punjab rural water supply and sanitation...

Table of Contents

Table of ContentsTERMS AND ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................................2

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY................................................................................................................... 3

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS..........................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................. 11OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................11OBJECTIVES OF THE MID-TERM REVIEW.....................................................................................................13REPORT OUTLINE.............................................................................................................................................13

APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY............................................................................................15OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................15CONSULTATION.................................................................................................................................................15DOCUMENT REVIEW.........................................................................................................................................17SITE INSPECTIONS............................................................................................................................................17

PROJECT CONTEXT....................................................................................................................... 18OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................18PUNJAB VILLAGES – WATER AND SANITATION PRE-PROJECT SITUATION.............................................18GOVERNMENTAL INTERVENTIONS UNDER WAY AT PROJECT DESIGN STAGE........................................19ISSUES TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION AT DESIGN STAGE..........................................................................19INSTITUTIONAL, REGULATORY AND MANAGEMENT SET-UP.....................................................................21CAPACITY ASSESSMENT AT PROJECT DESIGN..............................................................................................24SECTOR APPROACH OF THE GOVERNMENT OF PUNJAB.............................................................................24

PROJECT OBJECTIVES, EXPECTED RESULTS, AND PERFORMANCE INDICATORS....27OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................27PROJECT OBJECTIVES.......................................................................................................................................27EXPECTED RESULTS.........................................................................................................................................30PERFORMANCE INDICATORS...........................................................................................................................31

IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS, FIDUCIARY AND SAFEGUARD ASPECTS.......34OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................34IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS.............................................................................................................34FIDUCIARY ASPECTS.........................................................................................................................................44

Amount of Instalment...................................................................................................................... 47Condition for Release of Instalment....................................................................................47S.No................................................................................................................................................................. 49S.No................................................................................................................................................................. 50

B. COMMUNITY SANITATION...............................................................................................................52PROCUREMENT..................................................................................................................................................53KEY CONCERNS OF STAKEHOLDERS AT THE TIME OF EFFECTIVENESS...................................................55CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS...........................................................................................................................57COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN.......................................................................................61ENVIRONMENTAL SAFEGUARDS.....................................................................................................................61

EMF Activity.............................................................................................................................................. 63MONITORING AND EVALUATION....................................................................................................................67

PROJECT STATUS, LESSONS LEARNED AND WHAT LIES AHEAD...................................70

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OVERVIEW..........................................................................................................................................................70GENERAL BACKGROUND OF PRWSS PROGRESS.........................................................................................70IMPACT OF CHANGE IN COST-SHARING FORMULA.....................................................................................72PROJECT STATUS-PART A- IEC [INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION]......................73

27 Committee Members & 7 DPMC officials attended the training.......................................8218 Committee Members & 6 DPMC Officers/officials attended the meeting.....................8241 Committee Members & 10 DPMC Officers/officials attended the meeting..................8234 Committee Members & 6 DPMC Officers/officials attended the meeting.....................8221 Committee Members & 12 DPMC Officers/officials attended the meeting..................82

PROJECT STATUS-PART B-COVERAGE..........................................................................................................83DISTRICT-WISE PERFORMANCE.....................................................................................................................92PROJECT STATUS-PART C- PROCUREMENT..............................................................................................104PROJECT STATUS-PART D-FINANCIAL.......................................................................................................107PROJECT STATUS-PART E-INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION......................111PROJECT STATUS – PART F - STAFFING....................................................................................................117PROJECT STATUS-PART G-SOCIAL CONSULTATIONS...............................................................................122PROJECT STATUS – PART H- QUALITY ASSURANCE................................................................................130

LESSONS LEARNED AND WHAT LIES AHEAD.....................................................................132PART A- OVERALL PROJECT........................................................................................................................132PART B – FUNCTIONAL AREAS- PROCUREMENT AND FINANCE...........................................................134PART C-FUNCTIONAL AREA - IEC..............................................................................................................135PART D – QUALITY ASSURANCE.................................................................................................................135WHAT LIES AHEAD........................................................................................................................................136

EVALUATION, FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS....................................................................140RELEVANCE OF THE DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES....................................................................................140APPROPRIATENESS OF PROJECT DESIGN AND COVENANTS...................................................................143SUSTAINABILITY OF INTERVENTIONS.........................................................................................................145REALISM IN THE KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND THEIR MEASUREMENT..............................146INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT..........................................................146ADEQUACY OF STAKEHOLDER CONSULTATION........................................................................................147BANK PERFORMANCE....................................................................................................................................147BORROWER PERFORMANCE.........................................................................................................................148KEY ISSUES AND ACTIONS NEEDED............................................................................................................148

RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................................................................151OVERVIEW.......................................................................................................................................................151RECOMMENDATIONS......................................................................................................................................151Next Steps.....................................................................................................................................................155

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Terms and Abbreviations

ADB Asian Development Bank

ARP

DWSS Department of Water Supply and Sanitation

DPMC District Programme Management Cell

DOF Department of Finance, Government of Punjab

DEA Department of Economic Affairs, Government of India

FC Fully Covered Villages

GOI Government of India

GOP Government of Punjab

GP Gram Panchayat

GPWSC Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committee

IEC Information, Education and Communication

MV Multi-village schemes

NABARD National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development

NRHM National Rural Health Mission

NC Not-covered Villages

O&M Operations and Maintenance

PRWSS Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project

PC Partially covered Villages

QA Quality Assurance

SPMC State Programme Management Cell

SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

SV Single Village Schemes

WB World Bank

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Executive Summary

The World Bank Mission in July 2009 observed that ‘The project is assisting in community mobilization through an intensive IEC campaign and with support from NGOs in most of the districts. Access to water supply in the rural areas is increasing with the project assistance, though at a slower pace than estimated. The project has received wider acceptance since the revision of the cost-sharing rules for water supply schemes which was made effective from November last year, and registering increased demand. Government's reaffirmation of the commitment to implement the MTP to increase access to improved water supply and sanitation following SWAp, the demonstrated administrative will and the action taken in the last six months, and as mentioned above the increasing demand point towards likelihood of achievement of the PDO.’ On the basis of this observation, the Bank Mission rated achievement on the PDO as Moderately Satisfactory. There has been one more Mission since then, and the opinion has not changed.This Mid-Term Review Report represents the understanding of the State Programme Management Cell of the Government of Punjab of the progress made so far in the Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project, and the issues that have come to light during the preceding two-and-a-half years of implementation of the project.The Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project has been a late starter. There have been many justifiable [and some uncontrollable and unanticipated] administrative and technical reasons for this. The issue currently is not that it is a late starter, but that the project has picked up a certain speed and this speed not only needs to be maintained, but increased. To that end, a number of issues have been identified which will need immediate attention, not only of the project authorities, but also the Government of Punjab and the World Bank. The issues that have been identified during the Evaluation are quite wide-ranging in their individual scope. However they may be categorized in terms of the following:

Impact of the initial delay upon project execution overall Impact of new Cost-sharing formula upon GP/GPWSC Impact of plans to scale-up scheme implementation during the

next two years Impact of intensified IEC efforts upon the existing project

management infrastructure

This MTR report was designed to examine all the above issues in detail with respect to the initial conditions of the project, the current status and recommendations made to deal with these issues. The Report points out a number of such recommendations and makes the case that these recommendations need to be considered and acted upon as may be deemed appropriate, but also stresses simultaneously that so far as the PRWSS is concerned, time is running out and it is necessary to do so expeditiously.

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At an overall level, this report notes that for such major projects as PRWSS,

Top-level political driver is necessary. From the point of view of overall project management, it has been seen that the major issue has been the political driver. Had there initially been political commitment and concern to the level that it exists today, the project would perhaps have progressed much faster.

Commitment and ownership of senior bureaucracy is required. Current level of reviews by senior bureaucracy has also been an engine for creating momentum in the project. At the beginning, this level of bureaucratic commitment was also not there. The two drivers – political and senior bureaucratic- combine with each other to get a project going through its most difficult phases.

Envisaged Project Structure must be clearly responsive to project needs. For projects that are predicated on beneficiary participation and decentralization, an organization structure different from that in standard Government departments is needed.

Manpower requirement and deployment issues must be identified and addressed early.

Alignment of Client Preparatory Activities with Project Effectiveness. Another major lesson from this and other projects is that project preparatory activities [especially in manpower matters] at the Client level must begin much earlier than Effectiveness. This does not normally happen because the Government is not given to committing resources until the project is actually approved by the concerned Funding Agency.

Managed and Pro-active mid-stream corrections. Mid-stream corrections are normally the result of reports and aide-memoires given by the Funding Agencies. However, PRWSS has shown that where the project management is pro-active, project implementation becomes speedier and more streamlined as a result of mid-stream reviews by project authorities themselves.

At the internal level of the project, actions necessary are:

Building up in-house capacity in World Bank, UN, etc. procurement Rules.

Building up in-house capacity in Financial Management.

Specific Procurement Strategies to be identified early on. It has been seen that in PRWSS, in quite a few cases, so-called ‘standard’ procurement strategies have not worked. Consequently strategies have had to be modified, in some cases only after a few first attempts – costing several months of project time – failed to yield any result. Therefore, one activity that needs to be included among the preparatory ones before the project actually begins, is the planning of procurement strategies.

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Need to build up internal checks, balances, and control systems.

Establishment of measures of effectiveness of procurement and finance, and the need for a Costing function.

So far as the major lessons learnt are concerned, stress must be put on IEC activities. Government departments typically are attuned to maintenance, and not development functions. Field level functionaries cannot afford to ignore these changes. At the beginning, PRWSS was also predicated upon such assumptions and not much attention was paid to outreach functions. It was later realized that social outreach is in fact the pivot upon which the success of the whole project revolves. Once this realization became organizational, much more attention was paid to IEC activities, and the results of the same are now evident.

Quality Assurance (QA) has been a point of concern for the project authorities. While there are specific norms for QA within the DWSS, the monitoring of Quality has not been a matter seen as apart from normal engineering executive functions. PRWSS has shown that where large-scale civil works are concerned, it is necessary to have independent evaluation of Quality.

Further actions that are now deemed necessary are:

Increasing Design Effectiveness Effective Quality Monitoring Streamlined Procurement Re-computation, adjustments of Project Costs Overall improvement in Scheduling of implementation Introduce village level Grievance Redress Mechanism where the

scheme has been commissioned. Preparation of a detailed Manpower plan and recruitment

strategy. Prepare a list of FAQ regarding participation and operation and

maintenance, and launch at Website Establish close coordination at Village level with the education

(SSA), health (NRHM); and sanitation (TSC)programs to enhance IEC penetration. These matters are already being discussed at village levels, having been approved by the SWSM.

Prepare evaluation methods and criteria for best GPWSC award to be given from 2009-10. SPMC has already prepared a set of Drafts in regard to the selection criteria and the GPWSC are being made aware.

Preparation of Concept Note on Sustainability Monitoring

This Review also points out some Policy issues which need to be handled at the GOP level:

Needs of Special Groups. These include population from border villages, kandi area hill villages, waterlogged villages, etc. Lowering the bar for such Special Category villages has

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resulted in accelerating the progress of schemes somewhat but the project authorities feel that it is necessary to inject more momentum into the progress of scheme execution.

Capacity constraints of professionals working in the Water Sector. As PRWSS implementation has shown, there is a serious deficiency of professionals who are willing to work in the water sector, particularly at district and village levels. These constraints may prove to be serious in the future as coverage expands.

Land related issues. Land related issues have already become important for sewerage schemes where land parcels for STP are becoming increasingly difficult to find.

As can be easily understood, the addressing of the above issues cannot be predicated upon policy decision at the government level alone. Some of these issue would be addressed at the local level, and some others would be addressed by the GOP in terms of the emergent situation[s] at GP level. The current overall structure and approach of the SPMC and the DPMC are such that with the addition of some elements to the existing structure of GOP, the policy development and feedback loop could be completed reasonably satisfactorily. However, expansion of the project ambit would be required to fully address all the issues satisfactorily.

From the outset this project has been designed for sustainability and the interventions made thus far will go a long way in removing inequities in water supply in Punjab. In particular, sustainability has been encouraged through a number of measures discussed in this Report. Further issues that need to be considered with regard to sustainability are as follow:

Policy to be formulated for major repairs and replacement of the water supply systems both for SV and MV

IEC efforts should not cease with the end of the project term

Development and Statement of Long Term Policy prescriptions in terms of actionable strategies

Further integration with Swajaldhara and other programs

The key issues that need to be addressed during balance period of the project are:

Construction of Schemes during balance period of 2009-10 and 2010-11. This is probably the most significant challenge for PRWSS as a whole. While design and supervision activities have been now made the responsibility of a Consulting Firm, the schedules, perforce have had to remain very tight. In fact, there are hardly any flexibilities in terms of schedules. Of the 3000-odd villages proposed to be covered under the project, 70 villages are now in operation, and original project tenure is only for another two-and-a-half years. There is therefore a need to extend the tenure by at least another two years.

Additional manpower for IEC, procurement, and supervision. Augmentation of manpower is needed. Success of the project, with scaled-up rates of implementation will require immediate attention to this matter.

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Planning for Contingencies. The Project needs to plan for the contingencies because of the inherent complexities and variables when working in a large geographically spread area and predicated upon the active participation of the communities.

Upgrading of physical and HR infrastructure of SPMC. Currently, project management still seems to operate on an emergency mode, with key responsibilities resting on the shoulders of a very few persons. Office support is practically non-existent. Such an infrastructure will not suffice for scaled-up operations.

Scaling-up IEC operations. As discussed earlier, IEC operations need to be substantially scaled-up in order to assure sustainability in the very large number of schemes that are now proposed to be implemented.

Improvement of DOF-SPMC collaboration. It is considered that further improvement of the level of cooperation and collaboration between the Department of Finance and the SPMC is needed.

Additional Technical Assistance. While the projects are primarily engineering in content, nevertheless it has been seen that considerable input of social and behavioral engineering will be required particularly when the sanitation schemes come into being and the question of maintenance of community facilities also arises. For this purpose expert TA (qualification of the TA may be elaborated )will be necessary in these fields , in order to gauge the social impact of project related interventions properly and create a ground for social sustainability of these projects. This is important because currently most of the schemes are executed as a result of the initiatives of individual Sarpanches. There needs to be a socially institutionalized system that will continue no matter how the Gram Panchayat changes. Experts are needed to help build that socially institutionalized system.

This Report makes the following major recommendations

1. Time Extension of Project Activities. It has been stated that very little flexibility is available in terms of time for achieving the coverage expected under this project. There are a number of issues and inherent risks associated with the balance period activities and implementation schedules, which lead to this recommendation as discussed in this report. It is recommended that the timeframe of the project be increased by two years. The proposed extension will mainly account for the time delays during the initial period of the project.

2. Arrangements for Smoother Flow of Project Funds. It is recommended that the World Bank tranches may flow directly to the Project Account, paying for as many villages as possible after raising the WB contribution for such schemes from 66% to 90%. Conversely the GOI and GOP contribution for the balance of villages will then increase from the current 34% to 100% including the beneficiary share. This will have the advantage that until the WB funded villages are completed, there will be no difficulties in the flow of project funds. The smooth execution of the schemes will also then encourage inactive GP to join in.

3. Improved and Intensified IEC activities. It has been stated in this document that quantum jumps in scheme implementation cannot be obtained without scaling-up IEC activities. Part of this problem has already

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Bappaditya Chakravarty, 11/24/09,

Having seen the quality of social and behavioral interventions I am personally of the belief that expert intervention is now needed.

been addressed by including village level IEC activities in the responsibilities assigned to Engineering Support consultant. Besides SPMC has conducted three residential training programmes for capacity building of the professionals working in DPMCs Now, on the basis of a Social Impact survey of IEC activities a strategic planning based on a Social Impact survey of IEC activities already carried out has been done and infrastructure facilities for intensifying IEC activities especially at the District level are under way.

4. Improved Supervision and Contract Management of Schemes. It has been noted that the level and quality of construction supervision, contract management and assessment of quality has not been very satisfactory, and that this has been realized by the SPMC itself. Constraints of manpower resources have impeded better performance in this area. Key issues identified include (a) more intensive technical inspections during scheme construction, (b) more intensive financial inspections during scheme execution, (c) more intensive verification of contractors, (d) preparation of post-construction and commissioning drawings, etc.

5. Intensified program for Water Quality Monitoring at the village level. The efforts of the project authorities to train volunteers from the villages to monitor water quality, is bearing fruit. Nearly one thousand workshops have been held and more than one lakh water testing kits have been distributed. Nearly 5000 villages have already been covered, and the balance would be covered during the current financial year.

6. Overall Manpower Planning and Sustainability Assurance of the Scheme Support Structure at the State level. It has already been mentioned that project sustainability will also depend to a very great extent on the way in which the Government decides to provide support services to the GP and GPWSC on a long-term basis. This implies proper manpower planning for the future [and continuing] structure. Else, if long-term management is to be handed over to the existing DWSS which has relatively less exposure to the new culture of decentralization, there is a chance that over a period of time there would be attrition and also a fall in the standards of O&M.

7. Technical Assistance in some specific areas. It is felt that specific TA in particular functional areas would also need to be added.

The next step will be for this document to be discussed thoroughly at both the SPMC level and also with the DEA and the World Bank. Since a large number of issues have been stated in this document, it would now be necessary to prepare separate Plans covering each of the key issues to be addressed as may be agreed. SPMC may need more TA only for that purpose.However, given that there is not a lot of time left before the construction season is in full swing, and the end of the financial year is also quite near, it would be necessary to address all issues in very short time.

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Summary of Recommendations

Issue/Recommendation Suggested Way Forward Paragraph Reference

1 Extension of Term of Project by another Two Years

Recommendation to the GOP and the World Bank

288

2 Smoother flow of Funds Direct funding from the WB to the project for the WB portion of balance Project funds – recommendation thereto to the World Bank [Refer Annex 15]

294

3 Increasing of WB share from 66% to 90% for specific number of villages

Recommendation to the World Bank to switch funding formula from a pro-rata share of every scheme to a pro-rata share of the total number of villages; thus increasing the WB funding to computed number of villages to 90%, and leaving the balance villages to be funded through GOP and GOI funds [Refer Annex 16]

295

4 Provision for acquisition of land for Sewerage Schemes

Recommendation to GOP to fund acquisition of land for Sewerage schemes [Refer Annex 13]

252

5 Additional manpower for IEC, procurement, and supervision

Recruitment of additional manpower [Refer Annexes 6 and 7]

279

6 Building up in-house capacity in World Bank, UN, etc. procurement Rules.

Staff to be sent for additional courses in procurement

236

7 Building up in-house capacity in Financial Management

Staff to be sent for additional professional courses in FM, and more FM persons to be recruited

252

8 IEC efforts should not cease with the end of the project term and they need to be scaled-up

A long term plan for IEC to be prepared with a detailed budget and same to be executed on a project basis

241,266,282,289

9 Improved Supervision and Contract Management of Schemes

Detailed arrangements to be entered into with Consultants

290

10 Incentives for Project personnel Proposal to be prepared for approval of GOP and the World Bank

260

11 Establishment of measures of effectiveness of procurement and finance, and the need for a Costing function

KPI for each functional area to be developed and monitoring report formats to be designed and implemented. Costing function to be formally established.

240

12 Upgrading of physical and HR infrastructure of SPMC

Proposal to be prepared by SPMC for the purpose

281

13 Additional Technical Assistance Detailed proposal to be prepared by 293

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SPMC for the purpose

14 Planning for Contingencies SPMC to devise detailed contingency plans, with inputs from DWSS

280

15 Overall Manpower Planning and Sustainability Assurance for Schemes support structure at village level

Detailed Sustainability Assurance Plan to be prepared by SPMC in time-bound manner

290

16 Involvement of Private Sector in O&M Detailed proposal to be part of the

Sustainability Assurance Plan246

17 Increasing Design Effectiveness Design capabilities at central as well as DWSS level to be strengthened. Designs obtained from the Consultant to be evaluated within a specified turn-around period

244

18 Improvements in internal Checks and balances

Consultant to be appointed 239

19 Re-computation and Adjustment of Costs

Re-computation of cost exercises to be done in detail [Refer Annexes 10,11,12,17]

247,283

20 Construction of Schemes during Balance Period

Arrangements to be made for regular monitoring and carrying out and implementing mid-stream corrections

278

21 Needs of Special Groups. Detailed Policy to be prepared by SPMC for consideration of SWSM and the GOP

252

22 Capacity constraints of professionals working in the Water Sector.

Program for capacity building of professionals to be made part of Long-Term Plan

252

23 Self-selection Process To be made part of sustainability assurance plan

261

24 Policy to be formulated for major repairs and replacement of the water supply systems both for SV and MV

SPMC to be prpare detailed guidelines. 266

25 Improvements in Quality Assurance and Quality Monitoring

Quality Monitoring personnel to be recruited at SPMC level [Annex 7]

242,245

26 Development and Statement of Long Term Policy prescriptions in terms of actionable strategies

Recommendation to be made to GOP on the basis of plan draft prepared by SPMC jointly with DWSS

266

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Introduction

Overview

1. The International Development Association (IDA) approved a US$ 154 million Credit to the Government of India for the Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project on December 14, 2006. The purpose of the project was to assist the Government of Punjab in increasing the access of rural communities to improved and sustainable rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS) services. The Project became effective on March 26, 2007 and closes on March 31, 2012. In pursuit of the above, the project finances water supply and sanitation schemes in all the district of Punjab in a demand-responsive and decentralized environment.

2. As per the Development Credit Agreement, the Project consists of the following components:

Component A: Program Management [USD 31,4 million]: This component is used for financing (a) establishment and operating costs of the program institutions, (b) training and capacity building, (c) consultancies, (d) goods and equipment for management support to DWSS and IEC [information, education, and communication] campaigns, (e) operating MIS and M&E systems, (f) Sector Development programs and studies, and (g) grants to be provided as awards to the best performing Gram Panchayats [GPs] and User groups.

Component B: Community Development [USD 24.4 million]: This component finances (a) consultancy contracts of the support organizations [SOs] including personnel and other resources, travel and documentation, etc., (b) operating cost of DWSS staff for their travel and incidental expenses [excluding salary and allowances] for providing support and technical assistance to village communities both for new schemes and for performance improvement of existing schemes.

Component C: Infrastructure Building [USD 205.6 million]: This component has three sub-components, as follow:

C1:New/ Upgrading of Water Supply Schemes for NCPC habitations [US$ 131.7m.]. This component is used for financing the water supply infrastructure in villages that are currently either not covered [NC] or partially covered [PC]. The schemes financed are based on ground /surface water sources and a choice of technology made by the communities and DWSS from a range of technology options

C2: Performance Improvement of Existing Water Supply Schemes (US$ 54.9 M): This sub-component itself consists of two parts. Part C2(a) mainly finances the up-gradation of existing water supply schemes in some 1600 FC villages to improve their operational performance. The financing is aimed at helping to augment the source of water supply, repairs and replacement of

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leaking pipes, rehabilitation oftanks and other system components, repairs of motors, disinfection units, introducing distribution zoning and extension of pipelines. It also finances the fixing of bulk water meters in all existing multi-village [MV] water supply schemes. Part C2 (b) was aimed at financing the installation of defluoridization and reverse osmosis plants and potable water treatment units, initially on a pilot basis. However, as of the time of writing of this report, this component is being taken over by the State Government itself, which is providing the funds for installation of RO plants for providing potable water in 327 villages. Besides this DWSS is putting up two pilot plants each based on dual filtration and ultra filtration technology.

C3: Construction of Community Sanitation Schemes (US$ 19.0 M): This component will finance construction of small bore sewers and sewerage schemes in about 100 villages whichalready have good household sanitation coverage but where the release of septic tank effluent onthe village streets and open drains creates a serious health hazard. The sub-component will also finance rehabilitation of existing sullage drains and village ponds in about 1000 villages to improve water disposal systems and reduce environmental degradation.

3. So far as Component A is concerned, the main target group includes the project institutions and support organizations. The main intermediate results indicators are (i) number of participating habitations for schemes under the Sector Wide Approach [SWAp] as a percentage of total habitations with a NC or PC status [cumulative habitations covered], (ii) Participating habitations for performance improvements of existing Single Village or Multi-village schemes as a percentage of total habitations planned to be covered [cumulative habitations covered], and (iii) percentage of resources distributed to GPs that are utilized in time.

4. Under Component B, the DWSS [primarily the Junior Engineer and the Sub-divisional Engineer] work with village support teams or Support Organizations [SOs] equipped with social mobilization skills. This has now been extended to social mobilization skills being provided by the District Program Management Cell [DPMC] also. The DWSS provides support in technical, financial and managerial matters, and also [together with DPMC support] engages in capacity-building at the village level. This Component also provides the funds for engineering design support. The intermediate results indicators for this component include (i) percentage of participating GPWSCs with high or medium rating for operational sustainability of their schemes; (ii) percentage of participating GPWSCs meeting the full O&M costs through payment of user charges, and (iii) percentage of participating GPWSCs of multi-village schemes with a billing to collection ration of greater than 90% for bulk water charges.

5. The Project is being implemented by the Government of Punjab in its Department of Water Supply and Sanitation. The project structure was designed as a decentralized one and there have been no changes made in it during the interim period. Basically, the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation acts as the executive wing, with the State Water and

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Sanitation Mission’s organization providing the implementation and monitoring expertise. The overall structure is pivoted upon the GPWSC, at the village level. At the village level therefore, there is the GPWSC, two technical representatives of the District DWSS, and representatives of the District Program Management Cell [DPMC], which is a subordinate unit of the State ProgrammeManagement Cell which in turn, is responsible to the SWSM. Representatives of the DPMC are usually experts in IEC and HRD.The overall structure, which will be described in more detail later, consists of a State Programme Management Cell.

6. The GPWSC is usually constituted of some members of the GP [with the Chairman or Sarpanch of the GP also acting as Chairman of the GPWSC, and normally at least 3 other members] and seven others selected from the village. The persons selected from the village are selected by voice vote in an open meeting of all the villagers. Concerned Junior Engineer of the scheme is technical member of the GPWSC.

7. For various reasons, primarily administrative, the project roll-out was not at the speed that had originally been envisaged. Thus, although the effectiveness of the project was in March 2007, it was not till almost a year and a half later that the project really picked up momentum. However, that momentum is still not to the satisfaction of the project authorities and it is felt that steps need to be taken in terms of a concrete strategy to be able to achieve the speed of execution that is necessary not only to fulfill the original objectives, but also to do so within the time stipulated. It is in this context that this Mid Term Review is seen as a critical step because it provides a clear ideation of the state of the project, and the Way Forward.

Objectives of the Mid-Term Review

8. The objectives of this review are to (a) reassess project performance in the light of the original Project Development Objectives and also assess the indicators and their continuing relevance in the light of any new circumstance, and the likelihood of achieving them. This is to be done through a critical review of project status, results achieved and lessons learned, challenges and constraints. Based on such a critical review a Way Forward is then designed and offered for consideration.

Report Outline

9. Following on from this Introductory Section, this Mid Term Review report is structured as follows:

Section 2 – Approach and MethodologySection 3 – Project ContextSection 4 – Project Objectives, Expected Results and Performance IndicatorsSection 5 – Implementation arrangements, Fiduciary and Safeguards Aspects

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Section 6 – Project Status and What Lies AheadSection 7 – Evaluation, Findings and ConclusionsSection 8 – RecommendationsSection 9 – Way forward

10. The Approach and Methodology section provides an overview of the approach that has been taken to carry out the evaluation in terms of the objectives of the mid term review itself. The Project Context gives a summary of the context in which the development project was set. The next section on Project Objectives, Expected Results and Performance Indicators, discusses the project objectives, the results framework and performance indicators as set out in the Project Documents. Implementation Arrangements, Fiduciary and Safeguards Aspects summarizes the implementation arrangement, the safeguards framework and fiduciary systems of the project. Details of these matters are already contained in the Project Implementation Plan [PIP]. The section on Project Status and What Lies ahead provides an overview of the project progress status at the time of reporting and discusses the implementation plan and key challenges that lie ahead. Section 7 on Evaluation Findings and Conclusions presents a range of findings from the critical review and evaluation in accordance with the MTR objectives. This section also incorporates the Lessons Learned during the period under review. Following on from the evaluation findings and conclusions, the next section on Recommendations puts forward suggestions for the successful implementation of the remainder of the project. The final section, Way Forward provides a simple outline of the steps suggested to be taken to follow up on the recommendations.

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Approach and Methodology

Overview

11. The approach to the review is primarily qualitative, backed up by quantitative evaluation. This choice has been made on the premise that the project itself is predicated upon satisficing. The success of the project depends upon the willingness of people to take water connections, and the willingness and ability of the village democratic institutions not only to implement the schemes but also to create an environment in which the villagers willingly pay for water charges and the scheme itself becomes sustainable. The quantitative aspects are concerned with the efficiency and effectiveness of the processes of procurement and financial management, which in turn are of concern as regards managerial prudence and propriety. The following subsections briefly describe the key methodological tools adopted for this MTR.

Consultation

12. In line with the underlying principles of the PRWSS, this MTR has taken place through a participatory approach in which key stakeholders, implementers, donors and beneficiaries have been consulted and given the opportunity to comment on the successes and failures of PRWSS and provide recommendations on how this project can be improved. Table 1 provides the list of people with whom discussions took place in conducting this Review. The semi-structured interviews were facilitated by the Senior Program Specialist, and a number of questions were asked in order to focus the discussions on the objectives of the evaluation. Successes and deficiencies were recorded, along with suggestions on how to improve project performance.

Table 1: List of Key persons interviewed

Name Designation

Project Authorities

Program Director

Senior Program Specialist

Head of Procurement

Head of Technical Services

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Head of Finance and Accounts

Head of Communication

Head of M&E

Executive Engineer, District Fatehgarh Sahib

Executive Engineer, District Ropar

Executive Engineer, District Mohali

Executive Engineer, DPMC, District Patiala

Executive Engineer, DPMC, District Jalandhar

Junior Engineer, DWSS, District Fatehgarh Sahib Schemes Talwara Jattan & Shahpur

Junior Engineer, DWSS, District Ropar Schemes Paprala

IEC Specialist, District Hoshiarpur

HRD Specialist, District Ludhiana

Secretary, DWSS

Joint Secretary, DWSS

Joint Secretary, Department of Finance

Task Team Leader, PRWSS,

Sr Financial Management Specialist,

In what can be considered a 360° evaluation, each of the key participants in the project provided their comments from their own perspectives. The findings from these interviews were analyzed with reference to the project

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objectives, developmental context and constraints, synthesized and a summary has been provided in the Section on Project Status. The sample forms have been enclosed as Annexes.

Document Review

13. In addition to the interviews a large number of Project documents and reports were reviewed to gain a comprehensive understanding of the context of the project, project progress, and critical issues faced and key achievements. Table 2 below lists the key documents reviewed as part of this mid-term evaluation.

Table 2: List of Key Documents consulted

1 Project Appraisal Document2 Project Implementation Plan Vols 1 and 23 Aide-memoires, World Bank4 Proceedings of the State Water and Sanitation

Mission5 Financial Management Reports6 Quarterly Management Reports7 Reports on Project Indicators8 Procurement Plan and Procurement Progress

reports9 Agenda and Minutes of Review Meetings of

Secretary, DWSS10 Minutes of meetings of selected Gram Panchayats11 Minutes of meetings of selected Gram Panchayat

Water and Sanitation Committees12 Environment Management Safeguards13 Social Consultation Reports

14. The documents listed above are the key documents that have been consulted. There are a number of other documents that have been consulted, including internal files and Notes of the SPMC, which have been referred to in the text but not listed in the above Table.

Site Inspections

15. Site inspections of a few village schemes were also undertaken to get an appreciation of the issues that the project is facing in different parts of the city and the impacts associated with the PRWSS project. The inspections were carried out at villages where schemes are in operation. Detailed discussions were held with GPWSC representatives, DWSS representatives, DPMC functionaries, and villagers. The results of the Site inspections have been collated appropriately with the results of other consultations and presented in the text of this MTR.

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Project Context

Overview

16. This section of the report provides a description of the context of the Project. It is structured in the following sub-sections, viz., (i) the overall water and sanitation situation in Punjab villages at the time of conceptualization of the project, (ii) the interventions already under way with funding from the Government of India and other agencies at the time of conceptualization, (iii) issues taken into consideration at project design stage, (iv) institutional, regulatory and management set-up as regards Rural Water Supply at the time of project design, (v) capacity assessment at project design, and (vi) the sector approach formalized by the Government of Punjab. This section of this Report draws heavily from the Project Appraisal Document of the World Bank and related reports.

Punjab Villages – Water and Sanitation pre-project situation

17. At the time of design of PRWSS it was reported that in Punjab at least 30% of the villages did not have access to basic drinking water service. The balance did have piped water systems but the customer base was low and the supply systems themselves did not perform well, and were not well maintained either. The resultant was that approximately 60% of the households in Punjab were dependent on unsafe private drinking water sources. The total system was supply driven, and resulted in high O&M costs for the government. There was practically no O&M cost recovery from the users. Overall, the impact was to make the water supply system to rural areas unsustainable.

18. On the sanitation side, the situation was, if anything, more dismal. It was estimated that only about 50% of the households had toilets. Effluent from the septic tanks flowed in open drains, degrading environmental conditions and posing serious health hazards to the village populace.

19. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation favored new construction. However quality remained at a premium. This was largely due to the need to cover more areas on tight budgets. The overall strategy being supply oriented, there was little or no participation from the users and no clear strategy or policy emerged for service management. The World Bank evaluation at that time noted that the main causes for poor sector performance included (a) a highly centralized decision-making and approvals system, (b) fragmented sector finances, (c) limited capacity for decentralization, (d) overlapping and ambiguous institutional roles within and between the sector institutions, (e) low importance of user satisfaction, and (f) weak monitoring and user feedback systems.

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Governmental interventions under way at Project Design stage

20. At the time of project design, in Punjab there were villages that had been covered by (a) the DWSS’ own program, (b) villages covered under NABARD IX, XI and [proposed at the time] XII program, (c) the Government of India’s Swajaldhara program, and (iv) the ARWSP. The covenants of PRWSS stated that all villages covered under these schemes should be brought under PRWSS under the Performance Improvement component.The current state of affairs in the other projects under execution in Punjab on Rural Water Supply is shown in Annex 14.

Issues taken into consideration at Design Stage

20. The issues that were considered at the design stage included, first of all, the fragmented state of sector finances. As stated above, villages covered under other schemes were to be brought under SWAp and a cap on investments on villages not under SWAp was also set. In realistic terms, this was the first time that the World Bank and the GoI were working together towards supporting state owned and developed sector program. Further, the sector program was to be designed under a single sector policy and internally and externally consistent implementation strategies. This was a major step in reducing fragmentation in sector finances and diverse approaches towards implementation. It was hoped that the success of this approach would eventually pave the way to unification of processes and pooling of funds.

21. The second major issue that was considered was the then current supply-driven approach. Till then, DWSS had been totally responsible for execution of all projects in service driven mode. It was realized that this approach had resulted in the users not taking ownership of pubic goods in any way. Other, reasons for changing the approach included a desire to have a more inclusive approach, which would be likely to ensure long term sustainability of the infrastructure created. It had been felt that a project that relies on the motivation of the beneficiary and his participation in the execution process, would have a far greater chance of being executed within a stipulated time and being sustainable. PRWSS was thus designed with a demand-driven approach in mind. However, at that time this had [and continues to] posed a serious risk. The risk arose from the fact that historically the farmers had never paid anything for potable water and resistance was only to be expected. This meant depending [and investing] heavily on outreach through IEC campaigns. Everything, in fact depended on the success of these campaigns and the resources that could be brought to bear [including direct investment of specialist time] on it.

22. The third major issue was that of decentralization. This in fact formed a basic premise of the Sector approach. However, decentralization did not mean [in the context of PRWSS], a simple replication of the DWSS structure down to the village level. It was realized that decentralization

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SPMC, 11/24/09,

would have to be followed in terms of the 73rd Amendment to the Indian constitution, and would have to be predicated upon empowerment of the village level organizations – the Panchayati Raj Institutions or PRIs. In the context of PRWSS, the relevant institutions would be both the GP and the [to be constituted] GPWSC. At that stage however, it was thought that full empowerment to PRIs to execute water sector projects would be possible only in the long run because of lack of capacity, and it was decided to adopt a model where the execution responsibility would be shared between DWSS functionaries and the GPWSC. Technical support would continue to be provided by the DWSS. However, given the long history of total control of project execution by the DWSS, it was thought that even this level of empowerment might conceivably go against the work culture within the DWSS, and some level of resistance was expected from that quarter as well. However, there was no choice in the matter except to rely on the diktat of the SWSM, and the attitudinal change to be driven from the top level of the political and administrative bureaucracy.

23. Other than those given above, other issues, arising from lessons learned in India as well as in other countries by various multilateral and bilateral donors and funding agencies, had been considered at the project design stage. These are briefly listed below:

Sustainability – this has been a foremost concern in almost all projects financed by donors or funding agencies. The lessons learned from various projects unequivocally confirmed that this issue is best handled by working through communities in the design, construction, and operation of various schemes. Sustainability increased when the communities were also contributors to capital costs and the regular financing of O&M costs. Thus the design of the project was also predicated upon beneficiary involvement, empowerment, contribution, and capacity building. The participation of NGOs and targeting of service to the most underprivileged areas was also seen as necessary supportive conditions in these regards.

Scale of Operation – the real challenge was also to roll out the project in this decentralized format to more than 3000 villages. While lessons learned were in the context of smaller operations, the issue was how to manage and monitor such a massive operation in a social environment that was not expected to be too supportive.

Supportive Policy Environment – this was also a lesson learnt from other projects. Ownership of the project design at political, bureaucratic and operational levels is normally a prerequisite for effective roll-out. Therefore, from the very beginning this was sought to be achieved in terms of the design. A supportive policy environment, it was felt, would go a long way. This was one of the reasons for placing great emphasis upon the Sector Approach.

Responsiveness to Felt Needs of Beneficiaries – the issue for appropriate design of the project would also be to respond to the need of the villagers for high service standards. And this would be de rigeurif the villagers were to self-select on the basis of their expressed demand through their contributions.

Integration of PRI with project design – it was realized that PR

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institutions need to be integrated with the project design from a very early stage, and that they need to be made part of the whole process through which the project evolves. There should be organic links between the concerned committees at the village level, the Gram Panchayats themselves, and the project technical support team.

Overcoming Resistance to change, building capacity and building Beneficiary motivation – The lessons from all other projects were that capacity building, increasing the level of beneficiary motivation, and overcoming resistance to change [both at beneficiary level and at the level of the bureaucracy takes time; and very often the governmental machinery itself does not have sufficient resources or in-house capacity to do these things]. Consequently, and certainly at the beneficiary level, SPMC experimented with the intervention of NGOs in 12 districts of Punjab who are working in the field because generally they have better credibility and a direct linkage with the communities. Simultaneously, the building of capacity of the project staff has also been addressed by conducting three residential training programme where eminent experts were invited.

Gender Issues – another of the lessons learnt was that women’s participation improves local ownership and the quality of implementation. This is particularly so because women are the larger users of water I a household context. Therefore their active participation should be encouraged in terms of the Project Design.

Building on previous investment – Project design should explicitly take into account the investments in ongoing or previous schemes, and should seek to enhance benefits accruing to the populace from those schemes. This meant that Performance Improvement and rehabilitation of existing or old schemes should be specifically addressed.Financials – In many projects partial financing by beneficiaries has been seen to be viable. The lesson learned from other projects was that cost recovery rules need to be simple and administration of cost recovery should be done in a user-friendly manner. Past experience also showed that recovery of O&M costs from the beneficiaries was also a viable option. However, experience also showed that nowhere in the world were communities ready to cover the costs of major repairs and/or complete replacement of the major parts of the machinery. Thus while cost recovery may be practiced in the initial project, and sustainability in terms of O&M costs also may be achieved, nevertheless complete sustainability may yet be a distant vision.

Institutional, Regulatory and Management set-up

24. In view of the issues identified and lessons learned as discussed above, the project design explicitly examined, and then rejected the alternatives of (a) having the whole project executed by the DWSS, and (b) having the whole project executed only through PRIs. The reasons for such rejection were those that have been discussed earlier. The

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Government of Punjab’s policy orientation was towards demand-responsive and decentralized service delivery responsibility, through the local institutions. The DWSS model that was current at the time was one that supported a top-down supply driven effort. This model therefore had no room for the user to either share responsibility or participate in any way in decision-making, and was thus contrary to the policy.

25. While it would have been attractive to implement through the PRIs, the situation in Punjab at the time was not such as would have permitted such a route. The risks were considered too high, and therefore this option was also rejected.

26. The model that was finally adopted was a hybrid of the two options. There would continue to be a governmental set-up which would (a) support the PRIs to implement the project, and (b) coordinate, monitor, and evaluate. The actual execution of the project, beginning with the invitation to bid and continuing through completion of civil works, commissioning and operation, would be the responsibility of the GPWSC. Government would provide help through supply of designs, soil and other investigations, and continuing facilitative and technical support. It would of course, be the government’s responsibility to conduct awareness campaigns, and to encourage GPs to join the project. Needless to say management of overall project finances would also be the responsibility of the government.

27. In terms of the above, the management set-up included the creation of a State Programme Management Cell and District Programme Management Cells. These would be the primary organs for coordinating, monitoring, evaluating, and administering the project. The Program Monitoring Cells would also have the responsibility of designing and conducting the Awareness campaigns in villages. At the village level, the Gram Panchayats would set up Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committees which would take on the responsibility of collecting beneficiary contributions, user charges, and executing the project. The DWSS machinery at the village level would provide all needed technical support, support in capacity building and handholding. The Junior Engineer from the DWSS was thus named the Technical Member of the GPWSC.

28. The specific functions of the various institutions are shown below:

Policy, annual Plans and budget approvals

State Water and Sanitation Mission (SWSM) and District Water and Sanitation Committees (DWSC

Leading and managing the reform process and outcome monitoring

DWSS Program management wing : State Program Management Cell (SPMC) and District Program Management Cells (DPMC)

Implementation and service delivery

DWSS Operations wing (ie. regular Circles/divisions/ sub divns) and Gram Panchayat Water and Sanitation Committee (GPWSC) in the Gram Panchayats

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29. Thus the DWSS was posited to have the lead responsibility for program implementation and ensuring that the program development objectives were met. The functions of managing the reform process and service delivery would devolve upon the Operations Wing of the DWSS and the GPWSC.

30. The project design built on the fact that the State and District level Water and Sanitation Missions had already been set up under the Swajaldhara program of the Government of India. They were reconstituted to expand their mandate so as to cover the total gamut of activities as per the policy of the GoP. The only new structures were the SPMC and the DPMC. However these were not divorced from the original structure of the department. They were created through the redeployment and reorganization of some of the existing divisions of DWSS, and were made an integral part of the DWSS structure.

31. The SWSM was posited as the highest policy making body in the State and is Chaired by the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary, DWSS acting as the Member-secretary. The mission includes other senior governmental functionaries of GOI and GoP, as well as three sector experts. The SPMC reports to the Principal Secretary and has an exclusive mandate to provide statewide leadership, collaboration and management of the RWSS sector reforms in the State of Punjab. Its principal functions include (a) overall program planning and management to ensure that the PDO is fully achieved in a timely manner, (b) management of the sector funds, (c) capacity building of all program partners, (d) managing IEC campaigns, (e) ensuring community empowerment and participatory framework, (f) quality of engineering design and construction, (g) increasing transparency, and (h) regular monitoring and evaluation of sector performance. The SPMC is also charged with a regular review of strategies and implementation arrangements and for ensuring proper course corrections at appropriate times. The details of the mandate and functions of the SPMC are included in the PIP.

32. At the District level the District Water and Sanitation Committees are the counterparts of the SWSM . The DWSC is Chaired by the Chairman of the Zilla Parishad and the Superintending Engineer of the DPMC is the Member-secretary. Its other members include the Deputy Commissioner or his representative, Heads of other departments in the District, representative of NGOs, and 4 sector experts. The DPMCs have been set up within the DWSS, with one for each District. The DPMC is headed by a Superintending Engineer of the DWSS. One S.E. may head more than one DPMC. The functions and mandate of the DPMC mirror that of the SPMC at the district level except for policy and the approval of District Plans. DPMC also has the responsibility for transfer of investment funds to the implementing agencies, i.e., the GPs and the GPWSCs. DPMC is also responsible for reporting on project progress to SPMC.

33. The GP, at the village level, has the responsibility to seek project assistance, and to constitute the GPWSC to take responsibility for program implementation on behalf of the user community. During the post-implementation phase, the GPs will monitor the sustainability of operations and ensure that the GPWSCs satisfactorily discharge their O&M management function including levying and collecting user charges from

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the beneficiaries. For MV schemes, GPs will be responsible for payment of bulk water charges to DWSS.

34. The Operations Wing of DWSS is responsible for (a) the development and management of common infrastructure of multi-village schemes; (b) planning and construction of community sanitation schemes with active participation of user groups, (c) upgradation of existing water supply schemes, and (d) arranging social, technical and management support to GPs and GPWSCs for all intra-village RWSS schemes and services. SPMC and DPMC have the responsibility of building the capacity of the DWSS itself. For existing water supply schemes, the role of the DWSS would be to (a) transfer single village schemes to GPs, (b) transfer intra-village works of all multi-village schemes to GPs in a Phased manner, (c) management of O&M of common infrastructure of MV schemes, (d) providing O&M backup support to GPs and GPWSCs in schemes managed by the GPWSCs. The Operations wing of the DWSS is charged with the completion of the construction of all ongoing water supply schemes before March 2009.

Capacity Assessment at Project Design

35. At the time of project design it was anticipated that the design and engineering capacity of the DWSS was limited. At that time the maximum number of designs that could be produced during a year was around 150. This had increased somewhat to around 200 by the next year [2007-08]. However considering that at least 1000 designs were needed per year to cover 3000 villages, this was obviously impossible. In that context it was decided to hire a consulting design engineering firm to do the design part.

36. The DWSS also did not have capacity to conduct procurement as per World Bank guidelines. It was realized that in order to carry out the project, procurement specialists would be needed not only at the SPMC level, but also in the various districts. This would require both recruitment and post-recruitment training.

37. The third area where capacity was adjudged inadequate was IEC. The DWSS did not have any social impact specialists and was did not have in-house capacity to design IEC campaigns. This capacity also needed to be built up within the DWSS and also through the SPMC The IEC Specialist recruited by SPMC resigned after serving for six months only whereas after gap of one year, SPMC has appointed PR and Advertisement agency for intensifying IEC campaign in the State..

38. Finally, there were two other areas where there was low capacity – project management of aided projects, and monitoring and evaluation.

39. Given the above, the project design specifically included various capacity building sub-components and in accordance with the same, actions were to be taken by the Project authorities.

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Sector Approach of the Government of Punjab

40. In the long term, the Government of Punjab proposes to have 100% water connections in all Punjab villages. The strategy aims at achieving higher service standards and private service connections to most households as well as providing modem underground waste water collection and disposal systems at an estimated cost of about US $ 1.2 billion- over a period of next 15 years. GOP however, had proposed a much more modest outlay of about USD 364 million over the medium term, which would be used in a focused and prioritized way. This lower cap had been arrived at considering the likely financing envelopes that may be available, the State’s absorptive capacity, and DWSS and rural local government’s implementation capacity.

41. The medium term program [MTP] proposed to achieve full coverage for water supply with at least basic service of 40 lpcd. In accordance with Government of India’s latest guidelines, presently all rural water supply schemes are designed with service level of 70 lpcd. Its main objectives included a) coverage of all Not Covered (NC) and Partially Covered (PC) villages to reach at least a Fully Covered (FC) status, b) ensuring sustainability of water supply services, and c) initiating measures to improve village level environmental sanitation. MTP proposed to achieve this through the empowerment of GPs and local communities for decentralized service delivery. Such empowerment would be simultaneously accompanied by institutional reforms to strengthen DWSS capacity. MTP was proposed to be financed through already assured funding of about US$ 102 M for completing the ongoing schemes and by implementing a US$ 262 M proposed SWAP program with assistance from Go1 and IDA.The SWAP program wouldfund the schemes that use the new consistent sector policy principles and implementation arrangements for all sources of financing. GoI’ future commitments and the IDA funding support with contributions from GoP and user communities will be under the proposed SWAP Program.

42. GoP’s new sector policy was approved and communicated to the World Bank (vide Chief Secretary, GoP’s letter of July 12, 2006) and the sector policy was also included in the Project Implementation Plan. A brief description of the Sector policy follows.

43. Under the Policy, GPs / GPWSCs would be responsible for planning, technology selection (type of scheme), procurement (bid invitation, award), construction and O&M management of all new Single Village (SV) water schemes and for all intra-village water supply works of Multi Village (MV) water supply schemes with capacity support from DWSS / NGOsl Private sector. The role of DWSS would mainly coverall the functions that have been detailed in the previous section.

44. Self selection of Villages based on transparent eligibility and selection criteria - determined upfront by GoP - would be adopted in each district. GPs will need to apply to DPMC endorsing the project principles to seek project support.

45. The District Annual plans for each year would be prepared by DWSC

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and approved by SWSM before the end of the previous fiscal year and included in the state budget. Thereafter, approvals of all detailed scheme reports and implementation phase proposals upto Rs.30 lakhs will be provided by DWSCs. While GP/GPWSC and DPMC would approve tenders up to the same value for SV and common infrastructure of MV schemes respectively.

46. All existing SV water supply schemes would be transferred to GPs/ GPWSCs in a time bound manner (in about 2 year’s time). For all existing MV water supply schemes, transferring intra-village O&M management and financing responsibility to GPs/ GPWSCs would be progressively completed during the project period.

47. For O&M of common infrastructure of all New MV schemes, DWSS would deploy private sector service/ management contracts as per its current practice. For O&M of SV schemes, DWSS would provide guidance to GPs/ GPWSC on entering into management contracts including billing and collections. DWSS would also gradually introduce the practice of O&M management contracts for existing MV schemes linked to natural attrition of current operating staff of DWSS.

48. O&M financing of Water Supply Schemes: For all new SV Schemes, users would finance the recurrent O&M costs (electricity bill, staff cost, chemical, minor repairs and routine maintenance). For all existing SV Schemes, full O&M cost recovery from user charges would be achieved in a phased manner. For all new MV schemes, GPs/GPWSC would finance O&M cost of intra-village water distribution system and bulk water charges as may be fixed by DWSS. DWSS would implement a phased program of installing bulk water meters at the entry to each village in all its existing MV Schemes. Through this process the DWSS would then be able to introduce water audit, better assessment of water supplied to each village, and introduction of billing based on volumetric measurement of bulk water supply in existing MV Schemes.

49. The Policy envisaged that users would finance at least 10% of capital cost irrespective of the technology choice or SV or MV schemes. The capital cost sharing by users will be at 50% of the above rule for the Scheduled Caste villages, villages in hilly areas and in international border/ flood prone zone. To ensure affordability, an upper ceiling of Rs.1500/- per house hold would be applicable for the scheme-users as a group. GPWSC can adopt internal cross subsidization if they wish. User Capital Cost Sharing for Community Sanitation : the level of user contribution to capital costs will be same as for water supply - except that up to 50 % of user contribution can come from other sources such a GP funds and private donations.

50. It is to be noted here that following the lessons learned through the implementation of the project in the last more than two years, and in consultation with the Government of Punjab and the World Bank, the beneficiary contribution ceiling per household has been reduced to Rs 800(from Rs. 1500) in general area villages and to Rs. 400 per household for villages located in the difficult areas such as kandi, bet, water logged & international border belt. For SC families, the contribution is 50% of the prescribed contribution for general category household.

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51. The policy stipulated that RWSS investment funds would be transferred by SPMC to GPs/ GPWSCs- through an independent channel of SPMC- DPMC-GPWSC (and not through DWSS divisions providing technical and monitoring support) for SV schemes and for intra-village works of MV schemes. GPWSCs would be responsible for management of investment and O&M funds for all intra-village water supply schemes (with adequate capacity support from DWSS).

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Project Objectives, Expected Results, and Performance Indicators

Overview

52. This section describes the Project Objectives, the results framework and the performance indicators that have mandated as per the Technical Annex of the Project. The project objectives and component descriptions have already been provided in the introductory section to this document. This section describes them somewhat more fully.

Project Objectives

53. The Project Development Objective and the key outcome indicators as stated in the Technical Annex to the DCA is as follows:

The Project development objective will be to assist GoP in increasing access of rural communities to improved and sustainable RWSS services. The key outcome indicators will be:

percentage of habitations in the rural areas of Punjab that are fully covered (FC) for access to drinking water;

percentageof rural households in the state with access to safe and adequate drinking water supply throughout the year; and

percentageof participating habitations having satisfactorily performing community sanitation facilities

54. Component Description – as stated earlier, the project has three main components – Component A – Program Management, Component B – Community Development, and Component C- Infrastructure building.

55. Component A has five sub-components – A1 [Institutional Costs, budget USD 31.4 mill.], A2 [Monitoring and Evaluation, budget USD 4.3 mill.], A3 [Capacity Building, budget USD 4.0 mill.], A4 [Information, Education and Communication campaign, budget USD 2.0 mill.], and A5 [Sector Development Initiatives, budget USD 1.3 mill.].

56. Component B has two sub-components – B1 [support organization fees, budget USD 14.3 million], and B2 [Consulting fees for engineering design etc for sub-components C1, C2 and C3, budget USD 10.1 mill.].

57. Component C has three sub-components – C1 [Construction and Upgrading in NC habitations, budget USD 131.7 mill.], C2 [Performance Improvements in existing schemes, budget USD 54.9 mill.], and C3 [Community Sanitation, USD 19.0 mill.].

58. Sub-component A1 finances the costs of setting up and operating the state level and district level Project Management Cells. The investment

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costs will include procurement of computers, office equipment and vehicles and a range of consultancies for technical assistance (such as for program management, M&E, IEC, capacity building, audit, construction quality monitoring). Recurring costs will include individual consultant staff salaries, all staff travel costs, and SPMC and DMPC offices’ administrative and operating costs. Costs of DWSS head offices, circles divisions etc and staff of other government departments supporting the project activities will not be financed from the program funds.

59. Sub-component A2 provides the investment for setting up a proper monitoring and evaluation system. In specific terms it finances the setting up of a management information system and its operations to support continuous program monitoring, two specific outcome monitoring surveys, documentation of good practice and the generation of periodic state and district level sector performance reports, awards for the best GPWSCs, and setting up and regular operations of Water Quality surveillance systems. There is included in this sub-component a specific provision of USD 2.2 million for Water Quality Monitoring. This investment finances the procurement of goods and equipment for upgrading the existing laboratories and the supply of field testing kits to GPs and GPWSCs. The recurring cost of water quality testing done through outsourcing [to the extent this cannot be done by DWSS and is outsourced] is financed from this component. It also includes the cost of developing computerized water quality mapping and its regular updating. The target is to test 100,000 samples in the State over the project period.

60. Sub-component A3 is on capacity building. The target for the number of training programs under this component has been pegged at 1353 under 44 modules. This includes 6 Apex modules, 8 Strategic ones, 16 intermediary modules, and 14 Grassroots modules. The investments cover costs of resource institutions and resource persons, training material and logistics costs, etc. At the village level, 60,000 persons were projected to be trained under this subcomponent, with another 30,000 becoming the direct beneficiaries of this investment. The Apex level module includes programs designed to project the key principles of the PRWSS to administrators, policy makers, political representatives and media. Strategic level modules are targeted at SPMC and other associated government departments. Intermediary programs are aimed at DPMCC, DWSS and consultants and support organizations.

61. Sub-component A4 is the pivotal prong of the whole strategy in the sense that this is the component that can bring potential beneficiaries within the project fold. It was envisaged that the IEC campaign would help at the apex level to ensure a buy-in from the public and the policy makers, at the intermediary [district and/or block]level the campaign would help in bringing in attitudinal change in the staff of the DWSS enabling them to respond pro-actively to the new environment of a demand-responsive and decentralized project. Grassroots purposes were crucial and included the effort needed to generating demand for potable water supply and sanitation on the basis of beneficiary contribution.

62. Sub-component A5 supports the development and pilot testing of new initiatives as they become relevant during the medium term program period. This includes inter alia, the strengthening of the ongoing DWSS

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initiative for engaging private sector contractors for managing WS operations, the development of district level water quality and resource maps, and the development of base topographical information on all participating habitations using total station and engineering surveys.

63. Sub-component B1 finances the contract fees of NGOs and supporting organizations [SO] for providing village level outreach actions. Thus the success of components C1, C2 and C3, will depend also upon the extent to which these SOs are effective in their own actions.

64. Sub-component B2 is used for paying costs of engineering design and construction supervision support that is needed [through consultants appointed for the purpose] for implementing sub-components C1, C2 and C3.

65. Sub-component C1 is concerned with the construction and upgrading of Water Supply Schemes in Not Covered [NC] and Partially Covered [PC] areas. This component covers about 3000 habitations in the State of Punjab. Traditionally, DWSS provides only piped water systems with two technology options: Deep tube well based schemes drawing upon ground water sources and canal based schemes drawing surface water from an extensive canal network - especially in the districts of Bhatinda, Mansa and Faridkot where the ground water is heavily polluted with high TDS, fluorides and nitrates. About 80% of habitations are expected to have ground water as source (tube well) and remaining 20% would have surface water as source (Canals). Of the total 3000 habitations, some 1000 habitations are expected to be covered with SV schemes and the rest will require MV schemes. Of the 3000 NCPC habitations, schemes for some 1000 habitations are expected to be financed from GO1 funding and the rest from Bank financed stream.

66. Sub-component C2 finances the measures taken for performance improvement in existing schemes. This sub-component supports the process of transfer of existing SV schemes and intra-village component of MV schemes to the GPWSCs through providing investments for rehabilitation and service improvements. It was originally envisaged that about 1600 habitations would be covered under this component. At the time of writing this MTR, the target has been scaled down to 800 villages, in consultation with the World Bank. This sub-component itself was broken up into two parts, C2(a) costing USD 42.9 million, and C2(b) costing USD 12 million. C2(a) funds rejuvenation and service improvements such as metering and zoning measures both in SV schemes and intra-village component of MV schemes. It also includes a District level contingency fund managed by the DPMC to meet any emergency requirements in GPWSC or DWSS managed schemes. C2(b) funds are used for the installation of de-fluoridization and reverse osmosis plants and portable water treatment plants. However, following recent decisions at the government level, the State Government will now take over the application of such new technologies in 327 locations.

67. Sub-component C3 finances works, and equipment for construction and upgradation of village drains, rehabilitation of ponds, small bore sewerage schemes.

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Expected Results

68. The Results Framework as stated in the Technical Annex, is shown below:

Project Development Indicator

Outcome Indicators Use of Outcome Indicators

Assisting GoP to increase access of rural communities to improved and sustainable RWSS services

(a) % of habitations in the rural areas of the State [and in each district] who are FC(b) % of rural households in the State and in each district who have access to safe drinking water throughout the year.(c) % of participating habitations with satisfactorily performing community sanitation services.

Assess achievement of targets and determine whether program strategy and implementation plan are working

Intermediate Results

Result Indicators for Each Component

Use of Results Monitoring

Capacity of key sector institutions to build/facilitate demand-responsive decentralized service delivery for RWSS in Punjab

(d)Participating habitations in new schemes under SWAp as a percentage of total habitations with NC or PC status(e) Participating habitations for Performance Improvements of existing SV and MV schemes as percentage of total habitations planned to be covered [cumulative habitations covered](f) % of resources disbursed to GPs that are utilized in time.

Low levels would indicate the need to review project demand, demand mobilization strategy, funds flow, procurement, and expenditure approval procedures.

Level of capacity of GP and GPWSC built for RWS service delivery

(g) % of participating GPWSCs with high or medium rating for operational sustainability of their schemes(h) % of participating GPWSCs who are able to meet full O&M costs through user charges(i) % of participating GPWSCs of MV schemes with a billing to collection ratio of >90% for bulk water charges

Assess prospects for sustainability and whether program design is working as intended. Low levels would indicate need to strengthen capacity support mechanisms and IEC for GPs/GPWSCs during planning, implementation and O&M phases

Water supply and sanitation schemes built/upgraded at appropriate construction quality standards and with minimal cost and time overruns

(j) % of water schemes under SWAp completed within planned time and costs(k) % of participating GPWSCs achieving planned service improvements in existing schemes under SWAp measured 6 months after completion(l) % of new community sanitation schemes completed within planned time and costs

Low levels would indicate need to assess adequacy of design, procurement and construction practices

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Performance Indicators

69. The key performance indicators of the project have been listed as shown in paragraph 53 above. However, these indicators are overarching ones, and a number of lower level indicators have also been used during the execution of the project to assess performance.

70. The indicators at lower levels concern the data that are needed for detailed and regular performance monitoring. As such these are more output indicators than that outcome indicators – which is what is to be expected. A list of these indicators is given below.

71. Indicators of progress of schemes of Pilot Villages:

1 No. of Villages identified for Pilot Batch2 No. of Schemes as per Sr. No. 13 No. of villages likely to be dropped 4 No. of balance villages (Sr. No. 1 - 3)5 No. of balance schemes (Sr. No.2- schemes as per Sr. No. 3 )6 No. of Schemes whose estimates has been Administratively Approved7 No. of Schemes whose estimates (DSR) has been technically

sanctioned8 No. of Schemes where 90% to 100 % beneficiary share has been

collected 9 No. of Schemes where 50% to 90 % beneficiary share has been

collected 10 No. of Schemes where below 50 % beneficiary share has been

collected 11 No. of Schemes where MoU has been signed12 No. of Schemes whose bid documents has been approved13 No. of Schemes where bids have been invited14 No. of Schemes where tenders are under process of allotment15 No. of Schemes where tenders have been allotted16 No. of Schemes commissioned17 No. of Schemes completed

72. Additionally, the following indicators have been used:

Number of villages identified – NC/PC/Total Number of Schemes for which Resolutions have been received-

NC/PC/total

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Number of villages where GPWSC have been formed Number of villages who have signed MOU Number of village where Digital Survey has been completed

73. After commissioning of schemes, the following data are collected on a continual basis:

Number of active members in the GPWSC Whether Water Quality Monitor has been trained and is

functioning Number of SC households total and those who have been provided

with house connections Number of other households, total and those who have been

provided with house connections Balance number of unconnected households as of a particular

date Rate of accretion of unconnected households to the Scheme Water supply particulars – number of hours and shifts during

which water supplied, pressure, etc. Downtime of supply, if any Adherence to preventive and routine maintenance schedules, etc.

74. At the District level a set of aggregate indicators are used, reflecting the operations over the District, as follows:

Total Villages in the District Total Villages covered by the Schemes Total number of Schemes Total Number of villages in Special Category included in the

Schemes Total Number of Households in the villages covered Total number of SC Households in the villages covered Number of Tubewell Schemes Number of Canal Schemes Number of SC Schemes Number of MV Schemes Total number of Schemes approved by DWSC Total Cost of DWSC Approved Schemes in the District Total Due from Beneficiaries Total Received from Beneficiaries Percentage of recovery of beneficiary shares Total number of Schemes for which Contracts Actually issued Total expended by the GPWSC till date Total expended by the Operations Wing till date Total number of Schemes Commissioned Total number of Schemes officially Completed

75. Regarding capacity building, indicators used reflect the number of programs organized for the participating and non-participating villages, attendance, etc. A number of indicators have also been developed for IEC activities in general.

76. However, it needs to be stated that the relation between output and outcome indicators are merely one of aggregation, as of date. This can be

35

easily observed. For more intensive monitoring of the project, it is needed to develop a separate series of outcome indicators that reflect the overall social impact. This will become more important as sanitation schemes are also implemented.

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Implementation Arrangements, Fiduciary and Safeguard Aspects

Overview

77. This section discusses the implementation arrangements including Monitoring and Evaluation arrangements, the fiduciary aspects of the project and the Environment and Social Safeguards arrangements, as per the PAD. The arrangements have already been laid down in the PIP and therefore only a brief discussion is provided for the purpose of contextualization.

Implementation Arrangements

1. Much of the institutional arrangement has already been described earlier. At the state level the State Water and Sanitation Mission chaired by Chief Secretary undertakes state level co-ordination and overall monitoring of the programme. The composition of SWSM is as follows:

Chief Secretary, Chairman. Secretary Deptt. Of Finance. Secretary Deptt. Of Rural Development. Secretary Deptt. Of Power. Secretary Deptt. Of Irrigation. Secretary Deptt. Of Planning. Secretary Deptt. Of Education. Secretary Deptt. Of Health. 3 experts in the field of Water Supply and Sanitation sector. The Principal Secretary, DWSS -Member Secretary.

The functions of the SWSM have already been described earlier.

78. The DWSS, which in terms of the project had the tasks of (a) Overall RWSS programme management including Information Education and Communication (IEC) and monitoring and evaluation of activities outcomes and impacts, (b) Development and management of common infrastructure of Multi Village water supply with improved financial and operational performance, (c) Arranging social, technical, management and capacity building support to the GPs, community based organisations and user groups and (d) Planning and construction of community sanitation schemes with the participation of user groups, was remodelled to create two independent channels within and under the overall supervision, guidance and monitoring of Minister and Principal Secretary, DWSS, namely “Programme Facilitation and Monitoring Wing” and “Operations Wing” to facilitate smooth execution of the project.

79. The arrangement regarding program facilitation and monitoring – consisting of the SPMC, the DPMC and GPWSC, has already been described earlier. The Operations Wing was largely the current DWSS set-up with

37

Regional Chief Engineers and existing offices of Circles, Divisions and Sub-Divisions. The Operations Wing will be responsible for programme implementation at the field level.

80. The overall institutional model is shown schematically below [following the PIP].

State Water and Sanitation Mission

State Level

Key Roles SWSM

- Provide policy guidelines - Overall monitoring - Approving State Annual

plans - Convergence &

Coordination

District Level

District Water Sanitation Committee

Key Roles of DWSC - Prioritising Schemes and

Villages - Recommending District

Annual Plan - Approving Implementation

Phase Proposals - Coordination

Gram Sabha/Users

Gram Panchayat

GPWSC

Sub Divisional Engineer

J E

SO/VST

Chief Engineers (3) State Program Management Cell

Program Director

District Program Management Cell

Executive Engineers

Role of GPWSC - Planning, Construction and O

& M of SV schemes (all intra village works of MV schemes)

- Tender approval and awarding contracts up to Rs.30lakhs for SV schemes

Role of GS/ Users - Select GPWSC

members - Community

Contribution - User Charges

GP Level

Superintending Engineers

Principal Secretary, DWSS

Key Functions of SO/VST - Technical and Financial

support - Community Mobilisation

support - Sanitation and hygiene

Promotion

Operations Wing Facilitation Wing

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The Key roles of the Facilitation and Operations Wings are as follow:

Key Roles Facilitation Wing Key Roles Operations Wing

Entity Roles Entity Roles

SPMC

- Over all Program Planning & Mgt.

- Fund Flow Management- Capacity Building, IEC - Quality Control, M & E,

Reporting

Chief Engineer - Head Regional Operations

Superintending Engineer

- Lead District level Programme Management,

- Head District Operations

DPMC

- District level Program Planning & Mgt

- Achieving Dev. Objective.- Fund Flow Management- Capacity Building, IEC - Quality Control, M & E

Executive Engineer

- Divisional level Operations- Planning, Construction and O&M of MV schemes common facilities

- Integrated Engineering & software support to GPWSC for SV schemes, intra village facilities

SDEs/JE - Same as that of EE but in their own

81. The detailed organizational structure of the SPMC has already been shown in the PIP. The key responsibilities are:

Overall programme planning and management Be responsible for achieving the development objectives of the

programme Setting up and guiding the functioning of the District Project

Management Cell Consolidating annual work plans Consolidating periodic progress reports Liaison with Government of India, World Bank, other agencies Financial management and audit HRD including Hiring of specialists Fund flow management and fund releases State-level IEC campaigns Procurement of goods, works and services at SPMC level and

guiding DPMC and GPWSCs on procurement guidelines Overseeing implementation of Environmental Management

Framework Knowledge Management Water Resources planning and management Monitoring, Learning, impact evaluations and MIS Informing Executive Committee the key activities of the Unit Controlling quality of works /Processes

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82. The original manning plan as suggested in the PIP for the SPMC was as follows:

Sl No. Designation

No. of Positio

ns

Rank / Positio

nMode of Appointment

1 Programme Director – SPMC

1 CE Rank Contractual appointment by GOP

2 Senior Programme Specialist

1 SE Rank Contractual appointment by GOP

Technical Unit

3 Executive Engineer 1 EE Deployed from DWSS as additional post

4 Sub Divisional Engineer

2 SDE Deployed from DWSS as additional post

Procurement Unit

5 Executive Engineer 1 EE Deployed from DWSS as additional post

6 Sub Divisional Engineer

1 SDE Deployed from DWSS as additional post

7 Procurement Specialist 1 Contract appointment by DWSS

Finance and Administration Unit8 Joint Controller of

Finance and Accounts1 On deputation from Finance

Department

9 Finance Manager 1 Contract appointment by DWSS

10 Administrative Assistant

1 Contract appointment by DWSS

11 Accounts Assistants 2 Contract appointment by DWSS

Communication and Capacity Development Unit (CCDU)12 Executive Engineer 1 EE Deployed from DWSS as existing

post13 Sub Divisional

Engineer1 SDE Deployed from DWSS as existing

post

14 Junior Engineer 1 JE Deployed from DWSS as existing post

15 Human Resource Development


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Specialist

16 IEC Specialist 1 Contract appointment by DWSS

17 Community Mobilization Specialist


18 Community Development Specialist


19 Media Specialist 1 Contract appointment by DWSS

M&E Unit20 Unit Co-ordinator 1 SE Rank Contractual appointment by

GOP21 Asst. Co- ordinator 1 SDE Deployed from DWSS as

additional post22 Senior MIS Specialist 1 Contract appointment by DWSS

23 IT Specialist 1 Contract appointment by DWSS

Support Staff24 Data Entry Operators 4 Contract appointment by DWSS

25 Other Support Staff 4 Contract appointment by DWSS

26 Drivers 2 Contract appointment by DWSS

83. As stated earlier, thedistrict level arrangement consists of establishing District Water Sanitation Committee and a District Programme Management Cell.

84. The District Water Sanitation Committee consists of the following members:

Chairperson, Zila Parishad – Chairman District Programme Director ,DPMC – Member Deputy Commissioner or his representative not below the rank of

Additional Deputy Commissioner, (Development) - Member One representative from the Zila Parishad- Member Two representatives from Panchayat Samiti – Members Two representatives from Gram Panchayats – Members Central Ground Water Board Representative- Member District Health Officer – Member District Education Officer- Member Executive Engineer, Punjab State Electricity Board (concerned with

RWSS) – Member District Development and Panchayat Officer – Member Executive Engineers of the Operation Wing, RWSS – Members One NGO representative who are working in Water and Sanitation

Sector 3 Experts from Water Supply and Sanitation Sector

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District Programme Specialist, DPMC – ConvenorSpecial Invitees MPs in the District MLAs in the District

85. The District Water Sanitation Committee have the following responsibilities:

Selection of villages for programme implementation Approval of District Annual Plans

Provide an enabling environment including co-ordination with other district level agencies for the implementation of sector programme and achievement of sector objectives

86. The DPMC is responsible for carrying out the facilitation functions at the district level including building capacity of the Operations Wing. Organizationally the DPMC isbe the counterpart unit of the SPMC at District level. The Superintending Engineers will head the DPMCs. Since there are 11 circles in the state and 20 districts, some of the Superintending Engineers head DPMCs in more than one district. The Superintending Engineers will be assisted in their activities by a District Programme Specialist, who will be an Executive Engineer.

87. The structure of the DPMC is as follows:

88. IEC and HRD Specialists are attached in the Communication and Capacity Development Unit. Procurement Assistant is attached to the Procurement Unit, and a MIS specialist is attached to the M&E Unit.

89. The DPMC has a number of functions, including:

District level programme planning and management Be responsible for achieving programme development objectives

at the district level Consolidating District annual work plans Compiling District progress reports Fund Management and Release to GPWSCs Financial management and audit District level communication campaigns Procurement of goods, works and services at DPMC level Guiding and building capacity of GPWSC on procurement aspects Establishment and guidance to GPWSC Monitoring, Learning, Evaluations and MIS Implementation of Capacity building action plan

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Didstrict Programme Director S.E.

Distt Program SpecialistXEN

Technical

IEC Unit

Finance and Administration Unit

M&E Unit

Implementation of environmental management framework Assuring Process Quality Empanelling NGO/NGI for support to GPWSC

90. The District Program Director has the responsibility of both the facilitation function as well as the operations function. The District Program Specialist under him is responsible for the day to day coordination and management of all district level staff and programs. He is also required to coordinated the formulation of district level annual work plans and take charge of field level operations and resolve implementation problems at the village level. The Technical Unit has a Sub-Divisional Engineer and 2 Junior/Asstt. Engineers, seconded from the DWSS. The Technical unit has no role in the operation or execution of schemes. Its primary responsibilities are to (a) Guide the Operations Wing and GPWSC on design parameters, technical standards etc., (b) Periodically updating and circulating Technical Manual, (c) organize technical capacity building programs, (d) assist the GPWSCs in getting technical support through Operations Wing or through technical service providers, (e) certify the reaching of technical milestones at village level, (f) Empanelment of district level environmental experts and implementation of environment management framework, (g) Assist the District Programme Specialist in procurement of works, goods and service, (h) guide GPWSCs in community procurement activities including procurement of works, and (i) guide the GPWSCs in operation and maintenance of schemes including implementation of PHP contracts.

91. The key responsibilities of the IEC unit or the Communication and Capacity Development Unit are to (a) Co-ordinate and guide the activities of SO / VST and arrange for their capacity building, (b) Co-ordinate with the umbrella / regional Support Organization (c) Implement district level IEC activities, (d) Build the capacity of Operations Wing of DWSS on community participation, tools and techniques, (e) Guide the Operations Wing on community participation and (f) Ensure equity, inclusion and accountability aspects in programme implementation

92. The specific responsibilities of the Finance Unit include

Preparation of district annual plans and budgets Preparation and submission of periodic reimbursement claims to

SPMC Release of funds to Operations Wing and GPWSC Preparation of Financial Progress Reports Implementing social accountability and transparency framework

93. The Maintenance and updating of all district level databases including approved DSRs, tripartite agreements, fund releases, preparation of all monitoring reports including periodic progress reports, process documentation and the undertaking of all monitoring activities for program implementation are the responsibilities of the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.

94. The Circles, Divisions and Sub-Divisions of the DWSS constitute the Operations Wing. The Operations Wing will undertake the entire engineering operations including planning, construction and O&M of

43

common facilities of Multi Village schemes as well as providing integrated software and engineering support to the GP/GPWSCs for both water supply and sanitation schemes including intra village schemes/works of Multi Village schemes. Wherever required, the Executive Engineer of the Operational Divisions will help the GPWSC to hire technical assistance.The key responsibilities of operations wing are:

Undertaking field data collection and detailed surveys Preparing rough cost estimates Assisting GPWSC in selection of technology Preparation of Detailed Scheme Report (DSR) Awarding turnkey contracts of Multi Village schemes- common

facilities Operation and maintenance of common facilities in Multi Village

schemes Supply bulk water to villages and levy bulk water charges Assisting GPWSC in preparation of bids, award of works etc. for

Single Village schemes and intra village component Multi Village schemes

Internal auditing and passing bills for clearing payment to contractors

Empanel Technical Service Providers/Design Consultants to be hired by GPWSC

Assuring Works Quality

95. At the village level, as earlier stated the most important institution is the GPWSC. Under Section 25 of the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994 makes provision for constitution of Amenities Committee to perform functions of public health, public works and such other functions of the Gram Panchayat. The GPWSC is thus constituted as a recognized body.The Sarpanch is the ex-officio chairperson of the GPWSC, which consists of a minimum of 11 members and maximum of 21 members depending upon the village population. Three Panches of the GP are also ex-officio members in the GPWSC. The Gram Sabha directly selects the remaining members of the GPWSC. One third of the GPWSC members are women, one fifth of the members from Scheduled Caste and Backward Class persons and one third from BPL or landless families. The GPWSC members select a Secretary and Treasurer. The Junior Engineer of the DWSS in-charge of the village is the technical member cum convenor of the GPWSC. The key responsibilities of the GPWSC are as follow:

i. Planning for the water supply and sanitation related investments in the village

ii. Selecting cost effective and feasible technology and schemes iii. Approval of schemes and tenders up to Rs. 30 Lakhs in respect of

Single Village schemes. iv. Mobilising community contribution v. Construction and operation and maintenance of Single Village

schemes, small Multi Village schemes and intra-village components of Multi Village schemes including inviting bids, awarding contracts, contract management etc.

vi. Management of programme funds for programme executionvii. Maintaining books of accounts viii. Deciding on the O&M arrangements either through engaging own

staff or contracting out to private contractors.

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ix. Levying user charges and full financing of O&M expenditurex. Maintaining transparency and cost effectiveness in all

transactions xi. Ensuring inclusion of all sections of the village community in

programme activities and equitable distribution of benefits. 96. Byelaws detailing the rules of business of the GPWSC have already been developed. In order to achieve a smooth functioning of the schemes, anMoU is always signed among these three parties outlining the roles and responsibilities to be undertaken in the case of Single Village Schemes. The format of the MOU appears in the Annexes to this document.

97. In the case of Multi Village Schemes, a joint committee of the participating GPs is constituted. The Scheme Level Continue has all the Chairpersons of the GOWSC that have joined to form the Scheme Level committee as its Members. The Sarpanch of the village where the waterworks is located is the President of the Committee, and the Junior Engineer responsible for that village acts as the Member-secretary. Necessary G.O. in this regard has been published.

98. In cases when the village community decide to go in for multi village scheme, the GP passes a resolution. Once the GPWSC is constituted, the GP recognizes the GPWSC through another resolution. Thereafter the GPWSC passes a resolution nominating its members to become members of the Scheme Level Committee. Once the SLC is constituted, the GPWSC passes another resolution recognizing the SLC.

99. The GPWSC prepares an Implementation Phase Proposal. The DPMC appraises the Implementation Phase Proposal and recommends for approval by the DPWSC. GPWSC gets the services of Support Organizations , which supplement the engineering skills of the SDE / JE at the village level. The SO provides social mobilization and participatory skills.

100.Responsibility Matrix – The sharing of responsibilities for implementing various tasks as identified in the project cycle among the institutional entities in the implementation arrangement is summarized below:

Sr. No.

Activities

Organisational entity

A. Pre Planning Phase Activities1 State Level Campaign P

2 District Level Campaign S P

3 Block Level Campaign P P P

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4 Village Selection P

5 Single/Multi Village Scheme - Choice P P

6 SO /VST Selection P

7 Orienting VST/SO P P

B. Planning Phase 8 Village Level IEC Campaign P P

9 GPWSC Formation P P

10 Capacity Building of GPWSC P S

11 Formation of Scheme Level Committee (For MV Schemes) P S

12 Participatory WATSAN Situation Analysis S P S

13 Pre Feasibility Study of Technical Option P S

14 Preparing Line Estimates - SV Schemes & Intra-Village of MV P S

15 Preparing Line Estimates-Common facility of MV P S S

16 Selecting Technology Options P S

17 Mobilizing Community Contribution S P

18 Obtaining Administrative Approval from Principal Secretary P S

19 Engineering Survey P S S

20 Preparing DSR P

21 Preparation of Drainage and Environmental Sanitation Plan P P S P

22 Preparing O&M Plan P S P

23 Preparing Implementation Phase Proposal S P

24 Scheme Appraisal P

25 Signing Tripartite MoU/Quadrilateral MOU for MV schemes P S S S P P

C. Implementation Phase

46

26 Preparing DNIT P S S

27 Inviting Tenders- SV Schemes and Intra-village facilities S P

28 Inviting Tenders- MV Schemes P S

29 Processing Tenders P S S S

30 Signing Agreement with Contractor- SV & Intra village S P

31 Signing Agreement with Contractor- Common Facility -MV P

32 Fund Releases-To GPWSC-SV and Intra Village P

33 Fund Releases-To Divisions for MV P

34 Supervising Construction of Water Supply Schemes P S S

35 Supervising Construction of Sanitation / Drainage Schemes P S

36 Measuring Works P S S

37 Preparation of Bills P

38 Pre Audit of Bills P S

39 Technical Approval of Bills P S

40 Releasing Payments to Contractors-SV Schemes S P

41 Releasing Payments to Contractors-MV Schemes P

42 Preparing and submitting UC S P

43 Maintaining Books of Accounts P S

44 Preparation of Scheme Completion Reports (Technical) P S S

45 Displaying Key Information S P

D. Operation and Maintenance Phase46 Training on O&M Activities P P

47 Fixing Tariff S S P

47

48 Fixing Bulk Water Tariff P S

49 Collecting Tariff –Bulk Water P

50 Collecting Tariff from Users P

51 Maintaining Books of Accounts P S

52 Monitoring for Sustainability P S S

53 Impact Evaluation P S S

P: Primary responsibilityS: Secondary responsibility

Fiduciary Aspects

101.The SPMC is responsible for the overall FM arrangements of the program. There is a separate finance unit within the SPMC charged with this task. The SPMC has the responsibilities for (a) compiling and consolidating the annual budget of various districts and submitting to the GoP for budget sanction, (b) receiving program funds from the Government of Punjab and releasing the same to the DPMC and divisions in accordance with agreed annual plans, (c) compiling and preparing quarterly FMR and submitting the same to the concerned authorities, (d) arranging for audit of accounts and follow-up on ATRs, and (e) capacity building of the DPMC on financial management.

102.The DPMC is responsible for the FM functions at the district level. The specific financial management functions at the DPMC level are (a) Preparing the district level annual action plans, (b) Receive funds from SPMC and disburse the same to the Divisions (in respect of common infrastructure of Multi Village Schemes) and GPWSC, (c) Maintain records of DSRs and fund releases to GPWSC and Divisions, (d) Compile activity and expense statements of programme activities relating to GPWSC and Divisions, and (e) Enter into Tripartite MoU with GPWSC.

103.At the village level the GPWSC is responsible for program implementation. As such, the GPWSC draws its powers from MOU signed between GPWSC, GP and DWSC. GPWSC will be undertaking various financial management functions. For Financial Management, the following have been laid down for the GPWSC:

The GPWSC will maintain separate bank account for capital and O&M funds. The bank account will be operated under joint signatures of the GPWSC Chairman and the Secretary.

The GPWSC will follow a simple manual system of book keeping and reporting. The system covering community procurement, financial arrangement (covering aspects relating to capital costs and O&M accounting) and disclosure and transparency has been documented in the form of a Community Financial Management

48

Manual. The Financial Management Manual has been prepared in vernacular language and distributed to the GPWSCs where works are in progress. The key aspects of accounting and reporting will also be disseminated through other media like, posters. The Finance Unit of the DPMC will build the capacity and handhold the GPWSC in correctly maintaining the records.

The GPWSC will maintain the books of accounts including vouchers, activity ledger, contribution register etc. The books of accounts have been prescribed in the FMM for both the construction phase and the O&M phase of the program at the GPWSC.

The GPWSC will be permitted to engage the services of an Accountant to maintain the books of accounts and records and get them audited as per the systems and procedures laid down in the Financial Management Manual. The Accountant will undertake the following functions:

Prepare Budget for GPWSC and submit to DPMC Record transactions and maintain up to date and accurate

books of accounts Maintain vouchers and supporting documents Prepare request for release of funds and follow up for timely

release from DPMC. Account installments received from DPMC Process contractors’ payment and ensure timely and accurate

payment. Make necessary deductions and ensure timely depositing of statutory dues

Obtain copies of bank statement/ regular updating of bank passbook. Prepare monthly Bank Reconciliation Statement.

Maintain necessary records of contribution received from the community and issue receipts thereof.

Get financial statements audited/ certified by the auditors (Concurrent Financial Review) and ensure its timely submission to DPMC

Make available records for audit/inspections and ensure timely audit from Statutory Auditors

Report to DPMC as per the reporting requirements laid down in the manual

Ensure adequate disclosure of information through display boards etc. in the village as per requirements laid down in the Financial Management Manual.

Co-ordinate with Chairman-GPWSC, other members of GPWSC and Panchayat Secretary on matters of accounts, audit and reporting

Assist GPWSC in procurement of contracts and goods Ensure compliance with systems and procedures laid down in the Community Financial Management Manual

The Finance Unit of the DPMC will build the capacity of Accountant, GPWSC members and GP Secretaries in book keeping, reporting, bank operations, bank reconciliation and maintenance of records, audit certification and social audit.

SPMC will engage 2-3 firms of Chartered Accountants who will cover the entire state for undertaking Concurrent Financial Audit

49

of the GPWSC. The release of second and subsequent installments of funds to the GPWSC shall be subject to the certification of interim expenditure statements by the Concurrent Financial Auditors.

The program funds will be released to the GPWSC against approved DSRs. The GPWSC will sign a tripartite MoU with the GP and DPMC specifying the terms and conditions for release of each installments. Funds will be released to GPWSCs by the DPMC in tranches on fulfillment of the conditions of the MOU.

Transparency of programme implementation will be ensured through (i) all books of accounts, expenditure statements and financial records are available to all the members for viewing, (ii) information on scheme approval, funds received, payments made, balances etc. is publicly displayed at prominent place in the village at all times and updated regularly. The concurrent financial audit will monitor compliance of these aspects

104.The general fund flow arrangement for the program is shown below. The World Bank makes available its contribution for the project funds into the Special Account. A Special Account has been opened by GoI with the Reserve Bank of India to receive funds under the project from the World Bank. The World Bank had released the initial advance in the special account and subsequently has continued to replenish the special account based on the actual expenditure for the quarter reported in the quarterly Financial Monitoring Reports (FMRs) submitted by SPMC in the specified agreed formats.

105.GoI thereafter transfers the Rupee equivalent of the funds credited into the Special Account to the Consolidated Fund of GOP within 2- days on a back to back arrangement.

106.The GoP allocates funds to DWSS for the Medium Term RWSS Program as part of its annual budgetary allocation. The Finance Department of the GoP, based on the annual work plan and on request of funds requirement by DWSS, releases funds to the Principal Secretary, DWSS in the form of Letter of Credit (LoC). Principal Secretary, in turn releases LoC to the SPMC for its own office requirements. SPMC releases LoC to DPMCs based on the Quarterly Work Plans in the form of LoC, upon due approval of the Program Director.In respect of the Multi Village Schemes (MVS) executed by the DWSS divisions, DPMC allocates LoC to the respective divisions based on the quarterly work plan.

107. In respect of the Single Village Schemes and the Intra village component of the MVS, the DPMC transfers funds to the GPWSC into their bank account. A Tripartite MoU to be signed among GP, GPWSC and DPMC specifies conditions of release of funds to the GPWSC.

108. The conditions of release of programme funds are summarized in the Table below:

Instalment No

Amount of Instalment

Condition for Release of Instalment

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Instalment – I

40% of the approved DSR*

Mobilization of 100% of the community capital contribution

Signing of MoU Signing of the contract with the

contractor Accounts assistant in place

Instalment – II

Balance 40% of the approved DSR *#

Submission of utilization certificate utilizing 60% of the first instalment and verified by third party

Instalment – III


Submission of utilization certificate utilizing 60% of the first and second instalment and verified by third party

Instalment –Final


Scheme Completion Report prepared and accepted

* In case of Multi Village Schemes, ‘approved DSR’ equals to the amount towards Intra-village assets.# While releasing tranches subsequent to the release of the first tranche, necessary adjustments are to be made to ensure that the amount of funds released for the scheme do not exceed the contract value.

In addition to the above certain sum shall be allowed to the GPWSC for meeting the cost of the Accounts assistant and minimum office expenses subject to a specified monetary limit to be decided by DPMC.

109. Community contributions are received by the GPWSC as per the rates laid down in the “User Cost Sharing Principles”. The community contribution shall be received in cash only towards the capital costs of the scheme and are deposited into the GPWSC bank account. The funding by DPMC to GPWSC are net of community contribution.

110. A Financial Management Manual detailing the accounting and financial management processes and procedures in respect of various implementing agencies has been prepared.The financial and accounting policies contained in this manual supplement the policies and procedures given in State Financial Rules. For the SPMC and the DPMCs, the standard prevalent DWSS accounting mechanism are used to account for the PRWSS program. The books of accounts are maintained manually on a cash basis.For the GPWSCs, the financial management manual which documents the accounting system including the cashbooks and other registers (including stock and asset registers) for the program has been prepared and implemented. A Chart of Accounts has been developed to enable data to be captured and classified by budget heads and program components/activities. This matches with the classification of expenditures and sources of funds indicated in the program documents.

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111. For the program, the SPMC, DPMCs, Division offices and GPWSCs are the primary accounting centers. The normal governmental accounting system is followed applying national Accounting Standards in each of the accounting centers except for the GPWSC, which follows a double-entry accounting system. Funds released to the GPWSC are treated as Grant in Aid eligible for World Bank funding on release of tranche to the GPWSC. The advances are monitored separately through advance register. Assets both acquired and constructed are valued at their full cost inclusive of the beneficiary's contribution. The Financial Management System provide guidelines for classification, custody, security, disposal and annual verification procedures of fixed assets.

112. The key features of the accounting and reporting arrangement of each of the accounting centres are summarized below:

InstitutionAccounting and reporting responsibilities

GPWSC An accounting centre of the program. Receive funds as advance from DPMC for

implementation of the programme. Maintains the books of accounts on double

entry system and follows cash system of accounting.

Reports to DPMC at the time of release of next tranche and at the end of the implementation phase as per the tripartite agreement

Divisional office An accounting center of the programme. Incurs expenditure for both inside and outside

SWAp Activities. Funds for the SWAp expenditure is received

from DPMC. For Non SWAp the funds are received from DWSS directly .

Prepares its own books of accounts as per the Government accounting rules. Also maintain additional books of accounts as detailed in Financial Mamagement Manual

Reports to DPMC on Quarterly basis for expenditure incurred inside SWAp as per the reporting formats prescribed in the FMM.

Non-SWAP Expenditure is reported separately as per the existing requirement.

InstitutionAccounting and reporting responsibilities

DPMC An accounting centre of the programme. Incurs expenditure only under SWAp. Prepares its own books of accounts as per the

Government accounting rules. Also maintain additional books of accounts as detailed in Financial Management Manual

Consolidates the expenditure reports received

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from Divisional office for each programme separately (tranche released to the GPWSC being treated as Grant in Aid and already accounted for in DPMCs books, requires no consolidation)

Reports to SPMC on Quarterly basis as per the formats prescribed in the FMM

SPMC An accounting centre of the programme. Incurs expenditure only under SWAp. Consolidates the expenditure reports received

from DPMC with it’s own expenditure for each programme separately.

Reports to World Bank on Quarterly and annual basis as per the Financial Monitoring Reports formats prescribed in the FMM.

113. A comprehensive training programme for financial management capacity building is included in the Capacity Building Plan for various participants in the programme. These consist of GPWSC members, Asst. Accountants at GPWSCs, concerned finance staff at divisions & DPMCs, executive engineers and finance staff at SPMC. It is envisaged that three different level training has been prepared.

114. The various internal reports produced are shown below:

S.No Title of Report Report No. Periodicity By when Prepared by Submitte

d to

1. Fund Reconciliation Statement

GR-1 Need Based

Before release of next tranche and also on completion of the implementation phase

GPWSC DPMC

2. Activity wise statement of Expenditure

GR-2 -do- -do- GPWSC DPMC

3. Trial Balance for the period

GR-3 -do- -do- GPWSC DPMC

4. Fund Reconciliation Statement

DR-1 Quarterly 7th of the following month

DO DPMC


DR-2 Quarterly 7th of the following month

DO DPMC

6. Source & application of DP-1 Quarterly 15th of following DPMC SPMC

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funds month


DP-2 Quarterly 15th of following month

DPMC SPMC

8 Program Trial Balance DP-3 Quarterly 15th of following

monthDPMC SPMC

115. The DPMC produces the External reports as detailed below. The SPMC consolidates these reports at the state level and submits to the World Bank. The annual reports are audited and the audited statements submitted to the World Bank.

S.No Title of Report Report

No.Periodicity By When

Quarterly reports

1. Consolidate Sources and utilization of funds R-1 Quarterly 30th of following month

2. Consolidate Activity wise Statement R-2 Quarterly 30th of following month

3. Source & application funds for each programme

R-3 Quarterly 30th of following month

4. Activity wise statement of Expenditure for each programme.

R-4 Quarterly 30th of following month

Annual Reports

1 Consolidated –Annual financial Statement A-1 Annual 30th August of following Year

2 Programme wise annual financial statement A-2 Annual 30th August of following Year

3 Expenditure by Sub Component –Consolidated

A-3 Annual 30th August of following Year

4. Statement of Reconciliation of Reimbursements

A-4 Annual 30th August of following year

116. Audit Arrangements - The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) through its offices in Punjab is the statutory auditor for the project. The CAG’s office conducts an annual audit of the operations of the Project. The audit report is submitted to the Bank within six months of the close of each financial year.SPMC, DPMCs and Division offices (implementing the MVS) are subject to internal auditing. The audit is conducted on a quarterly basis, with the quarterly reviews focusing on key internal control functions. The auditor is required to provide a quarterly and annual management letter/Inspection Report to SPMC management, highlighting findings during the audit.

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117. User Cost Sharing Principles- the User cost sharing principles and formulae as at the time of project design are given below. Since then, some changes have been made in the cost sharing rules, which shall be discussed in the Section on project actions. These original Rules are given only for the purpose of Reference.

Capital Costs . As an expression of their commitment to participation and ownership in the scheme, beneficiaries will contribute to the capital cost of the scheme. While the program will follow the GoI’s Swajaldhara principle of 10% contribution from the users, relaxations have been made for some communities taking into account the socio-economic and geo-physical as well as spatial differentials. Some 1,500 habitations (a little over 30% of the total) were to be benefited out of this discounting.

O&M. The O&M cost for all SV schemes will include electricity charges, chemicals, oil and lubricants, staff for O&M, and insurance charges for source sustainability where applicable. O&M cost for MV schemes will in addition, include bulk water charges payable to DWSS on volumetric basis at tariff to be fixed by DWSS for such supplies. Detailed cost sharing rules are enumerated below:

Water Supply Cost Sharing (% of total costs)

Remarks

O&M and Water supply1. New SV schemes

100 % by users GPWSCs will set a tariff adequate enough to cover the full O&M cost from the users

2. New MV Schemes 100% by users DWSS will make bulk supplies on volumetric basis and levy water charges to GPWSCs based on tariff for such bulk supplies to be fixed by DWSS from time to time.

3. Transferred SV Schemes

100% by users O&M cost may exclude the cost of staff deployed by DWSS which will be progressively phased out over a period of time

4. Existing MV Schemes

100% by users Same as for new MV schemes but implemented progressively linked to new investments for scheme upgradations and transfer of intra village distribution responsibility to GPs/ GPWSCs

B.COMMUNITY SANITATION (Open drains, small bore sewers, ponds rehab.)

100% by users GPWSC shall recover from the users.

O&M will be through a service contract.

II Investments

A. WATER SUPPLY

% of Construction Costs

1. All water supply 10 % by users (a) Capital cost shall include common

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Schemes for all Technology Options including SV and MV schemes and other technologies like Reverse Osmosis etc.

subject to a maximum of Rs.1,500 per household

infrastructure from source to distribution pipes, but exclude the cost of house connections and consumer meters

(b) Notified SC habitations, International Border Villages, and Hilly Villages – 5% (SC habitation is defined as per GoP definition of SC habitations)

(c ) Community contribution will not be met from other funds such as GP funds, MPLADs, NRIs, etc.

(d) Household service connection will entail a minimum of Rs.500 /(250 for SC) as connection fee.

(e) Actual cost of taking connection and meter will be borne by the respective household.

(f) GPs will make available land for the facilities. Public lands will not be counted against ‘contribution’.

g) In the case of MV schemes, the village offering land shall be compensated duly by other benefiting villages. The GP offering lands shall pay 30% less and the same shall be borne duly by the other GPs.

B. COMMUNITY SANITATION

% of Construction Costs

Remarks

2. Community Sanitation – Drainage schemes

10% by users

subject to a maximum of Rs.1,500 per household

Sanitation contribution will be separate from that for water supply.

Program will finance only the common facility, and all household specific investments will be borne by the respective household.

In the case of small bore sewers, scheme will not be taken up unless at least 70% of the households are ready with Inspection Chamber and ready for connection to the common facility.

SC habitations, International Border Villages, and Hilly Villages – 5%

Other funds such as GP’s external funds, MPLADs, NRI donation etc. can be used to meet the ‘contribution’ up to 30% of the total. GP’s own revenue can contribute an additional 20%. Remaining 50% will be from the users.

The GPWSC have to pay 50% of their share of capital cost at the time of giving written consent to join the project. The balance 50% is to be given before the invitation of bids for construction of the scheme.

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Procurement

118. The GP/GPWSC and DWSS will be authority for all types of procurement such as goods, works and consulting services for the implementation of the project. The procurement will be undertaken in accordance with World Bank guidelines on procurement.

119. There were certain specific agreements with the Bank at the time of project approval as follow:

Initially for 5 water supply schemes under the pilot project, both single and multi level villages, whether tube well based or canal based, procurement for civil works will be carried by the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation on turnkey basis, wherein, all materials and labour components will be arranged by the Contractor. Initially for five pilot villages, the Bid document and the Evaluation Reports shall be subject to prior review by World Bank.

In addition first contract by GPWSC on single responsibility basis and first contact in four packages (construction of OHSR; drilling and installation of tubewell; providing an installation of machinery; providing and laying of water supply distribution system), if awarded separately by the GPWSC will also be subject to prior review.

Bank’s prior clearance shall be obtained in all contracts where contract value exceeds the original contract value beyond 15% as well as for granting extension in stipulated time period for performance of the Contract.

Copies of agreements of the Field Review Contracts are not to be forwarded to the Bank. However, the information shall be compiled at the Division level in the format specified by the Superintending Engineers for Divisions under their jurisdiction and sent to the Bank through the Program Director. These will be reviewed selectively by visiting Bank’s Supervision Mission.

Information in respect of works executed on Force Account shall be compiled at the Division level in specified form by Superintending Engineer’s for the Divisions under their jurisdiction and sent to Bank through the Program Director.

Information on the value of procurement mode under Shopping procedure shall be complied at Divisional level in the specified form and consolidated by the Superintending Engineer’s for Divisions under their jurisdiction and sent to the Bank through the Program Director.

The procurement implementation strategy included:o To transfer project funds to all single village water supply

schemes, intra village components of multi village water supply schemes and sanitation programmes to the GPWSC

o To decentralize decision making including scheme approval to the District and GPWSC level

o The community procurement guidelines will be translated into vernacular and supplied to all GPWSCs. The GPWSC members and procurement sub committee

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members of the GPWSC will be trained on community procurement aspects using the guidelines.

o In order to ensure transparency and accountability at the village level key procurement information will be displayed. The procurement records will be available for scrutiny to all members of the village community.

Initially out of the five water supply schemes, under the pilot project, both single and multi village, whether tube well based and canal based, the procurement for civil works for 3 schemes will be carried out by Department of Water Supply & Sanitation. The procurement will be done on turnkey basis, wherein; all materials and labours component will be arranged by the contractor. The DWSS will not do any procurement of goods for supplying to the contractor. The contractor will arrange all the materials on his own, strictly as per the specifications specified in the bid document. The other 2 schemes in the Pilot will be procured by the Gram Panchayat. In case of schemes implemented by the Gram Panchayats, at their option, the Gram Panchayats may procure pipes and machinery separately and install them either by providing community labour or by hiring labour contractor. However, for the construction of Overhead reservoir and drilling of tube well, the Gram Panchayat will award contract and the supply of cement, steel, and other materials under these contracts will be in the scope of the bidders. The quality of material so arranged by the contractor will be used for works only after due checking and approval by GP/GPWSC and DWSS engineers before those are used for construction work. Further, at their option the Gram Panchayats can award single responsibility contracts for the village scheme.

The common infra structure for multi village scheme for other than pilot schemes will be procured by the Department of Water Supply & Sanitation in one package. Moreover, if agreed by the villages, the common infrastructure for multi village scheme of a few villages could be combined in one package and procured by Department of Water Supply & Sanitation.

Single Village Scheme will be procured by GPWSC in three packages.

o covering OHSR and civil works,o covering procurement of boring of tube-well and supply

and installation of machinery and o covering distribution works as for intra village works in a

multi- village Scheme Single Responsibility Contracting Agency For Turnkey

Projects: Under this type of procurement for works, a single contracting agency will be procured for carrying out all components of works such as installation of tube well including arranging and installing of machinery and other equipment and accessories, laying of pipe line, distribution network, construction of all civil structures like pump chamber, development of water works, construction of OHSR. The contractor will be entirely responsible for construction of entire scheme as per total cost of bid document and hand over the same to GP/GPWSC in complete running condition.

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The following guidelines will be generally followed:

All components of common facilities in a multi village scheme will be implemented by DWSS.

Preparation of procurement manual and procurement guidelines, this will include the methodology for procurement for a scheme.

Separate contract or contracts for individual schemes will be awarded. However, if possible and agreed by the villages, the multi village schemes of a few villages could be combined in one package and procured by DWSS

Separate contracts for intra village work in multi village schemes will be awarded by GP/GPWSC.

In the single village scheme and for intra village works GP/GPWSC will be employer and Executive Engineer of DWSS will be Engineer. DWSS will be employer for multi village schemes for the execution of the works upto boundary of individual village.

GP/GPWSC will directly enter into contract with contractors, and will use the Bank’s bidding document to be made available to them by DWSS

No pre qualification of contractors will be taken up. The community will have an option to:

- Award of the contracts on single responsibility basis.- Awards three contracts on a single responsibility basis

each.For the package “installation of machinery” and “Distribution system”, the community can procure equipments/ goods separately and carry out the installation by either the labour contributed by the community or through separate labour contracts.

Key Concerns of Stakeholders at the time of Effectiveness

120. At the time of formulation of the PIP a survey had been done of the various stakeholders and their concerns had been recorded. Later in this MTR a review will be presented as to how these concerns have been addressed through the execution of the project. The stakeholder concerns at that time are given below.

Stakeholder

Overall Issues Concerns Expectations

Secretary, CE, SE

The officials at the top level are convinced that the change in the way of service delivery is needed and the involvement of the user Community is important right

1.willingness to pay 10% towards the capital costs.GPWSC as a sub-committee of GP.Capacity of GPs to take over the O&M responsibility

The affordability of the poor, SCs and single women headed households to pay towards the capital costs.Role of the lower level staff

GPs take over 100% responsibilities towards O&M. Increased number of Household connections.The lower level staff will continue

59

from the Planning level. O&M responsibilities to be handed over to the GPs. Necessary Policy Level Changes need to be brought in.

The present salaries of the low level staff increase the Operation & maintenance Cost.

of DWSS.If the GP will manage cost-recovery.

to be involved in the O&M as technical advisors.

Executive Engineers

Very Sceptical about the effectiveness of change in roles & responsibilities of DWSS.Decentralisation of execution of works would result in better implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Competency of GPs to handle contracts, Handing over O&M responsibilities to the GPs.

Selection of villages where water is needed most.More schemes for rejuvenation of performance to be taken up.

Interference in technical implementation by non-technical departments. Operational division will be loaded with more work. Will lose control over execution of works. Quality control of execution of works.No system of M&E during implementationPolitical pressures for selection of villages

Improved Infrastructure in the sector.Definite criteria for selection of villages.HRD an important component of the project at all levels for better service delivery.Innovations in technology. Computerisation and digitisation for efficiency and transparency.Improved MIS systemGood R&D facilities to be in touch with modern technologies of environment sanitation, which will result in, better health and hygiene.

SDE/JE Coverage of villages where water quality is bad and quantity inadequate. Better conditions for regularising connections.Reduction in number of complaints.

Attending to complaints of operational and Maintenance Issues.

Capacity of GP to take over O&M responsibilities.Impact on their jobs with the Change in institutional arrangements.LOC system needs to be changed.

User satisfaction will go up.Will raise the standard of living of people with adequate water.Capacities of JE/SDE will be built with new technologies.Technical training to GP members will reduce the number of complaints.

GP Willing to participate and contribute towards the capital costs for better services.

Water quality.Inadequate water supply for people and Cattle.Regular water supply.

Irregular Power supply which affects the water supply.co-operation of the community where party

Huge Investment for water and sanitation sector.Sanitation aspects are also given priority.

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Need capacity building for taking over O&M responsibilities

Both people’s cooperation and DWSS co-operation for efficient operation and maintenance and cost recovery.Equitable intra-village distribution and also all villages of MV schemes.

politics divide the community.Non-affordability by the poor and single women headed households to contribute towards the capital costs and O&M.Lack of technical and managerial skills among the GP members. Illegal connections.Procedures for registering household connections.

Adequate water supply for both people and cattle.Improved health and Hygiene conditions in the village.Training and exposure to water and sanitation committee members for better management and understanding of technical issues.Increased number of household connections.

Community In general.

Willing to contribute towards capital costs for better services.Willing to Co-operate with GP in operation and maintenance however skeptical of capabilities of GP.

Water QualityRegular water supply hoursAttending to repairs and leakages.Improved sewage disposal systems

Power supply that affects the water supply hours.Poor and the women headed households to be given concession both in sharing capital costs and water tariff.

Improved safe and clean drinking water.Reduction in water borne diseases.Adequate water for all.Water supply to suit work time.Reduction in time to fetch water.

121. Added to the above were specific issues and concerns for communities in the Kandi Belt, Bet and Border Area Habitations. The border villages had the unique problems of evacuations during times of national security. Participation of the user community in the project raised several issues like what happens to the cost sharing by the community towards capital costs in the eventuality of the infrastructure being destroyed. Social mobilisation for taking over operation and maintenance also proved to be a concern.

Capacity Building Needs

122. A capacity building needs assessment of program stakeholders had been carried out at the time of start of the project. The desired skill levels of program stakeholders as at that point of time is given below:

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S. No.

Desired Skills

STATE/APEX LEVEL1 Understanding about the sector wide approach, project concept &

principles 2 Planning and formulation of sector policies/program/strategies3 Strategic technical and administrative support to the program4 Orientation and capacity building of various stakeholders --

Participatory approaches and tools for participatory learning and action. Community awareness and mobilization methods.Identifying and addressing gender issues in participatory development.

5 Capacity to implement programs based on integrated approach and achieve convergence and coordination – Environmental Management

6 Monitoring, evaluation and supervision - generation of baseline data, formulate indicators and undertake concurrent as well as process monitoring as well as thematic evaluations

7 Managing change at all administrative/ functionary levels8 IEC as well as media management9 WSS reform and decentralization and devolution

10 Transparency and Accountability mechanismsDistrict level

1 Understanding on demand responsive and decentralized service delivery approaches -- delineating clearly facilitation and operation responsibilities within the DWSS

2 Facilitation and community mobilization techniques3 Design of state of art DWSS scheme with technical know-how4 Capacity building skills of CB specialists5 Understanding and promotion of community-based operation and

maintenance practices6 Management skills (Fund flow, transparency, accountability, etc) –

Contract Management, Procurement Management, Time management

7 Financial skills (Audit and Accounts)8 Community procurement and contracting procedures9 Periodic review, monitoring and evaluation

10 Approaches to sanitation and sanitation behavior change strategies

11 Water quality monitoring and surveillance12 Coordination with other departments/programmes.13 Information, education and communication for behavior change in

hygiene, sanitation and O&M14 Leadership Development, Team Building and conflict resolution

techniques.15 Contract Management 16 Processes monitoring, and documentation of best practices as

well as disseminationComputer Aided Designing and Monitoring

SUPPORT ORGANIZATIONS --LEVEL1 Technical support to GPs and GPWSCs

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S. No.

Desired Skills

2 Participatory Management – Innovative and Instructive Techniques.

3 Community mobilization techniques4 Enabling undertaking diagnostic analysis of water supply and

sanitation issues at the village level and other alternative low cost solutions

5 Monitoring and supervision of project activities 6 Enabling equitable distribution7 Facilitating GPWSCs in undertaking social audit.8 Operation & maintenance planning and implementation of water

supply scheme9 Facilitating GP/ GPWSCs in coordination and networking.

10 Promoting Women Participation11 Conflict resolution

GRAM PANCHAYAT/GPWSC1 Demand Management -- Generating demand for water and

sanitation facility in the village by explaining the significance of the project

2 Understanding about different aspects of quality related to the project at village level

3 Understanding about the water supply and sanitation issues at the village level and other alternative solutions

4 Understanding institutional roles like constituting GPWSC, UWSC, adoption of Bye Laws

5 Community mobilization process and techniques6 GPWSC formation and strengthening7 Conducting Gram Sabha meetings and assist in establishing

relationship with three tiers of the PRIs especially Gram Panchayat and the user’s committee etc

8 Approving appropriate technology and schemes based on technical, social, economic and environmental considerations

9 Documentation of the meetings10 Collective action11 Participatory decision-making regarding planning of water supply

scheme12 Selection of technology options13 Construction and supervision of water supply scheme14 Community procurement15 Monitoring and evaluation of water supply scheme16 Operation and maintenance17 Operation & maintenance estimation, Tariff fixation and

realization18 Financial Management (Proper book keeping and accounting)19 Identify Sanitation options20 Water quality monitoring21 Community procurement and contract management22 Project process and components23 Identify potentials and CB needs for community and community

level worker such as Mason, scheme maintenance worker and pump operator

24 Community monitoring

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S. No.

Desired Skills

25 Knowledge about depletion of ground water and recharge26 Knowledge and understanding about social inclusion such as

representation of the poor, SC, other marginalized groups and women in the user’s group committee and in other activities of the project

27 Voluntary leadership regarding redressal of grievances of VWSC and other working group members

28 Identify women development initiativesUSER COMMUNITY LEVEL

1 Community mobilization techniques2 Understanding of project approaches and process (Project

planning, implementation and operation & maintenance).3 User/GP formation and strengthening4 Sanitation and hygiene behaviour5 Operation and maintenance6 Hardware aspects of sanitation facilities7 Village key selection criteria8 Hiring and engaging support agencies/ organization9 Monitoring and evaluation

10 Women development initiatives

123. Based on the above a Capacity Building Strategy was designed – to include a two pronged approach of building the capacity directly of the apex/strategic/program/project level stakeholders including SOs; and the SOs in turn will capacitate the benefiting community. However, some programs such as training the community technicians will be conducted directly by the project. The Project, thus plans to capacitate directly about 100,000 persons, 98% of whom are at/below the district level and the remaining 500,000 by Support Organizations, as a part of their overall community development support.

124. As part of the Plan a Communication and Capacity Development Unit was set up as a functional unit of SPMC transforming the erstwhile Human Resource Development Cell set up by DWSS under the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Government of India. The tasks of the CCDU were identified as :

Developing and implementing specific information, education and communication programs most suited for Punjab, on the revised strategy and approach in the Water and Sanitation sector, and

Providing capacity development of functionaries at all levels of the institutional arrangement.

125. The structure of the CCDU was planned to be

Unit Coordinator --Executive Engineer-1 (Existing) Manager --Sub Divisional Engineer-1 (Existing) Asst Manager --Junior Engineer-1 (Existing) Community Development Specialist (CDS) – 1 (private sector

recruit)

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HRD Specialist-1 (private sector recruit) IEC Specialist-1 (private sector) Community Mobilization Specialist-1 (private sector

126. The CCDU has a counterpart in every district. Each DPMC has a HRD specialist and an IEC specialist. The responsibilities of the CCDU include

prepare annual training plan and budget; arrange observation study tours; preparing guidelines and model contracts for hiring consultants

at the district level; manage and supervise the district level capacity building

programs; conduct quarterly reviews; and monitoring and evaluation. planning and implementing district level programs will rest

chiefly with the DPMC.

127. It was planned that programs shall be conducted by hiring identified resource agencies/ individuals. In this regard, Punjab has a distinct advantage. Each district has at least one engineering who can be made use of extensively. The consulting study has drawn a long list of existing institutions and their capability in each district. Draft program curriculum (and implementation schedule) will be prepared before the commencement of every batch. SPMC/ DPMC personnel will participate, as observers/resource persons, in all the programs. CCDU will, in addition to program-specific evaluation, will arrange for an external evaluation twice during the project period and the results will be fed into revising (as appropriate) the CB Plan.

Communication Strategy and Action Plan

128. The Communication Strategy was developed for bringing a change in knowledge, attitude and practices among the key stakeholders for creating awareness providing information and educating them on the projects, concept principles and key highlights. Following is a brief summary of the Communication Strategy:

Audience Group Media Type Media Tool Messages Strategic Advantage

Each and every opinion leader and other stakeholders

Interpersonal media

Media Resource Group

As regards drinking water, Punjab is already in a critical position. We all have to do our bit to arrest the situation and then improve it.

Utility

Entire population of each village from school going children to the illiterates

Print media Community Newspaper

Anything and everything that you had always wanted to know about water --- just read our columns

Credibility

Rural households with focus on

Electronic media

Cable television

There is a change in the way we will now manage

Reachability

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women network the supply of drinking water. A blue revolution is on the way.

All travellers through the rural roads

Outdoor media

Water source point

This is clean and good drinking water. You can have it whenever you feel like it. And you can use as much as you need – but do not waste

Visibility

129. A detailed Communication Action Plan was also developed. The achievements with regard to the same are discussed later in this document.

Environmental Safeguards

130. The Department of Water Supply and Sanitation carried out a Sector Environment Assessment Study to assess the baseline environment situation and to identify upfront the projects, potential environment risks and impacts. The study also suggested methodology for planning, designing and implementing investment in rural water supply and sanitation by preventing minimizing or mitigating adverse environmental impacts and enhancing the positive impacts.

131. The Baseline Environmental situation at that time is summarized briefly below:

Water Availability: Surface water is the source of irrigation for about 38.3% of the land and about 20% of the existing rural drinking water schemes of the DWSS. About 62% of total area zone is irrigated using tube wells tapping ground water resources. There has been continuous decline in shallow ground water levels. Confined deeper aquifers starting from the depths of 100-150 meters to 300 meters in most parts of the state and up to 600 meters in areas in front of Himalayan range. Most of the rural water supply schemes will be tapping water from deeper aquifers.

Water Quality: Disposal of untreated municipal and industrial discharges as well as drainage of agricultural return flows find their way to the river waters. The major canal networks of Punjab are kept relatively free of industrial and municipal discharges and from irrigation drainage flows. Availability of water quality data is limited to shallow aquifers. Total dissolved solids, fluoride, iron, hardness and chloride are the major water quality problems in shallow aquifers. Excepting salinity and fluoride, the deep aquifers are relatively free from pollution issues. The deeper aquifers are relatively isolated hydro geologically with thick impervious clay layers.

Sanitation practices: There is wide spread practice of open defecation because of the lack of sanitation facilities to 50% of rural households in the state. Wastewater from the households

66

including wastewater from cattle sheds flows into open drains flooding lanes and by-lanes. The wastewater from the village is mostly directed to the village pond, maintenance of which is very poor. The wastewater often seeps into hand pumps.

Collection of basic environmental data: The EMF requires that basic environmental data pertaining to the proposed scheme be compiled at the field data collection stage. For this purpose, a simple Environmental Data Sheet has been formulated, which would include information such as source water quality test results for water supply schemes; sullage conveyance, treatment, disposal or utilization information for drainage schemes, etc.

Environmental Classification of Schemes: The DSR for Water supply or drainage schemes should be accompanied by the Environmental Data Sheet supported with a detailed note, if any on items listed in the data sheet. At the DSR preparation stage, the available environmental information will be evaluated, and based on the level of expected environmental and public health impacts, the proposed scheme would be classified as either Category I (basic) or Category II (independent environmental appraisal required). Note that only water supply schemes can be classified as Category II, if the scheme satisfies specific criteria pertaining to the presence of industrial or agricultural chemical contaminants in the water supply source, as described below. Furthermore, preparation of DSR for drainage schemes must include measures for pond rehabilitation, or appropriate treatment/disposal/ utilization of treated effluent. The DSR for any drainage scheme that does not include sufficient measures for the above shall be considered incomplete and unacceptable.

132. Environmental Appraisal and Approval: It was mandated that for all category I schemes, there shall be no separate environment appraisal but the environment aspects shall be included in the normal appraisal and evaluation process for the proposed scheme, based on the Environmental Data Sheet included in the DSR. For category II schemes, an independent environmental appraisal of the proposed scheme is required, which will include evaluation of environmental and public health impacts, risk assessment if needed, and design of mitigation measures by the environmental expert of the district level facilitating unit. In extreme cases, where the district level resources are not sufficient for conducting the environmental appraisal and designing the appropriate mitigation measures, support from state level environmental resource agency may be requested. The environmental appraisal for category II Water Supply scheme shall not take more than 30 days.

133. Environmental Compliance Monitoring: During implementation and operation and maintenance of schemes, the following activities will be undertaken:

Ensuring that the prescribed environmental mitigation measures (including construction stage measures) are adequately implemented.

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Supervision, monitoring and evaluation of water quality and environmental indicators is conducted, as a part of the overall project monitoring program

IEC activities are undertaken for awareness raising and sensitization regarding personal and public hygiene, environmental sanitation, and water conservation, as an integrated component of the project IEC activities.

134. The Environmental Management Framework is summarized in Table 37 showing key EMF activities, stage of scheme cycle, responsibility etc.

Phase

EMF Activity Objectives Process Responsibili

tyResult

Pre-

Plan

ning

/ Pla

nnin

g

Environmental Data Sheet

To collect basic information on environmental aspects of the proposed scheme.

Discuss scheme with community and identify environmental issues of concern

SO, with assistance of JE/DWSS

Environmental data sheet furnished, and attached to DSR.

Complete Environmental Data sheet, with supplementary notes if required.

JE/DWSS

Environmental Classification of Scheme

To ensure that schemes with potentially significant environmental or public health issues are identified at an early stage, for independent environmental appraisal

Evaluate all the available information on environmental aspects as provided in the Environmental Data Sheet, and based on the level of expected environmental and public health impacts, assess whether the proposed scheme is Category I (basic) or Category II (independent environmental appraisal required). Note that only water supply schemes can be classified as Category II, if the certain specified criteria are met.

EE/DWSS Scheme classified asCategory I (basic) or Category II (independent environmental appraisal required)

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Environmental Appraisal and Approval

To ensure that relevant environmental issues have been identified and appropriate mitigation measures have been designed to address them.

For category I schemes, there shall be no separate environment appraisal but the environment aspects shall be included in the normal appraisal and evaluation process for the proposed scheme, based on the Environmental Data Sheet included in the DSR.

District Program Specialist, DPMC, with assistance of District-level Environment Resource Panel. Assistance of State-level Environment Resource Agency may be requested if needed.

Environmental appraisal and approval of proposed scheme, with decision to (i) accept scheme as submitted, or (ii) accept scheme with modifications suggested in the environmental appraisal.

Environmental Appraisal and Approval

To ensure that mitigation measures and their costs are integrated in scheme design and implementation plans.

For category II schemes, an independent environmental appraisal of the proposed scheme is required, including evaluation of environmental and public health impacts, risk assessment if needed, and design of mitigation measures

Technical Approval for the scheme will not be accorded without Environmental Clearance from SPMC

Programme Director

Technical approval for scheme with environmental mitigation measures and accordingly its costs are integrated in scheme design and implementation plans.

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Impl

emen

tatio

n

Implementation of Environmental mitigation measures

To ensure that the prescribed environmental mitigation measures (including construction stage) are implemented

Implementation Completion Report (ICR) for scheme will need to include compliance certificate that all prescribed environmental mitigation measures (including construction stage) have been implemented.

GPWSC for single-village schemes; EE/DWSS for multi-village schemes

ICR with environmental compliance information

O&M

Environmental supervision, monitoring, and evaluation

IEC and capacity building on hygiene and environmental health issues

To ensure that environmental aspects are integrated in the O&M phase

Water Quality monitoring will be conducted as per project water quality monitoring protocol

IEC on (i) need for drainage improvement/ sullage treatment in villages, (ii) personal and public hygiene, and (iii) need for water conservation.

State Program Specialist, with assistance from State-level Environment Resource Agency (Integrated with project protocol on water quality monitoring and project IEC)

Periodic environmental monitoring reports

135. For each of the project intervention component a set of monitoring indicators has been identified to undertake monitoring of environmental impacts and compliance with recommended environmental mitigation measures. A summary of the Environmental Mitigation Measures is given below:

S.No.

Project Intervention/ Component

Performance Indicators Monitoring Agency

1. Water Availability

Access to safe drinking water supply of a minimum of 70 lpcd to the target communities (included in the project monitoring and evaluation framework)

State M&E Specialist

2. Water Quality Regular DWSS water quality testing District Program Specialist

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Independent water quality surveillance Independent

Consultant contracted by the SPMC / SERA

3 Sanitation Increased access of household to common sewerage / sanitation system

State M&E Specialist

136. Environmental management and monitoring is implemented through the mechanism as described below:

The Executive Engineer in charge of the Technical Unit of SPMC is responsible for overall environmental management for the project. He/she is charged with the effective implementation of the EMF, including the environmental training and capacity building as well as ensuring that the external environmental audits are conducted for the whole project (two audits during the project cycle in the second and fourth year of the project).

The State Environment Resource Agency (SERA) was envisaged while formulating the PRWSS Project. The main objective was to provide technical and environmental management assistance for the duration of the project. The SERA was to facilitate the implementation of the EMF, development and delivery of training, education and communication materials, and conduct environmental audits for the project. However Technical Support Consultant for 1000 water supply schemes and 100 sewerage scheme has been appointed and now responsibilities envisagedfor SERA in the project will be undertaken by the consultant.

The District Program Specialist within DPMC is additionally responsible for all district level environmental management activities. Their responsibilities include ensuring environmental management in all project-sponsored schemes, for organizing six-monthly environmental supervisions in the district and preparing supervision reports, and identification and empanelment of district-level environmental experts in their respective districts.

At the village level, the project aims to develop capacity for environmental management through environmental sensitization and awareness campaigns targeted at Support Organizations, GPWSCs, and DWSS field staff

137. The capacity building for environment management will be integrated with the overall Capacity Building Plan of the project. The State Environment Resource Agency (SERA) will be responsible for the designing and coordinating all the technical training programs, including refresher courses and scheme operators’ training.

138. Technical Training for Environmental Management: Specific training programs for the key officials have been developed by the Environment Agency. These programs are focused on the procedural and technical aspects of environmental assessment and management. This training is mandatory for the district-level environment resource persons. The training involves initial orientation, main training program and

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refresher training programs. The main and refresher training programs will be for a duration of 2-3 days each, where as the initial orientation workshop will be of duration of one day.

139. Environmental Awareness and Sensitization for Targeted Communities: The training programs on environmental awareness are organized regionally and are designed to reach extensively in the target communities. The programs specifically include community representatives, e.g. the GPWSC members, in order to sustain environmental concepts beyond the project period. While these Community-level awareness programmes are a part of the overall project IEC programme, the State Environment Resource Agency is also responsible for the development of communication materials.

Monitoring and Evaluation

140. The proposed monitoring and evaluation for the programme is designed to suit monitoring of inputs, outputs, sustainability and outcomes of the statewide reform approach in the sector (SWAp). The key feature of the system will be monitoring household level outcomes of rural water supply and sanitation services in the entire state so that the state will be able to monitor continuously the achievement of sector level targets set.

141. The monitoring and evaluation system of the program consists of the following components

Programme Monitoring based on inputs and outputs to measure programme implementation performance including generation of financial reports

Results Monitoring consisting of intermediate results indicators to measure performance of programme components and sub components including sustainability of services

Evaluations to assess achievement of development objectives of the programme using outcome indicators

142. The various reports for monitoring the progress of the project implementation are summarized below.

Report No.

Report Name Send by Send to Contents Periodicit

y RemarksGA1 GPWSC

Annual Report

GPWSC DPMC Details of availability of water,, its quality, use by people and details of GPWSC

Annual

SQ1 – Scheme Reports for Single Village Schemes

GPWSC DPMC progress of activities as per identified milestones in the scheme cycle.

Quarterly Send along with financial reports

Report Report Send by Send to Contents Periodicity Remarks

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No. NameMA1 – Multi

Village Annual Report

Divisional Office

DPMC the annual performance details of the MV scheme w.r.t. billing, collection, performance, etc

Annual

MQ1 - Scheme Reports for Multi Village Schemes

Divisional Office

DPMC the progress of activities as per identified milestones in the scheme cycle

Quarterly Include details of common infrastructure and intra village

D1 PMR at DPMC

DPMC SPMC Consolidate details from all reports received from GPWSC and Divisions

Quarterly and Annual

A comparative report compiled and send back to GPWSCs and Divisional Office

S1 PMR at SPMC

SPMC World Bank

Compiled from all reports submitted by DPMC and the databases for habitations, Schemes etc. and financial reports

Quarterly and Annual

A comparative report compiled and send to all DPMCs on their performance

143. The flow of information has been shown in the PIP as below:

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DWSS DivisionalOffice

GPWSC Annual Checklist (GA1) (with Consultant’s report)Scheme Reports for SV (SQ1)

DPMC

PMR (D1) (A/Q)

Participating GPWSC

SPMC

MV Billing Report (MA1)Scheme Report for MV (MQ1)

Habitation databaseSchemes databaseBaseline Status

Habitation SurveyHousehold Survey

GoI GoP World Bank

PMR (S1) (A/Q)

PMR (S1)

Existing Report formats

PMR (D1)

PMR (D1)

Project Status, Lessons Learned and What Lies Ahead

Overview

144. This section discusses the progress that has so far been made in PRWSS and provides the details of project status in the various operational areas. Thereafter the section discusses What Lies Ahead, in terms of critical issues that impact upon evaluation of project performance.

General Background of PRWSS progress

145.The project became effective on March 26, 2007 and the closing date is March 31, 2012. Thus at this point of time there are two and a half years left for project closing. It was expected that the SPMC and the DPMCs would become functional in all respects very early in the project and that all the consultancies would be awarded within a short period of time. However, the SPMC and the DPMCs did not become functional to the extent envisaged almost till early 2009 and the major consultancies were also not awarded till mid-2009. In effect the project became relatively operational only in early 2009 and that is the time that the project started showing positive results, i.e., nearly two years after effectiveness date. Agreed Minutes of Negotiations are at Annex 1. The Project Agreement is at Annex 2.

146.Key issues identified for the slow progress during the initial stages of the Project included the following:

147.Capacity Constraints within DWSS. PRWSS was a new project for DWSS predicated upon a framework that was completely new to the DWSS. There was a lack of understanding of what was required and in what way the project should proceed. Due to lack of resources, skills, and experience in managing such projects, a significant amount of time was lost during the initial stages of the project. DWSS had the task of selecting appropriately skilled and experienced manpower, establishing a clear communication and outreach strategy and to provide comprehensive technical support to clients [GP] who had so far never considered such matters. DWSS experienced a number of difficulties on all these fronts, to cope with which they had scant resources and experience. This in turn delayed disbursements, and use of the advance already provided.

148.Elections and restrictions on activities. Elections to the national parliament were held during mid-2009 and due to restrictions imposed by the Election Commission, all activities were practically at a standstill for almost three months.

149.Constraints on filling-up of vacancies. As per Indian law, a certain percentage of posts are to be reserved for underprivileged classes. However, it is not always possible to find suitable candidates from the

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reserved categories. Thus a number of vacancies remained [and still remain] vacant because there are no suitable candidates applying for the jobs. This has also caused a shortage of manpower within the project management organization.

150.Slow Procurement. DWSS had not been exposed to World Bank Procurement Rules earlier. It was necessary to train staff in the WB Procurement Guidelines before appropriate procurement mechanisms could be put into use. This delayed the project from a different direction. Procurement specialists for all the districts are still not in place, and although a consultant has now been hired to deliver custom-designed modules, there is a lag, which is inevitable.

151.Insufficient Response to invitations to Bid. In a large number of cases it was found that there were only one or two responses to invitations to bid. The causes of these were varied, and later addressed. However, the repeated cancelling of tenders and the rebidding process used up valuable time.

152.Community Mobilization. Lack of understanding of community mobilization led to mobilization efforts being largely restricted to collection of the beneficiary capital contribution in the initial stages, although four clear stages – pre-planning, planning, execution and O&M had been identified in terms of the project design. Thus beneficiary GPs were not prepared for the tasks they had to undertake. It has already been stated that the DWSS itself lacked the necessary resources for streamlined execution of the project, and therefore the outreach that had been expected on the part of the DWSS did not happen. This led to a very low level of initial community mobilization in the real sense, although as many as 48 villages had already collected their contributions within a few months after effectiveness of the project.

153.Cost sharing rules. The initial cost-sharing rules were perceived as excessive by the beneficiaries, although quite a few of the villages did pay as per the original rules. However, the rate was seen as high, and this initially slowed down the pace of coverage through the scheme of self-selection. The rules were modified later and that led to a spurt in the number of villages willing to become part of the project.

154.Communication Strategy. The lack of a clear communication strategy at all levels during the initial stages was a critical factor in the slow progress of the project. This included the lack of properly prepared and translated documents, from various guidelines, to awareness pamphlets, etc. Again, this was due to a lack of skilled personnel in the implementing agency at various levels in the initial stages. This situation could be rectified only after about a year from effectiveness, when a comprehensive and well formulated plan was prepared, that was appreciated by the funding agencies also. Since June 2009, PR and advertisement agency is also in place for assisting SPMC in formulating and implementing the IEC plan.

155.Overstrained capacity for technical design and support. The DWSS had a normal capacity of preparing about 1000 designs at a maximum per year. The number of villages to which designs had to be

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provided were in excess of 3000. Consequently, the design capacity of the DWSS became overstretched. By the time the criticality of this issue was realized and a contract with an engineering design firm was arrived at, almost two years had passed. Part of the reason for this was that the rate at which villages would opt for the project schemes could not be anticipated, and therefore additions to the original DWSS manpower for technical design could not be properly planned; efforts were further delayed due to normal procedural delays in getting positions sanctioned through governmental channels, and the procurement of a consultant to do the design work itself took time.

156.NGO participation. During the initial period of the project, the status of supporting organizations was also unclear to the various implementing agencies, especially at the District level. It was attitudinally difficult for district level engineers, to accept NGOs as partners in the execution of the project.Also, the NGOs working in this area in the State were not adequately equipped conceptually or skill-wise for immediately taking on the responsibilities demanded of them. Accordingly intensive orientation specifically in the project concepts had to be done. With the result NGO are in place in 12 districts.These behavioral changes as well as limited capacity of NGOs consumed a lot of time.

157.Funding from co-financing organizations. Although funding from the World Bank had been received on time, due to the resource constraints at the GOP level, state share funding from the GOP [including GOI share] was not received as per stipulated schedule. This has caused a level of hiatus with regard to fund flow.

158.The critical factor was the change of attitude of a government organization accustomed to implementing its own plans without any large scale consultation with the beneficiaries, and the attitude change of the beneficiaries themselves in considering themselves responsible for augmentation of public services. Even with the best of organizations, as reports from other countries and also other parts of India show, there is a gestation period of six months to one year. In the case of PRWSS it took longer, since there had been largely no preparatory activities on the part of DWSS, before Project Effectiveness. However, most of the issues that have been listed above have been already resolved to a large extent. In the process of course, new issues have also emerged. These are not however, of the same criticality as the ones that had to be addressed in the early stages and it can be confidently expected that these will be handled in mostly routine ways without causing any disruption to the normal process of project execution. The ways in which the original issues as well as others that emerged later have been, and are being addressed by the project authorities, are discussed in the sections that follow.

Impact of Change in Cost-sharing Formula

159.The change in the Cost-sharing Formula which has reduced the upper ceiling from Rs 1500 per household to Rs 800 per household in general category villages and from Rs 750 per household to Rs 400 per household in difficult area villages falling in the water logged, Kandi, bet and border

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belt and for SC households 50% contribution of the above prescribed amount has had an enormous impact on the villages. As a result of this change many more villages have come forward and a large number of them have already paid their beneficiary contributions in full. Some inactive GP have also become active in the process. Duly supported by IEC activities, there is now a gathering momentum for GP to come under the scheme.

Project Status-Part A- IEC [Information, Education and Communication]

160.The IEC campaign of PRWSS received a boost with the change in the cost-sharing formula [ discussed above].These activities by DPMCs and the revised cost sharing norms of the project in Oct.2008 boosted the morale of the DPMCs and also facilitated in the community mobilization and collection of beneficiary share etc. The aggressive and planned IEC activities like Relay of Jingles, Road Show with electronic media publicity, Broadcast of Audio Visual in the Doordarshan, Regular Capacity Building meetings, School Rallies, Street Plays, Puppet Shows, Muniyadi, School Level Competitions etc resulted in Awareness, Sensitization and Capacity Building of the various stake holders and publicity of the PRWSS Project.

161.The IEC campaign has been, to a considerable extent, been dependent on the Supporting Organizations including NGOs. The dependence is a conscious one, since the NGOs are by their very nature, close to the villages and villagers. One of the major changes that had been brought about through extensive consultations was a comprehensive redrafting of the TOR for the NGOs to make them more NGO-friendly. This change and the amendments as a consequence thereof, was approved by the World Bank in May 2008. At that time 10 NGOs were working in the Project. 3 NGOs subsequently dropped out citing their own organizational reasons. In July 2008, SPMC gave Expression of Interest (EOI) for recruitment of NGOs in the remaining 10 districts of Mohali, Patiala, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Barnala, Tarntaran, Nawa Shehar, Hoshiarpur, and Jalandhar on 04.07.08. After the short listing as per the World Bank norms, only 6 NGOs could be appointed for six districts in the State in March 2009. As of now there are 13 NGOs working in the PRWSS project. The process for recruitment of NGOs in the remaining districts as per requirement have been initiated

SPMC is now providing the inputs to these NGOs for strengthening of the community mobilization activities as and when required.The core team of NGO including the Team Leader (Social Scientist) was given proper orientation and training by the SPMC as well as DPMCs. Further, DPMCs were strengthened with recruitment of HRD and IEC Specialists in August 2008, October 2008 and then in July 2009. As of now 32 Social Scientists are working in SPMC and DPMCs. Assistance is being provided to the NGOs in their Capacity Building through various meetings and exposure visit of their staff in the villages where schemes have been implemented or are proposed to be implemented shortly.

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162.The results of IEC and capacity building efforts are clearly discernible from the progress made in the project in the last fifteen months.

No. of villages where GPWSC formed

No. of villages from where 50% beneficiaries share received

Status as on 30.6.08 235 77

Status as on 31.7.09 451 358

Status as on 31.10.09

515 377

One of the major instruments for the IEC campaign has been Road Shows. Till 30 September 2009, total 127 Road Shows have been conducted across the state with the objective to:

Sensitize the various stake holders about the PRWSS project Enhance beneficiary share collection and active participation in the

project. Increase the no. of water connections in the commissioned villages

for long term sustainability of the scheme. Appraise the community about conservation and management of

water Use road shows as experience sharing platform for progressive

GPWSc/GPs. Involve the progressive women in the project etc

Road shows are being conducted as per a plan in this regard prepared by a communication agency that has been hired for the purpose. A detailed communication roll-out plan has also been developed. The process is now underway to develop District level communications plan with appropriate strategies for dissemination. These plans have taken on board the specificities of each District and village and have also incorporated the lessons learned during early implementation. The Plan is related to and aligned with the overarching objectives of the project, covering awareness generation, community mobilization, behavior change and capacity building and garnering the support of key influences such as political leaders and policy makers both at the grassroots as well as the State level. The Communication agency has been clearly instructed to visit NC/PC villages, have focus group discussions with both villagers as well as the departmental specialists concerned with project implementation. The insights developed are then incorporated in the design and content of communication materials.

There has been overwhelming response to the mass media initiatives that have been taken, and the SPMC is now involved with setting up the systems that will allow it to respond to the large volume of requests that are now coming in from the various villages. It has been recognized that speed of response is one of the factors that will play a crucial role in increasing the speed with which villages self-select themselves.

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Other than Road Shows, the SPMC has also instituted, with the help of the communication agency the design and delivery of

Video Documentaries on project success stories and the benefits of drinking safe water have been produced

Radio jingles – are being broadcast on All India Radio Audio visuals for TV telecasts have been produced and one spot of

60 seconds has been sliced into 10, 20 and 30 second bits and these are being regularly telecast. Broadcasting started in the month of June and the first phase was completed at the end of August, 2009

School rallies – so far 72 school rallieswith the objective of creating awareness and sensitization, have been conducted

Street plays have been produced and are being performed in various districts

Wall writing – DPMCs have completed 1011 Wall Writings in the project villages in all 20 districts of the project.

Water Quality Testing has been done in about 500 villages by the DPMC.

163. Some anecdotal evidence is presented below in regard to the impact of Road shows:

In village Dedran in Fatehgarh Sahib, immediately after the road show, the GPWSC was able to increase the household connections,

In Patiala District, village Lehlan 100% beneficiary share was collected immediately after the road show. The beneficiary share before the road show was Rs 50,000/- and on the very next day after the road show collected Rs 20,000/- and were able to complete their 100% beneficiary share. In Khadrabad in Patiala, before the road show there was no consensus between the villagers for the tank site but after the road show the people sorted out the differences and the tank site was selected.

In Bathinda the village community of Buladhawala, shared their valuable experiences in the live relay of road show and also shared their problems in sustaining the existing water supply under PRWSS project. After the road show the village community was motivated to properly manage their water supply scheme including regular tariff collection, handling of waste water etc with support of the DPMC team. As most of the schemes of Batch 1 are in the implementation phase and near completion and shortly being commissioned. As a process of forthcoming strategy for self sustainable the DPMC Bathinda planned Road Shows under different themes as per the stage of the scheme e.g. schemes near commissioning were given the message of water connections, role of women and Anganwari and Ashaworkers in water connections and conservation of water. The schemes which are in planning phase were given the message of community participation as it is demand of the

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present planning of the country to empower the Panchayati Raj Institutions. The Gram Panchayat’s were motivated to come forward and prove their worth through successfully running these sub-committee’s like GPWSC, PUSWAC (Village Education Development Committee – VEDC), VHSC’s (Village Health and Sanitation Society). The IEC activity of Road Show proved to be an excellent activity as it was executed in such as a way by the anchor’s of the All India Radio who were trained by DPMC.

In Kapurthala district 4 road shows were conducted. These villages were in different phases of the project cycle and impact of road show was clearly visible such as:- In village Madhopur Block Phagwara the scheme was in

implementation phase. The GPWSC of the commissioned pilot village was also invited there. After the road show the people/inhabitants of the village took the connections after depositing the connection fee. Nearly 60% of the households had taken connection within one month after the road show which was earlier 11%.

- In village Cheheru Block Phagwara the scheme was also in implementation phase. Initially 50% of the village inhabitants had deposited the connection fee. It was found that within a month of road show the 100% inhabitants of the villages deposited the connection fee. These facts have been confirmed by World Bank team during their visit in September 2009.

In Ropar 3 road shows have been conducted. - In village Railon Khurd before the road show only 40

household connections were there but after the road show there was immediate increase in the no. of household connections and as of now, there is 100% water connections i.e. about 105 household have water connections.

- Another visible impact of the road show was that adjoining village to Railon Khurd i.e. Paprala also has achieved 100% household connections

- Other adjoining village Rasulpur had no connection before the road show but after the road show 70% households had deposited the connection fee and took up the connections.

164.Certain specific actions are now planned for increasing the effectiveness of IEC campaigns. For covering SWAp villages SPMC is planning to recruit HRD/IEC Specialist through the walk-in-interviews in the districts itself where the work load is more. SPMC would prefer local professionals during the interview for a longer association in the PRWSS project.SPMC is also planning to outsource the Capacity Building component of O&M to some competent professional agency especially for sustainability of the commissioned scheme under the SWAp/PRWSS project.The efforts are being made to take part time help/services of few reputed professionals, besides involving final year post graduate students

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studying in the Universities under the social sciences discipline such as Master in Sociology, Master in Social Work, MA Psychology, etc. The services will be taken on honorary basis in consultation with the Head of the Department of the concerned University/Department.

165.A total of 140 programs have been conducted in various villages on subjects ranging from awareness to O&M and such training has been given to GPWSC, as well as other interest groups. A total of 7558 participants have attended the programs. A sample profile of programs conducted is given below:

Sl No District Target Group[s] Villages Venue Date

1 Faridkot Cluster level trianing programme for GPWSC's

Ramgarh, Gobindgarh, Romana Albel Singh

Village Dharmshala

24.06.09

Village level training on O&M

Village: Behbal Khurd Govt. School 26.6.09

Village Level training on O&M

Hardyalana 22.7.09

2 Patiala Training for GPWSC/ idenified women group

Talauli, Urdan, Rampur Kalan, Gurudwara 11.06.09

Women empowerment Khandoli Community Hall 29.07.09

3 Mohali Training for GPWSC/ identified wemen group

Singhpur, Hasanpur, Dhun Majra,

Govt. High School

30.60.09

Training for GPWSC/ idenified women group

Khuni Mazra, Nawanshar, Batha

Dharmshala 27.7.09

4 Ropar Village level tarining on women empowerment

Panjola Gurudwara 10.7.09

Cluster level programme for beneficiary share collection

Kajauli, Chitmandi, Badi mandoli.

27.7.09

5 Mukatsar O&M Dharmshala 25.06.09

Cluster level programme for beneficiary share collection

BedowaliWangal, Jandu Ke, Budhimal,

30.06.09

6 Mansa GPWSC/GP/ NGO Dodra Panchayat Ghar

26.06.09

7 Jalandhar Capacity building training of O&M

Raipur Janj Ghar 11.06.09

Capacity building training of O&M

Dhanipur, Bundla,Muthada Khurd

Govt. High School

18.06.09

Capacity building training of O&M

Paras Rampur, Kukar Pind, Raipur

Dharmshala 21.07.09

8 Fathegarh Sahib

GPWSC/ Women group (Cluster Level)

Jakhwali Gurudwara 24.7.09

9 Hoshiarpur Women Empowerment Makhan garh Gurudwara 12.06.09

Cluster level Baddowal, Khanpur Khera, Pandhori, Mahitwal

26.06.09

Women empowerment Daburji 14.07.09

10 Kapurthala GPWSC/ Women group Madhopur Govt. Sxhool 23.06.09

Practical training O&M/ Phagwara Polytechnic 30.06.09

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Machinary/ Rung College

Training of O&M Jaid Elementary School.

7.07.09

11 Nawashahr GPWSC/ women group Uchi Palli, Bheen, Sujjon Community Hall 10.06.09

12 Sangrur GPWSC/ women group Lakhmirwala, Gobingerh Jejin, Jejin, Qila Bharian

Gurudwara 10.7.09

Training of O&M Kapyaal13 Tarn-Taran GPWSC/ women group Kasel, Jagatpur, Shishreaal Govt. School 17.07.09

14 Gurdaspur Village level training O&M/Women group

Bhotpoher, Chawa Gurudwara 27.07.09

Village level training O&M/Women group

Rampur

15 Ludhiana Village level training O&M Malsiyana Bhaike Panchayat Ghar

21.07.09

Village level training O&M Ramgarh Bhullar 21.07.09

On training of village technicians, plumbers

Chakker, Rajona Kala 27.07.09

16 Amritsar Village level training O&M Rudala Govt. School 16.07.09

Village level training O&M Naushera Panchayat Ghar 28.07.09

166.In addition to the training and capacity building activities on the project schemes, specific training programs have also been conducted to build the fiduciary capacity of the villagers as well as technical functionaries of the project. A number of such programs were conducted by the Chartered Accountant firm involved with the project. An illustrative list of programs is given below.

Sr. No.

Name of District

Date of Training

Name of GPWSCs & No. of Participant

No. of staff Members of DPMC who attended Training Programme

1. SPMC Mohali

15.07.2008 -- 2

2. Jallandhar 17.02.2009 1. Johal (4)2. Rasulpur (5) Staff members of DPMC

Jallandhar, Kapurthala, Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran also participated

3. Bathinda 18.02.2009 1. Buladawala (4)2. Mehma Swai (4) 3. Mehma Sarja (6)

Staff Members of (4) DPMC Bathinda, Mansa, Faridkot, Mukatsar participated

4. Ludhiana 19.02.2009 1. Rajoana Kalan (14)2. Nurwala (12)3. Kot Gangu Rai (14)4. Bains (15)5. Bajra (6)6. Dhola (7)

Staff Members of (4) DPMC Ludhiana, Moga, Nawan Shehar, Ferozpur

5. Ludhiana 06.03.2009 1. Hussian Pura (6) Finance Officer DPMC

83

2. Ksabad (2)3. Noorwala (4)4. Burja Hakima (1)

Ludhiana

6. Ludhiana 13.03.2009 1. Jhammat (7)2. Lalton Khurd (4)3. Koom Khurd (3)4. Narangwal (6)5. Malsian Bhai Ke (1)

Finance Officer DPMC Ludhiana

7. Ludhiana 19.03.2009 1. Chakkar (11)2. Dewatwal (7)3. Ramgarh Bhullar (8)4. Kaind (5)

Finance Officer DPMC Ludhiana

8. Ropar 25.05.2009 1. Railon (1)2. Paprala (2)3. Bhoje Majra (4)4. Kotli (2)5. Behrampur Bet (2)6. Dhaulran (2)7. Jhandian (4)8. Kamalpur (2)9. Jattoli (4)10. Balewal (2)

Finance Manager from SPMC Mohali, Staff members of DPMC Ropar i.e. SDE, HRD, F.O., J.E. in 2 J.E. in Noorpurbedi attended the Training Programme

9. Patiala 26.05.2009 1. Jore Majra (2)2. Jassowal (5)3. Sidhuwal (2)4. Urdan (2)5. Tepla (2)6. Chuhat (5)7. Charbar (2)

Five members of DPMC i.e. XEN JE, IEC, FO attended the Programme. In addition 8 Accountants Assistants also participated in Training Programme

10. Sangrur & Barnala

27.05.2009 1. Khudi Khurd (2)2. Borahikalan (4)3. Biggarwal (2)4. Ghorenab (2)5. Mattran (3) 6. Munshiwala (2) 7. Kapial (1) 8. Dugga (3) 9. Gharachon (4) 10. Noorpura (2) 11. Gehlan (2)12. Messampur (3)13. Dittupur (4)14. Gumand Singh Wala (2)15. Sangatpura (2)16. Rampur Gujjran (3)17. Gobindgarh Jejian (4)

11. Kapurthala 02.06.2009 1. Tashpur (2)2. Brindpur (4) 3. Dhadhe (3) 4. Rawalpindi (1) 5. Madhopur (4) 6. Khatti (2) 7. Jagatpur Jattan (2) 8. Panchtta (1) 9. Bullarai (4) 10. Jaid (3) 11. Parwan (1) 12. Raipur Peer Buxwala (2)

12. Amritsar 03.06.2009 1. Harar Khurd (2)2. Motla (2) 3. Rajdhan (4) 4. Naushera (3)

84

5. Raipur Khurd (2)6. Daud (2)7. Achintkot (1)8. Hoshiarnagar (1)9. Mukam (1)10. Rudala (3)11. Bajwal (2)12. Dujowal (3)13. Bhaini Gillan (2)14. Bal Kalan (2)15. Garindhi (2)16. Gujjapeer (3)17. Bias (2)

13. Tarn Taran 03.07.2009 15 GPWSCs, 35 participants XEN DPMC Tarn Taran,

SDE HRD, JE also participated

14. Gurdaspur 08.06.2009 1. Behrampur2. Dida Sainian3. Bhole Ke4. Dadu Yod5. Kotli Surat Mallian6. Dhilwan7. Khera Sultan8. Dhobra9. Shakri10. Chawa11. Ghotpokhar12. Kalanour 13. Kot Mian Sahib

15. Hoshiarpur 09.06.2009 1. Badowal (1)2. Bulowal (2)3. Bering (5)4. Pandori Mahtwan (2)5. Sarangwal (1)6. Makhangarh (5)7. Khanpur Theara (4)8. Ram Nagar9. Bains Taniwal

Officer of DPMC Hoshiarpur i.e. XEN, SDE, HRD, IEC, FO & 2 J.E. also participated. Smt. Jaswinder Kaur Jaswal Chairperson Zila Parishad also participated

16. Ferozpur 11.06.2009 1. Lehra Rohi2. Bagge Ke Pipal3. Ch. Bhange Wala4. Ch. Singhe Wala5. Ch. Khere Wala6. Bandala Purana7. Kotla8. Jalle Lakhe Ke Hithar9. Toot10. Hardasa11. Sudh Singh Wala12. Longo Deva13. Shakoor14. Shehzadi15. Kathgarh16. Ghall Khurd17. Pacca Chisti18. Malle Wala19. Sukhe Wala20. Gulam Hussian Wala21. Ratol Rohi

17. Mukatsar 12.06.2009 1. Bhullarwala2. Banwala Anu3. Bhulerian4. Beedowali5. Kharak Singh6. Diula

85

7. Jandwala Charat Singh8. Midu Khera9. Singhewala10. Ghumiar Khera11. Lalbai12. Mithri Budhgir13. Abul Khurana14. Bhang Chari15. Khaneki Dhab16. Khunan Kalan17. Lakhewali18. Lakhmireana19. Mahanbadar20. Sadarwala22. Urang23. Tamkot24. Bodiwala

18. Moga 17.06.2009 1. Sangla2. Cheema3. Norpur Hakima4. Fatehgarh Panjtoor5. Bhoipur6. Kot Mohamad Khan7. Cheeda8. Manawan9. Kaila10. Maur Nau Abad11. Sherpur Taiban

19. Faridkot 17.06.200920. Jallandhar 22.06.200921. Bathinda 01.06.2009 1. Garihbara Singh

2. Chanarlthal3. Maur Charat Singh4. Tarkhanwala5. Mahinangal6. Fateh Garh Nobad7. Raya8. Kot Guru9. Bhaini10. Mehma Swai11. Katar Singh Wala12. Gulab Garh13. Behman Jassa Singh14. Bheman Kaur Singh15. Harnam Singh Wala16. Netheha17. Jeond18. Sidhana19. Phulewala20. Nandgarh Kotra21. Ghanda Bana22. Bulladewala23. Virk Khurd24. Fatha Ballu

22. Ludhiana 02.06.200923. Fatehgarh

Sahib03.06.2009 1. Manherajattan

2. Malkomjra3. Kalaundi4. Dedran5. Nabipur6. Mugal Majra7. Jiwan Pura8. Mahtabgarh9. Jakhwali

Officers of DPMC i.e. XEN DPMC Nawan Shehar, HRD, JE and Finance Officer also participate

86

10. Bulewas Mukandpur24. Nawan

Shehar04.06.2009 1. Langroya (5)

2. Kariha (2)3. Gujjarpur Khurd (2)4. Thandian (1)5. Bharoli (2)6. Jhingran (1)7. Chak Mai Dass (2)

25. Mohali 05.06.2009 1. Teur2. Bhajoli3. Batta4. Daun Majra5. Bari6. Mamupur7. Khuni Majra8. Nawan Shehar9. Barodi10. Singhpura11. Hasanpur12. Boothgarh13. Mastgarh14. Fatehgarh

26. Mohali 09.06.2009 1. Lehli2. Joula Kalan3. Sitabgarh4. Habitpura5. Kehri Gujra6. Kudawala7. Lalru Mandi8. Amlala9. Dang Dehra10. Magra11. Gulabgarh12. Tira13. Bhagwanpur14. Bhagwasi

27 Mansa 08.06.2009 1. Jalwera2. Joean3. Mankhera4. Burj Jhabran5. Saidewala6. Ghuduwala7. Dodra8. Mandar9. Tehlian10. Malikpur Bhimra11. Jherianwali12. Mian13. Sherkhanwala14. Mandali15. Malkon

28. Tarn Taran 03.07.2009 11 number GPWSCs 27 Committee Members & 7 DPMC officials attended the training.

29. Nawan Shahar

07.10.2009 1. Bahar Majara2.Garcha3.Mallan Sodian4. Palli Uchi5. Sahal Kallan6. Sujjo

18 Committee Members & 6 DPMC Officers/officials attended the meeting.

30. 08.10.2009 Gurdaspur 1. Dhobra2. 2.Dida Sainian

3. Jhande Chak4. Kot Bhalla

41 Committee Members & 10 DPMC Officers/officials

87

5. Lahri Veeran6. Lohgarh Kote7. Narangpur8. Purowal Jattan9. Rawwal

attended the meeting.

31. 09.10.2009 Hoshiarpur 1 Arniala Shahpur2 Bairampur3 Jadpur4 Jahidpur5 Jaojjon Doaba6 Rani Pind7 Samra8 Tanda Ram Sahai9 Tooram


32. 20.10.2009 & 21.10.2009

Patiala 1. Bhanri2. Fatehpur3. Geora4. Ghanur5. Jaikher6. Jassowal7. Jore Majra8. Kadrabad9. Kot Khurd10. Sanour11. Sidhuwal12. Tepla13. Urdam14. Bir Kheri Gujjran


167.Apart from the communication agency, the IEC and HRD specialists attached to the DPMC have also been active in creating awareness about safe drinking water, interceding with the villagers in cases of disputes, convincing the village opinion-makers about the viability and necessity of project schemes and so forth. IEC and HRD specialists have especially been active in promoting Wall writing, school rallies, etc.

168.On the whole the current rate of progress on the IEC front has taken on board the lessons learned during the initial period of implementation as also the comments made by the different WB missions at different points of time. As a result of these efforts and the active encouragement from the political leadership in the State –especially the Chief Minister, there has of recent been considerable interest of the villagers in the project. It needs to be stated however that considerable fillip to the project activities has also been received because of the modifications in the Cost sharing Rules. The approach and the results thereof are discussed below.

Project Status-Part B-Coverage

169.As discussed earlier, the project had a somewhat delayed start due to various reasons, the primary ones of which were concerned with attitudinal change both on the part of the DWSS as well as the villagers. However as has also been remarked, there has been a clear and distinct increase in the participation of villages once the various plans concerned with different aspects of the project as well as the communication campaign were rolled out.

88

170.The number of fully covered villages is 60, out of the slightly more than 3000 villages initially planned for. The number of villages identified for performance improvement [those which had received support from other earlier schemes and which are to be handed over to GPs ] has been reduced to 800 from the original 1600. It should however, be noted that these villages have become fully covered only during the recent months, and that there had hardly been any progress in the earlier year[s]. This aspect of the matter has already been commented upon.

171.In terms of comparison to baselines, a summary of project achievement data till August 2009 is provided below:

172.Indicators Baselin

e 01.04.08

To Date 31.07.09

Target Comments

Increase in participating GPWSCs under SWAp.

120 1276 3161 Wider acceptance since the revision of the cost-sharing rules on 01.11.08 & Community mobilization through intensive IEC campaign.

New piped household water connections that are resulting from the project intervention in 1200 villages from IDA.

115 11,824 3,48,300 Achievements to date represent what was achieved in 57 villages. On an average 90% households will be provided with private water connections.

Piped household water connections that are benefitting from rehabilitation works undertaken by the project in 1200 villages from IDA.

43 1,869 39,300 Achievements to date show enhancement in private connections after rehabilitation of works in 28 PC villages.

Improved community water points rehabilitated under the project (reduction in public stand posts).

5 10 214 Emphasis is on providing private water connections to all the households. Therefore, the number of stand posts will reduce over the period. End project target is to reduce it to 214 in the 1200 project villages.

People in project areas with access to improved Water Sources in 1200 villages from IDA.

667 80,722 22,80,000

Population benefited by the above.

173.In the period April2009- March 2009, 45 villages [15 more till September 30] under IDA funding and 338 villages with funding from other sources had been covered fully. Not much progress could be made till June end because of restrictions imposed by the Election Commission in view of National Elections. However, this figure becomes significant when it is

89

considered that during the previous year [2007-08] only one village had been covered under the SWAp program.

174.For the period April 2009-March 2010, a target of 1392 villages has been set. Of these 450 villages will be predominantly under IDA funding and 942 will receive funding from other sources. SPMC is currently in the process of monitoring the bid invitation of about 100 schemes for which processes had been pending due to Lok Sabha elections. It is proposed that bids for another 200 villages would be awarded before December 31, 2009. The summary table in this regard is presented below:

Name of Programme Schemes

NC PC Total

Govt. of India & State Aided 735 628 314 942

WORLD BANK AidedCompletion by March 2010 = 200Completion by June 2010 = 450

431 134 316 450

Total 1166 762 630 1392

175.A total of 54 villages with a total of 19,516 households received benefits under the scheme as of June 30, 2009. Of these, 9838 were house connections. The level of increased awareness can be understood from the fact that in many villages the communities decided to reduce the number of community connections or even to totally eliminate community connections. In the Partially covered villages [ 28 out of the 54], the number of community points were reduced from 51 to 10. The Government has prescribed minimum tariff which is corrected every year by a pre-decided factor, and it has been decided that the target should be to achieve a minimum of 90% coverage by household connections.

176.DWSS has assessed that a minimum of 70% of the households in a village are required to be connected in order to achieve a break even on O&M. Using this standard, 28 villages have already exceeded the threshold percentage connections. An interesting point to be noted in this connection is that it appears that connections grow faster in NC villages than in PC villages. In NC villages the percentage has averaged 65%, while the figure is around 39% in PC villages.

177.The main objective of the Medium Term Programme is to increase the access of rural communities to improve and sustainable water supply and sanitation services.Component C of the project pertaining to Infrastructure Building besides construction of water supply schemes in about 3000 NC/PC villages and Up-gradation of existing water supply schemes in some

90

1600 villages also include Construction of small bore sewers and sewerage schemes in about 100 villages which already have good household sanitation coverage and rehabilitation of existing sullage drains and village ponds in about 1000 villages to improve water disposal systems and reduce environmental degradation to improve village level environmental sanitationSo far as sewerage is concerned, the demand from the villages is quite high. However, the acquisition of land for sewerage treatment plants remains a constraint. Currently sewerage works are under construction only in one village. However, more attention is proposed to be focused on sewerage in the short to medium term. SPMC is currently considering common sanitation schemes for several villages.

178.For community sanitation schemes, the Bank had made it mandatory to get concurrence for first five sample schemes from World Bank. Accordingly department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Punjab got approved from World Bank sewerage scheme Chawa Block Gurdaspur, Distt. Gurdaspur based on conventional technology costing Rs. 87.52 lac. Gram Panchayat opted for augmenting the water supply to 70 LPCD and for providing sewerage facility in the village under World Bank Project. The work was allotted in Feb, 2008 and only 20% work remains to be completed. For providing Sewerage facility to village and block Kalanour District Gurdaspur an estimate of Rs. 4.50 Crore was prepared on conventional sewerage system and sent to World Bank for approval. But World Bank has not given clearance to this sewerage scheme as the village does not meet the minimum per capita water supply standard required for conventional system. Sewerage scheme for village Baba Bakala Block Rayya District Amritsar costing Rs. 4.05 crore after approval by World Bank has been allotted and the work is in progress.

179.Recently, SPMC has hired Engineering Support consultancy for providing technical support to DWSS for providing services right from pre-planning stage and will cover, planning, procurement, Implementation and Post Implementation stages for up gradation/ new water supply schemes in 1000 NC/PC villages and 100 sewerage schemes.The consultant’s scope of work also includes preparation of Environment and Social Management Framework for Environmental Assessment. The EMF shall be based on ten sample sewerage schemes (to be selected in consultation with SPMC/DWSS) and a generic EMF be developed which shall be applicable to all the water supply and sewerage schemes proposed under the Project. Consultant shall update the existing Environmental Management Framework (EMF) and will update following aspects of the report:

1. Key Environmental Issues identified in sample schemes and Suggested mitigation measures.

2. Key element of EMFa. Development environmental aspects and formats for field level

officer on Environmental Screening, Impact evaluation and Environmental management interventions.

b. Environmental Supervision, Monitoring and Evaluation Plan with relevant formats including description of labs where samples shall be analyzed.

c. Application of EMF to project cycle describing pre planning/ planning/ implementation and post implementation stages.

91

d. Development of environmental code of practices for implementation.

3. A responsibility matrix describing responsibility of contractor/DWSS/SPMC etc on all activities proposed under EMP for implementation.

4. Implementation Plan, Training & capacity building5. Budget for Training & EMP for each sub project.

180. Till date SPMC has received requests from 32 Gram Panchayats for sewerage schemes in their villages. Partial beneficiary contribution has also been deposited. The list of 32 villages is given below

Detail of villages for providing sewerage system (without flow of solid waste) where beneficiary share collected is Rs.50000/- or more

Sr. No.

Name of Block

Name of

village

Present w/s servic

e Level (LPCD

)

Present

population

(2007)

No. of

Households

household with

septic tank and

inspection chamber

Beneficiary Share

(Rs. In Lacs)

Achievement during 11/08

Collected

Month of receipt

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10District : Patiala1 Samana Chouhat 70 1681 202 13 0.5 July,

07

Total Viallages

1 No.

District : Fatehgarh1 Bassi

PathanaMain Majri

70 1096 183 131 1 Jan., 08

Digital survey comple

tedTotal Viallages

1 No.

Distt: NawanShehar 1 Saroya Karimpu

r Dhiani 40 1237 258 24 0.50 Jan.,

08Admn. App. Received vide letter no. 4886 dt. 3.10.08, bid document under process

2 Saroya Chhudhari

40 489 - 0.50 Jan.,08

Received back from HO with observ

92

ations3 Saroya Saroya 40 3637 750 81 0.50 Feb.,

08Received back from Circle with observations

4 Saroya Sadhra 40 1692 267 26 0.50 Feb.,08

Received back from HO with observations

5 Saroya Chandpur Rurki

40 2286 Under Process 0.50 Feb.,08

Received back from Circle with observations vide No. 9508 dt. 8.10.08

6 Balachour

Simble Majara

1604 0.50 Received back from HO with observations

7 Balachour

Udhnowal

2253 0.50 Received back from HO with observations

Total Villages :

7 No.

District : Hoshiarpur 1 Bhunga Daffar 70 1859 390 187 4.00 Sept.

,07lying with Govt.

2 Tanda Daburji 70 727 Under Process 1.37 March,08

Preparation of DSR in process

3 Hoshiarpur-II

Powal 40 1256 222 92 1.00 Aug.,07

Site for STP not available

4 Hoshiar Badial 40 1114 165 116 1.50 Jan., Schem

93

pur-II 08 e is abundoned due to less available service level

5 Hoshiarpur-II

Tanuli 70 1644 259 185 2.66 March,08

DSR prepared and under check

6 Bhunga Taggar 70 310 58 58 1.00 Jan.,08


7 Mahilpur

Mehangrowal

70 1050 218 134 1.00 Nov.,07

lying with Govt.

8 Garhshankar

Nurpur Jattan

70 636 137 84 1.00 Dec.,07


9 Garhshankar

Dadial 70 1321 273 173 4.00 Dec.,07

Dispute with new panchayat

10

Garhshankar

Kot fatuhi

70 3488 624 3.10 DSR prepared and under check

11

Hoshiarpur-II

Rourian 0.50 Land provided for STP is in the Choe

Total Villages :

11 No.

Distt. Amritsar 1 Majitha Jaintipur 40 794 158 79 0.50 June,

07sent to Govt. vide CE (N) No. 691 dt. 16.10.08 Rs. 25.33 lacs

2 Majitha Sohian Kalan

40 5619 950 475 0.50 July,07

Under preparation for Rs. 140.48 lacs

3 Majitha Kotla Sultan

40 1188 203 122 3.00 June,07

Admn. App.

94

Singh By Govt. of Pb. Vide letter No. 4889-91 dt. 3.10.08 for Rs. 37.86 lacs.

4 Tarskia Mattewal

38 3009 505 303 0.81 Jan,08


5 Majitha Veeram - 1000 200 120 0.50 Dec.,07


6 Tarskia Jabowal 40 3874 650 390 0.50 Feb.,08

Estimate sent to SE, Amritsar vide EE (GW) No. 8549 dt. 23.08.08

7 Majitha Marrarhi Kalan

40 2084 415 0.50 Aug.,08

Estimate sent to CE (N), Amritsar vide SE No. 12839-42 dt. 12.10.08 for Rs. 55.34 lacs

8 Rayya Baba Bakala

40 7511 1365 4.80 Pb. Govt. letter No. 5877 dt. 25.11.08

9 Rayya Beas 40 2000 363 0.50 Sept.,08

Under preparation for Rs. 80.00

95

lacsTotal

Villages :9 No.

Distt. Tarn Taran 1 Khadoo

r SahibKhadoor Sahib

40 8737 1456 60% 7.65 Oct.,08

App. Vide Pb. Govt. 4883-85 dt. 3.10.08 for Rs. 309.16 lacs

2 Chola Shaib

Chola Shaib

70 7943 1322 70% 4.53 July,09

3 Khadoor Sahib

Gobind wal Sahib

70 8050 1500 70% 2.97 Sept.,09

Total Villages :

3 No.

181.The status of villages zone-wise so far as work in progress is concerned, is shown in the Table below. The detailed Table is annexed to this Report.

South Zone

North Zone

Central Zone

State

No. of Schemes 171 153 147 471No. of

villages identified

NC 12 77 7 96PC 164 89 145 398

Total 176 166 152 494No. of schemes from which

resolution received170 152 144 466

No. of villages

from which

Resolution

Received

NC 11 77 7 95PC 164 87 142 393

Total 175 164 149 488

GPWSC formed 175 160 149 484MoU Signed 71 83 92 246

No. of villages where Digital Survey completed

117 117 92 326

No. of villages where

Beneficiary share received

is

90% to 100% 108 102 70 28050% to 90% 23 31 20 741% to 50% 36 24 41 101

Opening of Account 165 157 128 450

Approval (Scheme

wise)

Admn. Approval 91 89 54 234DSR 82 82 41 205

Bid document 72 68 38 178

96

No. of schemes where Bids Invited 14(1P) 13 6 33 (1P)No. of schemes where Bids under

process19

(11P)20(1P) 24(6P

)63(18P

)No. of schemes where Work

allotted52

(14P)22(1P) 9(6P) 83

(21P)

The district wise list of commissioned schemes is as below:

Sr. No.

Name of District

Name of Schemes

Commissioned

Completion Report Received

1 Ropar 1) Jatauli2) Paprala

2 Patiala 1) Rampur Kalan2) Mehmadpur3) Khandoli

1) Yes

3 Fatehgarh Sahib

1) Manheran Jattan2) Talwara3) Malko Majra4) Shahpur

4 Sangrur 1) Biggarwal2) Baurie Kalan

1) Yes2) Yes

5 Barnala 1) Khuddi Khurd 1) Yes6 Bathinda 1) Buladewala

2) Virk Khurd3) Fatta Ballu

1) Yes2) Yes3) Yes

7 Mansa 1) Dodra2) Saidewala

Total (A): South Zone

17 Schemes and 19 villages

7

8 Nawanshahar

1) Bakhlaur2) Ratainda3) Mehliana4) Lakhpur5) Khanpur

9 Hoshiarpur 1) Daburji2) Tanauli3) Chak Kasim4) Khanpur 4) Yes

10 Gurdaspur 1) Kalanaur2) Chawa3) Mustafapur4) Kot Mian Sahib5) Ghot Pokhar

11 Kapurthala 1) Parwa2) Bhulla Rai3) Jagatpur Jattan

1) Yes2) Yes3) Yes

12 Amritsar 1) Naushera2) Kakkar Kalan

13 Jalandhar 1) Raipur2) Ladhran3) Dhanipind4) Sirhali

97

5) Rasulpur6) Dhindsa & Langrian7) Johal

Total (B) : North Zone


4

14 Ferozepur 1) Chak Khere Wala2) Chak Singhe Wala3) Lehra Rohi4) Chak Bhange Wala5) Bagge Ke Pipal

2) Yes

15 Muktsar 1) Beedowali 1) Yes16 Faridkot 1) Jiwan Wala

2) Behbal Khurd3) Hardialeana

17 Ludhiana 1) Rajoana Kalan2) Ramgarh Bhullar

3) Malsian Bhai ke

18 Moga 1) Manawan2) Sekhan Khurd

Total (C): Central Zone


2

G.Total (A+B+C):


13 schemes and 13 villages

District-wise Performance

182.Reference has been made [paragraph 73] to the District level performance indicators. A set of district-wise comparison indices has been used to measure district level performance for the MTR. The indices used are:

Total Villages covered by the Schemes Total number of Schemes Total Number of villages in Special Category included in the

Schemes Total Number of Households in the villages covered Total number of SC Households in the villages covered Number of Tubewell Schemes Number of Canal Schemes Number of SC Schemes Number of MV Schemes Total number of Schemes approved by DWSC Total Cost of DWSC Approved Schemes in the District Total Due from Beneficiaries Total Received from Beneficiaries

98

Percentage of recovery of beneficiary shares Total number of Schemes for which Contracts Actually issued Total expended by the GPWSC till date No Schemes Commissioned No of Schemes Completed

A Table showing data as of September 2009 for pilot Villages is given below

Districts

Rev. vill as % of original

Rev. Scheme as% of original

Vill from where 90-100 % ben. Share recd. As % of total vill,

Vill. From where 50-90% ben.share recd. As % of total vill.

No. of schemes for which tenders approved as % of total schemes

No. of schemes Comm. As % of total schemes

No. of schemes completed as % of total schemes

Ropar 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 66.67 33.33Patiala 75.00 75.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 0.00Fatehgarh Sahib

100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 0.00

Sangrur 50.00 50.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 66.67 66.67Barnala 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 0.00Bathinda 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 100.00Mansa 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 83.33 50.00 16.67Total (A): South Zone [Except SAS Nagar]

87.10 85.19 100.00 0.00 95.65 78.26 30.43

Nawanshahr

100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 0.00

Hoshiarpur

100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 80.00 20.00

Amritsar 33.33 33.33 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 0.00Tarn Taran 66.67 66.67 100.00 0.00 100.00 50.00 0.00Gurdaspur 75.00 75.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 0.00Kapurthala 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 100.00Jalandhar 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 100.00Total (B) : North Zone

85.71 84.85 100.00 0.00 100.00 92.86 35.71

Ferozepur 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 100.00 80.00Muktsar 60.00 50.00 100.00 0.00 50.00 50.00 0.00Faridkot 80.00 80.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 75.00 0.00Ludhiana 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 75.00 75.00Moga 100.00 100.00 100.00 0.00 100.00 66.67 0.00Total (C): Central Zone

86.36 85.71 100.00 0.00 94.44 77.78 38.89

99

G.Total (A+B+C):

86.36 85.19 100.00 0.00 97.10 84.06 34.78

While the data speaks for itself, some important points need to be noted:

In all the three zones in Batch 1 villages, there has been between 90-100% recovery of beneficiary share.

Overall percentage of approval of tenders is above 95% In all the three zones, the percentage of schemes commissioned is

above 75% and overall, the percentage of schemes commissioned is more than 80%. This obviously means that the GPWSC are effective in contract management in the Batch 1 villages.

By far, North Zone has performed somewhat better than the other two Zones.

The indicators taken above are a sub-set of the total number of possible indicators. However, these have been shown to generally show progress of the batch-1 villages. Details of the villages have been provided in the tables given earlier. Detailed list of Active and Inactive Gram Panchayats are provided in Annexes 3 and 4.

The above data have been graphed to show district-wise performance as below:

(1) Comparison between districts on recovery of beneficiary share etc.[Pilot Villages]

100

(2) Comparison between Districts on Scheme Approvals, schemes Commissioned and Completed, and tenders issued [Pilot villages]

101

However, there remains considerable scope of improvement, especially in the procurement cycle, as can be easily seen. The percentage of works commissioned is low, but it may be remembered that the task of allotment of Works was taken up in earnest only recently and that most of the schemes are therefore under construction.

Comprehensive Table showing the indicators introduced in the early part of this paragraph [181] are as below:

A. South Zone

102

Sr. No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Total (South Zone)

Name of District Ropar Mohali

Patiala

Fatehgarh Sahib

Sangrur

Barnala

Bathinda Mansa

No of Schemes 21 104 30 13 17 1 49 19 254No of Villages 22 104 30 13 19 1 52 20 261No of NC Villages 4 1 0 11 0 0 0 0 16No of PC villages 18 103 30 2 19 1 52 20 245

No of special category villages 0 2 8 0 0 13 1 24Total Population

18677

128577

38944 12549 44890 1349 120705 30995

396686

Total households 4634 25715 6589 2282 8188 203 19892 5432 72935Total SC households 6428 633 1108 2525 89 6722 2612 20117Total Tubewell Schemes 21 104 30 13 17 1 7 1 194Total Canal Schemes 0 0 0 0 0 0 42 18 60

Total no of schemes approved by DWSC 8 104 30 13 19 1 49 19 243

Total Cost of Schemes (in Rs. Lacs)

534.16

3533.43

782.23 402.58 624.68 23.8

2544.99

1037.22

9483.09

Total Due from Beneficiaries (in Rs. Lacs) 16.22 149.18 42.28 15.05 43.19 2.38 153.17 42.52 463.99Total recovered from beneficiaries (in Rs. Lacs) 20.38 42.52 8.48 14.24 34.86 3.05 71.53 40 235.06Total schemes for which allotment letter issued 18 6 7 11 1 29 8 80

Total Exp by GPWSC (in Rs. Lacs) 0 118.5 59.33 102.8 87.57 19.35 624.79 220.63

1232.97

Total exp by Operations Wing (in Rs. Lacs) 13.89 6.96 0 0 0 0 6.35 3.15 30.35Total no of 0 2 3 5 2 1 8 3 24

103

schemes commissioned

Total no of schemes completed 0 0 3 0 2 1 3 0 9

B. North Zone

Sr. No. 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Total ( North Zone)

Name of District

Nawanshahr

Hoshiarpur

Amritsar

Tarn Taran

Gurdaspur

Kapurthala

Jalandhar

No of Schemes 40 29 29 22 26 26 28 200No of Villages 42 32 29 22 38 26 30 219No of NC Villages 19 12 6 0 24 21 16 98No of PC villages 23 20 23 22 14 5 14 121No of special category villages 5 22 18 0 0 5 2 52Total Population 67736 33755

50558

53313 63688 51017 60611

380678

Total households 12261 6547 8859 8052 9674 8503 10992

64888

Total SC households 6897 1913 2749 3018 2814 3578 5167

26136

Total Tubewell Schemes 40 29 29 22 26 26 28 200Total Canal Schemes 0 0 0 0 0 -- 0 0Total no of schemes approved by DWSC 40 29 29 22 26 26 28 200Total Cost of Schemes (in Rs. Lacs) 1367.93

7175.93

955.63

1017.145

1058.425 904.92

1278.41

13758.39

Total Due from Beneficiaries

76.05 31.1 34.5 34.19 38.22 50.54 78.55 343.15

104

(in Rs. Lacs)Total recovered from beneficiaries (in Rs. Lacs) 70.66 26.598 22.54 22.6 42.48 56.79 85.85

327.518

Total schemes for which allotment letter issued 17 23 3 16 12 19 12 102Total Exp by GPWSC (in Rs. Lacs) 257.19 79.88 21.96 28.11 305.73 134.37

206.92

1034.16

Total exp by Operations Wing (in Rs. Lacs) 0 0 0 0 22.66 0 23.74 46.4Total no of schemes commissioned 5 4 1 1 6 3 7 27Total no of schemes completed 0 1 0 1 0 3 7 12

C. Central Zone

Sr. No. 16 17 18 19 20

Total (Central Zone)

Name of District Ferozepur Muktsar Faridkot Ludhiana Moga No of Schemes 37 23 24 67 21 172No of Villages 38 24 26 70 21 179No of NC Villages 6 0 0 2 1 9No of PC villages 32 24 26 68 20 170No of special category 23 24 7 37 0/4 91

105

villages Total Population 92203 62893 59707 113578 35679 364060Total households 15219 10481 9997 19763 5324 60784Total SC households 3654 4465 3124 7118 1796 20157Total Tubewell Schemes 31 0 0 67 21 119Total Canal Schemes 6 23 24 0 0 53Total no of schemes approved by DWSC 37 23 24 67 21 172Total Cost of Schemes (in Rs. Lacs) 2305.01 2432.22 2275.34 1844.99 555.25 9412.81Total Due from Beneficiaries

(in Rs. Lacs) 68.92 65.89 71.01 99.78 31.76 337.36Total recovered from beneficiaries

(in Rs. Lacs) 24.805 49.79 61.53 69.84 30.03 235.995Total schemes for which allotment letter issued 5 5 10 22 9 51Total Exp by GPWSC (in Rs. Lacs) 112.1 101.65 178.48 186.57 56.9 635.7Total exp by Operations Wing (in Rs. Lacs) 0 0 0 0 0 0Total no of schemes commissioned 5 1 3 4 0 13Total no of schemes completed

So far as the number of schemes completed is concerned, it may be seen that the figures are either very low or nil. As a matter of fact, completion of schemes does not only mean physical completion, but also the payment of the final bills and the engineer’s issuance of a completion certificate. In most of the villages it has been seen that though the schemes have been commissioned, the contractor takes an unconscionably long time to

106

submit the final bills. To that extent, the completion of the schemes gets negatively affected.

The overall situation in the State of Punjab is as follows:

No of Schemes 626No of Villages 659

No of NC Villages 123No of PC villages 536

No of special category villages 167

Total Population 1141424Total

households 198607Total SC

households 66410Total Tubewell

Schemes 513Total Canal Schemes 113

Total no of schemes

approved by DWSC 615

Total Cost of Schemes

(in Rs. Lacs)32654.2

9Total Due from Beneficiaries (in Rs. Lacs) 1144.5

Total recovered from

beneficiaries (in Rs. Lacs) 798.573

Total schemes for which

allotment letter issued 233

Total Exp by GPWSC

(in Rs. Lacs) 2902.83Total exp by Operations Wing (in Rs.

Lacs) 76.75Total no of schemes

commissioned 64Total no of schemes

completed 31

107

The total number of schemes completed is nearly 5% where the number of schemes commissioned is slightly more than the double of that. At the same time, the number of schemes commissioned is approximately ten per cent of the total number of schemes. However, it needs to be remembered that the large majority of schemes were initiated during the current year, and sufficient time has not elapsed for completion of all civil and mechanical works.

Table below shows certain indicators for the three Zones, in comparison to State-wide figures. There are some additional indicators also given, and the Use of the Indicator is described.

State

North Zone

Central Zone

South Zone Use of Indicator

NC Villages to total villages

18.66 44.75 5.03 6.13 To be able to focus on

NC villages

PC Villages to total villages

81.33 55.25 94.97 93.87

To completely convert PC to FC through an accelerated strategy

Special Category villages to

total villages

25.34 23.74 50.84 9.20

Extent of Affirmative Action provided for

Constrained or Underprivileged

VillagesTotal SC

households to total

households

33.44 40.28 33.16 27.58

Extent of Affirmative Action provided by the

ProjectTotal

approved schemes to

total Schemes

93.32

100.00 100.00 95.67

To provide indication of efficiency of the first

stage of the scheme cycle

Total Schemes for which work has been allotted to

total schemes approved

37.89 51.00 29.65 32.92

To provide indication of the efficiency of the

Works procurement cycle

Total Cost to total no of schemes

[ Avg. Cost of Schemes]

49.55 68.79 54.73 37.34

Comparison of costs of similarly designed

schemes

Percentage of Beneficiary

Share [beneficiary dues to total

cost]

3.51 2.49 3.58 4.89Extent of Beneficiary

participation with respect to new cost-

share rules

Management 69.7 95.44 69.95 50.66 Effectiveness of IEC

108

of Beneficiary Debt

[Recovered amount to

due amount]

8

GPWSC Exp to Total Cost 8.89 7.52 6.75 13.00

Cost efficiency of project execution

through beneficiary mechanisms

Ops wing expenditure to total costs

0.24 0.34 0.00 0.32 Extent of government involvement

Commissioned schemes to

total schemes

9.71 13.50 7.56 9.45 Efficiency of execution management

It will be seen from the above that if the State figures are taken as an average benchline then the North Zone seems to have performed better overall. A detailed analysis is being done by the SPMC to identify specific districts and villages, so that particular attention can be focused on the same.

The following graphs show district-wise performance on key indicators:

1. District-wise No of schemes versus number of villages

2. District-wise distribution of NC and PC villages

109

3. District-wise distribution of total population, households and SC households

4. Showing District-wise total due from beneficiaries versus total recovered from beneficiaries:

110

4. Showing the progress of the process of scheme execution: As discussed earlier, the scheme execution process has the following stages:

Resolutions to be received by DWSC Approvals by DWSC Initiation of procurement process Issuance of allotment letter Execution of work Commissioning Completion

The following graph depicts the approvals to allotment figures for the districts. An overall picture of these indicators zone-wise and for the State has already been given earlier.

111

Project Status-Part C- Procurement

183.It has been mentioned in the initial discussions that Procurement has been an issue for the project since the beginning. There was initially a lack of capacity and understanding of the World Bank Procurement Guidelines and processes and a grave shortage of personnel. This matter has been addressed to some extent after the lapse of the two years for which the project has been in progress. Initially the SPMC could not find suitable candidates for the post of Procurement Specialist having experience in World Bank/Externally funded projects. Now however some steps have been taken to build the capacity of DWSS officers/officials on World Bank Procurement Procedures. These include the following:

Two officers of Procurement wing were nominated by the SPMC for International Program on Procurement Procedures for the World Bank aided projects held at Administrative staff college of India (ASCI), Hyderabad.

An interactive workshop on procurement procedures was held at Chandigarh on 8.8.2008 with the assistance of World Bank. The workshop was attended by all the officers (up to Executive Engineers) of DWSS and Sh. Shivendera Kumar, Consultant Procurement, WB deliberated upon salient features of WB procurement procedures & Guidelines, Model Bid Evaluation reports for Prior & Post Review contracts prepared by procurement wing of SPMC were discussed & explained to all the officers. Second session of the workshop was attended by Technical support staff (Circle Head draftsmen/ Head Draftsman)

To improve the quality of document, workshops for DWSS officers/Technical support staff/Ministerial staff on World Bank Guidelines in general and preparation of bid documents (IFB, qualification criteria, pre bid conference, Bid opening record, Bid Evaluation and preparation of contract documents) in particular were conducted by Procurement Wing, brief details of which are as follow:

Sr. No.

Name of Circle Date

1 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Chandigarh

14.08.08

2 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Ferozepur & Faridkot

22.08.08

3 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Patiala & Sangrur

25.08.08

4 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Jalandhar & Gurdaspur

26.08.08

5 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, 27.08.08

112

Ludhiana

6 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Bathinda 28.08.08

7 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Amritsar 10.09.08

8 Water Supply & Sanitation Circle, Hoshiarpur

12.09.08

Consultancy services of M/S Crown Agents (India) Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, were hired to impart intensive training on procurement aspects (5 days module) to the officers of DWSS and four such training courses, covering all the officers of DWSS upto the level of Executive Engineers and some SDEs (Total: 100 officers), have been conducted at SPMC on January 20-24, 2009, July 6-10, 2009, July 20-24, 2009 and August 24-28, 2009.

SPMC nominated four more officers of DWSS for International Program on Procurement Procedures for World Bank aided projects held at ASCI, Hyderabad in July, 2009.

184.One of the drawbacks to streamlined procurement has been the lack of response from bidders. To cope with this situation, Bidders conferences were held at Chandigarh, Jalandhar and Ludhiana on 5.9.2008, 11.9.2008 & 22.9.2008 respectively in which prospective bidders were invited through press advertisement. Bidders from different zones participated in these conferences wherein concepts of World Bank project and salient features of the bid documents such as qualification requirements were explained. To encourage better participation, the bidders were informed that under PRWSS project, tender approvals have been simplified and decentralized at District level, assured payments on monthly basis, no preference to any bidder, all materials to be arranged by bidders. Contact No. of SPMC/DPMC officers along with E-mail ID specially developed for seeking clarifications & quick redressed of grievances were circulated to all the participants.

185.Further, based on feedback, M&E exercise was carried out for participation of the bidders, award of contracts in first/Second round of bidding and to encourage better participation and competitive rates, took up the matter with World Bank for relaxation of qualification criteria under clause 4.5 (Financial turnover) and 4.7 (Bid Capacity) of bid documents. World Bank agreed with the proposal and has issued no objection to relax qualification requirements under clause 4.5 & 4.7 of bidding documents (Both W1 & W2 format) initially for a limited period of one year i.e. upto 15.10.2010. The amendment allowed under these clauses stands circulated to all field officer vide SPMC letter No. 8633-47 dated 2.9.2009 and vide e-mail dated 2.9.2009 for adoption for a limited period upto 15.10.2010.

186.It was decided that until these efforts in procurement capacity building reaches a satisfactory level, each procurement document (Bid document, Bid Evaluation Report) prepared by field officers will be reviewed at SPMC level. Directions in this regard were issued to all

113

Superintending Engineers cum District Program Directors vide SPMC letter No. 9173-83 dated 16.12.08. Till date, 114 bid documents, 20 bid evaluation reports of various circle offices have been prior reviewed by SPMC, besides 23 prior review contracts.

187.To confirm correctness of bid documents (Both W1 & W2-Prior/Post Review), Check lists have been circulated and uploaded on project web site.

188.Directions for maintenance of procurement record duly catalogued & indexed have been issued to all SEs cum DPDs vide SPMC letter No. 9061-72 dated 12.12.08, in the meeting of finance officers held on 22.4.09. A checklist for keeping records of each contract in one file have also been circulated vide no. 8047-62 dated 18.08.09 for guidance of field officers and have also been hosted on project website.

189.Consultancy services for Post Procurement Review (as required under paragraph 28 of Annexure 8, page 71 of PAD) hired by the project. However, suggestion were made to the MTR mission that PPR by the World Bank as well as by the project amount to audit of more than 40% contracts and thus, PPR by the project should be dispensed with as risk rating has also improved.

190.Procurement Plan for initial 18 months as approved by Bank has been updated and Procurement Plan up to 30.9.09 was reviewed by the 3rd

implementation Support Mission stands approved principally. As discussed with the mission, identification numbers/serial numbers of package/Works have been frozen and necessary directions in this regard have been issued to District Program Directors vide SPMC e-mail dated 9.12.08. Procurement Plans are hosted on project website.

191.All standard Bid documents, important procurement points (framed on the basis of World Bank procurement guidelines) were prepared & hosted on project website for guidance of field staff.

192.To reduce the high cost of press release of EOIs/IFBs/SPNs, matter was taken up with the World Bank and a draft of small advertisement was sent to World Bank vide e-mail dated 5.12.08. World Bank agreed with the proposal and approved abridged version of IFB vide its e-mail dated 26.12.08. However, full version of IFB is hosted on project website. Thus, expenses on advertisement charges have been reduced drastically and abridged version of IFBs is published in National Newspaper having circulation in all regions of the country

193.Directions for oversight of Independent Observer in bid evaluation have been issued vide SPMC letter No. 6526-6575 dated 30.7.09 under intimation to World Bank.

194.Further, to improve quality of documentation & implementation of project in time bound manner, Consultancy Services to provide Technical Support to DWSS in 1000 NC/PC villages and 100 village for Sewerage schemes upto Post implementation stage has been hired by SPMC and Contract agreement signed on 6.8.2009.

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Project Status-Part D-Financial

195.So far as the IDA funded part of the project is concerned, Disbursements on the project have been slow for reasons discussed already. Most of the disbursements have taken place during late 2008 and 2009 only. Disbursements as on December 5, 2008 stood at SDR 10.9 million (USD 16.8 million) which represent 10.5% of the credit of SDR 104.1 million (USD 154.0 million). This had improved to US$ 19.4 million (12.13% of the credit of SDR 104.1 million), by July 14, 2009. There are pending replenishment requests. However, the amount disbursed still remained almost 80% behind the targeted amounts. As of March 31, 2009 Project expenditure was Rs. 28.1 crores (about US$6 million) only. The budget for FY 2009 -10 has provided for Rs. 158 crores (about US$33 million).

196.The picture overall however, shows some improvement over earlier periods.

(Figures in Rs) Year

ended March

31 2009

Cumulative

expenditure upto 31

March 2009

Cummulative

expenditure upto

September 30 2009

Sources of funds Government of India (ARWSP)

97500000 97500000 975000

World Bank 142300000

346050000 546050000

GOP 55000000 105000000 105000000Total Sources 2948000

0054855000

065202500

0 Utilization of Funds Program Management 35623058 43870384 68259547Community Development Support

10717728 13229478 22522691

Infrastructure Building: Funded by Government of India (ARWSP)

- Single Village Schemes (Grant in Aid to GPs)

41128000 41128000 41128000

- Multi Village Schemes Funded by World Bank/ Government of Punjab

- Single Village Schemes 12349600

0204827800 281841800

- Multi village Schemes 6528000 8044000 9833000 Transfer of existing schemes 0 0Community sanitation 0 3301000 3301000

115

schemes Total Utilization of Funds 21749278

6314400662 426886038

197.It may be noted in this connection that while Rs 9.70 crores had only been spent till March 31, 2008, the expenditure during 2008-09 was Rs 21.74 crores. This represents a 224% rise in expenditure efficiency. The reasons for low levels of expenditure as a result of administrative and other difficulties during the initial period of the project have been discussed earlier in this document.

198. The expenditure pattern for the last five quarters is graphed below:

199.It is seen from the above that there has been a general rise in expenditures on the project. The period April to June of 2009 was a lag period since the restrictions of the election commission were in force.

200.The project is currently facing a shortfall in availability of funds. Since the project operates through the mainstream government systems all payments are processed by the Treasury of the GoP. Though the project has been issued Letters of Credit (LoC) by the Finance Department (FD), there has been a delay in the payment of bills presented by the project in various District treasury offices.Payments across the state for many departments are being rationed. This matter has been discussed at the level of the Secretary [Exp] of GoP with the World Bank. So far as the GoP is concerned, it received Rs. 786.4 million from World Bank through GoI under the project till July 2009, it released only Rs. 546.1 million to the project. This was one more reason for the relatively poor performance during the quarter ended June 2009. Subsequently the GOP gave an assurance the requisite funds would be released so that infrastructure activities in approximately 300 GPs would not be adversely impacted.

201.Component wise expenditure patterns also show improvement, as shown in the table below

116

30.06.08

30.09.08

31.12.08

31.03.09

30.06.09

30.09.09

A Program Management

Eligible Expenditure 2585.14

7219.91

13936.24

11881.78

11446.64

12942.52

IDA share 2585.14

7219.91

13936.24

11881.78

11446.64

12942.52

B Community Development

Eligible Expenditure 234.73 4070.50

1063.72

5348.78

1319.36 7973.855

IDA share 234.73 4070.50

1063.72

5348.78

1319.36 7973.855

C1 & C2a

Infrastructure Development (World Bank Supported schemes) - Grant in Aid to GPWSC for SVs & Intra Village works -Expenditure by DWSS Divisions on Multi Village Schemes


63819.00

17719 44477.00

21964.00

56839.00

IDA share 2645.94

42120.54

11694.54

29354.82

14496.24

37513.74

C2(b) Schemes for innovative water

treatment

0 0 0 0 0 0

C3 Schemes for Community Sanitation

0 0 0 0 0 0

Total Project Expenditure


75109.41

32718.96

61707.56

34730.00

77755.375

IDA share 5465.81

53410.95

26694.50

46585.38

27262.24

58430.38

202.The component-wise expenditures are graphed as follows:

117

203.It will be seen that infrastructure building component has been the best performer. To obtain a better idea of the relative importance of each component and its contribution to overall program efficiency, the following ratios are provided:

Quarter Ending

30.06.08

30.09.08

31.12.08

31.03.09

30.06.09

30.09.09 Overall

Benchmark [PAD]

Prog Mgmt Exp as

proportion of all other exp, 60.92 10.63 74.20 23.85 49.16 19.11 43.75 14.31

Community Dev as

proportion of Infrastructure

Dev Exp 5.86 6.38 6.00 12.03 6.01 13.01 7.25 11.87

The above Table reveals that over the last six quarters, while Program Management Expenditure has been more than what was originally envisaged, Community Development Expenditure has been lower than as per original project design. The SPMC is now trying to address this issue as can be seen from the low figures for the last quarter ending Sept. 30, 2009. The reason why the ratio for the June quarter is higher is simply because during that quarter no investment on infrastructure took place due to the Elections. The actual figures of expenditure on infrastructure for that period was less than 50% of the previous quarter as can be seen from reference to Table in paragraph 194. The Program Management overheads however, increased due to recruitments.

204.The lower performance figure on Community Development Expenditure is a matter that is currently being addressed by the SPMC. A clear plan and expenditure strategy has now been laid out and the SPMC is intent on executing the same fully. The plan is to spend Rs 3.18 crores till March 31, 2010 against approximately Rs 4.15 crores in the period since inception.

205.External/ Statutory Audit (EA) observations. Audit for FY 2008 – 09 is is complete andaudit report has been submitted by Principal AG (Audit) Punjab which has already been sent to WB. The audit report for FY 2007-08, included three major sets of observations which have been replied.

206.Internal Audit. Contract for internal audit has been signed. The firm has been hired for an initial period of two years to audit the SPMC (twice in a year), DPMCs (once in a year on rotation) and RWSS divisions (1/4th per year on rotation). This assignment will supplement the audit of Gram Panchayats.

The firm has already submitted a draft Internal Audit Report for SPMC and 20 DPMCs for the financial year 2007-08 and 2008-09. Draft Internal Audit Report has been discussed with the Consultant and Final Internal

118

Audit Report would be submitted by the Consultant.

207.FM capacity issues. After some delay, the consultancy for training on financial management matters has been activated. During April – October 2009, a total of 17 training sessions have been held including 3 at the Head Office and 14 at various divisions. 44 departmental staff and staff from 154 GPs were trained. Similar training program would be continued for the next few months to effectively disseminate the project concept and guidelines to new participants.

208.GPWSC Accounts Assistant. The World Bank had noted that there were a number of vacancies for GPWSC Accounts Assistantand that there was an urgent need to fill them. However, inspite of best efforts by DPMCs,Accounts Assistant are not readily available locally for village work. However, the SPMC has now issued instruction to DPMCs to recruit Accounts Assistant through open market.

209.The World Bank had earlier remarked on the shortage of Finance Officers. 16 Finance Officers have since been recruited. A few vacancies still remain for which the procurement process is currently on.

210.In sum it may be stated that the project FM is currently much more streamlined than it was previously, and further improvements are expected also in the short-run.

Project Status-Part E-Institutional Arrangements for Implementation

211.As described earlier, the major institutional arrangements revolve around the SWSM, SPMC, DWSS, and the GP. The project is actually executed by the sub-organs of these. Consequently, it would be important to see to what extent these institutions themselves are facilitating the implementation of the project.

212.So far as the GP are concerned, it has been mentioned earlier that a groundswell now exists for villages to come forward and participate in the project schemes and to offer themselves for self-selection. The following Table shows the number of active GP under each District under IDA programme and GOI funded SWAp Detailed lists are at Annexes 3 and 4.

Sr. No. Name of District No. of Active Gram Panchayat

under IDA programme

GOI funded SWAp

1 Ropar 20 602 S.A.S. Nagar 43 063 Patiala 22 614 Fatehgarh Sahib 9 335 Sangrur 14 456 Barnala 0 11

119

7 Bathinda 45 018 Mansa 13 0 Total (A): South Zone 166 2179 Nawanshahr 30 2010 Hoshiarpur 23 1111 Amritsar 21 18612 Tarn Taran 18 4613 Gurdaspur 17 8814 Kapurthala 22 5615 Jalandhar 21 94 Total (B) : North Zone 152 501

16 Ferozepur 23 5017 Muktsar 22 2618 Faridkot 19 019 Ludhiana 42 9920 Moga 21 04 Total (C): Central Zone 127 179 G.Total (A+B+C): 445 897

There are also a number of inactive GP where the DPMC and concerned officials from that office are making efforts to obtain changes in attitudes and more active participation. The list of inactive GP is shown below:

Sr. No. Name of District No. of Inactive Gram Panchayat

1 Ropar 12 S.A.S. Nagar 93 Patiala 04 Fatehgarh Sahib 05 Sangrur 06 Barnala 07 Bathinda 08 Mansa 0 Total (A): South

Zone10

9 Nawanshahr 410 Hoshiarpur 011 Amritsar 012 Tarn Taran 013 Gurdaspur 314 Kapurthala 015 Jalandhar 0 Total (B) : North

Zone7

16 Ferozepur 917 Muktsar 1318 Faridkot 119 Ludhiana 4320 Moga 0 Total (C): Central

Zone66

G.Total (A+B+C): 83

120

213.The inactive GP have been assigned to various HRD and IEC specialists who have been tasked with encouraging them to move towards adoption of the project norms. However, the problem remains that it is really the Sarpanch who has to take an active role in bringing his village forward. Where this has happened, and the Sarpanch has emerged as a Champion of the cause, formation of the GPWSC and all other connected and consequent actions have also followed in quick order. Therefore, there is a handholding and gentle encouragement that has to be provided on a regular basis until an inactive village GP slowly becomes active. This obviously takes some time.

214. The State Water Mission has held three meetings so far. In each meeting quite a few items of policy import have been discussed and decisions taken. The last meeting was held in the month of September. A brief look at the Agenda items for that meeting will illustrate the interest of the Mission in the performance of the project as also the progress of the Medium Term Program of the GOP.

Agenda Item No.

Description of agenda item

1. Approval of the minutes of second SWSM meeting held on 20.11.08.

2. Action taken report

3. Overall progress of the World Bank aided Punjab Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Project.

4. Approval of Annual Budget for PRWSS Project of Rs. 150 crore for the year 2009-10.

5. Request to Rural Development Board for providing Gap amount in the project funding due to reduction in the beneficiary share.

6. Approval for the adoption of uniform SWAp mode procedure for non World Bank funded schemes w.e.f. 01 July 2010.

7. Approval for the operation of Saving Bank Account in State Program Management Cell, Mohali.

8. To issue guidelines for establishing close coordination at village level to enhance IEC penetration in respect of Health and hygiene aspects in the rural areas between departments of Water Supply & Sanitation, Health and Education.

9. Selection of three experts in the field of Rural Water Supply & Sanitation for nominating them as members of the SWSM.

10. Conveyance facility scheme for SPMC officers

121

215. It will be seen from the above that the Mission has been concerned with all aspects of the project and has also dealt with issues of coordination between the departments. Of interest are items 5, 6, and 8. 216. Item No 5 related to the filling up of the gap amount in project funding due to reduction in Beneficiary share. It was noted by the Mission that the implementation of the PRWSS could not pick up in the initial one and a half years due the stringent cost sharing rules. The rules stipulated that the beneficiaries would have to deposit 10% of the Capital cost. For SC populated villages the share was 5%. The upper limit was Rs 1500 per household normally, but for waterlogged, border etc villages the upper limit had been pegged at Rs 750. As a result of pursuance by the Project authorities, the World Bank had agreed to Rs 800 and Rs 400 as the upper limit and for SC population the requirement was only 50% of the prescribed amount. However, in agreeing to the proposal of the project authorities, the World Bank had also stipulated that the quantum of gap in the Beneficiary contribution to make it equal to 10% or 5% of the Scheme Cost was to be made up in the following steps.

First, by raising voluntary contribution from the community.

Second, through non-budgetary resources of the Gram Panchayat.

Third, by accessing untied funds available with the District Administration.

And lastly, through State Government grant .

It was made clear to the SWM that it would not really be possible to raise resources through any of the first three options, and hence the government was requested to provide the gap amount from the Rural Development Board. The total amount requested was Rs 54.67 crores which would be released from 2008-09 through 20011-12, in the following manner:

2008-09 Rs 0.95 crores [already released]2009-10 Rs 8.29 crores2010-11 Rs 25.00 crores2011-12 Rs 20.43 crores

In fact, the State Water Sanitation Mission in its second meeting held on 20th November, 2008 under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary Punjab had unanimously approved the proposal for filling up the gap of Rs. 54.67 Crores through State Grant from Rural Development Fund or any other suitable source and has suggested that yearly requirement of funds on this account may be sent to Finance Department. (Refer Item No.5 of proceedings of IInd SWSM meeting issued vide SPMC letter No. 8999-9005 dated 10.12.08). Demand for the release of gap funds amounting to Rs. 2.76 crore (against the total demand of 8.29 crore for the year 2009-10) was submitted to Finance Department vide SWSS no. 3177 dated 12.05.09. The matter of making a request to the Rural Development Board for providing gap funds was approved by the SWM.

122

217. In regard to the matter of Approval for the adoption of uniform SWAp mode procedure: For non World Bank funded schemes w.e.f. 01 July 2010, in the second SWSM meeting, approval from SWSM was obtained for adopting SWAp mode for the non World Bank funded schemes to abide with legal covenants as per project agreement. However while adopting SWAp mode minor deviations in the Procurement procedure and release of funds were made from SWAp procedures agreed with the Bank. Procurement procedure and release of funds to the contractors (for single village schemes) was kept in the domain of Executive Engineer, whereas in the SWAp mode for World Bank funded Project, these responsibilities have been entrusted to the Chairman GPWSC. This deviation was done to expedite the execution of works and to enable the State Government to utilize the GoI funds and to meet with the requirements of Govt. of India for the receipt of next installment. However World Bank mission which visited Punjab State for conducting mid-term review of the Punjab Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Project w.e.f. 3-15th September 2009 did not agree with the SWAp procedure in vogue for non World Bank funded schemes and have observed in the wrap up meeting held on 15 th

September 2009 to adopt the same SWAp procedure which have been laid down for World Bank funded schemes for all schemes.DWSS agreed with the suggestion and informed the World Bank mission that after completion of all ongoing non World Bank funded schemes by June 30, 2010, same SWAp procedure for all the schemes irrespective of their source of funding would be adopted w.e.f. 01st July 2010 i.e. there will be only one SWAp w.e.f. 01July 2010 onward. This matter also was approved by the SWM.

The comparison of SWAp procedure for World Bank funded and non-WB funded schemes is given below.

Steps

Procedure of SWAp for World Bank Assisted PRWSS

Project

Procedure of SWAp for non World Bank funded

Projects

Comments

Step 1

Acquisition of resolution from village panchayat.

Acquisition of resolution from village panchayat.

No change

Step 2

Formation of GPWSC. Formation of GPWSC. No change

Step 3

Collection of 10% beneficiary share by GPWSC.

Collection of 10% beneficiary share by GPWSC.

No change

Step 4

Opening of account in the name of GPWSC.

Opening of account in the name of GPWSC with concerned J.E. as third signatory.

JE included as third signatory

Step 5

Proposal/estimate preparation in consultation with GPWSC.

Proposal/estimate preparation in consultation with GPWSC.

No change

123

Steps


Project


Projects

Comments

Step 6

Administrative approval of estimate: By Administrative Secretary.

Administrative approval of estimate: By Administrative Secretary.

No change

Step 7

Technical sanction of DSR and DNIT approval:a) EE: Upto Rs. 30 lacs for SVS b) SE: Full power for SVS above Rs. 30 lacs and upto Rs. 50 lacs for MVS c) CE: Full power for MVS above Rs. 50 lakhs

Technical sanction of DSR and DNIT approval: a) EE: Upto Rs. 15 lacs b) SE: upto Rs. 30 lacs c) CE: Full power

As per the existing codal rules (enhanced)

Step 8

Calling of tenders:a) Chairman GPWSC: for SVS and Intra Village component of MVS. b) EE: for common facility works of MVS and for all sanitation works.

Calling of tenders by the Executive Engineer (RWS) with the concurrence of Chairman of GPWSC

As per existing codal rules and with the inclusion of consent of Chairman of GPWSC

Step 9

Opening of bids by Committee of EE DWSS, Div. Accounts Officer and GPWSC member/members

Opening of bids by Committee of EE DWSS, Div. Accounts Officer and GPWSC member/members

No change

Step 10

Evaluation of bids by Executive Engineer, DWSS and evaluation sheet to be signed by Chairman GPWSC

Evaluation of bids by Executive Engineer, DWSS and evaluation sheet to be signed by Chairman GPWSC

No change

Step 11

Allotment of work after approval by the Competent committee: a) Chairman GPWSC: for SVS and Intra Village works of MVS b) Executive Engineer, DWSS for common facility of MVS and for all sanitation works.

Allotment of work: a) Executive Engineer (RWS) (after approval by the competent authority as per Departmental codal rules) to the agency with a copy to Chairman, GPWSC.

Allotment of works as per existing codal rules but to ensure transparency, copy of allotment letter will be sent to Chairman GPWSC.

Step 12

10%/5% community contribution will remain in the Bank account of GPWSC for water supply schemes but in case of sanitation schemes the amount is transferred to the account of Executive Engineer

10%/5% community contribution would be transferred to the account of Executive Engineer (RWS).

The procedures specified for sanitation works by the World Bank to be adopted for water supply scheme for non World Bank funded project.

Step 13

a) Execution of SVS and Intra village works of MVS by GPWSC and Monitoring by GPWSC and DWSS b) Execution of common facility of MVS and sanitation schemes by DWSS and monitoring by GPWSC

Execution and Monitoring of work under the supervision of Executive Engineer (RWS) & GPWSC. The progress of work to be further reviewed under the Chairmanship of E.E./District Programme Director with EE, DPMC & Chairman GPWSC as

In the execution process the only change is in the SVS and intra village works of SVS where the Execution will now be done by Executive Engineer

124

Steps


Project


Projects

Comments

member, in bi-monthly meetings ( or earlier as required) till the handing over of Scheme to GPWSC.

Step 14

All payments to the contractor are to be made by the Chairman GPWSC and Executive Engineer as per the category of work.

All payments to the contractor are to be made by the Executive Engineer (RWS).

As per existing codal rules.

Step 15

Final payment to be made to the contractor by Chairman GPWSC /Executive Engineer as the case may be after the completion certificate.

Final payment to be made by Executive Engineer to the contractor after getting satisfactory completion certificate from the GPWSC.

The consent of GPWSC solicited in the satisfactory execution of work

Step 16

Handing over the scheme to the GPWSC/Gram Panchayat after commissioning

Handing over the scheme to the GPWSC/Gram Panchayat.

No change

218. Finally, in regard to the issuance of guidelines for close coordination at village level to enhance IEC penetration, the SWM decided that field functionaries of the departments of Water Supply & Sanitation, Health and Education i.e. IEC Specialists of DWSS and grass root level workers in the other departments who frequently interact with the village community, must be made adequately aware about the details of all the schemes of the three departments, about their broachers, posters and IEC material etc. so as to disseminate the correct information, pertaining to Health and Hygiene, safe drinking water & Sanitation related schemes to the rural community.

Project Status – Part F - Staffing

219. It has been stated that so far as staffing is concerned, there had earlier been quite a few vacancies at both SPMC and DPMC level, for reasons that have already been stated. The staffing Plan of the SPMC is given below:

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENT - SPMC MOHALI (AS ON 08.10.2009)

SR.NO. NAME OF POST SANCTIONED FILLED1. Programme Director 1 12. Senior Programme Specialist 1 13. Executive Engineer (Technical) 1 14. Sub Divisional Engineer (Technical) 2 1

125

5. Executive Engineer (Procurement) 1 16. Sub Divisional Engineer (Procurement) 1 17. Procurement Specialist 1 _8. Joint Controller (F&A) 1 19. Finance Manager 1 1

10. Accounts Assistant 2 211. Executive Engineer (CCDU) 1 112. Junior Engineer 1 113. IEC Specialist 1 _14. HRD Specialist 1 115. MIS Specialist 1 116. Community Mobilization Specialist 1 117. Office Assistant 6 118. Administrative Officer 1 119 Data Entry Operator 7 720. Peons 7 7

TOTAL 39 31

The World Bank had earlier remarked on the number of vacant positions in the SPMC. As will be seen from the above Table, that situation has very largely been remedied. The issue now is whether the strength is sufficient for the acceleration in the pace of activities that is to be expected in the next two years. It is considered that especially for the Procurement function and the IEC functions are concerned, the strength should be augmented, in the case of Procurement by at least 50% and in the case of IEC by at least 60%. The positions of Office Assistant should also be filled as the documentation work at SPMC has increased. Besides these, it is felt that Training and Capacity building Advisers are needed at SPMC since the Training and capacity building activities will also increase substantially over the next two years. SPMC plans to create a detailed manpower augmentation plan in this regard and submit the same for necessary approvals shortly.

220. So far as the DPMC are concerned, the situation, District by District, is shown below:

Sr. No.

Name of DPMC TOTAL VacancyPercentag

e Sanctioned Filled

1 G.Pur 10 9 102 Ludhiana 10 9 103 Patiala 10 9 104 Sangrur 10 9 105 Fatehgarh 10 8 20

126

Sahib6 Kapurthala 10 8 207 Mansa 10 8 208 Moga 10 8 209 Muktsar 10 8 20

10 N.Shahar 10 8 2011 Ropar 10 8 2012 Amritsar 10 7 3013 Bathinda 10 7 3014 Faridkot 10 7 3015 H.Pur 10 7 3016 Jallandhar 10 7 3017 Mohali 10 7 3018 TarnTaran 10 7 3019 Ferozepur 10 6 4020 Barnala 10 3 70

TOTAL 200 150 25

It will be seen from the above that the critical districts are Barnala and Ferozepur. SPMC is currently focusing on these two districts. So far as Barnala is concerned, there are neither active nor inactive GP there. While in Ferozepur there are 23 active GP and 9 inactive GP. The comparative situation of vacancies in the districts particularly with respect to IEC and HRD is shown below:

Sr. No.

Name of District

No. of Active Gram

Panchayat

No. of Inactive

Gram Panchayat

Vacancy Percentag

e

1 Ropar 20 1 202 S.A.S.

Nagar43 9 30

3 Patiala 22 0 104 Fatehgarh

Sahib9 0 20

5 Sangrur 14 0 106 Barnala 0 0 707 Bathinda 45 0 30

8 Mansa 13 0 209 Nawanshah

r30 4 20

10 Hoshiarpur 23 0 30

11 Amritsar 21 0 30

12 Tarn Taran 18 0 30

127

13 Gurdaspur 17 3 10

14 Kapurthala 22 0 20

15 Jalandhar 21 0 30

16 Ferozepur 23 9 40

17 Muktsar 22 13 20

18 Faridkot 19 1 30

19 Ludhiana 42 43 10

20 Moga 21 0 20

The SPMC is now preparing a strategic plan for concentrating on the deficient districts. The position by position status of the various districts is shown below:

Staff Positions - Engineering:

Sr. No.

Name of DPMC

S.D.E. J.Es

Sanctioned

Filled Sanctioned

Filled

1 Amritsar 1 1 2 22 Barnala 1 1 2 03 Bathinda 1 1 2 14 Faridkot 1 1 2 25 Fatehgar

h Sahib1 1 2 1

6 Ferozepur

1 1 2 2

7 G.Pur 1 1 2 28 H.Pur 1 1 2 29 Jallandha

r1 1 2 2

10 Kapurthala

1 1 2 2

11 Ludhiana 1 1 2 212 Mansa 1 1 2 213 Moga 1 1 2 214 Mohali 1 1 2 115 Muktsar 1 1 2 216 N.Shahar 1 1 2 217 Patiala 1 1 2 218 Ropar 1 1 2 119 Sangrur 1 1 2 220 TarnTara

n1 1 2 2

TOTAL 20 20 40 34

128

Staff Positions – Finance and IEC

Sr. No.

Name of DPMC

Finance Officers

IEC Specialist

HRD Specialist

MIS Specialist

Sanctioned

Filled Sanctioned

Filled

Sanctioned

Filled

Sanctioned

Filled

1 Amritsar 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 12 Barnala 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 03 Bathinda 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 14 Faridkot 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 15 Fatehgar

h Sahib1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

6 Ferozepur 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 17 G.Pur 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 18 H.Pur 1 0 1 1 1 0 1 19 Jallandhar 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 110 Kapurthal

a1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1

11 Ludhiana 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 112 Mansa 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 013 Moga 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 114 Mohali 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 115 Muktsar 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 116 N.Shahar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 117 Patiala 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 118 Ropar 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 119 Sangrur 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 120 TarnTara

n1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1

TOTAL 20 12 20 16 20 13 20 18

It is seen from the above that there is a gross shortfall of 40% in the availability of Finance specialists and 35% shortfall in HRD specialists at the District level. This is due to the fact that qualified personnel at the district level are not easily available. SPMC is considering a strategy to meet these shortfalls.

There are similar shortfalls in lower level staff positions also as shown below.

Staff Position- Lower level functionaries

Sr. No. Name of DPMC

Office Assistant Data Entry Operator

Sanctioned

Filled Sanctioned

Filled

1 Amritsar 1 0 1 0

129

2 Barnala 1 0 1 13 Bathinda 1 0 1 14 Faridkot 1 0 1 15 Fatehgar

h Sahib1 0 1 1

6 Ferozepur 1 0 1 17 G.Pur 1 0 1 18 H.Pur 1 0 1 19 Jallandhar 1 0 1 0

10 Kapurthala

1 0 1 1

11 Ludhiana 1 0 1 112 Mansa 1 0 1 113 Moga 1 0 1 114 Mohali 1 0 1 115 Muktsar 1 0 1 116 N.Shahar 1 0 1 017 Patiala 1 0 1 118 Ropar 1 0 1 119 Sangrur 1 0 1 120 TarnTara

n1 0 1 1

TOTAL 20 0 20 17

The shortage of office assistants has been creating a problem of efficiency and processing at the DPMC level, which is proposed to be addressed shortly.

Project Status-Part G-Social Consultations

221. SPMC prepared a standard format for consultations at village level and this was circulated to all IEC and HRD specialists. A sample set of responses is provided below for information. Detailed forms are at Annex 5.

Sr. No. District

Hoshiarpur

1 Date 25/09/09 30-09-09 26/09/09 23-09-09 29-09-09 24-09-09

2 Scheme Malsian Bhaike- Pilot Daburji Ladhran Talwara Shahpur Lakhpur

3 Block Sidhwan Bet Tanda Nakodar Bassi

PathanaAmloh Banga

130

4 District Ludhiana Hoshiarpur Jalandhar Fatehgarh

SahibFatehgarh Sahib

S.B.S Nagar

5 Name of Sarpanch

S. Satwant Singh (94171-97585)

Sh. Surat Singh

Sh. Lachhman Dass

S. Pritam Singh

Sh. Kashmira Singh

Sh. Dawinder Singh

6 Key Member s of GPWSC

S. Jarnail Singh, S. Parkash Singh

11 Member Sh. Lachhman Dass, Chairman, Amrik Singh, Secretary

Sarup Singh,Sikander Singh,Dalip Singh

Sh. Sukhwinder Singh, Sh. Jagir Singh, Sh. Sarup Singh

11 Member

7 GPWSC set up (date)

31/08/08 19-09-08 10/09/06 04/03/06 06-03-06 07-09-05

8 Last Meeting held (date)

10/09/09 28-08-09 06/09/09 08/09/09 25-09-09 31-07-09

9 Whether Register of Meetings available and properly signed

Lying with Sarpanch & Signed

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

10 Non-GP Members of GPWSC, how selected

Gram Sabha and througn Aam Zilaas.

Selected in Gram Sabha meeting

In Gram Sabha Meeting as per criteria given by WB

5 no.s, in the meeting of gram sabha

5 no.s, in the meeting of gram sabha

4- selected in Gram Sabha meeting

11 Name of J.E (DPMC and DWSS)

Mr. Hanish Dadwal – Mr. Kulwant Singh (98148-08994)

Er. Sukhbir singh (DPMC)

Er Manjit singh Sahi (DWSS)

Surinder Pal ( DPMC), T.S. Walia (DWSS)

Jasvir Singh, Sanjeev Kumar

Sh. Jasvir Singh, Sh. Parveen Kumar

Sh. Sandeep Bhandari & Sh. Tarlochan Singh (DPMC)

Sh. Jang Bahadur (DWSS)

12 Name of S.D.E (DPMC and DWSS)

Er. Mandeep S. Uppal – Er. Kulwant Singh (98153-46610)

Er.Navneet Jindal (DPMC)

Er Mohinder Pal (DWSS)

R.P. Singh (DPMC) P.L.Saini (DWSS)

Sh. Mulkh Raj, Sh. Parmod Chand

Sh. Mulkh Raj, Sh. Amritpal Singh Julka

Sh. Hardeep Singh (DPMC)

Sh. Rajinder Singh (DWSS)

13 Name of HRD Specialist attending

Mr. Pawan Kumar – now transferred from the office

_

Gurditta Mal

Sh. Pawan Kumar

Sh. Pawan Kumar

Miss Rosy ( HRD Specialist)

14 Name of IEC Specialist attending

IEC Post was vacant at that time

Smt.Anju Sharma ( IEC Specialist)

Viney Malhan

Smt. Sangeeta Tripathi

Smt. Sangeeta Tripathi

Sh. Jaswinder Kumar

131

( IEC Specialist)

15 Total household in village

125 160 210 188 193 164

16 No. of Connections

120 152 200 138 152 120

17 Percentage of SC population

65% 1 % 53% 56% 55% 67 %

18 No. of SC households connected

78 1 No 113 75 112 65 Nos

19 Total Pipeline length

110MM Dia=, 542MTR, 90MM PVC =3535MTR

2395 mtr 4500 Meter

110mm-39mtrs, 90mm-67mtrs,75mm-3771mtrs

110mm-296mtrs.63mm-3278mtrs

4153 mtr.

20 Depth of Tubewell

122.5 MTR 125 mtr. 200mm

i/d 125m deep

150mtrs 152 mtrs 124 mtr.

21 Commissioning (Date)

31/03/09 Feb 2009 03/08 09/08/08 31-01-09 Feb

2009- complete work on 31-10-08

22 Whether Completion Certificate Received, if yes, amount and package referred

Yes, 20/04/09 No Yes ( 10-

04-08)No No Yes,

Date: 24-08-09

23 Whether any outstanding liabilities, if yes, amount and package referred

No Shall be given while preparing completion report

Rs. 116437/-(As per completion report)

Yes, 3rd& final Instalment

Yes, 3rd& final installment

No

24 Expenditure (Capital)

31.57 Lacs 16.90 30.34 lac 25.68 lacs 27.74

Lacs Rs. 23,27,277

25 O&M Expenses and deatails

Electricity Charges + Salary of Pump Operation

Total Exp 20485/-(E-bill 10040,P.O 9000 other 1445)

Rs. 11500/- ( Electricity Bill- , Salary of operator- , General maintenance- ,

Rs.3000 pump operator, Rs.4500 electricity charges, Rs.1000 Misc charges

Rs. 35,00 Pump Operator, Rs. 45,00 Electricity charges, 1,000 Misc charges

Exp- 5100/- P.M income 5820/- P.M revenue Collection

26 HRS of Operation

02/01/02 – 5 Hrs 1.30 hrs 1.5 Hrs

Morning, 1 Hrs Noon, 1.5 Hrs Evening

4 ½ hours per day

4 Hours per day

4 Hours

132

27 Whether 100% collected for Beneficiary contribution

Yes Yes Yes ( 3.45

lac)Yes Yes Yes, 1.25

lacs

28 Monthly tariff for water charges

70/-per month Rs. 40 Rs. 70/- Rs.75/- Rs. 75/- Rs. 60/-

P.M

29 Whether connection charges recovered, if yes, amount thereof and percentage

Yes- 81X250=20250 40x500=20000 Total = 40250

Yes Yes, (Rs. 71750/-), 100%

Yes, Rs.10350/-, 73%

Yes, Rs. 11400/- & 78%

Yes, 57,750/- (73 %)

30 Whether GPWSC maintains two separate bank accounts for beneficiary contribution and for O&M; provide bank accounts numbers and name of bank

Yes Yes Capital A/C no 3644 Pb & Sind bank Miani o&m A/C no 798 Sahikarita Bank Miani

PNB Mehatpur, Nakodar, Account no. 11101Canara Bank, Nakodar, Account No. 42698

Yes Beneficiary contribution___________ O&M State Bank of Patiala-6500700 3829

Yes

Beneficiary contribution

O&M account not opened

Yes, O&M A/C No.-659010100015084, AXIS Bank Ltd, Banga (PB)

Capital A/C No.- 5578, Punjab & Sind Bank, Tahan Kaler

31 Opinion of Sarpanch – Whether HRD and IEC specialist have succeeded in providing adequate inputs and awareness to the village population

Sarpanch worked very hard along with SDE/JE/HRD of DPMC to mobilize the community for bill & O&M.

Yes, they have succeeded in providing adequate inputs & awareness to the GPWSC & Villagers

Yes, IEC & HRD activities have succeeded in providing knowledge and building their capacity.

Yes Yes Yes, they have succeeded in providing adequate inputs & awareness to the GPWSC & Villagers

32 Opinion of HRD specialist/IEC specialist- difficulties experienced in providing inputs to village on water quality, and need to take connections, etc.

So many IEC activities were done, so People were highly motivated to go ahead & so no difficulties came ahead.

Villagers & GPWSE staff Co-Operation was good

Some people were convinced after water quality testing demonstration of their hand pumps

No there is no problem

No there is no problem

-Because of private submersible pumping installed by the household, they are not interested in taking water connection

133

- Groupism

33 Opinion of all parties- rough time within which unconnected – approx percentage who are likely to take connections and approx timeline for same

It is expected that all connections in spite of political interferences will be taken by all people

50% Up to 31.10.2009

200 connections are there out of 210 households. GPWSC members told that they will motivate remaining households to take connections within a month.

10% within next 2 months

5% within next 2 Months

10 %- up march 2010

34 Accounting and Book-keeping-whether necessary records are being kept- Cash book, Voucher, etc.

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

35 Amount outstanding as advance against the GPWSC as of date, if any and reason there for

No No Nil No No No

36 Approx amount of surplus from O&M collection per month

1560/-till today

Rs. 2500/- per month

1500/- Rs. 2,000/-

Rs. 720/- P.M

37 Whether GPWSC has taken any decision for use of the surplus funds in the future; if decision not yet formalized then likelihood of the same in the near future

Till not but expected to purchase gensets in near future.

For operation & Maintenance

The funds will be used for O & M of scheme.

Yes Yes For Maintenance Operation etc.

38 Opinion of Sarpanch on status of Sewrage in

As w/s have loaded heavily so drains are needed.

Village needs Sewarage

50% houses have

The village gram

The village gram

Already Applied

134

the village and what needs to be done

Sewerage & ponds should be renovated.

system toilets. Sewerage system is required

panchayat & community members want sewerage system in their village.

panchayat & community members want sewerage system in their village.

39 Opinion of HRD and IEC specialist on health hazards in village because of lack of sanitation and sewerage

Back Pain, Osteoporoses, Cholera etc.

Village needs Sewarage system

In rainy season water flow from septic tanks mixes with rain water and gathers in the two streets of village.

Yes there is an urgent need to tackle the poor condition of sanitation to prevent disease outbreak in this village

Yes there is an urgent need to tackle the poor condition of sanitation to prevent disease outbreak in this village.

The toilets water flow in open drainage & it cause diseases

40 Whether GP will, if requested, provide land for Sanitation treatment.

Yes Yes GP will

provide land for sanitation treatment

Yes Yes Yes

41 Whether there is any inventory of spare parts for repairs and if so approx value there of; Please also state how the inventory was paid for.

As this is a new scheme so the expenses on repair are almost nil.

Yet not Nil No No Yet not

Sr. No.1 Date 26-09-09

25.09.09

2 Scheme BeedowaliParwan

3 Block LambiPhagwara

4 District MuktsarKapurthala

5 Name of Sarpanch Sh. Gurtej SinghSmt. Sukhwinder Kaur

135

6 Key Member s of GPWSC

Sh. Sukhwinder Singh Cashier-Balkar Singh Secretary Sh. Amrik Chand ,

Sh. Joginder Ram

7 GPWSC set up (date) 20-02-068.10.08

8 Last Meeting held (date) 26-09-0930.06.09

9 Whether Register of Meetings available and properly signed

YesYes

10 Non-GP Members of GPWSC, how selected

From meeting of Gram SabhaSh. Ajit Singh, Baljit Singh, Prithipal, Mohinderpal, Vidhiya, Jagdish Rai, Harpal Singh, Smt. Simro, Kulwinderpal, Hans Raj & Jeet Ram.

11 Name of J.E (DPMC and DWSS)

Sh. Dharminder Singh (DPMC), Sh. Balbir Singh (DWSS) Sh.Gurpreet Singh

J.E(DPMC),

Sh.Kuldeep Singh J.E. (DWSS)

12 Name of S.D.E (DPMC and DWSS)

Sh. Gurtej Singh (DPMC), Sh. Ravinder Bansal (DWSS) Sh.Rajat Gopal

S.D.E.(DPMC)

Sh. Shashipal Sharma S.D.E. (DWSS)

13 Name of HRD Specialist attending

Not Appointed Not Appointed

14 Name of IEC Specialist attending

Miss Poonam RaniNot Appointed

15 Total household in village 291215 No’s

16 No. of Connections 237200

17 Percentage of SC population

58%73%

18 No. of SC households connected

51%157

19 Total Pipeline length 5769m4305 Mtrs.

20 Depth of Tubewell Not Applicable (Canal Based Scheme) 125Mtrs.

21 Commissioning (Date) 09-200826.01.09

22 Whether Completion Certificate Received, if yes, amount and package referred

Yes, 3-06-200927.08.09

23 Whether any outstanding liabilities, if yes, amount and package referred

NilYes, Contractor Payment Rs. 244498.00, Media Payment Rs. 4360.00

24 Expenditure (Capital) 51,43,509/- 27.73 Lacs

25 O&M Expenses and deatails

85,650/-Electricity Bill Rs. 6500/- average &

136

Pump Operator Salary Rs. 4000/- per month.

26 HRS of Operation 6 hours6 Hrs

27 Whether 100% collected for Beneficiary contribution

Yes Yes

28 Monthly tariff for water charges

60/- per household75 Rs.

29 Whether connection charges recovered, if yes, amount thereof and percentage

Period Due, Collected % 8-08 to 3-09 1,13,760 89,685 79

Yes, 13000/-Rs. & 87%

30 Whether GPWSC maintains two separate bank accounts for beneficiary contribution and for O&M; provide bank accounts numbers and name of bank

State Bank of India, Channu, A/C No. 11447762324 (For Beneficiary Share) State Bank of India Channu 11447770152 (For O & M)

Yes, Capital A/C no. 2004575, Bank of Broda, O&M A/C No. 2006447 Bank of Broda

31 Opinion of Sarpanch – Whether HRD and IEC specialist have succeeded in providing adequate inputs and awareness to the village population

YesIEC & HRD activities are done very successfully by DPMC staff to give awareness to the village habitants.

32 Opinion of HRD specialist/IEC specialist- difficulties experienced in providing inputs to village on water quality, and need to take connections, etc.

NoNil

33 Opinion of all parties- rough time within which unconnected – approx percentage who are likely to take connections and approx timeline for same

Likely to take connection within 6 months Approx. 7% will take

connection within approx 1 month.

34 Accounting and Book-keeping-whether necessary records are being kept- Cash book, Voucher, etc.

YesYes

35 Amount outstanding as advance against the GPWSC as of date, if any and reason there for

─Nil

36 Approx amount of surplus from O&M collection per month

─2500/- Rs.

37 Whether GPWSC has taken any decision for use of the surplus funds in the future; if decision not yet formalized then likelihood of the same in the near future

Decision will be taken in the futureYes

38 Opinion of Sarpanch on status of Sewreage in the village and what needs to be done

YesNot Yet Decided

39 Openion of HRD and IEC Villages ready to take up sanitation 70% households

137

specialist on health hazards in village because of lack of sanitation and sewerage

and sewerage schemehave septic tank & sanitation facility.

40 Whether GP will, if requested, provide land for Sanitation treatment.

YesNil

41 Whether there is any inventory of spare parts for repairs and if so approx value there of; Please also state how the inventory was paid for.

NoNil

222. It will be seen that in most of the villages there is general acceptance of the norms of the project. Specific issues that emerge from a scrutiny of the above summaries are as follow:

Generally response to IEC activities is positive Immediate necessity of taking up sewerage works All villages are capable of meeting the O&M costs Instructions for opening two bank accounts in all commissioned

villages have been issued In some villages there are internal groups who are opposing the

schemes for vested interests, since they own submersible pumps. While IEC activities have managed to convince some people, more intense activities are necessary.

Delivery of schemes has to be speeded up

Project Status – Part H- Quality Assurance

223. As per practice in vogue, quality management of civil works is carried out by Engineer in Incharge during execution of works by taking samples of materials during construction of various components and the same are got tested from reputed laboratories. Engineer in Incharge also ensures water tightness of the water retaining structures. The record of test reports is maintained at construction sites as well as Divisional offices. Quality surveillance is being carried out as per B&R Manual of Orders according to which the duty of Superintending Engineer is to inspect the state of various works within his circle. Divisional Officer is expected to test check a reasonable quantity of work measured and checked by his subordinates. Sub Divisional Officer is required to exercise 50% check on all the final measurements of works costing more than Rs. 5000. The Duty of Junior Engineer is to supervise the actual execution of works and to see that they are executed in accordance with the plans and specifications approved by competent authority for said work.

224. DWSS would like to use the envisaged quality management system for schemes being implemented under SWAp irrespective of the source of funding (whether funded under World Bank Project or funded under Normal programme of the state). In World Bank Aided PRWSS Project, three Independent Construction Quality Surveillance Consultants were

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appointed for pilot batch villages to carry out inspection in 25% of the total schemes to ensure Construction Quality.

225. In addition to that, Department is also in the process of hiring a consultancy for “Construction Quality Management and Surveillance System” for works covered under other batches which was processed from Sept. 2008 and is at the stage of negotiation for Technical & Financial Proposals. The consultancy is being hired to establish an appropriate quality management and assurance system for implementation of water supply and sanitation works to achieve sound quality of construction to assist the DWSS in capacity building in quality management and assistance and supervision of its functioning.

226. In general, for the projects costing more than Rs. 3 crore, covered under programmes other than World Bank Aided Project, Govt. of Punjab has made it mandatory in year 2008 to engage the services of Independent Quality Assurance Consultant in the interest of efficiency, cost reduction, quality and timely completion of works and Model Terms of Reference regarding this has been issued. Department is implementing these instruction of Govt. by hiring individual consultant for Quality Assurance in the projects having cost more than Rs. 3 crores.

227. During the visit of Fourth Implementation Support Mission from June 17-20, 2009 & July 15-16, 2009 World Bank visited two number Water Supply Schemes. At water supply scheme Paprala in Distt. Ropar overhead reservoir of unacceptable quality as its container portion was not upto the mark and at Chawa in Distt. Gurdaspur, pipelines of non-standard quality were observed by World Bank. The observations raised by World Bank were scrutinized and found that it was due to poor workmanship during execution of work and not due to poor quality of material. The defects in container portion of OHSR pointed out by TTL during the visit of Fourth Implementation Supports Mission were rectified and Water supply scheme Paprala commissioned on 19.8.09. During the Mid Term Review, the World Bank Mission also visited this Scheme and interacted with the villagers. As far as the quality of pipes of village Chawa is concerned, District Program Director Gurdaspur reported that no complaint regarding quality of PVC pipes and leakage was brought to the notice of mission members by GPWSC. The mission members also visited village Kalanour where the residents had complained about the leakage, due to which mission members have doubted the quality of PVC pipes used. In this context, SE (Gurdaspur) reported that the PVC pipes used at village Kalanour are duly ISI Marked. The problem of leakage is due to improper jointing which has been rectified by Department. After that, there is no new complaint found. Key points agreed to during the World Bank Mission in September 2009 are enclosed at Annex 9.

228. In the recent institutional changes, Department has constituted a Water Quality Monitoring and Surveillance Cell by posting 3 Executive Engineers and Executive Engineer would be assisted by three Sub Divisional Engineers and requisite support staff. The cell will function under the control of SPMC and will examine the Quality of Water Supply as well as of Construction work of all the schemes executed by the Department.

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Lessons Learned and What Lies Ahead

Part A- Overall Project

229. Top-level political driver is necessary. From the point of view of overall project management, it has been seen that the major issue has been the political driver. Had there initially been political commitment and concern to the level that it exists today, the project would perhaps have progressed much faster. Thus, the first lesson that this project has provided is that clear parameters from the political level must be obtained before a strong commitment on timelines is made.

230. Commitment and ownership of senior bureaucracy is required. The second issue that in a way is linked to the first, is that senior bureaucracy must clearly be on board. This is also exemplified by the fact that current level of reviews by senior bureaucracy has also been an engine for creating momentum in the project. At the beginning, this level of bureaucratic commitment was also not there. The two drivers – political and senior bureaucratic- combine with each other to get a project going through its most difficult phase, the initial one. Ownership must not only be expressed, it should be actualized. For PRWSS, actualization of ownership has taken sometime to reveal itself. Part of the reason is that departmental resistance to the insidious level that it was there initially, was only partially understood. Had this not been so, actions to convince departmental officials that were taken later – and the fruits of which are evidenced today- could have been taken much earlier.

231. Envisaged Project Structure must be clearly responsive to project needs. From an internal project management point of view, the internal project management structure should also have been thought through much more clearly than it was. At the time of project effectiveness, the assumption was that a replication of the usual structure of DWSS and other executive entities of the GOP would suffice for this project also. Actual administration of the project has shown that decision-making for this project is of a different order and often the trusted age-old organization structure is not quite capable of bearing up to it. The problem of course has been that given the traditional structure, the traditional rules and procedures have been followed, and these are what the staff who are primarily recruited from the existing bureaucracy, are most familiar with. This project requires a lot more decisions at the field level than any other, and such decision-making capacity is normally absent in the standard governmental structure and manpower deployment practices. It is suggested that the SPMC employ a consultant to study actual field requirements in terms of a responsive organization structure, and implement those recommendations as may be appropriate.

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What exactly is now required to be done needs to be elaborated.

232. Manpower requirement and deployment issues must be identified and addressed early It needs to be said that a major lesson has been underestimation of the manpower required. Typically government structures do not provide for a tapering off of manpower as the project progresses towards full O&M, and this did not happen in this project also. Following usual practice, a ‘justifiable’ level was established, which was roughly assumed to continue throughout the life of the project. What ought to have been done was to start at a peak level of recruitment, especially for field level functions including IEC, technical and quality assurance, and then taper down to a much lower level over the life of the project. It may be argued that the idea initially was to have also Consultant support for field level functions and that the appointment of specific consultants got delayed. The issue then is one of appropriate mix. For the villagers, a government officer is a government officer, and is an authority figure, whereas a consultant is an outsider. While this was understood, it was not possible for the government to hire a large number of personnel in the initial stage. But what could have happened was the early recruitment of consultants. Part of this was internal resistance, and part of this was due to an unclear understanding of procurement requirements.

233. Alignment of Client Preparatory Activities with Project Effectiveness. Another major lesson from this and other projects is that project preparatory activities [especially in manpower matters] at the Client level must begin much earlier than Effectiveness. This does not normally happen because the Government is not given to committing resources until the project is actually approved by the concerned Funding Agency. This in turn creates the problem that once the project is made effective, there is very little time left to fully mobilize from the Client’s side. Inevitably, procurement schedules are overrun and then there is a delay in execution which is not acceptable to the Funding Agency. A solution could be found by creating a core group around the project Nodal Officer in the first instance, and let that small group work out all the issues regarding structure, deployment, etc. sufficiently early. This should include identification of officers to be seconded to the project, and so forth. Normally, everything has to wait for the Chief Executive of the project to be appointed, and he has to wait for others to be appointed so that he can get information and support. And the others in turn have to wait until their staff is appointed. The whole thing combines to produce an inordinate delay before actual execution of the project begins.

234. Managed and Pro-active mid-stream corrections. Mid-stream corrections are normally the result of reports and aide-memoires given by the Funding Agencies. However, PRWSS has shown that where the project management is pro-active, project implementation becomes speedier and more streamlined as a result of mid-stream reviews by project authorities themselves. Evidence at hand is from the efforts made by the project authorities to revise the cost sharing formula, and efforts to set up a Quality Monitoring Cell with in-house expertise – actions for which were initiated quite a while ago.

235. Project senior management awareness of ground situation early on. A last lesson as regards overall project management – dependent on the level of project ownership – is that senior project

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management must become familiar with not only the overall contours of the project but also ground realities. This does not always happen because senior management is constantly caught with matters relating to the Government and other departments, and really do not have time to either study reports, visit the project sites, or even get exposed to broad-based meetings that involve beneficiaries, before the project begins. The argument that is normally advanced is that senior project managers are recruited because of their familiarity with ground level realities – earned as they rise through the ranks. However, the fact remains that every project is different, and every project has its own imperatives. Unless senior project management is completely familiar, critical decisions can get delayed and vulnerabilities can get overlooked.

Part B – Functional Areas- Procurement and Finance

236. The two major functional areas of Procurement and Finance have also provided valuable lessons not only for the current project, but also for the future. These are discussed below.

237. Building up in-house capacity in World Bank, UN, etc. procurement Rules. So far as PRWSS is concerned, the DWSS did not have any cognizable in-house capacity in Procurement procedures of the World Bank. It was assumed that people who were experienced would ‘learn on the job’. This does not, and did not happen. Enquiry with other projects shows that similar situations have prevailed elsewhere also in World Bank, ADB or other funded projects. This leads to delay in procurement of goods, works, and services. It is therefore particularly necessary to build up in-house capacity in this area within the Client Department in any case. Such persons can then be deployed to any other project as and when the need arises. They can mentor new recruits, and will also be able to carry on the executive functions until project in-house capacity gets properly built up. The Government must pay attention to this as this is a crucial issue for the streamlined functioning of any project. It is recommended that Staff be sent for additional courses in Procurement, in the first instance. The official note on strengthening of the procurement wing of SPMC is at Annex 6.

238. Building up in-house capacity in Financial Management. The arguments for this are the same as above.

239. Specific Procurement Strategies to be identified early on. It has been seen that in PRWSS, in quite a few cases, so-called ‘standard’ procurement strategies have not worked. This is particularly evident in cases of recruitment of district level project functionaries. Consequently strategies have had to be modified, in some cases only after a few first attempts – costing several months of project time – failed to yield any result. Therefore, one activity that needs to be included among the preparatory ones before the project actually begins, is the planning of procurement strategies. What needs to be understood here is that a Procurement Plan is just not a Table of what is to be purchased and following which specific rule of the World Bank. A proper Procurement Plan must also contain procurement strategies that are concerned with actual procurement of the goods or services. Had this matter been identified and

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attended right at the beginning of the project, matters would perhaps have proceeded in a much more streamlined fashion. Review of issues in the area of procurement has now led the SPMC to obtain amendments to the Procurement Manual of October 2006. The amendments are enclosed as Annex 8.

240. Need to build up internal checks, balances, and control systems. This is an issue that everyone is fully aware of, but nothing very specific gets done. So far as the PRWSS is concerned, currently there is a reasonable system of checks and balances and there are functioning internal control systems also. While the situation can obviously be improved further, and SPMC is addressing the issue in a focused manner, it remains as a fact that these issues could also have been tackled very early on. Project planning must clearly identify and use practical systems for the purpose. It has often been seen that consultant reports are theoretical in this respect, and direct applications of their recommendations is sometimes not possible. Consultants are normally employed for the preparation of the Project Implementation Manual. The stipulated time for the preparation of the PIP and its approval by the World Bank is within three to four months after effectiveness. Therefore by the time the PIP is actually formulated and developed, the ground level functions are already in place, and the PIP consultant does not have the responsibility of actually implementing what he recommends. The matter therefore remains unattended till a FM review team remarks on the same. The point here is that these issues could also be dealt with at the project preparation stage at the Client level, since they are good for the organization anyway, It is recommended that a Consultant firm be appointed for this purpose.

241. Establishment of measures of effectiveness of procurement and finance, and the need for a Costing function. Usually, some measures are self-evident. This includes the extent to which timelines mentioned in the procurement plan are adhered to, the extent to which FM reports are submitted on time, the extent of disbursements, etc. However, there are no measures stated that state the impact of ineffective procurement and FM functions on the project itself. It is usually left for the Mission of the Funding Agency to state how the effectiveness or otherwise of these functions is impacting upon the project. But such a statement is usually made in Qualitative terms. What is needed is a set of quantitative measurements that the project authorities can themselves use to devise ways and means of making implementation more effective. For this a costing expert is needed, which is not provided for in the projects. A series of KPI could be developed for the functional areas, and a new Costing section is also needed.

Part C-Functional Area - IEC

242. So far as the major lessons learnt are concerned, stress must be put on IEC activities. Government departments typically are attuned to maintenance, and not development functions. Where development work is concerned, largely the attitude has been that ‘people should take what is given to them, and be happy with it’. However, times have changed, and the perspective of the beneficiaries has also changed. Field level

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What will be the qualifications of costing expert and what exactly he will do may be elaborated further. Also elaborate KPI.

functionaries cannot afford to ignore these changes. At the beginning, PRWSS was also predicated upon such assumptions and not much attention was paid to outreach functions. It was later realized that social outreach is in fact the pivot upon which the success of the whole project revolves. Once this realization became organizational, much more attention was paid to IEC activities, and the results of the same are now evident. Therefore it can be stated unambiguously that for project such as PRWSS, and for the balance of PRWSS itself, IEC should form the basic component of implementation strategy with commensurate investments and efforts.

Part D – Quality Assurance

243. Quality Assurance has been a point of concern for the project authorities. While there are specific norms for QA within the DWSS, the monitoring of Quality has not been a matter seen as apart from normal engineering executive functions. PRWSS has shown that where large scale civil works are concerned, it is necessary to have independent evaluation of Quality; particularly because the engineers are far too concerned with getting projects completed on time to pay special attention to quality maintenance during execution. This also happens because engineers themselves are mostly overburdened with their supervisory functions since they have to look at a number of projects simultaneously, and cannot get sufficient time to separately examine every aspect of Quality Maintenance. Strengthening of quality monitoring capacity is essential and for that purpose SPMC has also put up a proposal. The proposal is attached as Annex 7.

What Lies Ahead

244. Several sets of actions have been taken by SPMC to streamline and make more effective the balance of actions for the remaining period of the project. These are discussed below, together with the plan of activities.A new set of schedules for completion of tasks concerned with Scheme implementation which is to be followed by the Consultant for design and supervision, has been worked out, and is given below. Arrangements for regular monitoring have also been made.

No of Villages

Time in days from Award of Contract

Pre-planning and Planning Phase

Till completion of implementation

First 75 180 195 450Next 75 300 225 480Next 100 390 255 510Next 200 510 285 540Next 200 600 315 570Next 200 675 345 600Last 150 730 375 630

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A target of inviting bids for contracts for a minimum of 300 water supply/sanitation schemes (100 of them are those which were held up because of the Lok Sabha election code of conduct rules) and award contracts had been established in July in consultation with the World Bank. As of 31.10.09, contracts of 184 schemes have been awarded and for 62 schemes, these are under allotment. Balance target of 54 schemes will be achieved by 31.12.09

A similar schedule has been prepared for Sewerage schemes also.

Increasing Design Effectiveness

245. One of the major issues in speedy implementation has been the shortage of design capacity. The matter has been discussed earlier. The SPMC has now signed a contract with a Consultant firm for design and supervision of 1000 schemes. The firm is also required to undertake IEC activities in the villages for which they produce designs. However technical capacity at the DWSS and SPMC level also need to be strengthened so that consultant designs can be evaluated within a stipulated time.

Effective Quality Monitoring

246. Efforts are being made to procure the services of a suitable firm for conducting Quality Assurance. However, one such exercise has failed to provide a form willing to take on the task. A fresh bid will now be issued shortly to complete this procurement. Simultaneously, SPMC has created its own Quality Monitoring Cell which will monitor quality on its own and will also coordinate with the firm that monitors Quality. Annex 7 may be referred.

Streamlined Procurement

245A.As mentioned earlier, procurement strategies have been changed especially with regard to hiring of Procurement Specialists for DPMC. This strategy will assist in considerably easing the pressure on the central Procurement unit. As part of a continuing review of procurement rules so as to further expedite procurement processes, SPMC has been proposing amendments to the procurement Rules and has also obtained approvals on the same from the World Bank. For instance, the original Rule which stated that In case of procurement of Goods and services (other than consultancy services) by SPMC, a three member committee headed by SPS would open & evaluate the bid. The Program Director will have the power to accept the tender upto the value of Rs 15 Lacs, beyond Rs. 15 Lacs, approval of Principle secretary will be taken. All goods and services (other than consultancy services) shall be procured at SPMC except for hiring of vehicles furniture and fittings, stationery and purchase of vehicles which is to be used at DPMC, for which the Director- DPMC will have the sanctioning powers upto Rs 3 and 5 Lacs respectively. The bid opening

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and Evaluation committee for all goods & services (other than consultancy services) at SPMC was headed by SPS and had as its members, the Executive Engineer of the respective wing and the Joint Controller of Finance and Accounts. At the DPMC level, the committee consisted of the Executive Engineer of the DPMC and the Sub-divisional Engineer, DPMC and the Accounts Officer, DPMC.:Amendment to the above was sought in Dec, 2007 and was approved by World Bank vide its e-mail date 20 Dec. 2007 as most of key posts were vacant. Since all the posts are now filled up and workload has increased enormously. It is now proposed to reconstitute the Sub Committee for bid opening & bid Evaluation. The proposal is that In case of Procurement of Goods & services (other than consultancy services) valuing upto Rs 5000, a Sub Committee of following officers/ officials will open and evaluate the bids and seek its approval from Senior Programme Specialist.,

1. Administrative Officer2. Finance Officer3. Junior Engineer cum care taker.

In case of Procurement of Goods & services (other than consultancy services) valuing upto Rs 50,000, the above mentioned Sub Committee of officials will open and evaluate the bids and seek its approval from Program Director, SPS will issue sanction as per powers conferred upon him by SWSM in its meeting held on dated 6.08.2007 and Program Director will have the powers to accept tenders of value above the powers of SPS and upto Rs. 15 Lacs.Other measures have simultaneously been taken to improve the overall procurement processes. These include establishing a proper reviewing and reporting mechanism and procurement records keeping system at DPMC and SPMC level and revamping of the project website to include procurement plan, contract award information, financial progress, project progress.

Involvement of Private Sector in O&M

247. SPMC has started exploring the option of a gradual involvement of the private sector in the O&M of schemes. Contract for Operation & Maintenance of 23 Nos. Rural Water Supply Schemes covering 56 Nos. villages in Block Morinda of District Ropar, comprising of Tubewells, OHSRs, Disinfection System & Complete Distribution System to ensure equitable distribution of potable water in all the villages irrespective of the topography of the village have since been allotted. The experience gained from this contract will help in finalizing policy to be adopted in the remaining schemes for O&M contract. However a detailed procedure and set of guidelines also need to be prepared and SPMC may develop the same.

Re-computation, adjustments of Project Costs

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248. In discussions with the World Bank, Component C of the project has now been left for the GOP to execute. Therefore, the investments planned for this component of the Project now become available for investments in IEC and civil works. SPMC has been conscious of the need to readjust project costs on the basis of this new development. SPMC has done a cost revision exercise on the basis of actual expenditure incurred under components A and B and by estimating likely expenditure to be incurred under these components upto 31.03.2014. Further more some of the items such as adoption of innovative technologies has been deleted and another item pertaining to service improvement of existing schemes has been pruned from 1618 to 200 villages. The savings so accrued have been proposed to be utilized for providing sewerage schemes. Now instead of 100 sewerage schemes about 300 villages will be covered with sewerage schemes under infrastructure component C. According to the revised cost computation, the cost of Program Management [Component A] is now Rs 11579.646 lakh. Cost of Component B on Community Development has been revised to Rs 7225.73 lakhs and the Cost of Component C on Infrastructure Development has been revised to Rs 109287 lakhs. Revised Cost Tables are Annexed to this Report as Annexes 10, 11, 12, and 17.

Overall improvement in Scheduling of implementation

249. A number of specific actions have been agreed with the World Bank on various matters. A list is provided below.

Preparation of Guidelines for operation of Savings Bank Accounts by GP. This has already been done.

Review the experience of contract completion period and incorporate changes as required in the forthcoming contracts

Introduce village level Grievance Redress Mechanism where the scheme has been commissioned. SPMC has already received a detailed proposal from BSNL whereby an IVR based system will be installed at SPMC office in Mohali and it will be possible for concerned citizens to simply phone in and also get a complaint/grievance number for follow-up.

Preparation of a detailed Manpower plan and recruitment strategy. Prepare a list of FAQ regarding participation and operation and

maintenance, and launch at Website Bring out Quarterly Newsletter- Printed and Electronic Preparation of a TOR for Water Quality Monitoring for a Consultant. Preparation of all O&M Manuals for various schemes. A large

number of these have already been completed and printed in vernacular also. SPMC proposes to complete this task shortly.

Establish close coordination at Village level with the education (SSA), health (NRHM); and sanitation (TSC)programs to enhance IEC penetration. These matters are already being discussed at village levels, having been approved by the SWSM.

Prepare evaluation methods and criteria for best GPWSC award to be given from 2009-10. SPMC has already prepared a set of Drafts in regard to the selection criteria and the GPWSC are being made aware.

Preparation of Concept Note on Sustainability Monitoring Establish review and reporting mechanism and procurement records

keeping system at DPMC and SPMC level

250. SPMC expects a surge in the volume and pace of activities during 2010 and 2011. Although Consultants have been hired for various

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functions such as Quality Assurance etc, nevertheless there is going to be an increase in sheer supervision work. Consequently SPMC is now gearing up to meet these challenges. Especially important would be the role of design and technical supervision, and procurement and finance activities. The project authorities have embarked on a strategic plan to deal with the emergent situation.

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Evaluation, Findings and Conclusions

Relevance of the Development Objectives

251. The World Bank Mission in July 2009 observed that ‘The project is assisting in community mobilization through an intensive IEC campaign and with support from NGOs in most of the districts. Access to water supply in the rural areas is increasing with the project assistance, though at a slower pace than estimated. The project has received wider acceptance since the revision of the cost-sharing rules for water supply schemes which was made effective from November last year, and registering increased demand. Government's reaffirmation of the commitment to implement the MTP to increase access to improved water supply and sanitation following SWAp, the demonstrated administrative will and the action taken in the last six months, and as mentioned above the increasing demand point towards likelihood of achievement of the PDO.’ On the basis of this observation, the Bank Mission rated achievement on the PDO as Moderately Satisfactory. There has been one more Mission since then, and the opinion has not changed.

252. It has already been mentioned earlier that the approach of the project has been congruent with the Medium Term Plan of the GOP as also the long-term strategy. The major issues have been concerned with decentralization, empowerment at grassroots [village] level, participation and ownership, and extension of scheme coverage. Since the project is concerned with the provision of basic services, there is continuing relevance of the development objectives.

253. However there are some policy issues that are outstanding and need to be addressed if the basic developmental objectives are to be cogently pursued. Most of the issues are of such a nature that they would need to be addressed in terms of a long term sustainability assurance plan.

Needs of Special Groups. These include population from border villages, hill villages, waterlogged villages, etc. While it has been decided to lower the bar for beneficiary contributions for them, nothing much has happened. Keeping the implementation issues aside for the moment, at a policy level the concern should be the establishment of horizontal equity in service delivery. That these policy decisions should also be connected to sustainability of water sources etc., goes without saying. However, there are larger issues of expansion of village populations once services are provided, which possibly would in turn bring service delivery parameters to critical levels.

Capacity constraints of professionals working in the Water Sector. As PRWSS implementation has shown, there is a serious deficiency of professionals who are willing to work in the water sector, particularly at district and village levels. These constraints may prove to be serious in the future as coverage expands, O&M expenditures of villages increase, supply capacities themselves

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increase or are put under pressure, and the need for monitoring increases. A long-term plan for the water sector would need to address this issue.

Land related issues. Land related issues have already become important for sewerage schemes where land parcels for STP are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Given the need for land, acquisition of land may now be considered as a priority, and adequate resources also need to be identified for the same. In this connection it is pertinent and heartening to mention that the Government of Punjab, pursuant to a proposal put up by SPMC through the DWSS, has approved [Cabinet decision of 10.11.09] the acquisition of land for sewerage works through its own resources where the beneficiaries have paid up their share. In the proposal, the SPMC through the DWSS had pointed out that it is now proposed to have small bore sewerage systems on pilot basis for 100 villages [with a provision to increase the number to 300 later] for the reasons that (a) the costs of conventional sewerage systems are very high, (b) availability of less quantity of waste water in rural areas for effective functioning of conventional sewerage system, (c) the fact that small bore sewer works even with small quantity of waste water as after intercepting chamber (ICs) only waste water free from sediments is to be carried out. However, the SPMC reserves the option to have conventional sewerage systems in few cases where waste water generation is 100 lpcd or more due to presence of large number of submersible sets in individual houses. The proposal of the SPMC clearly stated that in the case of sewerage schemes also, Demand driven approach will be followed and technology will be adopted after consultations with the community.DWSS would ensure at least 70% coverage with toilets having septic tanks before taking up/commissioning the scheme so as to make sewerage scheme most feasible and functional. Other conditions would include ensuring that (a) the maximum proportion of households would be ready to construct the toilets and to take sewerage connection, (b) Village should have water supply scheme or is being implemented with minimum service level as 70 Ipcd & with additional average 20 lpcd consumption for non-drinking usage from private sources, (c) the Panchayat will provide 3 to 4 Acre of land free of cost for construction of sewerage treatment plant (d) the community and the GP would be willing to abide by the user cost sharing rules of the project for community sanitation. The proposal stated that other than the beneficiary share to be realized, other funds such as GPs external funds, NRI Donations, etc. can be used to meet the 'contribution' upto 30% of the total beneficiary share and GPs may contribute a maximum of 20% of the contribution and remaining 50% will be contributed by the users.In case MPLADs funds are to be used then its contribution shall be equal to 50% of the community share and the remaining 50% community share will be contributed by the users.Where the contribution made by the community falls short of the target amount (10% of scheme cost for general villages and 5% of scheme cost for difficult areas), the gap is to be filled-up following a stepped approach, first, by raising voluntary contribution from the community; second, through non-budgetary resources of the GP; third, by accessing untied funds available with the district

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administration; and lastly, through state government grant. Compliance with this principle is to be certified by a credible agency, such as the NGO working in the respective GP or reputed civil society organization.

As per the original project concept the Panchayat will provide 3 to 5 Acre of land free of cost for construction of sewerage treatment plant. Basic reason for the requirement of more area of land for the treatment plant is due to the adoption of low cost sewerage treatment technologies based on the construction of stabilization ponds. As of now 31 panchayats (list enclosed as annexure A) in 5 districts of the State have submitted resolution for installation of sewerage system along with sewage treatment plants in their villages. However, out of these 31 panchayats land for installation of sewage treatment plants is available only in 11 villages. Due to non availability of land for constructing sewage treatment plants, the sewerage schemes in remaining 20 villages are not feasible. It has been ascertained during the field visits by the NGOs and IEC and HRD Specialists working in SPMC that many panchayats are willing to contribute minimum prescribed beneficiary share required for sewerage scheme but due to non availability of 3 to 5 acres of panchayat land in their village, they are unable to join the project.

Specifically, the proposal stated that in view of the non availability of panchayat land required for sewerage treatment plant and non availability of adequate land at specific location for constructing water works it is proposed that in all such cases government may procure/acquire land through its own resources like small savings award funds, PIDB, Rural Development Fund, State Plan Budget or any other source. The gap in the target amount of 10% of the scheme cost for general villages and 5% of the scheme cost for villages in difficult areas is to be provided through State Government grant as illustrated above in the modified cost sharing rules and as such this arrangement would not dilute the project concepts and can be adopted to utilize the complete project funds available with the State Government which otherwise may lapse.As earlier stated the GOP has now approved of the proposal. However, efforts of the GOP to mobilize funds in these regards may need to be supported by other sources, given that the GOP itself is under financial constraints from time to time, and presently also. The official Memorandum on the subject is enclosed as Annex 14.

Significant deficits in other services. Given that there are significant deficits in other services such as health, education, etc. which impact upon the water sector, the government would need to take overall policy decisions covering a number of different sectors at the same time and work out ways and means to ensure continuing concordance at the implementation level. Part of this has already been done through creating coordination between several sectors at the village level, but integrated policy in this regard is till to be clearly formulated and transformed in action programs.

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Environmental Issues. While for PRWSS there are no significant environmental issues except for the sanitation part, this situation may change radically in the future as water demand increases, and as sanitation starts demanding more facilities for disposal and treatment. Now a Technical Support consultant is in position to address these issues. The need to address these issues sufficiently in advance is urgent.

254. As can be easily understood, the addressing of the above issues cannot be predicated upon policy decision at the government level alone. Some of these issue would be addressed at the local level, and some others would be addressed by the GOP in terms of the emergent situation[s] at GP level. The current overall structure and approach of the SPMC and the DPMC are such that with the addition of some elements to the existing structure of GOP, the policy development and feedback loop could be completed reasonably satisfactorily. However, expansion of the project ambit would be required to fully address all the issues satisfactorily.

255. Overall however, it is felt that the development objectives continue to be of direct relevance to the stakeholders and as such, should not be modified or altered at the present point of time.

Appropriateness of Project Design and Covenants

256. As the World Bank has remarked, the project is being implemented in compliance of the legal Covenants. The Covenants are {1] For all RWSS sector investment schemes, regardless of the source of financing, GoP shall take all necessary steps to ensure that such schemes are consistent with its SWAP Program and its implementation strategy, as agreed with the Association, and that the number of ongoing RWSS sector investments financed outside the SWAP Program are reduced during the period of Project implementation such that the amount of investments in such schemes does not at any time exceed Rs 476 Crores, [2] In carrying out Part C.2 (a) of the Project covering Performance improvement of existing water supply schemes, GoP shall ensure that the operations and management and the financing responsibilities of selected single village water supply schemes and intra village works of selected multi village water supply schemes are transferred from DWSS to the relevant GP and GPWSC in accordance with a time-bound action plan, satisfactory to the Association, and [3] In respect of components C2 (b) and C3 covering installation of innovative technologies and community sanitation schemes respectively, no withdrawal shall be made unless the first five pilot schemes of each technology option shall have commenced operations satisfactory to the Association. The C2 (b)sub component covenant itself has lost relevance since the installation of new and innovative technologies is a matter that has been taken up by the Government of Punjab itself. The second covenant, as has been discussed throughout this Review document, forms the keystone upon which the whole of the PRWSS is based and is not only appropriate but also of continuing relevance since the aim of the government is to gradually decentralize service delivery to the grass-roots not only to build ownership but also to introduce the whole

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concept of beneficiary cost-sharing at the local level. This is also in line with the 73rd Amendment to the Indian Constitution, and as such is of crucial importance. The C2 (a) sub component covenant, which proposes that for performance improvement schemes the DWSS will gradually transfer responsibilities to the GP and GPWSC. This follows from the basic premise of the SWAp. The Covenants [other than the third one] therefore continue to be relevant and appropriate.

257. The key documents guiding the implementation of PRWSS are the DCA [Development Credit Agreement [Financing Agreement] and associated Technical Annex. While the overall aims and objectives of these documents are of continuing relevance to the SWAp and MTP, a number of issues have been identified during the course of implementation and evaluation. Key issues are discussed below.

258. Unaligned Core Objectives. PRWSS was established in response to the urgent need for provision of potable water supply to Punjab village households within a relatively short period. However, the related key objective is the capacity building of the GPWSC and DWSS personnel themselves who are posted at the districts or those who have been seconded to DPMC. The complexity of the project has been increased because of the capacity building and participatory activities as these require the full and complete involvement of the project team. Given that, it has not been possible to build the capacity of the departmental personnel to the extent envisaged, due to which the Bank Missions have repeatedly commented on the same. To these extents, objectives have been misaligned, time-wise, causing delays where proper pre-project planning might have served to avoid them.

259. Implementation Arrangements. While the overall implementation arrangements have so far proved satisfactory, it is felt that more attention should have been given at the project preparation and detailing stage to ring-fencing project funds, especially that portion of it which is due to GOP. Absent such ring-fencing, the project has at times suffered from shortage of funds which have also contributed to delay by the contractors in the completion of ongoing schemes. The World Bank Missions themselves have had to raise this issue with the GOP on more than one occasion.

260. Another issue that needs to be looked at in this connection is that there still remain a number of inactive GPs. The implementation arrangement, at one level is overly dependent on the attitude and motivation of the Sarpanch. This might have been avoided had there been more technical and IEC manpower available which might have swung village opinion in favor of adoption of schemes and hastened the process of self-selection. Thus the implementation arrangements might have been arranged a little differently with strengthening of DPMC and DWSS manpower so as to offer more substantial presence at the GP level.

261. Project Incentives. The salaries and other perquisites offered to project personnel is at par with government salaries. However, this offers little incentive for extra work or extra effort. This needs to be addressed. SPMC may consider preparing a proposal in this regard and send it to GOP and the World Bank for concurrence and approval.

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262. Self-selection Process. The criteria used for self-selection is generally monetary based being one of the requirement in SWAp. The technical issues are introduced later. It is necessary also to look at clear measures of vulnerability and service delivery deficiency especially for PC villages. As of date it seems that this is of little concern because attention is generally focused on NC villages. However, as the pace of the project picks up, these measures will also become necessary to obtain prioritization of scheme implementation schedules. This issue would also form part of the Sustainability Assurance Plan.

263. Particularly vulnerable villages. As has been mentioned, some villages are particularly vulnerable – being border villages, or waterlogged ones, etc. SPMC has so far been handling these villages also on the basis of self selection procedures as established and paid no special attention to them in terms of performance improvement or otherwise. It is a matter of social concern that vulnerable villages should not be treated at par with others particularly with respect to IEC efforts. This should be addressed on a priority basis.

264. Cost Estimates. There should be a regular re-estimation of costs and reallocation of investments to weak areas. One revision has now been done as reported in this document. However, this needs to be a continual exercise. Revised Cost estimates are presented in the relevant Annexes. Program Cost revised estimates are presented in Annexes 10 and 17.

265. Lack of Capacity of local Contractors. Many contractors either do not understand the bidding process fully, or lack financial or skills to tackle the tasks in a proper manner. In many cases it has also been seen that response to bids has been lacking. The procurement strategy has been somewhat changed on the advice of the World Bank and results, though slow, can now be seen. It is a fact that because the change in strategy came rather late, a lot of time had been wasted in repeatedly rebidding for schemes.

266. Lack of Capacity within DWSS. This issue was also not sufficiently considered and a proper strategy formulated at the time of project preparation.

Sustainability of Interventions

267. From the outset this project has been designed for sustainability and the interventions made thus far will go a long way in removing inequities in water supply in Punjab. In particular, sustainability has been encouraged through:

The establishment of functioning community executive and decision-making bodies.

The establishment of clear norms and guidance for management of O&M funds through the community bodies.

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The involvement and capacity building of concerned institutions and functionaries.

Establishment of norms for Quality Control and establishment of mechanisms at the government level to do QA.

Further issues that need to be considered with regard to sustainability are as follow:

Policy to be formulated for major repairs and replacement of the water supply systems both for SV and MV – currently at the GPWSC level the policy, not enforced strictly, is to keep surplus from monthly O&M collections for future major repairs and replacement. However, the amount of surplus in any case is small, and most villages do not follow the policy rigorously. Therefore much more clear guidance and policy statements are necessary. SPMC may consider formulating a detailed Plan in this regard.

IEC efforts should not cease with the end of the project term – the reason is that for sustainability continuing inputs need to be provided to the village population, and now that SWSM has taken a decision to integrate village level efforts of Water Supply, Health and Education, it is essential that messages and inputs from all three departments are fully aligned with each other. This also means that the IEC personnel currently working at SPMC or DPMC level will themselves have to be continued in their employment; and the GOP therefore has to prescribe what steps are needed in these regards. Since these efforts shall continue over a long period, a separate project may be conceived for approval of GOP.

Development and Statement of Long Term Policy prescriptions in terms of actionable strategies – GOP has already developed the MTP as well as a more general Long Term Policy. All the contours of that long-term policy have not, however, been well defined as yet. For the PRWSS, the implications are that sustainability assurance will also have to come through long term assured support from DWSS. Thus the long-term policy has to take this specifically into account.

Realism in the Key Performance Indicators and Their Measurement

268. In general, the Performance Indicators for the project are realistic and achievable. However consideration needs to be given to some aspects as mentioned below:

Indicators of Sewerage and Sanitation facilities. The indicators for sanitation and sewerage are essentially the same as those for water supply services. However, so far as sewerage and sanitation are concerned, there are considerations other than those purely numerical. These also need to be reflected in the performance indicators, especially with regard to social and environmental impacts of the proposed schemes. Thus it is

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recommended that a modified/expanded set of indicators be developed.

Connections to SC households. The database has details of SC households with water connections provided as part of the schemes. However, this data has not been included as an indicator, nor has baseline data been verified and established. This indicator is important because these households have traditionally been marginalized and only in terms of PRWSS have they been given special incentives.

Indicators for land for sewerage facilities. Indicators need to be developed for land handed over by GP to the project authorities for installing sewerage facilities, and for further progress of sanitation schemes.

Further changes may also be required in indicator design and it is therefore recommended that all indicators are reviewed by SPMC, DWSS and WB, and finalized within the next quarter of the project.

Institutional Arrangements and Project Management

269. The project is essentially being implemented by SPMC which is also accountable for overall project progress. DWSS as a department also participates in planning and design. The system involving DWSS at district level, DPMC and SPMC and the GPWSC is working well. However, it has also been seen that there are gaps and level differences in the awareness of rules and norms as well as compliance, between different GPWSC. This may be due to the different approaches taken by individual IEC and HRD specialists. To ensure that there is a level playing field for all GPWSC, it is required that cross-village and cross-district IEC activities be stepped up and more opportunities are given to GPWSC to learn from each other, both at large meetings and also through visits and site inspections. In doing so, these village representatives will also learn on the job and will build capacity to address a wider range of village level issues – including health and education issues.

270. As stated earlier, it is also necessary to augment the number of specialists that are fielded by the project. In fact, IEC must become a regular functional component of DWSS tasks, rather than remaining as a project-specific one. The project staff also need to be augmented. To date, the SPMC is responsible for overall management of the project. They have established systems for administration, finance management, engineering and environmental and social management. Next year as the project increases the number of schemes being implemented, further strengthening in administration, procurement, and engineering (specifically monitoring and supervision) will be required.

271. From time to time, project implementation has suffered from inadequacy of fund flows. The existing arrangement whereby project funds are first credited into the Punjab government accounts, has sometimes proved to be counter-productive, especially when the Government itself has faced a resource crunch. This matter needs to be addressed.

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Recommendations have been provided in the relevant section below on this issue.

Adequacy of Stakeholder Consultation

272. The SPMC and DPMC are currently actively consulting relevant stakeholders who have concerns for different aspects of the project. This involves regular meetings with GPWSC/GP, and also meetings at the central level with concerned Ministry as well as departmental officials. However, it has been noted during the current review process that the frequency of consultation needs to be increased, and more publicity is needed to be given at the State level to the PRWSS initiatives and the results so far obtained.

Bank Performance

273. By and large the Bank has been very active in monitoring and in supporting the project, particularly during those periods when there were a number of complex and intertwined issues to be resolved in quick order. The Bank has assisted and guided the project authorities in the preparation and vetting of TORs for Consultants, mediating with the Department of Finance and the DEA at the GOI level. The Bank has also assisted in pointing out and facilitating mid-stream corrections wherever necessary. The SPMC and the GOP departments have also been particularly appreciative of the dedication and enthusiasm of the TTL and constructive professional advice given by the Finance, Social and Procurement teams of the Bank.

274. Despite the above, there are some issues which do need to be pointed out, as follow:

Procurement processing at the Bank level. While there has been delays at times at DWSS level, some delays have also been observed at the Bank level, especially where there have been issues of re-bidding, etc.

Residual issues from the Technical Annex as well as the DCA. As discussed in earlier sections, there were several matters which should have been addressed at the time of project preparation, but which remained unattended and which had an impact on the project. Since these documents [DCA and TA] are the mother documents, it is necessary to further clarify and expand upon these documents so that adequate actions can now be taken.

Technical issues in the design of sanitation schemes. There have beendivergence of opinion on several technical issues concerning design and implementation of sanitation schemes, and these need to be brought to a coherent and consensual conclusion speedily. It is envisaged that the technical support consultant who has now been appointed by SPMC will address these issues.

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Borrower Performance

275. A number of significant project delays have been the result of a lack of capacity and efficiency from the Borrower, particularly during the initial stages of the Project. However, as the project progressed some improvements were made and with some technical assistance appropriate decisions were made and support provided to the project.

276. Some of the project delays could also have been avoided through much better financial planning and better financial flows from GOP. The issues are complex and concern also perceived credibility of principal employer financial credibility and performance as seen by the Contractors. For this reason, the project authorities have now asked for [and received approval of] a higher advance threshold for the GPWSC.

277. Improvements in communication and the quality of monitoring provided by the Government are also required.

Key Issues and Actions Needed

278. In this report and the MTR interviews a number of issues within PRWSS and proposed actions to be taken have been discussed. Many of the smaller issues and recommendations raised during the interviews are not covered in the MTR report but will be addressed by the SPMC team for the continual improvement of the project (for example small changes to the QA/QC manual and community consultation manual). This section highlights the key overall issues that now need to be addressed.

279. Construction of Schemes during balance period of 2009-10 and 2010-11. This is probably the most significant challenge for PRWSS as a whole. While design and supervision activities have been now made the responsibility of a Consulting Firm, the schedules, perforce have had to remain very tight. In fact, there are hardly any flexibilities in terms of schedules. Of the 3000-odd villages proposed to be covered under the project, slightly more than 66 are now in operation, and project tenure is only for another two-and-a-half years. Thus both fund-flow management and accounting, and procurement activities will have to be scaled up considerably. This will also involve much closer attention to Quality than so far given. And although even for this a separate Consulting Firm has been hired nevertheless the accountability and responsibility ultimately remain that of DWSS and SPMC. SPMC may consider creating a system for regular monitoring and carrying out and implementing mid-stream corrections.

280. Additional manpower for IEC, procurement, and supervision. It has been mentioned that in any case augmentation of manpower is needed. Success of the project, with scaled-up rates of implementation will require immediate attention to this matter.

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281. Planning for Contingencies. Contingencies could arise because of a very large number of uncontrollable factors, from natural calamities affecting scheme implementation to non-cooperation of GPWSC members during scheme execution, or even poor performance and task abdication on the part of contractors. As stated before, there are no contingency provisions available in terms of time also. The Project needs to plan for the contingencies because of the inherent complexities and variables when working in a large geographically spread area and predicated upon the active participation of the communities. SPMC needs to be prepared for such contingencies and have a Plan ready for implementation at any time.

282. Scaling-up IEC operations. As discussed earlier, IEC operations need to be substantially scaled-up in order to assure sustainability in the very large number of schemes that are now proposed to be implemented.

283. Improvement of DOF-SPMC collaboration. It is considered that further improvement of the level of cooperation and collaboration between the Department of Finance and the SPMC is needed.

284. Smoother Flow of Funds to the Project. In paragraph 270 it has been mentioned that at times flow of funds from Punjab government is constrained by resource crunch due to recession at national and global levels. Thus Project Funds need to be ring-fenced in some way so that execution efficiency is not hampered. One possible action could be to create a separate Project Account to which World Bank and GOI funds could be directly credited. This would imply that the WB funds are used up earlier, for a definitive number of villages. This in turn would mean a different perspective on the way the balance of the project is to be executed. A recommendation on this is provided in the relevant section below. A proposal to ring-fence World Bank funds has been mooted already, and the same is enclosed at Annex 15.

285. Higher contribution ratio for the Infrastructure Component. For the infrastructure component, the formula that is currently applicable is that 66% will be paid by the World Bank. This percentage is worked out after deducting GoI share and community contribution amount. In Punjab Rural Water Supply & Sanitation Project, amount available for component C is Rs 1008.80 crore against which World Bank share is Rs 479.40 crore, GoI share is Rs 207.02 crore and community contribution is Rs 80.07 crore.

Funds available under component C from World Bank and Punjab Government are: = Rs 720.90 croreWorld Bank Share = 479.40 crore

Percentage of reimbursement =

In order to speed up the process of execution, and to ensure smooth flow of funds, it may be considered that the total committed amount of the World Bank on this account be considered as 90% of the project cost for number of villages that this money will cover. The balance 10% will come from the Beneficiary share. If this formula is adopted, then the balance of

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villages that would be left [out of the total planned 3161 villages] would then be serviced solely through GOI and GOP funds. This will have two advantages- first, a sizeable number of villages will receive their schemes early enough, and on schedule. And secondly, there will be a clear demonstration effect of the completion of such a large number of schemes. This in turn, will help in two ways – the villages which are currently inactive will become encouraged to join the scheme, and the GOP itself will be encouraged to take up the coverage of the balance of schemes on priority basis – the encouragement being provided by the fact that the beneficiaries would have already paid. Annex 16, which provides the detailed Note on the subject, is also to be referred in this context

286. Additional Technical Assistance. While the projects are primarily engineering in content, nevertheless it has been seen that considerable input of social and behavioral engineering will be required particularly when the sanitation schemes come into being and the question of maintenance of community facilities also arises. For this purpose expert TA will be necessary in these fields.

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admin, 12/31/09,

Elaborate the qualification and duties of expert TA

Recommendations

Overview

287. In the light of the critical review of project progress and findings presented in this Report, this Section discusses a number of key recommendations to strengthen and improve PRWSS implementation for the remainder of the Project Period.

Recommendations

288. Time Extension of Project Activities. It is recommended that the Project be extended by another two years, beyond its current tenure. There are several reasons for making this recommendation, as follow:

The implementation of the project had been delayed during the initial period. There were a number of reasons, some administrative and some technical, which were largely unavoidable. These reasons, and the lessons learned from the same, have been discussed in the previous Chapter, and earlier also in this Report. However that may be, and notwithstanding the fact that the GOP is committed to addressing these administrative and other delays in subsequent projects, it remains a fact, that the delay in the initial stages resulted in a domino effect and consequently at present the whole project is behindhand by as much as 18 months. There has been a sea change in the approach to implementation of the project. However, as has been stated, there is now very little flexibility available in terms of time for achieving the coverage expected under this project. There are a also a number of issues and inherent risks associated with the balance period activities. These include (a) the difficulty of procuring qualified contractors and obtaining sufficient number of responsive bids, (b) improvement of supervision of civil works, (c) resolution of logistics problems and augmentation of staff at both DPMC and SPMC level, (d) overcoming the lag between dissemination of awareness messages and their internalization and adoption, and (e) initiating and completing of sanitation schemes in maximum number of villages.

While a large number of GPWSC have been successfully established, the increase of coverage to 3000 villages in two fairly sizeable phases (1200 under 90% WB financing) and the balance under GOI and GOP financing will mean close attention to the setting up and handholding for that many number of GPWSC ensuring, at the same time, that the norms that have been established are rigorously followed. This will also mean paying attention to quality assurance and quality monitoring of schemes – to ensure that the standards and specifications that have been established are followed. While some of this responsibility will be that of the turnkey consultant,

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nevertheless the ultimate responsibility will remain that of the government as the borrower. In any case, the internalization and adoption of the norms as set, will take time. The sudden increase in the number of villages will create greater pressures on the officers, and the pressure of time - if it remains- may in fact work adversely against achieving project objectives in a smooth manner.

As of date, most GPWSC are not looking beyond the first year or two of the scheme so far as O&M is concerned. As the schemes grow older, there will be need for more money for O&M which the beneficiaries themselves will have to raise. Currently, there is some guidance available, but the guidance not only has to be made more specific, more IEC efforts are needed to ensure that all the village level institutions properly internalize and adopt them. This is a time consuming effort, and the balance of time available is not deemed sufficient for this purpose.

The introduction of sewerage and sanitation schemes will mean additional responsibilities for the GPWSC. Whether the GPWSC are capable of undertaking additional responsibility, with its attenuated functions of accounting and technical actions, is a moot point at this juncture. Here also much handholding will probably be needed, for which additional efforts will have to be made. The organizing of such efforts and the monitoring of the results of the same will also need time – which is not available under the present bounds of time for the project.

It has also been mentioned that long term sustainability of all the schemes will depend on the degree to which capacity is built up in state-level institutions to administratively manage the project in the long run and to continue to provide encouragement to the grass-root level structure created. This capacity building effort should proceed simultaneously with the implementation of the project. If this effort is also compressed within the present time frame- the results thereof may not be very satisfactory- and will therefore act adversely towards long term sustainability of the project.

In view of the above, it is recommended that the timeframe of the project be increased by two years. This proposed extension also accounts for the time delays during the initial period of the project.

289. Improved and Intensified IEC activities. It has been stated in this document that quantum jumps in scheme implementation cannot be obtained without scaling-up IEC activities. Part of this problem has already been addressed by including village level IEC activities also in the responsibilities assigned to Engineering Support consultant. Besides SPMC has conducted three residential training programmes for capacity building of the professionals working in DPMCs intensive. Now, a strategic planning based on a Social Impact survey of IEC activities already carried out has been done. Moreover infrastructure facilities for intensifying IEC activities especially at the District level are under way. Part of this problem has already been addressed by including village level IEC activities also the responsibility of the Design and Supervision consultant. However, as has

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also been noted, there is a clear distinction between the message that goes to the GP when a consultant does the IEC and when a ‘government officer’ does the IEC. Therefore, a strategic planning based on a Social Impact survey of IEC activities so far has to be done, and additions made to the complement of IEC personnel especially at the District level.

290. Improved Supervision and Contract Management of Schemes. It has been noted that the level and quality of construction supervision, contract management and assessment of quality has not been very satisfactory, and that this has been realized by the SPMC itself. Constraints of manpower resources have impeded better performance in this area. Key issues identified are as follow:

Inadequate understanding and exposure to, at the GPWSC level, of specifications, QA/QC procedures and ESSF in general. It is now decided that the Technical Support Consultant will also do the capacity building of GP/GPWSC during the construction work, and that the consultant will also prepare ESMF plan.

Inability to resolve daily site issues, variations etc and issue site instructions.

Lack of ability in guiding the contractor to manage his own resources – especially for local and small contractors- and daily works in accordance with work program as set.

Poor control on quantities and measurement verification. Relatively ineffective planning of social activities and site

inspections Limited ability to effectively resolve conflicts and disputes.

All of the above are the standard responsibilities of a supervision consultant and it is hoped that the Supervision consultant as well as the QA consultant will address them satisfactorily. However, there is no room for either complacency or dilution of responsibility on the part of SPMC/DPMC here. With the increase in the intensity of activities all round, the project authorities themselves must gear up to address these tasks better.

Specific options that could be explored would be (i) strengthening the DPMC in their various functional areas, and keeping the SPMC structure lean, (ii) Create a set of teams at the SPMC level who will have a set program of monitoring each of the schemes in operation on a round robin basis, and (iii) Have a third consultant with a specific mandate to field as many number of teams as may be required. These issues and options will be first discussed at the level of the SPMC and after due administrative concurrence on the principles, with the World Bank.

6. Intensified program for Water Quality Monitoring at the village level. The efforts of the project authorities to train volunteers from the villages to monitor water quality, is bearing fruit WSS Department held 922 workshops to train the village personnel/PRI person under Govt of India Water Quality Surveillance Programme. Each Workshop is held for a cluster of 5 villages with participation of five persons/PRI members from each village. As a result 4779 villages stand

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covered with the training programme during the year 2008-09. Each village has also been provided with a water testing kit which is capable of testing 100 water samples for 8 to 12 parameters i.e. pH, Alkalinity, Hardness, Chloride, TDS, Fluoride, Iron, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, Phosphate & Residual Chlorine. In addition to field test kit nearly 1,00,000 number of H2S Kits have also ben distributed to different villages for testing water of different sources for bacteriological contamination. Rest of the villages in Punjab are proposed to be covered during the current financial year 2009-10. Pretents status is given in the table below

Sr.No

Description of activity

2008-09

2009-10(Up to 11/09)

Total

1. Work shop conducted

922 850 1772

2. Villages covered with training programme

4779 4523 9302

3. Water testing kits distribud

5088 4358 9446

291. Department of Water Supply & Sanitation have made it mandatory for the field staff to check fixed percentage of samples for bacteriological contamination as well as for physical and chemical test on monthly and quartery basis. In addition random checking of water sample is got conducted through mobile water testing laboratory as per the directions of Program Director.

292. Overall Manpower Planning and Sustainability Assurance of the Scheme Support Structure at the State level. It has already been mentioned that project sustainability will also depend to a very great extent on the way in which the Government decides to provide support services to the GP and GPWSC on a long-term basis. This implies proper manpower planning for the future [and continuing] structure.SPMC proposes to hire the services of consultancy firm for capacity building of 1500 commissioned water supply schemes in all the 20 districts for sustainable O&M on long term basis. Else, if long-term management is to be handed over to the existing DWSS which has relatively less exposure to the new culture of decentralization, there is a chance that over a period of time there would be attrition and also a fall in the standards of O&M. This issue also needs to be part of the Sustainability Assurance Plan.

293. Technical Assistance in some specific areas. It is felt that specific TA in particular functional areas would also need to be added. This demands first, a detailed evaluation and assessment, and second, the preparation of an appropriate proposal at the SPMC level.

294. Ring-fencing of Project Funds. In terms of arguments provided above, it is recommended that World Bank funds be directly credited to the Project Account, until the World Bank tranches are fully exhausted.

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This could be done without any changes whatsoever in the existing patterns of Financial Management or Reporting as already mandated and covenanted. A Note on this subject is annexed hereto as Annex 15.

295. Increase of World Bank share from 66% to 90%. It is recommended that for an identified number of villages, World Bank contribution under the Infrastructure Component be increased from 66% to 90%, in the interests of speedier and smoother execution of the schemes. Once these villages are covered, the balance of schemes in the rest of the villages can be completed with the already committed funds from GOI and GOP. A Note on this subject is annexed hereto as Annex 16. The villages to be taken up under 90% WB financing would be on first come first served basis.

296. The recommendations in this sub-section are in addition to those that have already been stated during the discussions in this document. Those have not been provided here only in order to avoid repetition.

Next Steps

297. The next step will be for this document to be discussed thoroughly at both the SPMC level and also with the DEA and the World Bank. Since a large number of issues have been stated in this document, it would now be necessary to prepare separate Plans covering each of the key issues to be addressed as may be agreed. SPMC may need more TA only for that purpose.

298. However, given that there is not a lot of time left before the construction season is in full swing, and the end of the financial year is also quite near, it would be necessary to address all issues in very short time.

299. Assuming that the recommendation for the extension of the project by two years is accepted, the SPMC needs to take urgent action in regard to the development of the various proposals as well as the detailed sustainability assurance plan.

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