A one-day workshop of interaction of various stakeholders of World Bank funded ‘Swajal project’ was organised here on Wednesday.
The scheme titled Uttarakhand Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (URWSSP) entails community participation in planning and execution of drinking water and sanitation projects in rural areas of Uttarakhand.
The stakeholders for the project are World Bank, members of village panchayats, Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan, Uttarakhand Jal Nigam and various district units of Swajal. The project which was started in the year 2006 is ending on December 31 this year.
Speaking on the occasion the Additional Chief Secretary, S Raju said that the public representatives should continue to operate the scheme in future with a sense of belonging.
Assuring the representatives of the Panchayat, the Secretary Drinking water, R K Sudhanshu said that Uttarakhand Jal Santhsthan and Jal Nigam would resurrect the drinking water scheme set up during the project in case of any damage. The additional Secretary Planning and Director Swajal, Dr R K Sinha emphasised on the need to bring ‘Jal Swaraj’ in the state. He appealed the public representative present on the occasion to work towards making Uttarakhand an open defecation free state. The representatives of the Panchayats shared their experiences and appeared worried about maintenance aspect of the schemes.
Swajal is a unique model of community participation in which the rural folks plan, execute and operate the drinking water project of their area. In the state 8270 schemes of providing drinking water were funded by the World Bank in the 224 Million dollar project. The representatives of the World Bank are on review tour of the state these days and are taking feedback of the people. The members of the mission led by Christopher C Ancheta have toured Malyangaon in Tehri, Nainipondan in Rudraprayag, Parwal in Dehradun, Himatpur, Basantpur, Parwada and Umagarh in Nainital, Rawadi of Almora and Tallihat and Veen Kulawal of Bageshwar. The Swajal officials claimed that the findings of the mission are encouraging.
The panchayat representatives of the villages which have achieved 100 percent target of toilet construction in their villages were felicitated on the occasion.
The workshop was attended by World Bank consultant P Kurien, J Jurmila, officers of Swajal and large number of village panchayat members from different parts of the state.