Impact Assessment Report: Bhandara, India

Bhandara has a population of more than 1.2 million people. The main economic activity is agriculture,

especially rice, industries and forest resources. 66.6% of the population has drinking water sources outside their home in Bhandara district (per India Development Indicators 2012, reported by UNICEF). Surface and subsurface water in Bhandara is polluted mainly due to fertilisers, pesticides, brassware pollutants, mining, ordinance industry pollution and their waste water discharge into the river and ground water. Multi contaminants are found in the local water sources - mainly nitrate, TDS, Fluorine and Chlorine, bivalent

cations copper and zinc leading to health hazards. There are frequent episodes of water borne diseases – cholera, jaundice, and typhoid

especially in the monsoon season, as sewage treatment facilities are negligible and raw sewage is discharged into the river.

BHEL understands the importance of clean drinking water as fundamental to good health. With Safe Water Network, BHEL sought to improve the lives of the rural poor around its station vicinity by providing locally- owned and operated, affordable, sustainable water to communities to improve their health, generate livelihoods and most importantly enable girls to attend school. BHEL committed to set up 240 mw solar photo voltaic cells and 100

mw photo voltaic modules in Sakoli, providing employment to over 3,000 people.

This report captures how the BHEL corporate social responsibility (CSR) intervention transformed

the lives of the people in these villages and adjoining areas where treated water is supplied.

CONTEXT ...... 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ...... 6 1. INTRODUCTION ...... 8 2. BHANDARA ...... 8 3. IMPLEMENTATION DETAILS ...... 9 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY & FINDINGS ...... 12 Qualitative ...... 12 Quantitative ...... 12 Findings ...... 12 Safe Water Network Monitoring ...... 15 Indicators ...... 16 Water Quality ...... 18 5. IMPACT ...... 18 I. Social Impact ...... 18 Consumer reported health benefits ...... 22 Health and hygiene education to consumers ...... 22 II. Economic Impact ...... 24 Livelihood generation ...... 24 III. Environment Impact ...... 24 Environmental sustainability...... 24 6. RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 25 7. IJAL-COMMUNITIES-BENEFITS ...... 26 Better access ...... 26 Improved health ...... 27 Benefits ...... 27 Reject Water Utilization ...... 28 8. ANNEXURE ...... 29 a. Questionnaire ...... 29 b. Water quality test reports (reports of all stations available on request) ...... 31 c. Logical Framework Analysis ...... 35 d. List of beneficiaries ...... 36 e. Operators trained ...... 38

List of Tables

Table 1 iJal stations in Bhandara district...... 12 Table 2. Summary findings of baseline and end line study: ...... 15 Table 3 Field Progress Snapshot July2015 ...... 17 Table 4. List of number of operators and distributors ...... 24 Table 5. Details of water harvesting structures ...... 25

List of figures Figure 1 Bhandara district map ...... 8 Figure 2 Picture of iJal station ...... 11 Figure 3 Map showing iJal stations in the region ...... 11 Figure 4 Distribution of population according to age ...... 13 Figure 5 Bar graph showing occupation ...... 13 Figure 6 iJal users and non-users according to their socio economic class ...... 13 Figure 7 Bar graph showing the Family size ...... 14 Figure 8. SEC profile of users ...... 14 Figure 9 Water collection ...... 18 Figure 10. Reasons for using iJal ...... 19 Figure 11. Impact of iJal on other sources ...... 19 Figure 12. Purpose of iJal ...... 20 Figure 13 Frequency of buying iJal ...... 20 Figure 14 Reasons for using iJal ...... 21 Figure 15. Impact on short term illnesses ...... 22 Figure16. Impact on long term illnesses ...... 22 Figure 17 Especially designed can for water collection and storage...... 23

This impact assessment report has been made for Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) by Tata Institute of Social Sciences to evaluate the impact of BHEL CSR intervention. BHEL under the Golden Jubilee CSR project had awarded a grant to Safe Water Network India to set up water treatment stations – reverse osmosis treatment system equipped with ‘remote monitoring system’ in ten villages in the Bhandara district. The project duration was one year from June 2014 –June 2015.

These were set up in the villages of Lakhni, Sendurwafa, Murmadi, Rajegaon, Pimpalgaon, Pohara, Kesalwada, Dharmapuri, Palandur, Pindkepar. These villages were selected by Safe Water Network and approved by BHEL. The selection process was based on a community need assessment covering water quality challenges, community willingness to pay for safe water, and proximity to the upcoming BHEL solar factory. The choice of location was also guided by the baseline report of the region conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) for the PSUs to assist them in their CSR intervention. TISS has also studied the milestone reports submitted by Safe Water Network to BHEL during the contract period.

The SWN along with Local NGO conducted community mobilisation and selected the entrepreneurs in consultation with the community and sarpanch; eligibility depended partly on the ability of the entrepreneur to invest in infrastructure and his commitment to be inclusive in water delivery.

The salient features of the project were rigorous community mobilisation and demand activation to improve the consumer knowledge, attitude, behaviour and practices towards safe water, willingness to buy, hygiene and sanitation practices. Safe Water Network’s Technical Assistance department provided training to the local NGO for setting up iJal stations and the local youth to operate and maintain the station which includes the fundamentals of water quality and BIS 10500 quality criteria. The entrepreneurs set up additional distribution channels to reach remote hamlets to increase revenue. Communities were acclimatized to collect and store water in a 20L narrow mouth cans made of virgin food grade polymer, and to purchase their daily water through pre cash loaded RFID cards which Safe Water Network uses to track the consumer behaviour and purchase. Measures were deployed for rain water harvesting like roof water harvesting, ground water recharge, and complete reject water usage for sanitation, cattle wash and cattle feed, household usage in washing etc. A brief glimpse of the project impact: iJal station villages 10 installed and commissioned Lakhani, Murmadi, Sendurwafa, Rajegaon, Pimpalgaon, Pohara, Kesalwada, Dharmapuri, Palandur, Pindkepar Safe Water current Access 37,512 Registered users 40% Water Quality BIS 10500 Quantity of water produced 96000L or 160 cans daily on an average per station Livelihood generated 20 Operators trained 10 Distribution network 10 Utilization of Reject water All 10 stations – sanitation, cattle wash, cattle feed, washing from iJal stations clothes

Baseline and Endline survey on consumer knowledge attitude and practices around safe water as well as the community behaviour reports that there has been a clear improvement in the awareness of the importance of safe drinking water in the region, WASH activities and benefit to the women. More boys and men are fetching water from the iJal station as contrast to water collection by women and girl child. The following are some of the positive impacts in the project area: Safe water provision –  Increase in accessibility to pure and safe drinking water in the intervention village.  Positive effect on the wealth and income of consumers as it has allowed them to save money on health expenditures and improved ability to work due to less sick days. Health Benefits  Improvement in health self-reported incidence of diarrhoea and dysentery has reduced, especially amongst children.  Reduction in water borne disease diarrhoea and jaundice as reported by the local doctor. Benefit to women and girl child  Reduction in drudgery for women from daily water collection.  Increased school attendance as reported by teacher and mothers  Safety and privacy levels have increased, particularly among the women in the locality; reduced disputes at water collection points WASH activities Health and hygiene education has instilled  better hand-wash activity before eating food and after toilet  handling water safely to prevent recontamination. Skill building Community volunteers, operators, distributors received various trainings which have had positive behavioural effects. Livelihood generation The local community owns and operates the iJal stations and this provides them with livelihood generation.

However, there have been certain challenges faced by the consumers, especially the increased cost of water delivery at home or hamlets as compared to collecting water at the kiosk. There is need for field service entity to support these installations with maintenance services.

Every year, approximately 37.7 million Indians, mainly children, die from preventable waterborne diseases, of which 1.5 million are dying of diarrhoea alone, posing serious health risks.1 Preventable waterborne diseases continue to reduce productivity in impacted communities and continue to be a leading global cause of illness, death and poverty. BHEL recognises the benefits of safe water and awarded the implementation of ten water treatment stations to Safe Water Network in the Bhandara district for communities welfare. The project was implemented June 2014-June 2015 under BHEL Golden Jubilee CSR initiative.

Bhandara district is situated on the left bank of the river Wainganga, Nagpur division in the state of Maharashtra. The Wainganga basin is the main water source, which includes the Wainganga River and tributaries like Bavanthadi, Chulbandh, Godora and Sun Rivers. It is fondly called the 'District of Lakes.' The district is underlain by crystalline rocks while rest of the Maharashtra State is covered by Deccan Trap basalt. It is endowed with a large number of irrigation tanks known as ‘Malguzari Tanks’.

Figure 1. Bhandara district map

District Statistics Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) National Rural Drinking Water Programme, 2014-2015 General Information Geographical Area 3716.65 sq. km 7 Talukas: Bhandara, Lakhandur, Lakhani, Mohadi, Pauni, Sakoli, Administrative Divisions Tumsar

1 World Bank 2010 Report.

Blocks 7 Gram Panchayat 542 Villages 780 795 Habitations [SC: 62 (7.80%)] [ST: 77 (9.69%)] [Others: 656 (82.52%)] Rural Population 11.06 (In Lakhs) [SC: 1.99 (17.96%)] [ST: 0.97 (8.74%)] [GEN: 8.11 (73.30%)] Covered Population 9.70 (In Lakhs) [SC: 1.73 (86.83%)] [ST: 0.86 (89.24%)] [GEN: 7.11 (87.70%)] Literacy Rate 67.67% Normal Annual Rainfall 1250 to 1500mm Geomorphology Two; Structural units like hills and ridges, denundational units like Major Physiographic unit pediments and fluvial units One: Wainganga River and its tributaries like Bagh, Chulbandh, Major Drainage Panghodi Suz, Gadhavi, Chandan, Bavanthadi Principal crops (2000-01) Rice, Pulses, Oil Seeds Groundwater Monitoring Wells Dug Wells 24 Piezometers 2 Climate and Rainfall Minimum Temperature 6°C Maximum Temperature 45°C

Villages in Bhandara were identified by Safe Water Network and approved by BHEL. These sites were severely affected by ground water quality – salinity, hardness, nitrate, etc and the surface water had high microbial contamination causing diarrhoea and jaundice. The following steps were completed at each of the ten sites.

Screening Phase: Raising Awareness and Mobilizing Communities There was a thorough evaluation of each community before the start of construction of safe water station to understand the water needs, cultural considerations, governance structure, willingness to

pay, and appropriate technology solution. Community engagement was key to promoting hygiene and safe water management, and strengthening governance structures. The core of the program is consumer activation using a series of activities to reach men, women and children. A set of activities that were conducted over two months:  ‘Dastak’- door to door campaign  Mohalla meetings in each section of village for inclusion  ‘Jal Neeru agnipariksham’ (TDS, pH meter and fluoride testing, and electrolyser tests used to show consumers quality of existing sources )  Standardised and replicable Marathi audio visual recording on tablets, shown to key opinion leaders Sarpanch, Asha, Anganwadi, local RMP, teachers and other influential person  Inauguration of the iJal station with huge fanfare involving speeches by sarpanch, BHEL CSR team and other village elders.

Preparatory Phase The preparatory phase involves selecting the location of the station and discussion with the Gram Panchayat and the community or entrepreneur regarding the space for installation of iJal stations in their villages. The acceptability of the villagers regarding the project can also be assessed through the interaction with various stakeholders during this period. The ground water level and the water quality tests are also done for checking the water quality and need for the project. After the water quality test reports show impurities beyond the permissible limits then installation of an iJal station is finalised.

Implementation Phase: Training Local Capacity & Construction of iJal Stations

This phase entailed identification of the entrepreneur and Gram Panchayat as well as approval from the Sarpanch to permit the raw water abstraction and the setting up of the Safe Water Station. Local operators were identified and trained to operate and maintain the iJal station, which covered the topics: water quality fundamentals, daily station operation, maintenance and repair, book keeping, reporting- water quality, consumer and station operation in prescribed format and setting up distribution routes. The operators once trained have full capacity to run the iJal station also keeping in track the technical details of the iJal station.

The consumer pay Rs. 5/- for 20L of treated water. This money is responsible for the operation & maintenance of the iJal station and the salary of the operator. It has been observed that a sense of ownership has inculcated within the operators because during the survey it was seen that the iJal stations were well maintained throughout. iJal stations measure about 15x20’ with tile floors and walls and aluminium doors and windows. They are well-lit and ventilated. The treatment technology is a 1000 LPH reverse osmosis stations equipped with remote monitoring system and an automatic voltage regulator. The station has a six step purification process with sand filter, carbon filter, micron filter, reverse osmosis membrane, ultraviolet treatment and residual chlorine. There are three dosing pumps of antiscalant, pH and chlorination. The treated water is stored in 5000L tank and conforms to the BIS 10500 quality. The water quality reports of raw water, treated water and reject water are displayed at the station site.

Water is dispensed to the consumer at specified times in the morning and evening paid for monthly using RFID cards at the rate Rs5 / 20L for the walk in consumer. A remote monitoring system with

24x7 station monitoring capability captures and transmits the data pertaining to water quality, station health and consumer purchase through GPRS to the central control room of Safe Water Network. The records report that safe water is supplied reliably and there is <2% technical downtime. For the reject water utilisation various options have been worked at the site depending upon feasibility, including sanitation, cattle wash and cattle feed, and household usage in washing. The water is sold at varying price ranging between Rs 10-15 at distribution points. The iJal station regularly supplies about 3200L- 4000L per day of treated drinking water. The stations remain open every day as per the opening schedule displayed at the iJal station.

Figure 2. Picture of iJal station

The map given below shows the location of the iJal stations in the Bhandara district.

Figure 3. Map showing iJal stations in the region

Table 1. iJal stations in Bhandara district

% of village population Station Inauguration S.No iJal Station No. of HH enrolled for safe date drinking water 1 Lakhni 2698 20th October 2014 71% 2 Sendurwafa 1798 20th October 2014 46% 3 Murmadi 1342 20th October 2014 41% 4 Rajegaon 538 21st November 2014 71% 5 Pimpalgaon 705 15th December 2014 42% 6 Kesalwada 747 30th January 2015 40% 7 Pohara 1103 30th January 2015 11% 8 Dharmapuri 236 19th March 2015 98% 9 Palandur 1006 31st March 2015 24% 10 Pindkepar 663 31st March 2015 17%

A quantitative survey of baseline and endline and also qualitative research with focused group discussions and in-depth interviews of key opinion leaders was conducted.

Focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with local doctor, ASHA, anganwadi, school teachers, village elders explored the knowledge, attitude, behavior and practices around water and sources of water. Questions on the ability and willingness of community to buy safe water, water practices of the community, needs and existing venues of safe water provision informed decisions on the feasibility of initiating a market-based model for rural poor.

The quantitative study focused on the community’s socioeconomic condition, literacy levels and knowledge on water quality and water borne disease, impact of water collection on women and children, current sources of drinking water in the village, water collection and storage practices at home, frequency of water collection. Data was collected through household surveys and also through water quality tests.

The baseline study, conducted in the villages Lakhani, Pimpalgaon, Mundipar and Sakoli, found:  Water Source: Traditional sources, such as hand-pumps and tube-wells were widely used by Bhandara inhabitants. Communities did not buy water from the market.  Water Quality: The ground water had quality issues with respect to hardness, nitrate and salinity. Some of the community members and local doctors reported incidence of jaundice during and after rainy season.  Collection Behavior: The females were found to be primarily responsible for collecting water.  Socio-Economic Class: Mostly backward classes.

Demographic Characteristics

Figure 4. Distribution of population according to age The above pie chart shows the population according to age, with the highest respondents of about 23% falling within the age 36-50 years.

Figure 5. Bar graph showing occupation The bar graph for occupation shows that maximum population is involved as skilled laborers like carpenters, masons etc. for their livelihood.

Figure 6. iJal users and non-users according to their socio economic class

The Socio Economic Class (SEC) classification was determined using the methodology defined by the Indian Readership Survey: highest level of education level attained by the chief wage earner and the type of Household the respondent lives in (Pucca, Semi Pucca, Semi Kuccha). R1 is the highest SEC strata, while R4 signifies the bottom of the strata. Therefore from the above SEC graph it is seen that there are minimum users from the SEC R4 which signifies the bottom of the strata. And the people from high strata have high number of users of iJal

Figure 7. Bar graph showing the Family size

The above bar graph of family size shows the households with respect to the family size. It can be concluded that maximum number of households has a family size of 4.

SEC Profile of Users of various sources of water (Regular User)

Figure 8. SEC profile of users

Figure above shows that adoption to iJal was seen mostly by upper socio economic class households.2 The figure also shows a reduction in use of handpumps, home tap water and covered wells by R1 and R2 population.

Table 2. Summary findings of baseline and end line study: Baseline (%) End line (%) Remarks Knowledge Awareness about 34 60 The knowledge about importance of good quality safe drinking water has water increased considerably. iJal is pure and clean water Not launched 84% (57% iJal connected as pure mentioned it as and clean water is RO Water) evident among larger population Attitude- Water habits Good Water quality (Rank 1 35% 47% Significant rise in as most important factor for understanding the well-being) importance of safe water Good hygienic habits will Not launched i-Jal User – 73% The attitude towards lead to less occasions of i-Jal Non User – hygiene is stronger family members falling sick 51% among users of iJal Practices Health Health problems: The incidences of water Jaundice 15 1 related ailments have Dizziness/Nausea 24 5 also reduced. Headache 36 6 Loose motions 12 3 Cold/cough 80 56 Severe joint pain 53 2 Behaviour Who goes to collect water Females went Male : 62%, Males generally go to from iJal station to collect female :33 %, collect water from iJal water from help: 5% station other sources. Source: Endline survey conducted on March, 2015

Daily operations of the iJal station are recorded through the Remote Monitoring system, used for monitoring the station. Data is fed into the Safe Water Network database as shown in the table below:  Villages, where the iJal stations are located;  Station location with GPS coordinates;

2 Determined using the methodology defined by the Indian Readership Survey: highest level of education level attained by the chief wage earner and the type of Household the respondent lives in (Pucca, Semi Pucca, Semi Kuccha). R1 is the highest SEC strata, while R4 signifies the bottom of the strata.

 Date of launch;  Access;  Household participation with socio-economic classification; and  Technology partners.

*Data Sourced from Safe Water Network Report to BHEL

There are various indicators that are used by Safe Water Network for monitoring of the iJal stations. The indicators that are used are:  Volume: It is the amount of iJal used by the consumers from the iJal station. The average volume of water generated per station per month is 96000 litres.  Adoption: It is the number of Households that have started using the iJal water. There is 40% adoption till date in all the 10 villages. There are about 15011 persons who are drinking iJal i.e. almost 40% of the total population.  Finance: The finance is monitored by tracking the Capex repayment, can repayment and service fee payments.  Downtime: <2% technical downtime and 0% sales downtime  Water quality: The quality of water TDS, pH, chlorine is checked daily and is recorded by the operator in the station itself. Periodically, after every six months, a water sample of Raw, reject and treated water from every iJal station is sent for testing to selected accredited laboratory. The table given below shows a snapshot of the monitored data of the 10 iJal stations of Bhandara district. These are how the water quality, volumes, adoption, finance, downtime are kept track of on a daily basis. The data is then collated and reported on a monthly basis. We find strong M&E of each iJal station.

Below is a recent recorded data of the RMS system in the 10 iJal stations of Maharashtra. Operations over Prior Month MoM Volumes: 4% (10 Stations operational > 1 month) | (Stations > 1 year = 0) The Maharashtra cluster also reported a 4% growth in volumes through strong distribution (3% in July and 409% from June to July’15). The average can sale recorded from Jan-Jul’15 is 123 cans per day.

Table 3. Field Progress Snapshot July2015

FIELD PROGRESS SNAPSHOT – JULY 2015 Ye HH Capex Service Fee Can Repayment Mo ar YTD Regi Repayment Payments Lau Jul- YTD Jun- nth To Avg strat Technical & nc iJal 14 Jul-15 Year Dro Re District Jul'15 15 - Da Cans Total Jun- Jul- ion Sales h Statio Vol Volu -on- pout viv Amou Amou Total s Volu Volu on- te sold HHs 15 15 Post % LTD Amoun Downtime Ye ns um mes Year s ed nt nt Till mes mes Mo % /Da Dro LTD (INR) t (INR) % ar es (INR) (INR) Date nth Jul- y pout 15 s Jul'15: 0.2% Tech, ₹ ₹ 4,836, 833,0 870,1 13 313. ₹ ₹ ₹ 2.4% Sales ALL INDIA 0 8% 32% 123 873 873 66 0 37% 35,80 1% 12,48 180 60 80 % 4 394,560 18,000 82,000 YTD 2015: 0 0 0.3% Tech; 1.5% Sales ₹ ₹ 4,836, 833,0 870,1 ₹ ₹ ₹ MAHARASHTRA NF 4% NA NA 123 873 873 313 66 0 37% 35,80 1% 12,48 0% 180 60 80 394,560 18,000 82,000 0 0 Lakha 1,399, 239,2 227,9 - ₹ NF NF - 330 1200 814 846 146 0 58% 3% ₹ 84,000 ₹ 2,000 - ni 340 00 00 5% 16,000 Murm 894,2 144,1 143,2 - ₹ ₹ NF NF - 211 1200 487 487 59 0 36% 2% ₹ 51,600 ₹ 2,000 - adi 80 20 00 1% 1,000 16,000 Sendu 891,3 141,0 178,2 26 ₹ ₹ NF NF - 210 1200 475 551 90 0 38% 3% ₹ 45,600 ₹ 2,000 - rwafa 40 20 80 % 3,600 16,000 20 Rajeg 246,1 34,20 34,54 ₹ NF 1% NF - 58 231 156 163 44 0 52% 0% ₹ 720 ₹ 21,400 ₹ 2,000 ₹ 6,000 - 14 aon 40 0 0 8,000 Pimpa 483,9 75,48 78,38 ₹ NF 4% NF - 114 794 320 336 64 0 34% 2% ₹ 41,720 ₹ 2,000 ₹ 8,000 - lgaon 60 0 0 5,000 BHAND Kesal 318,2 55,14 70,04 27 ₹ NF NF - 87 747 213 302 40 0 35% 0% ₹ 25,920 ₹ 2,000 ₹ 8,000 - ARA wada 20 0 0 % 7,300 Pohar 159,6 26,32 31,28 19 ₹ NF NF - 44 1174 127 129 85 0 4% 2% ₹ 27,360 ₹ 2,000 ₹ 8,000 - a 80 0 0 % 5,000 Dhar - 182,3 44,04 37,16 ₹ ₹ mapu NF 16 NF - 68 283 194 278 44 0 83% 0% ₹ 48,720 ₹ 0 - 20 0 0 1,500 3,120 ri % 20 Palan 161,3 42,70 45,46 ₹ NF 6% NF - 66 1149 259 278 60 0 19% 0% ₹ 30,000 ₹ 2,000 ₹ 2,000 - 15 dur 40 0 0 3,000 - Pindk 99,56 30,84 23,94 ₹ ₹ NF 22 NF - 40 747 89 130 28 0 14% 0% ₹ 18,240 ₹ 2,000 ₹ 2,000 - epar 0 0 0 5,000 5,040 %  Data Sourced from Safe Water Network Report ’Financial sustainability’

During the baseline survey the water quality of the region was tested and it was found that the water sample contained high fluoride, nitrate and TDS, more than the permissible limits: 1. High Fluoride (>1 ppm) 2. High Nitrates (>45 ppm) 3. High TDS (>500 ppm) After the iJal station was installed the source of drinking water for the people who use iJal has improved. The treated water quality test results from the iJal station showed that the problem of high fluoride, high nitrate and high TDS has been solved and the treated water complied with the norms of BIS 10500:2012. The water quality test result of an iJal station is given below: Water quality test result (for Pohara iJal station) Standard Raw water Treated water Fluoride 1.0ppm max 0.9 0.4 Nitrate 45ppm max 126.2 35.5 TDS 500ppm max 1254 100

The impact of the project has been divided into three sub headings: social impact including health impact, economic impact and environment impact.

The awareness generation activity for safe drinking water informed community members on water quality and its impact on health. It encouraged them to use treated water to safe guard their health. There is a positive change in the community.

Water collection from iJal station During baseline survey it was found that it was mostly females who collected water from tube wells, handpumps etc. But after the project implementation it was seen that males were mostly responsible for collection of water from iJal stations as shown in Figure 9 below.

Source: End line survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 9. Water collection

Reasons for using iJal water

Source: End line survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 10. Reasons for using iJal

The above figure depicts the reason for the community to adopt iJal for drinking purposes with the majority of the respondents responding that iJal water is clean water.

Impact of iJal on other sources:

Source: Endline survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 11. Impact of iJal on other sources

Before the implementation of the project in the area the main source of drinking water were hand pumps, bore or tube wells, open wells and tap water. After the installation of iJal stations there was reduced usage of hand pumps water for drinking. However those who used taps at home did not change the water source. Survey showed that other sources of water are mostly used for washing clothes, bathing etc.

Purpose of iJal usage: Communities were asked about how they use iJal water. It was observed that iJal users used it mostly for drinking in home and outside of home followed by cooking. It seems the project has increased community awareness of the importance of drinking safe water.

Source: Endline survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 12. Purpose of iJal

Frequency of buying iJal amongst registered users

Source: Endline survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 13. Frequency of buying iJal

From the above figure it can be seen that 64% of the users have bought iJal more than 21 times a month. It was also found that since the users pay for water they tend to value the product and use it judiciously. In addition, they observe that the water is clean, pure and tastes good so ultimately they become loyal users of iJal. Figure below shows the result of the endline survey where users were asked to score the options why they used iJal; the top answer is that the water is pure.

Source: End line survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 14. Reasons for using iJal

User satisfaction:

Source: End line survey conducted in March, 2015

It has been found out that 83% of the consumers are satisfied with water from iJal stations. Therefore 77% of the consumers are strongly willing to buy in future also. 78% are strongly willing to recommend iJal to other members of the community.

Source: As per endline survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure 15. Impact on short term illnesses

Source: End line survey conducted on March, 2015 Figure16. Impact on long term illnesses

 As per the above figure the incidence of short term illnesses has decreased.  It was observed that there was a positive attitudinal change within the community regarding the importance of safe water and personal hygienic habits.

Regular health & hygiene education-related programs are displayed at the iJal station. There are activities around water and health especially during the village selection phase and during inauguration where there is active registration of users for iJal. There are focused programs for the key opinion leaders and in schools to promote safe water adoption. Consumers understood

the need of a narrow mouth can for water collection to safeguard water quality at home and during handling.

Figure 17. Especially designed can for water collection and storage.

Consumer mindset:  Consumers felt water to be the most important ingredient to a healthy life.  There was a very strong association of iJal with quality and good water properties like color, smell and visual appeal as well as health benefits among both users & non-users.

The consumers were asked to answer few questions and their analyzed findings have been stated in the tables below: Consumer Mindset Users Non Users To avoid illness in the family, we need to consume the 74 42 best quality water Worth travelling a longer distance to get clean drinking 52 24 water Treated water is the best quality water available 72 46 Source: As per endline survey conducted on March, 2015

Consumer Mindset Users Non Users Good hygienic habits will lead to less occasions of 73 51 family members falling sick Source: As per endline survey conducted on March, 2015

There is increased awareness amongst consumers towards water and health as well as need of hygiene.

The iJal stations have generated livelihoods for various people directly or indirectly associated with the safe drinking water provision in the district – entrepreneur, operator, distributor -driver, loader/helper and retailer at the distribution point. The project has generated both full time and part time employment for about 20 people among the community - 10 operators and 10 as distributors. Also due to the convenience of location of iJal stations the communities self report time saving in water collection, usage of time saved in other livelihood generation activities like ‘Papad making’. Below is the list of number of operators and distributors in the 10iJal stations of Bhandara district.

Table 4. List of number of operators and distributors S.No iJal Station Operator Distributor 1 Lakhani 1 2 2 Murmadi 1

3 Sendurwafa 1 2 4 Rajegaon 1

5 Pimpalgaon 1

6 Kesalwada 1 2 7 Pohara 1 1 8 Dharmapuri 1 2 9 Palandur 1 1 10 Pindkepar 1

TOTAL 10 10

Sustainability Measures - Water Harvesting & Reject Water Management at iJal Stations: iJal Stations use RO systems due to salinity water quality challenge. The source water is ground water. Hence for environmental sustainability artificial recharge structures have been constructed to augment the ground water.

The estimation of recharge water is carried out to understand the percentage of water offset due to recharge measures at each site. For example, the case study of a village Kesalwada, the withdrawal is estimated at around 480 cubic meters per annum. Based on the roof area available for water collection to the recharge measure and hydrogeological conditions, it is estimated around 110 cubic meter water can be recharged annually. That means around 23% of the total ground water withdrawal can be recharged through construction of artificial structures. The same understanding can be applied to calculate the effect of reject water on the local ecosystem. In Kesalwada, around 240 cubic meters of water is the reject generated. As per the plan, this will be distributed to 8 families staying close by to the Kesalwada iJal Station. This indicates that the reject water is going to be utilized for other than drinking purpose to meet the water requirement of these families.

The construction work of water harvesting structures carried out in the following villages and ground water recharge has been worked out as presented below:

Table 5. Details of water harvesting structures

Expect Annual Location/ Rain ed expected % of water Station source Type of Area Water Village annual GW offset by or public source m² Volume recharg withdraw recharge source m³ e m³ al m³ Near Station, Lakhani defunct well Dug well 106.58 128 96 5024 2% Station raw Bore Kesalwada water source well 110.96 133 100 1185 8% Station raw Bore Dharmapuri water source well 109.56 131 99 774 13% near dug well dug well cum BW (Station cum raw water bore 106.29 Rajegaon source) well 5 128 96 792 12% Station raw Bore Pind Ke Par water source well 297 356 267 313 85% Palandur School Bore Bore (School) Well well 100 120 90 551 16% Pimpalgaun Hand (Hospital) Hand Pump Pump 95.81 115 86 1668 5%

Water level monitoring is conducted on a monthly basis from raw water sources to inform on effect on recharge structures and trend of water level fluctuation. The reject water storage and distribution to neighbouring households is observed where reject water is be used for sanitation, cleanliness and other domestic needs, but for drinking.

 For complete station capacity utilization, there is a need for active demand generation to encourage nonusers to consume safe water, user to use safe water in cooking etc  It is observed that consumers are less satisfied with the iJal containers. Perhaps a smaller sized can of 10-12 L can be introduced to them so that they have a choice to use either the 20L or smaller can for iJal.  Education activities can be carried out at schools. While conducting awareness focus can be on electrolyser tests of home water samples to highlight water contamination.  Accelerate the mechanism of home delivery for more convenience.

Below is an overview of the whole iJal program and its important components.

The Customer has to come to the Safe Water iJal station to fetch water. They have been provided with iJal cans which make it safer and easier for them to collect safe drinking water. Distribution to households is also done through small trucks and auto rickshaws as shown in the picture.

Due to easy access the people save time for themselves. The women of the communities shall benefit from the extra time they save by getting a chance to study and to get involved in other activities. With easy access of safe drinking water the health of the community shall improve. The children shall also have more school days in the coming future. Few related activities of the project area have been captured in the pictures below.

The health of the community has improved to a large extent. One of the local doctor said that the number of patients coming to him with water borne illnesses have reduced considerably.

iJal station has become a source of Livelihood for people. The operators that runs the station earn a certain amount of money which eases his monthly expenses.

The reject water from the stations are presently being utilized for various purposes as shown above. They are used for flushing toilets, washing dishes and clothes, bathing animals and few people are using it for gardening purposes too.

a. Questionnaire

A snapshot of the Baseline Questionnaire (detailed questionnaire available on request)

A snapshot of endline questionnaire

b. Water quality test reports (reports of all stations available on request)

34 c. Logical Framework Analysis Logical Framework Analysis

Goal/Objective To provide clean drinking water to the rural communities of Bhandara district, Maharashtra

NARRATIVE SUMMARY VERIFIABLE INDICATORS MEANS OF VERIFICATION ASSUMPTIONS Short term:  Awareness generated regarding importance of pure & safe drinking water. Raw, treated & reject water pH, TDS, Chlorine; False rumours regarding  Easy access to safe drinking water. quality tests by Bhagavathi iJal from troublemakers; Ana Labs; Intermediate: RMS data; Technical problems ;

Outcome  Increased usage of pure and safe drinking water; Irresponsible operators Baseline & Endline survey  Reduced rate of diarrhoea and stomach problems Personal interviews; might cause problems in data ; functioning of iJal stations

Long term : FGDs  Reduced health problems Observation  More school days for girls;  More time for females to do other work  Public Awareness regarding safe water, Source drying up; -10 iJal stations installed in 10 villages ;  iJal Station commissioning; Project Monitoring through Unavailability of operator; -Technical registers, User profile registers, Remote monitoring system Unwilling community Outputs  Operation of iJal water station Cash registers updated daily; (RMS) recorded data directly members  Registration of users; -RMS monitoring, from web; Photographs  Detailed monitoring of the operation of iJal station -RFID card

 Raised community awareness, Cooperation of Participation registers,  Environment building activities; -Land for iJal Station; stakeholders, No photographs, Baseline & Activities  Household surveys; -Equipment’s for 10 iJal stations corruption, No inter endline survey data  Operator nomination & training; installation cultural conflicts and Cost : INR 1,45,00,000/-  Installation of iJal stations resistances Physical Resource: Funding ; Technology infrastructure ; Availability of facilitators, Demographic data; Inputs Human Resource: SWN Facilitators, trainers, BHEL , TATA, Pentair, LNGO trainers; Willingness of the Agreement documents, MoU Technicians, LNGO, Community members community

d. List of beneficiaries Below is the list of the number of beneficiaries of the project:

S No. Villages No. of beneficiaries/Users

1 Lakhani 3,563 2 Murmadi 2,424 3 Sendurwafa 2,354 4 Rajegaon 598 5 Pimpalgaon 1,340 6 Kesalwada 1,335 7 Pohara 547 8 Dharmapuri 1,155 9 Palandur 1,147 10 Pindkepar 548 TOTAL 15011

A snapshot of the beneficiaries profile

37 e. Operators trained S. Name of iJal Address Name of Entrepreneur Mobile No Station / Village / Operator to whom Number Technical training has been given 1 Lakhani Behind lakori road, post –lakhni, Mr. Nitin Jaykrushna 09595522468 tahasil- Lakhni, Dist- bhandara, Fenderkar / Mr. Anoop ; Maharastra,Pin-441804 09404014810 ; 09960046846 2 Murmadi Ganesh Nagar, village- murmadi, Mrs. Sumita Halmare / 09623758278 post –lakhni, tahasil- Lakhni, Dist- Mr. Ashish bhandara, Maharashtra, Pin- 441804 3 Sendurwafa Beside piyush automobile,main Mr. Rakesh Jagiya / Mr. 09823005019 road,village- Sendurwafa, tahasil- Yogesh Sakoli, Dist- bhandara, Maharastra, Pin-441802 4 Rajegaon House # 123, Rajegoan, mandal Mr. Dhanajay Rajaram 09960019044 Lakhni, district Bhandara, Thakre / Mr. Shrikanth Maharashtra 5 Pimpalgaon Rangepar road, opposite Thalathi Mr. Vasant Keshavrav 09158467909 office, Pimpalgoan , post –lakhni, Shivankar (Parasram) / tahasil- Lakhni, Dist- bhandar, Mr. Bhandari Maharastra 6 Kesalwada Goan Kesalwada W, Mandal Mr. Anil Bhagwandas 09881988190 Lakhni, District Bhandara, Sachdev / Mr. Shubham Maharashtra 7 Pohara Village- Pohra, tahasil- Lakhni, Mr. Deepak Ramdas 09823005019 Dist- bhandara, Maharastra, Pin- Walode / Mr. Gulshan 441802 8 Dharmapuri House # 113, Dharmapuri goan, Mr. Praveen Genduji 09767121767 mandal Sakoli, district Bhandara, Khotele / Mr. Domle Maharashtra 9 Palandur 369 District Parisad Kanishta Mrs. Sangeeta Mangesh 09421712832 Mahavidyalay javal, Palandur Yevale Chou, post –lakhni, Mandal- Lakhni, Dist- bhandar, Maharastra 10 Pindkepar 17, Pindakepar Taluk, Sakoli, Mr. Ashokrao Samarit / 09689837264 District Bhandara, Maharashtra Mr. Sandeep

Safe Water Access to 37512 people

Registered users of Livelihood generated 20 iJal 40%

Affordable water Average water produced per month 20L can @Rs 5 each 96000L or 160 cans daily

iJal Station 10 villages in Bhandara district