News from India
News items from Andhra Pradesh (India) on the WASH sector.
India pilot scheme will show Government value of life-cycle costs approach
WASHCost India
Snehalatha Sreedhar, Coordinator of WASHCost India, explains how the WASHCost will work with the Government on how to better contribute to national rural water supply guidelines.
Why families choose toilets- to protect younger daughters and older parents
21 Nov 11
WASHCost India
Why do families build toilets? If open defecation is common for many families in India, what is the incentive to break this practice and opt for a toilet? Two motivating factors are frequently mentioned by families: concern for the safety of their daughters and concern for the safety of their elderly. Safe places for defecation are necessary to protect women and the elderly from harm and indignity.
Why families choose toilets – to protect older parents and younger daughters.pdf (337.4 kB)
WASHCost project reveals that toilet campaign in India fails to change family customs
WASHCost (India) has told the national government in Delhi that sanitation has become the weakest link in their development progress. Despite the Total Sanitation Campaign millions of people are still without toilets and millions more do not use them. The health benefits of sanitation are being eroded by a failure to sustain gains and lack of awareness of hygiene. A team from WASHCost India has met the senior officials of the Department of Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Ministry of Rural Development at national level in Delhi to discuss the emerging results of their research. They took with them two hard hitting briefing notes on water and sanitation.
BRAC WASH Team visits WASHCost (India) Project
14 Jun 11
BRAC is implementing a major WASH project in Bangladesh. BRAC has a special focus on poorest of the poor in this project. A team consisting of 14 members working on promoting WASH at BRAC visited Andhra Pradesh and interacted with CESS and WASSAN team in May 2011. As part of this visit, they visited Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department, few role model villages and picked up several lessons and good practices on WASH service delivery and cost implications of the same. This is a report on their visit.
Exchaging Lessons on WASH Costs and Good Practices - BRAC and WASHCost (India) Project June 2011.doc (855.5 kB)
From Seattle to Tekulapally … Opening the flood gates of inquiry ….
02 Apr 11
From Seattle to Tekulapally 2 Apr 2011.pdf (213.0 kB)
1 Rs/Person/ Month- Operational cost of garbage removal and environmental sanitation in small towns
Urban municipalities are looking into several means of improving sanitation in their cities. An article written by WASHCost India gives insight into practices of a small town in Andhra Pradesh.
Breaking rules for improved services
WASHCost India focus communities in Andhra Pradesh are presenting scenarios of how the governance of WASH services is a major challenge for local municipalities with rapidly growing urban populations. Can citizens find a way to better services by breaking rules and norms? Or would it be better to strengthen the way those rules and norms work, so that the municipality, the councillors and the households can work together to ensure effective services that reach the end of the pipe network?
The WASHCost India team has recently published an article regarding key issues facing community members and their need for better governed WASH services.
Honorable Minister delivers key note address at IRC Symposium
17 Nov 10
Mr Vishwarup P, Honorable Minister for Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Government of Andhra Pradesh delivered the key note address at IRC Symposium - Pumps, Pipes and Promises, at The Hague, Netherlands in Nov 2010.
The Minister called for a review of the methodologies of cost estimates of WASH services and urged for international cooperation on this issue.
Go beyond schedule of rates - Key note address.pdf (370.0 kB)
How the India team overcame delays in data collection
The WASHCost team in Andhra Pradesh, India, overcame local bureaucracy and unrest to ensure the data collection process stayed on target.
Indian households pay more than the state
Preliminary analysis of WASHCost surveys shows that households in some areas of India are paying more than the state to sustain and improve their services. These household contributions include buying storage tanks and extra water to meet household needs.
