Leveraging rural entrepreneurship to provide access to safe drinking water , India - Aqua for All

Recognizing the pilot’s success, the Government of Madhya Pradesh (GoMP) has decided to scale up the model, targeting other geographies where ground water sources are contaminated, specifically with high levels of fluoride. The scale-up is planned to be conducted in three phases spread over a period of two to three years and involve setting up of 40 CWTPs. GoMP will select technology vendor(s) for procurement and installation of the CWTP equipment through a transparent tendering process (refer Annexure – I to understand the tendering process followed by the government). For the operationalization of these CWTPs, GoMP plans to leverage the support of Madhya Pradesh State Rural Livelihoods Mission (MPSRLM) and its vast network of Cluster Level Federations (CLF) and their associated Village Organizations (VO) and Self-Help Groups (SHG) in the state5.

CHAI has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with GoMP to provide technical and program management support for scaling the model, which includes:

a) supporting PHED in identification of sites to set up CWTPs based on the analysis of water contamination levels and village-level household and institutional surveys,

b) provision of capacity building and hand-holding support to CLFs and their associated VOs/ SHGs on plant operations and management,

c) development of Standard Operating Procedures for the operational and financial processes,

d) designing IEC for awareness and demand generation among the community, and

e) development of monitoring and reporting formats for the CLFs and their associated VOs/ SHGs to ensure efficient management of plant operations and financials.

CHAI’s technical support to the government is being co-funded through its on-going nutrition program grant and through the funding provided by Aqua for All.