India - Punjab Water Resources Management Project

Report No. PIC4170 Project Name India-Punjab Water Resources ... (@) Management Project Region South Asia Sector Water Supply & Sanitation Project ID INPA44206 Borrower Government of India Implementing Agencies Irrigation & Power Department Water Resources Organization Government of Punjab Chandigarh Fax: (91-172) 548 392 Contact: Mr. Manmohan Singh, Chief Engineer Water Resources Organization Public Health Department Government of Punjab Patiala Fax: (91-175) 212 029 Contact: Mr. B.R. Bansal,Chief Engineer Water Supply & Sanitation Date Initial PID Prepared July 31, 1996 Date this PID Prepared July 31, 1996 Projected Appraisal Date April 1997 Projected Board Date June 1997 Sectoral Issues. Water Resources. Punjab+s water resources and environmental conditions are deteriorating at high speed. Groundwater resources are being over- exploited in the major part of the state while the water table is raising to alarming levels and creating salinity and waterlogging problems in the south-western part. Water quality and the environment are declining around major cities due to urban and industrial pollution and also in the rural areas due to intensive use of chemical inputs in agriculture. Rural Water Supply & Sanitation. The quality of rural water supply and environmental sanitation provided by the Public Health Department (PHD) is inadequate and deteriorating. The level of services does not meet the increasing demand due to population growth and improved standards of living. There is still much to be done to promote hygiene education to reduce diarrheal and other diseases especially among children. Less than 5% of the rural population uses safe private latrines. Both the inadequate level of water supply and environmental sanitation generate loss of precious time which is compounded by health hazards for the rural population. Project Objectives  The first project objective is to improve water resources and environmental management in all water related fields in the State of Punjab, by assisting the Government to develop policy reforms and institutional changes to promote efficient and sustainable use of water resources. The second project objective is to improve the health and living conditions of the rural population of Punjab through provision of more efficient and sustainable water supply and sanitation services by the introduction of the following new principles in Punjab: a) integrated approach to water supply, sullage drainage and sanitation; b) beneficiary participation in the planning, construction, operation, and maintenance of water supply and sanitation facilities; c) beneficiary contribution to capital costs (about 20%)and full payment of operation and maintenance costs; and d) emphasis on improved health and hygiene practices. Specific institutional arrangements conceived to introduce these principles will be piloted during execution of this initial project (Phase I) and lessons learned will be included in the design of a larger Phase II project, to be implemented subsequently. Project Description Water Resources & Environmental Management Component. The project will assist Punjab in preparing a State Water Policy prior to project implementation. The key features of the policy are that: (a) representatives of concerned Government Departments, elected bodies, and stakeholders should become members of various water resources planning and monitoring committees and participate in the decision making process, (b) all users and polluters should contribute to the investment and pay for the full operation and maintenance of public water supply systems, whether for irrigation, power, domestic, municipal, or industrial purposes, and (c) water resources should be managed in the most efficient, economical, and environmentally sound manner. In view of the importance of this policy for Punjab (and the project), it will need to be approved at the highest GOP level prior to project approval. Once the policy is approved, the project will be on firm grounds for supporting and financing some of its recommendations. In particular, the project will finance: (a) the preparation of a State Water Resources and Water Related Environmental Plan in form of a major TA consultancy; (b) the upgradation of the Punjab hydromet stations in form of civil works and provision of equipment; (c) the strengthening of the Water Resources Organization particularly in the fields of water and environment data collection, storing, and processing in form of TA consultancies, incremental staff on a declining basis, and (d) institutional support in form of office technology, buildings, and vehicles. Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Component. This component will assist Punjab in piloting the proposed reforms prior to applying them to the whole State. The project will apply the new - 2 -  principles to about 600 villages located in 10 critical Districts representing a total population of about 1.1 million. To that effect, PHD has prepared a long list of about 850 villages which are below the national standards for drinking water supply in rural villages, i.e. (a) water supply below 40 lpcd, (b) groundwater table more than 15 m deep, and (c) source of water not potable due to the occurrence of salts, mostly fluorides and iron in the case of Punjab. This long list will then be reduced to the 600 project villages according to a self- selection process. The project will finance civil works for:(a) provision of piped systems based on tubewell or canal water depending on the quality and availability of groundwater and sullage drainage systems in 600 villages (178,000 households), (b) provision of private latrines to about 60,000 households, and (c) hygiene education to all beneficiaries in form of local TA consultancies. The project will also finance institutional support to promote changes in the role of PHD so that the proposed water supply and sanitation program can become more sustainable over time and replicable in a Phase II program. In particular, the project will finance: (a) the establishment of a Human Resources Development (HRD) Cell, an Information, Education, & Communication(IEC) cell, a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Cell, and a Management Information System (MIS) in form of local TA consultancies, incremental staff on a declining basis, as well as office technology; (b) the preparation of Phase II project for about 2,000 villages in form of national and international consultancies, (c) buildings for the main office at Patiala; and (d) vehicles. Project Financing The project will be implemented over a five year period of which the first four years will be for the construction phase, and the third to fifth years for the O&M phase, and the preparation of the follow up Phase II. The Water Resources and Environmental Management component is provisionally estimated at US$ 10.0 M, and the Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation component at US$ 162.0 M including physical and financial contingencies (20w). The proposed cost sharing arrangement is: IDA/IBRD (70w) $ 121.0 M Punjab (14W) 24.0 M Beneficiaries (16W) 27.0 M Total $ 172.0 M Project Implementation Water Resources & Environmental Management Component. The Water Resources Organization (WRO) within the Irrigation and Power Department (I&PD) will be responsible for implementing this component. To emphasize the importance of environmental aspects of water related issues, the WRO will be reorganized into a Water Resources and Environmental Organization (WREO). This organization will regroup several services dealing with water resources management spread out in various Departments. Additional staff will be recruited to cover the - 3 -  water related environmental aspects. Rural Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation Component. The Public Health Department (PHD) will be responsible for implementing this component and related institutional support activities such as training of beneficiaries in operation and maintenance of the schemes and hygiene education. Village Level Water Committees (VLCs), an arm of the Gram Panchayats, will be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the water supply and sullage drainage facilities within village limits. Scheme Level Water Committees (SLCs) will operate and maintain the water headworks jointly with PHD during a transition period of two to four years and, thereafter, will be fully responsible in the case of multi- villages schemes (normally no more than three). The SLCs will be registered societies formed by representatives of the concerned VLCs. During the period of joint management, the SLCs will be trained on technical and managerial aspects related to the operation of water supply schemes. Environmental and Social Aspects The State Water Policy, which is to be issued prior to project implementation, will include environmental management for sustainable development in the water resources sector. Based on the Policy, the project will finance the preparation of a State Water Resources and Environmental Management Plan. In addition, the provision of safe drinking water in adequate quantity, sullage drainage, and health education would significantly reduce the incidence of waterborne diseases. The provision of private pit latrines would also largely contribute to improving the living and health standards of the villagers. As a result, the environmental and health conditions in the rural villages is expected to improve considerably as compared to the without project situation. Beneficiary Participation Water Resources and Environmental Management. The State Water Policy will be approved at the highest political level. It will, in particular, require that all concerned Departments and stakeholders participate in all decisions relating to water resources allocation and development. All concerned Government officials, representatives of elected bodies, and users groups will form part of various committees which role will be to prepare, overview, approve, and implement the State Water and Environmental Management Plan to be financed under the project. Water Supply and Sanitation. Beneficiaries will participate through the VLCs and SLCs. During the project awareness campaign, VLCs and the SLCs are to be formed and become involved in the design, construction, and implementation of the facilities. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) describing the facilities and the responsibilities of the concerned parties is to be signed between the PHD and the VLCs/SLCs prior to the construction and management stages. Status of Preparation and Follow up Actions. - 4 -  The Government of India has signed a Japanese Grant Agreement of US$ 2. M to assist Punjab in preparing this project and a parallel project for a Punjab Urban Water Supply and Sanitation to be carried in three major cities. Water Resources and Environmental Management. Punjab has already prepared a draft State Water Policy in line with the above principles. The Bank is providing guidance to further improve the draft policy. It was agreed that the final draft would be discussed among all Departments concerned and, thereafter, submitted to the Bank before being approved at Cabinet level. The Irrigation & Power Department gave the assurance that the policy will be approved prior to project appraisal. The Department also agreed to carry out several studies to complete project preparation relating to, inter alia, environment, hydromet stations, and data storage. These additional studies are to be financed out of the Japanese Grant Agreement and will form part of the Borrower Implementation Plan to be completed prior to appraisal. Local and foreign consultants have already been identified for the preparation of these studies. Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation. As part of project preparation, PHD has prepared detailed designs for a Pilot Operation of 42 villages grouped into 15 schemes located in the 10 project Districts. The purpose of the Pilot Operation is to give a better picture of the feasibility and cost of the project and also to serve as a demonstration for the balance 560 villages. The pilot villages have been approached by PHD and have agreed in writing to follow the project+s basic principles. VLCs and SLCs are being formed and MOUs will be signed shortly as per the Bank+s recommendations. As part of project preparation, PHD has completed the socio-economic surveys for the 42 villages of the Pilot Operation. PHD has also signed two major consultant contracts to be financed out of the Japanese Grant Agreement with two local firms in association with foreign consultants. The purpose of these contracts is to prepare the socio-economic surveys, feasibility studies, and detailed designs of the balance 560 villages. To complete project preparation, PHD consultants will need to finalize the socio-economic surveys in 45 villages and carry out several additional studies on tubewell technology, willingness to pay, and knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) to be financed out of the Japanese Grant Agreement prior to appraisal. These studies will form part of the Borrower Implementation Plan to be submitted prior to appraisal. Local and foreign consultants have already been identified for the preparation of these studies. Contact Point: Public Information Center The World Bank 1818 H Street N.W. Washington D.C. 20433 Telephone No.: (202)458-5454 Fax No.: (202)522-1500 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain components may not necessarily be included in the final project. - 5-  Processed by the Public Information Center week ending March 28, 1997. - 6 -