The collaboration between Gram Vikas and the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, was started as a programme to provide support in the design and construction of sanitation systems in the rural communities of Orissa.

Narrative

Twenty villages, covering a total of 1,518 households, were selected for the project. The villages were chosen only after every household in the village had agreed to participate in the project. The villages also had to show a dedication to the project by making a financial commitment by raising a corpus fund, with the average amount of Rs 1000 raised by each household.

Of the households covered, 50% belong to the BPL category. Furthermore, 40% of the families are adivasi’s and 10% are dalits. More demographic details can be accessed in Annexure 1.

Formation of general body inclusive of all adult men and women
The formation of general bodies in the villages involved many discussions with village leaders, groups, and the entire village community for every village that the program covers. The general body of each village constitutes the Palli Sabha and is the basic unit of the Panchayati Raj system in Orissa. The general body of every village elected a representative committee, which consisted of an equal number of men and women, headed by a president, a secretary and a treasurer. The legal process that is necessary to register the village bodies as societies has begun. In 7 villages, the societies have been registered.
Formation of women’s general body and savings groups
To elicit greater participation from women, a separate general body for women has been formed in all villages. These fora are used to discuss issues of common concern, and to gradually draw women into active participation in community level decision-making.

Groups of women are also encouraged to start small savings. During this period 14 women’s savings and credit groups comprising of 183 members have being formed. At the initiation of these groups, Gram Vikas served as the primary facilitator. In four villages of the Nayagarh district training sessions in book keeping and record maintaining were held.

Raising resources for the water supply and sanitation systems
Plans and estimates for water supply and sanitation have been drawn individually for each of the villages, in consultation with the respective general bodies. A contract was drawn for each village with detailed plans for resources to be raised by the local community (corpus fund of Rs.1,000 per family and materials for construction), resources to be accessed from the government (under Swajaldhara Rural Drinking Water Supply Scheme, local area development funds of elected representatives, and other government grants schemes), and resources to be contributed by Gram Vikas (sanitation subsidy, technical and supervision support) and the associated time-frame.

Formation of sub-committees
Sub-committees have been formed in each village for monitoring construction, education, and health in each village. The Education sub-committee ensures that government funded primary schools, within or near the village, function with regularity and are adequately staffed.

Parents are encouraged to send their children to school. Periodic Parent-Teacher interactions are also organized by the Education Committees. The Health sub-committee liaises with the local Anganwadi worker and auxiliary nurse and midwife to ensure that there is proper antenatal and postnatal care and that all eligible children are immunized on schedule. The construction sub-committee ensures that construction materials are in place and that construction is progressing according to the construction schedule.