Taking an integrated approach to the country's rural water supply issues, Government of India's (GoI's) National Rural Drinking Water Program (NRDWP) focusses on the key aspects of source and system sustainability. System sustainability is inextricably linked to both technical and financial aspects of operations of rural water supply schemes. A key plank of NRDWP's approach as well as that of the sector reform project that preceded it is the devolution of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) functions, particularly related to distribution at the village level, to Gram Panchayats (GPs), or local government entities, through the formation of Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs). However, the lack of substantive community engagement in planning and implementation of schemes as well as capacity constraints in GPs has limited the spread and implementation of this approach. As reported in a recent study for the Planning Commission (PC, 2010), only a fourth of GPs surveyed reported VWSCs and less than one percent of the respondents were aware of the VWSCs' existence.

This book presents a multidimensional perspective on the interlinkage between human development, community characteristics and public service delivery with special reference to India. The chapters in the book analyze the influence of public service delivery on human development from neo-classical as well as Marxian point of view. Thus, the expositions in the book provides a balanced mix of macro and micro approaches in the study of development. The analytical discussions are supplemented by case studies and empirical estimates so as to demonstrate the applicability of the theory and the theoretical discourse about human development, community network and the success and failures of critical public services in the Indian context. The methodology followed in the chapters involves critical survey of existing literature, case studies, field survey and use of econometric techniques as well as statistical tools of index construction. While contributors are primarily scholars from neo-classical economics discipline, some are intellectuals from the field of political economy and development studies. Given the wide array of development perspectives, this book is of interest not only to students and researcher of development economics, social science and management, but also a valuable reading for development practitioners and policy makers, who would be interested in understanding how community and public institutions interact to determine access to health, education and social security services that shapes the wellbeing of disadvantaged populations. The lessons and implications are extremely pertinent to other emerging economies, in particular those in South Asia.

This book offers insights into ways countries and individual organisations can move towards a service delivery approach and is a valuable resource for professionals in who are interested in improving the design and implementation of rural water supply programmes. Published in association with IRC.

The supply of reliable and safe water is a key challenge for developing countries, particularly India. Community management has long been the declared model for rural water supply and is recognised to be critical for its implementation and success. Based on 20 detailed successful case studies from across India, this book outlines future rural water supply approaches for all lower-income countries as they start to follow India on the economic growth (and subsequent service levels) transition. The case studies cover state-level wealth varying from US$2,600 to US$10,000 GDP per person and a mix of gravity flow, single village and multi-village groundwater and surface water schemes. The research reported covers 17 states and surveys of 2,400 households. Together, they provide a spread of cases directly relevant to policy-makers in lower-income economies planning to upgrade the quality and sustainability of rural water supply to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the context of economic growth.