The application of a cost benefit approach on rural water supply projects : a minor field study of UNICEF's water supply project in [Rajasthan] Rajahastan

Since several hundred million dollars have been invested in water supply projects initiated by the Indian Government or by aid organizations in cooperation with the government, it is worthwhile to evaluate the success of such projects and the benefits they contribute to rural Indian communities. This field study looks at a project in southern Rajasthan where UNICEF, in cooperation with the Indian Government, supplemented by SIDA, has reduced the burden of water collection and incidence of water related diseases by providing handpumps and health education. The study seeks, first, to investigate if handpumps SWACH has invested in are functioning satisfactorily in some selected villages and generating benefits, and, second, to estimate the benefit of time savings to society, through a cost-benefit approach, to make a simplified investment analysis of a handpump, and to present the potential health benefits of RWSP. Chapter 1 outlines the motives behind the study, its objectives and methodology. In Chapter 2, the theory of cost-benefit analysis is described. Information about the objectives and shaping of SWACH are pesented in Chapter 3. The results of the field trip in Udaipur are summarized in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5, the major benefits arising from rural water supply projects are examined including health benefits with regard to water related diseases and time benefits and the uses time saved are put to. A NPV (net present value) investment analysis based on a cost-benefit approach is carried out in Chapter 6. Major findings are summarized in Chapter7, notably that investments in handpumps give rise to high social benefits and that a time saving of less than 12 minutes per household per day is enough for the investment in a handpump to be economically viable.

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