Community Contracting

The Swajal project (or the World Bank's Integrated Water Supply and Sanitation Project) in Uttar Pradesh introduced community contracting in a systematic way. Community men and women purchased pipes, taps, valves and hand pumps after checking and comparing market prices, calling for tenders (in some cases), evaluating bids, and choosing the best value for their money. They hired masons, plumbers and contractors to build their system for them. Community contracting was duly recognised in the Swajaldhara.

But the degree of support provided by the Project Support Unit (PSU) of the Swajal Project is rarely discussed. The fact is that the PSU had a cadre of trained and committed staff who provided regular support services to the communities engaged in contracting and procurement of materials for their water supply systems. Among the support services provided by the PSU are lists of market prices of items, guidance on ISI certification, cost comparisons and cost-cutting suggestions (WSP Field Note on Community Contracting in Swajal).

While Swajaldhara speaks of community contracting, the same degree of support services is not there. Merely talking about community contracting and procurement, without providing the necessary support, can sometimes do more harm than good. For, if a committee does get cheated the first time, it loses both enthusiasm and support from the rest of the community for the future. It could then take more effort to enthuse them into trying again.

Not everyone supports community contracting In Olavanna Panchayat, just outside Calicut in Kerala, villagers put in private water supply scheme to overcome the acute seasonal scarcity in houses located on the low hills of the undulating terrain. Being construction labour and contractors with experience of working in Calicut town, it was relatively easy for them to put in the pipes and the motor. But the engineers of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) were not pleased that they were using PVC pipes (instead of metal) and burying them only ½ a foot under the earth (instead of the regulation 1 foot). The villagers said this had saved them a third of the cost. The KWA said they were unsafe. But at the end of the day, the KWA admitted that none of the pipes had ever broken. (WSP Ollavanna Field Note, 1999)

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Swajaldhara / Start-up / Planning / Implementation / Operation & Maintenance / Tools and Resources (India)

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