough is serving more than the envisaged number of cattle Conclusions The basic advantages of the programme, as felt by the community, is 24X7 water supply and the availability of consumable water in close proximity to the house which saves time as well. The water collection time has come down to 9 minutes per day from 48 minutes per day Large number of functional assets speaks about technical success of the project Hygiene as one of the pillar of the programme has brought positive impact on health as 97% of the families feel that there has been a positive impact on the health due to the intervention. Given the socio-cultural fabric of the state, programme has achieved its objective of women empowerment.