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Relevance of tracking 14^th FC funds for rural water and sanitation:

The 14^th Finance Commission (14^th FC) facilitated the transfer of resources between the national and State (sub-national) governments and assigned 42 percent of the divisible pool of Central taxes to the States, a jump of 10% from the previous Commission. With the underlying principle that the higher tax devolution would allow states greater autonomy in financing and designing of schemes as per their needs, the expectation was that  the funds would also be used for  alleviating rural water and sanitation woes. The Report of the Sub-group on Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) which  recommended that the 'first charge' on the expenditure on 14th FC grants to Local Bodies be given to the activities undertaken under SBM[1]had already put the spotlight on its use. Gram Panchayats (GP) are therefore the key unit in the Panchayati Raj structure to be studied and understood in the delivery of the essential services.

Tracking 14^th FC funds for rural water and sanitation – The case of Bihar and Odisha

CBGA has been implementing a project ‘Capacity building support for civil society organizations to leverage water and sanitation programmes in Bihar and Odisha’ with the support of IRC . With the completion of a couple of rounds of capacity strengthening activities in the above states, useful findings about the use of 14^th FC funds for rural water and sanitation have emerged from the study .

Bihar: 'Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ and ‘Gali Naali Pakkikaran’ scheme

 In Bihar, the 14^th FC[2] recommended a grant of Rs. 18916.05 crores to the PRIs for providing core civic services in the period 2015-20. Under the Mukhyamantri’s Saat Nischay programme- ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ and ‘Gali Naali Pakkikaran’ are the two schemes which cover rural water supply and drainage services. ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ is a piped water supply scheme for each household which is implemented ward wise. Three connections are provided per household – one in the toilet, in the kitchen and one inside the house. The Ward Kriyanvayan Samiti  is responsible for the implementation of the scheme. The implementation period is of 3 months. Capital cost of the piped water supply, up to the last mile, is borne by the State (which is a mix of 14^th FC, 5^th State Finance Commission and water supply programme funds). As revealed by State government officials, a tariff of Rs. 30 is to be levied which is expected to go up to Rs.60 per month. This amount is expected to be used towards recurrent costs of an operator’s salary and payment of electricity bill. Similarly, the Gali Naali Pakkikaran scheme is a mix of the 14^th FC funds and the 5^th State Finance  Commission funds for constructing and repairing drains in rural areas. This is also supervised by the Ward Kriyanvayan Samiti  .

Odisha: Buxi Jagabandhu Assured Drinking Water to all Habitations (BASUDHA) scheme

In Odisha, the 14^th FC[3] recommended a grant of Rs. 8850.31crores for the 6,801 GPs for providing core civic services. The BASUDHA scheme came into existence since the National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP) had reduced funds for the state. The objective of the scheme is to provide adequate safe water to the rural people for drinking and domestic purposes on a sustainable basis and wherever there is a shortage. Every year the NRDWP reduced its fund allocation to the state, hence, the State government decided to supplement the allocation by creating the BASUDHA scheme. The Basudha scheme has allocated around Rs. 10 crores for a GP and promises ‘One village one tank’ and every household to have tap water. The fund sharing pattern is 90:10 with the State providing 90 percent funds and the GP providing 10 percent of the funds. The GPs share is 10 percent of the total project cost or Rs. 10 lakhs, whichever is less. These schemes are mainly single village piped water schemes. The 14^th FC funds are used for this GP contribution. The thought behind the BASUDHA scheme has been holistic since the Gram Panchayats have all the funds and hence wield the influence to carry out necessary changes in their rural water services.

Key Findings and Challenges:

-States have found innovative methods in ensuring the utilization of 14^th FC funds. In Bihar, this is in the form of the ‘ Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ and ‘Gali Naali Pakkikaran’ schemes and in Odisha, it is carried out through the BASUDHA

-Although these measures portend a progressive trend towards prioritizing rural water supply and sanitation, however, the challenge would lie in effective monitoring in the implementation of these schemes.

-In Bihar, villages that have water supply through the ‘Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal’ programme, tariff collection, proper account maintenance would be crucial to the functionality of these water supply schemes.

-In Odisha, although there is no effective role of GPs in water supply since maintenance of installed piped water supply schemes have not been transferred to the GP’s, they still have a crucial role to play in sanitation and maintaining cleanliness in the villages. This is especially important since a large number of habitations still use hand pumps for which GPs can aid in operation and maintenance work.

-Capacities of PRI functionaries at the GP level need to be built to a level where greater ownership and better management of GP accounts and finance takes place.

 

[1]The 'first charge' on expenditure would mean that first priority is given to the expenditure on SBM.

[2] Report of the 14^th Finance Commission, Finance Commission of India

[3] [3] Report of the 14^th Finance Commission, Finance Commission of India

 

The views expressed in this piece are those of the author, and don’t necessarily reflect the position of CBGA. You can reach Trisha Agarwala at trisha14@gmail.com.