India
Water Committee in Jankampet Village
29 Nov 12
Often, local institutions of communities play an important role in improving the WASH service delivery and standards of services. The Water Committee in Jankampet village, Andhra Pradesh (India) teaches a few new lessons on WASH governance, investments and service levels as this short film shows.
Briefing note: Peri-urban water supply and sanitation
29 Nov 12
WASHCost India shares findings on the state of peri-urban water supply and sanitation services. Despite high investments on fixed costs of water (i.e, creation of infrastructure for both water and sanitation), service levels are either basic or sub-standard in most of the peri-urban locations.
Piloting the process of developing WASH plans using LCCA in Andhra Pradesh
01 Nov 12
WASHCost (India) Project is piloting the process of developing WASH plans using life-cycle costs approaches (LCCA). The pilot was taken up in 9 villages of Dhone Mandal, Kurnool District, Andhra Pradesh. The pilot experiences revealed that the planning process is more complex than originally thought. The planning process demands several interactions between communities, professionals and government officers and local governance institutions. Several protocols need to be designed to ensure convergence, smooth fund flows, institutional arrangements, etc. This document captures the processes followed so far.
Government of India buys into post-construction support and service delivery issues—Interview with Mekala Snehalatha, WASHCost India
01 Nov 12
WASHCost India has succeeded over the past four years in influencing national and state government policy development and their thinking about financing sustainable water services. Vera van der Grift, IRC Information officer, spoke with Mekala Snehalatha, WASHCost India coordinator, on the uptake of the life-cycle costs approach by the Government of India.
“WASHCost (India) Project could make an impressive contribution to the knowledge base in the sector in India” – Mr Nico Terra, Director, IRC
01 Nov 12
Mr Nico Terra, the Director of IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre, the Netherlands and his team visited India in May 2012. The main purpose of the visit was to crystallize future strategies of IRC in India and South Asia.
WASHCost has caught the imagination of young engineers, says UNICEF
05 Sep 12
Mr. S.R. Nallie, UNICEF Water and Environmental Sanitation Officer in Andhra Pradesh, says that WASHCost has caught the imagination of many young water engineers. He also highlights that a critical period lies ahead for securing long term changes within the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department.
Dr C Suvarna on role of pilots of WASHCost projects in India
05 Sep 12
Dr C Suvarna, Special Commissioner and CEO, State Level Nodal Agency for Integrated Watershed Management Projects in Andhra Pradesh shared her thoughts on the role of watershed projects on sustaining WASH services, particularly groundwater resources in arid areas of the state.
Relevance of life-cycle cost approach to other sectors
05 Jul 12
Dr K Tirupataiah, Director General, Water and Land Management and Training Institute, Government of Andhra Pradesh mentioned that the Life-Cycle Cost Approach (LCCA) is an innovative tool that helps the decision makers on the analysis of investment patterns and results achieved. In an interview with MV Rama Chandrudu, he shared his thoughts on the potential of LCCA in other sectors, such as irrigation. He invited WASHCost (India) team to take up similar action research on the life-cycle cost approach for irrigation projects.
Local Waters and Global Concerns
05 Jul 12
Mr Raja Mouli, President of Gangadevipally village in Andhra Pradesh and a community leader participated in World Water Forum at France in 2012, along with Dr Snehalatha, Country Coordinator, WASHCost (India) Project. He was a panelist during the deliberations. In an interview with MV Rama Chandrudu, WASSAN, Rama Mouli shared his experiences on participating in the World Water Forum, thoughts and concerns on water rights in the context of globalization. He strongly argues for community centered management systems for service delivery.
Addressing the long-term water and sanitation challenges in Andhra Pradesh
28 Jun 12
Mr. Vikas Raj—secretary of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Department of Andhra Pradesh, identified unsustainable sources and absence of dedicated funds as two major challenges for the government of Andhra Pradesh in providing sustainable water and sanitation services. Mr. Raj shares his views on how to overcome these challenges in an interview with WASHCost India.
