New Paradigms of Sustainability in the Contemporary Era

As our world grapples with the profound challenges of the 21st century, the concept of sustainability has emerged as a guiding light, illuminating the path towards a more equitable, resilient, and harmonious future. This edited volume, "New Paradigms of Sustainability in the Contemporary Era," presents a collect

• Language: English
• Publisher: CSMFL Publications
• Release date: Mar 15, 2024
• ISBN: 9788195732289

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CHAPTER 1

Fostering Sustainable Development in Water Supply Management:

Crucial Role of Credible H R Capacity Building

Dr Dharmendra Kumawat

See Orcid ID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7800-6168

Executive Engineer at PHED, Rajasthan, India.

Dr Roopali Sharma

See Orcid ID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3893-6299

Professor, Department of Management, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Jaipur Campus, India.

Abstract

Drinking water is the essence of life, so the concerns about its management touch millions of lives every day. Jal Jeevan Mission ambitiously targets for providing safe drinking water to each rural household in India on a mission mode. This project envisages pooling of resources (including human resources) Just in Time with lean overheads. Capacity building is not an option; it is, practically, ‘essential’ given the enormity of challenges during implementation and post-implementation phases of this project. Outsourcing cuts down government investments on grooming and fostering of staff. However, diminishing trade unionism, unorganized neo-trained workforce and feeble government control may affect the quality of employment fetched through the outsourcing agencies. This paper specifically examines the human resource capacities under Jal Jeevan Mission-Rajasthan, aiming to impart more sustainability in drinking water supply services. It documents issues related to transition in the institutional role, existing shortfalls in the capacities and suggests potential areas for strengthening. The study will empower young minds to work in a new framework, help policymakers to frame lasting policies and guide the outsourcing agencies to stretch beyond switching job-cards.

Keywords: Capacity building, Jal Jeevan Mission, Outsourcing, Sustainable development, Water

Supply Management

Introduction

Almost 75% of global population is having access to safe drinking water, but there are alarming numbers (almost 2 billion) which are devoid of safe drinking water facility. Risk associated with chemicals like arsenic, fluoride or nitrate, pesticides, heavy metals, polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics are emerging concerns for drinking water quality, besides microbial contamination (WHO, 2021). Piped water supply systems with adequate water treatment facilities are termed as improved water supply systems, which can effectively avoid such health risks. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-6 targets to ensure affordable and safe drinking water for the entire world population by the year 2030 (UN, 2015). Various countries have shown commitment to this ambitious target by taking policy initiatives. The SDGs further emphasize capacity building through innovative activities in water and sanitation sector. Water supply in India, especially through piped water supply systems in rural areas, has remained very challenging. Until recently, in India, the focus area for water supply management has been "habitations" however since 2019 it has been shifted to "individual household" under Jal Jeevan Mission. Sector institutions have been effective in creating water supply infrastructure and most of the rural households are now being covered through Jal Jeevan Mission. However, there is also high possibility of slippage back to non-covered due to lack of ownership; poor system for operation and maintenance (O&M); unsustainable water resources; water quality deterioration etc. All these factors could turn the water supply management unsustainable. Long-term water security depends on a complex of factors, including the institutional strengthening of its quality and financial ability to sustain it. Provision of infrastructure is only one aspect of drinking water supply facility but sustaining regular water supply of potable quality is equally important aspect. Water supply system depends on various resources to be managed sustainably, which can be grouped into following categories:

1. Human resources (knowledge, skill, education)

2. Financial resources (credit, banking services)

3. Physical resources (components of water supply infrastructure, like pipes, pumps, reservoirs, spare parts etc.)

4. Natural resources (water source, land, building materials etc. including climate)

5. Social resources (community, institutions and organizations)

Efforts for managing those resources are done through institutionalizing the services, mainly under public service domain. Gradually, emphasis is being shifted from sectoral institutional capacities to decentralized governance to reduce the burden of the state-owned institutions. Decentralization of water services entails strengthening of communities and governance mechanisms on several fronts including technological know-how, building social capital and creating and strengthening institutions. While increasing the technical capacity of communities is essential to secure the operation of water supply schemes; strengthening of governance mechanism has the greatest potential to create lasting solutions. Water quality management, especially in rural context, can be meaningfully achieved through community-based approaches. This necessitates integration of water quality initiative with sanitation and ultimately to health of the people. The economic value associated with benefits of intervention will motivate the community to accept the intervention (James, 2003).

Developing on those lines, Jal Jeevan Mission also adopts community-led water supply system’s operation and maintenance. Accordingly, it is envisaged to build up techno-managerial capacities among communities apart from the institutional capacities. The local management of community led water supply systems requires sharing of resources, technical know-how and skill development which are vital factors for long-term sustainability. Continuous efforts need to be made for capacity building, especially on operational issues. Capacity enhancement of institutions and that of communities remains the key action agenda for sustainable water supply systems.

Switching responsibilities searching for adequate capacities

United Nations Development Group (Bester, 2016) defines the capacity development as:

"The process whereby people, organizations and society as a whole unleash, strengthen, create, adapt, and maintain capacity overtime, to achieve development result."

The capacity development finds the action agenda in following three layers (often simultaneously):

Individual: Improving individual knowledge, skill and performance through training, experiences, motivation and incentives.

Organizational: Improving organizational performance through strategies, plans, rules and regulations, partnerships, leadership, organizational politics and power structures and, strengthening organizational systems, processes, roles, and responsibilities.

Enabling environment: Improving policy framework to address economic, political, environmental and social factors including economic growth, financing, labour markets, political context, policy and legislative environment, class structures, and cultural aspects in a coherent and mutually reinforcing fashion.

At organizational level, the responsibility of drinking water supply management is under transition from government to local bodies to corporate to community and so on. The transfer of responsibility to local bodies was once much emphasized under the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments in India (Narayana, 2005). The water supply O&M of the selected towns were handed over to Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in Rajasthan (India). The policy initiatives were made part of infrastructure loan agreement conditions. The terms Capacity Development and Institutional Support has also been referred in the Asian Development bank Loan Agreement for institutional restructuring, strengthening and training of the ULBs(ADB, 2009). Now the local bodies are reversing the takeover, citing lack of expertise (basically inadequate Financial and Human resources capacities). Meanwhile, private sector participation (PPP) in water supply management shows a growing trend. The international PPP projects in drinking water sector have significantly increased, starting with 34 projects in the year 1994 the number reached to 2697 in the year 2017 (Jensen, 2017).

The external environment (under which the drinking water supply services operate) chiefly pertains to economic, financial, technical and human resources which need to be empowered to enhance capacities for sustainability. To achieve economic capacities, essential recovery of O&M cost has been suggested by many research studies, international funding agencies, various governments and independent organizations. According to World Bank,

"When a utility cannot cover its costs, service will suffer. Utilities will need to cut back on essential expenditures such as chemicals for water treatment, replacement of pumps for reliable service, expansion of network for new customers". 

Pricing is an issue of prime concern for the public. Pricing can be used for controlling the use of the water resource, but consumers require adequate information about costing and pricing decisions. Modern macroeconomics presumes that long-term policies will result in flexible pricing through seasoning of the economic growth. Privatization (or Private partnership) often claims to provide improved quality of product or service, but the information about improvements needs to be adequately and objectively communicated to the society. Use of Performance Indicators can be very helpful to build the social capacity to compare the quality of drinking water supply services (Kumawat and Sharma, 2019). The components of the O&M cost (which has a bearing on pricing) need to be analyzed for internal review of the systems as well as for other stakeholders’ information sharing. Well-balanced and sustained policy framework for cost and pricing can certainly boost the organizational capacity for self-reliance.

At individual level, adequate strengthening of Human Resource (HR) capacities is important for rendering effective services at consumer end. It also has larger macroeconomic implications in terms of employment. The staffing may be cross-checked with the pattern (thumb rule) followed in the industry by other states / countries, as the number of skilled person per 1000 Functional Household Tap-water Connections (FHTC). Accordingly, the average staffing in the Rajasthan state matches with Indian average of 7-8 persons (Um, 2007). However, more scientific method for analysis may be based on the Cadre strength. The Cadre strength of a water supply zone depends on the pumping capacities of a distribution center, the length of pipelines for water collection and distribution, complexities of distribution system and requirement of maintenance. It also considers the 24X7 nature of operations, and thus the provision of staff for rest relieving and breakdown maintenance is also invariably included in the cadre. It is a good engineering practice for equipping the water supply zones with adequate staff as per cadre strength norms. Cadre strength can be taken as the datum line for providing adequate technical capacities at water supply distribution centers.

Jal Jeevan Mission: A new approach for developing HR Capacities

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is a highly ambitious programme launched by Government of India in 2019 which aims at providing Functional Household Tap Connection (FHTC) to every rural household in India by 2024. It is in-line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG6).  This service sector programme will provide drinking water through piped water supply schemes. During 1951 to 2019 the drinking water sector’s action agenda remained limited to hand pumps and public stand posts. JJM has shifted the focus to piped water supply at household delivery point. The coverage with household tap water connections remained limited to 18.33% of rural India, until March 2019 (GoI, 2019). Looking to the ambitious target of 100% household coverage by the year 2024, the program activities are envisaged to be performed on mission mode (project approach). The JJM guidelines released by Government of India specifically mentions following:-

The overall human resource requirement at different levels should be part of State Action Plan including their capacity building, training etc.

It clearly indicates for manpower engagement through contractual staff and capacity building (trainings and skill development) through specified agencies. Under JJM, the approach for infrastructure management has changed from institutional service provider (erstwhile water supply utility such as Public Health Engineering Department) to empowered community. It is contemplated that the grass root technical workforce (plumbers, electricians, fitters) is trained through some agency (or agencies) in sufficient numbers (say a total of 75000 candidates for 44000 villages). No direct engagement is promised, yet a database of such trained candidates is kept with the district unit. It is also envisaged that the infrastructure development work is executed by contactors, consultancy and monitoring is done by District Project Management Units (DPMU), Collection of public contribution and awareness generation for JJM is done by Implementation Support Agencies (ISA), Cross verification of physical work execution by Third-Party Inspection (TPI) agencies while the utility staff designs and supervise the work execution for water supply schemes. All these multiple private / corporate / independent agencies are working together during the project implementation phase. District is kept as the Unit for all kind of control, supervision and drinking water supply service delivery under JJM.  In this way, the earlier institutional arrangement is transformed. The role of erstwhile utility service provider is envisaged as custodian for coordination and