Historically, communities in India managed water and had their unique mechanism of fighting climate extremes.

Reasons for Deterioration of Water in Rural Areas:

• Rapid depletion of ground water level due to over extraction by Agriculture and Industry sectors.
• Uncontrolled construction activities in rural areas and encroachment of the erstwhile water bodies.
• Siltation of rural water bodies and reduction of water bodies.
• Erratic rainfall and droughts or drought-like conditions.
• Water pollution due to incessant and increased use of pesticides, fertilizers and effluents coming from industry.

Role of Community in Water Quality Management:

• Under the 73rd Constitutional amendment, Gram Panchayats have been assigned planning and managing rural water supply and sanitation systems as one of their prime duties.
• Community has an important role in maintaining not only hygiene near the drinking water sources, but also in improving the ways and means by which water is collected and stored to avoid contamination during collection, storage and use.
• Community involvement enhances the economic viability of operation and maintenance, better upkeep due to inherent community belongingness and also increases the lifespan of the system so created.
• In order to arrest problems of arsenic and fluoride contamination in drinking water, NITI Aayog had recommended commissioning of community water purification plants and advocated for last mile connectivity of piped water supply schemes in 2016.
• The effective implementation of these schemes demands active engagement of community through PRIs, Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Cooperatives in rural areas.
• The community through PRIs needs to take up responsibility of being programme implementing agencies (PIAs) not only to plan and install drinking water projects and extract water for drinking purposes.
• The National Rural Drinking Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Programme, has institutionalized the community participation of district and state-level laboratories for the monitoring of drinking water sources at the grass root level through Gram Panchayats.

Functions of the Community:

• Social mobilization, initiation of need analysis, preparation of water security plan and village action plan.
• Discuss and deliberate on sustainability of drinking water schemes, explore new revenue sources like user fees, operation and maintenance fees, etc. for smooth operation and maintenance of water systems.
• Preparation of water safety plan to ensure water quality.
• Ensuring convergence with line departments of district, to plan and execute water conservation projects under PMKSY, MGNREGA, etc. to ensure water recharge and increased water availability in rural areas.
• Setting up technical support cells in consultation with the District/Block administration to ensure convergence in the community and near the project areas.
• Coordination with District/Block level authorities for fund utilization, adopting technologies and monitoring of water schemes.
• Arranging social audit of water schemes from time to time in consultation with district line department officials.
• Arrange training and capacity building programmes on water collection, storage and usage for grass root workers like ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers, science teachers, high school girl children, Panchayat members, retired army officials, etc.
• Conducting periodic sanitary survey.
• Monitoring water availability, water sources and quality of water and arrange awareness camps.
• Ensuring availability of water testing kit for each Gram Panchayat and regular testing of water in accredited labs.

Case Study:

• Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO), Gujarat:
  • It is an autonomous entity aimed at facilitating community managed drinking water facilities in rural areas of Gujarat.
  • The thrust is on capacity building and empowerment of Pani Samiti (Village Water and Sanitation Committee) towards planning, execution and maintenance of village level water supply infrastructure such as underground sumps, elevated storage reservoirs, stand-posts, pipelines, bathing and washing facilities and cattle troughs.
  • Rainwater harvesting has become the rule for recharging the local water supply sources.
  • The relentless work to ensure sustainable safe drinking water in Gujarat’s rural areas was bestowed the 2010 Commonwealth CAPAM International Award.

Way Forward:

• Central and State Governments need to provide timely and adequate technical and financial support and an enabling environment for PRIs and local communities like SHGs and cooperatives.
• A shift in approach is required to ‘area-specific development interventions’ from ‘universalization of programmes/schemes’.
• An independent mapping of development status at frequent intervals is the need of the hour to identify localities within the community itself with greater developmental issues relating to supply of safe drinking water.