The case of the Department of Water & Sanitation Development, Jharkhand

Community Water Plus, a research project, has investigated twenty case studies of successful community managed rural water supply programmes across 17 states in India. Through these case studies, the research has gained insight into the type and amount of support to community organisations that is needed, and the resources implications of this 'plus' – in terms of money, staffing, and other factors. In this document we capture the inputs that contributed in improving water supply to households and an assessment of the costs incurred in this programme of the Department of Water and Sanitation Development (DWSD) in Jharkhand.

Since Jharkhand's formation in the year 2000, piped water in the state is being managed and expanded by the newly constituted DWSD. To foster its management DWSD is involving the community through Village Water and Sanitation Committee (VWSC). DWSD is providing technical and financial support both on supply and request basis, while VWSCs are responsible for its operation and maintenance. The type of support arrangement between DWSD and VWSC is classified as community management with direct support, bordering on direct public provisioning since DWSD extends heavy financial subsidy for operational expenses.