Water Security in Periurban

Gurgaon, Coproduction and

Comanagement
 Site Description
• Sultanpur village, 15 km from Gurgaon
• Terrain
• Undulating
• Railway line at village periphery
• Water pressure drops in the water pipeline along village periphery
• Section beyond railline resided by low caste group
• Take water from handpump installed by upper caste
• Internatioanl Development Research Centre
• Intervention to improve interface between water-users and service providers
• SaciWATERs
• communication
Problem
• Lack of forum to ensure accountability of the sate agency to water
users
• On one occasion many households received bills for a water
connection, while not having any water supply
• PHED complains households do not use tap, have multiple (illegal )
connections
• Distrust and prisoner’s dilemma between water users and service
providers
 First Stakeholder Meeting
• PHED representative –
• everyone should install taps on their water connections in order to check water wastage
• Legalize water connection
• Sarpanch making efforts
• Do not pay bill if water not received, complain block PHED
• Sarpanch
• Highlighted small street having large pipe connection
• Reduce water availability and lead to unequal distribution to tail reaches
• Many households have multiple illegal water connections
• Project team formation
• Facilitator and mediator of relationship between water users and service providers
• Encouraged communities to ask for change
• Contacted PHED if responses slow and lacking
• Informed procurement of Ductile Iron Piped made
• Mixed community response
• Many legalized connection, others did not find PHED reliable
 Second Stakeholder Meeting
• Expediting laying down Ductile Iron pipes
• PHED emphasized that they act fast due to pressure from community
• Expanding water coverage to the unreached
• Approval required from Railway authority
• PHED agreed to survey the area in question and said if satisfactory with water quality it
would arrange for setting up tube-well
• But land needs to be earmarked by Sarpanch
• Improving internal water distribution in village
• Stand-posts must have taps to regulate the flow
• PHED suggested
• villagers to inform PHED about illegal connection (but no complain registerd)
• Formation of Water Committee to monitor work and maintenance
• Registering tubewells with Central Groundwater Commission
• Addressing water quality concerns
• PHED said they treat and chlorinate water, supply good quality water
• Villegers, women Panch members said water not potable
• Installation of Ductile Irone Pipes
• Immensely improved water supply
• Change in attitude of villagers and state agency
• As against distrust and blame game (as in first meeting), they calked out
future course of action
Third Stakeholder meeting
• Equitable water supply after installation of new pipes
• Not having taps
• Motor pumps to extract water
• Tussle between low caste and upper caste sharing same water
• PHED promised to install tubewells beyond railline
• Sarapanch submitted letter requesting area beyond railway lie to be
awarded a Dhanni status ((A dhaani is a small settlement away from the
main village)
• PHED’s argument low pressure due to lack of tap and use of motor pump
• Requested to give up these proactices
• Not simply augmenting or better water supply, but a reorientation of
relationship between water users and state
• Development of ‘hydro-culture’ comprising of norms, practices and
processes
Co-production and Co-management

• Co-management: sharing of power and responsibility between

government and local resource users
• Combination of centralised and decentralised state and
community institutions
• Knowledge partnership: local knowledge is combined with
scientific knowledge produced by state scientists
• Monitoring and enforcement more possible
• Co-production: arrangement where at least in part citizen
produce own service
• Helps to resolve collective action problems
• Credible commitment of the participants to one another
• clear and enforceable contracts between government
agencies and citizen which enhance credibility