Report on Panchayat Workshops in Dhar

April 29, 2011

“Drinking Water for the Last Person” training workshops for Panchayats in Dhar, Madhya Pradesh, 2010.

This is a report on workshops conducted for village community members (PRIs, Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs), Angandwadi workers and other community members) in 4 different villages in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh.

The objective was to brief and create an understanding of the need to prepare Village Water Security Plans. The focus of these workshops was on the preparation of village water budget as the starting point for preparing the Village Water Security Plans.

The preparation of village water security plans by the village communities has been made mandatory under the new DDWS guidelines issued in 2009 under the NRDWP (Sustainability) component. The PRIs or the Village Water and Sanitation Committees are responsible for village water supply schemes from planning and implementation to managing O & M and finances. Recharging drinking water sources is the main component under this programme to ensure sustainability of water resources and to prevent water supply schemes from slipping back.