Chapter 5. District-wise Distribution in Water Supply and Sanitation Services in West Bengal: Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions

Transcription

1 District-wise Distribution in Water Supply and Sanitation Services in West Bengal: Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions

2 District-wise Distribution in Water Supply and Sanitation Services in West Bengal: Role of Panchayati Raj Institutions 5.1. Introduction The uppermost tier of the rural local government in West Bengal is Zilla Parishad (ZP) at the district level. ZP performs a pivotal role in raising the demand for water supply services to the state government. It also takes the responsibility of capital investment and operation and maintenance of water supply services. ZP also plays an important role in promoting sanitation in the district. It supervises the progress of sanitation programme in the blocks. The ZP has Public Health & Environment Standing Committee (Jana Swasthya -0- Paribesh Sthayee Samiti), which looks after rural water supply and sanitation in the district. This committee works in close coordination with the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), which is the line department of water supply in West Bengal (Subrahmanyam and Choudhury 2002). The participation of local government in provision of basic services is expected to increase efficiency of service delivery (Tiebout 1956; Oates, 1972, 1977). However, the provision of these services by local government in developing countries may be inefficient and iniquitous due to low capacity of local governments, corruption, elite capture and political influence (Bardhan, 2002; Bardhan and Mukherjee, 2000; Asthana,' 2003; Slaymaker and Newborne, 2004; Mtisi and Nicol, 2003). Even non-poor may get served at the cost of the poor (Litcack, Ahmad and Bird, 1998). In this backdrop, we will examine the aspect of allocative efficiency of rural water supply and sanitation across the districts in West Bengal in this chapter. We will look into the fact whether water supply and sanitation services across districts are provided according to the need of the people. The water supply service is technically more complicated and has many more variations than sanitation services, like toilet. An attempt has also been made to compare and 115

3 contrast the extent of equity and allocative efficiency in distribution of these two types of services. The extent of decentralisation of a particular service depends on the type of the service. Remy Prud'homme (1994) is in his discussion on 'On the Dangers of Decentralisation' has argued that decentralizibility of a particular sector depends on externality, chargeability and technicity of a particular type of public service. Considering water supply and sanitation, externality in both the sectors can be assumed to be same since both of them have serious implications for public health directly. Chargeability in water supply in India is lower as compared to the sanitation. Moreover, technicity in water supply is quite high and it varies according to the type of water supply sources. Within the water supply sector, technicity is highest in piped water supply in both installation and maintenance as compared to well, handpump and tubewell. On the other hand, in sanitation technicity is much lower and it is more or less homogenous across products. So based on externality, chargeability and technicity, water supply seems to be less decentralisable than sanitation. The institutional structure of delivery of services in water supply and sanitation in West Bengal comes in close conformity with the criteria set by decentralisibility discussed above. The institutional structure in water supply sector is much more centralized and supply driven than the sanitation sector. The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) is the implementing agency of water supply schemes. It implements water supply schemes with close coordination with the Panchayats. Funds for implementation and operation and maintenance (O&M) are with PHED. It also distributes funds to ZPs for capital investment and O&M. The capital investment and O&M of piped water supply schemes are mainly done by the PHED. In few districts, O&M of piped water supply schemes have been taken over by the ZPs. The fund for capital investment in Hand Bored Tubewell and Well is distributed to ZPs by the state PHED. In case of Ring Bored Tubewells, PHED set up it on its own. ZPs have important role in raising demand to the 116

4 state government for new water supply schemes and funds for execution. PHED at the district level works in close consultation with the ZPs. The types of fund for capital investment and O&M are mainly of two types. One is through Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP), which is central assistance to the state governments. The other is the matching contribution of the state government through Minimum Needs Programme (MNP). State government also provides non-plan fund for O&M of water supply systems. In case of the other sector, sanitation, which has lower technicity, toilets are constructed by a more decentralised and demand driven programme called Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC). PRis bear the major responsibility of implementing this programme. In this programme the beneficiaries themselves contribute for constructing toilets. Subsidy is available only to the below the poverty line (BPL) households. For subsidy, start-up activity and motivating people (to take up this programme) funds come from central assistance and state's contribution. Funds are distributed from the ZP to the Panchayat Samiti (PS) for building sanitary mart, providing subsidy and Information Education and Communication (IEC) activity. ZP also supervises the progress of TSC in the blocks. It is a moot question whether the water supply services provided with the coordination of PHED and ZP ultimately covers the people in need of these services. In this chapter, we will look into district-wise distribution pattern of funds for capital investment and O&M. We expect that funds for both capital investment and O&M are distributed more towards districts that have more capability in bargaining from the state government through ZP. In case of sanitation, we will analyse the district-wise performance of the programme. Here, we expect that the performance of TSC is better in districts where people have more capability in taking up the programme. Lastly, we expect that allocative efficiency in distribution is better in case of water supply than in case of the sanitation, since the former one is less decentralised than the later. 117

5 We have divided the chapter into five sections. In Section 5.2 we discuss about database and methodology of the study. In section 5.3 we have we have looked into distribution of rural water supply services across districts of West Bengal. We have several subsections under it. In subsection we have discussed about capital investment in rural water supply. In the next subsection we have discussed about expenditure in O&M of piped water supply by PHED and Zill Parishad. In subsection we have demonstrated regression results explaining the determinants of capital expenditure in piped water supply and tubewell. In section 5.4 we have focused on sanitation. In the last section we have summarised the results and concluded the chapter Methodology and Database The present status of water supply in terms of coverage of water supply service has been illustrated in this chapter. The problem of water quality has also been discussed. Proportion of blocks affected by arsenic contamination in groundwater has been considered as an index of water quality problem in the district. Furthermore, we have investigated into the district-wise distribution pattern of funds for different rural water supply schemes and compared it with the real need and bargaining capability of the people to obtain these funds. We have made a cross-sectional analysis in both the cases. Information relating to rural water supply as on March 2006 has been collected from Public Health Engineering Department (PHED), West Bengal. In sanitation, we have examined performance of TSC and compared it with real need and capability of people to take up the programme. As a performance indicator for TSC we have taken district-wise per capita number of latrines constructed till March 2006 as physical indicator. Government as well as contribution of beneficiaries till March 2006 has also been analysed in this chapter. We will also look into the details of performance by comparing it between below the poverty line (BPL) households and above the poverty line (APL) households during Information regarding physical performance and 118

6 beneficiary contribution in TSC has been collected from Panchayat and Rural Development Department, Government of West Bengal. The coverage of water supply or fund distributed for water supply and progress of sanitation programme are likely to be greater in districts where population is larger. To take into account the scale factor, we have calculated per capita coverage or distribution of fund and per capita progress of sanitation programme. In all these calculations, we have taken population of districts from Census We have measured the need of water supply of a district by adding percentage of households having sources of tap, handpump, tubewell and well away from premises and percentage of households using all other sources, which are supposed to be unsafe irrespective to their distance from the premises of the household. We have denoted this variable as NEEDWATER in our whole analysis. Need of sanitation of the people of a district has been measured by percentage of households having no latrine. This variable has been named as NOLA TRINE in the analysis. In both these cases, district-wise census data of 2001 have been used. Bargaining for basic services can take place through political and apolitical channel. In case of political channel it is through political lobby. Bargaining capability of the Zilla Parishad (ZP) for the district would increase if ZP has more elected representatives from the state ruling party. In case of West Bengal, Left Alliance has been ruling at the state level during the period under consideration. To capture the political channel we have calculated the percentage of representative from Left Alliance in the ZPs by averaging the figures of 1998 and 2003 Panchayat election of West Bengal. We have denoted this variable as LA in our analysis. If the dominant political party at the state level is also dominant in the ZP, then the ZP may get some extra bargaining power 1 The other important channel of bargaining is through greater consciousness, which is generally 119

7 created by education. Literacy, per se, is an important component of capability to bargain 2. It helps in getting information relating to the availability of different types of public services and their ultimate impact on their life. It is also very important in bargaining for services of their choice (and resources for their provision) from the state government via PRis. To capture this apolitical channel of bargaining, we have taken district -wise rural literacy rate from Census of India, In the analysis we have examined whether provision of services are more towards districts where percentage of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (SC and ST) population and percentage of below the poverty line (BPL) households are high. As antipoverty measures government may provide more services in districts where percentage of SC and ST population and percentage of BPL households are high. District-wise percentage of SC and ST population (SCST) has been obtained from Census of India, Percentage of BPL households of districts as on has been taken from Panchayat and Rural Development Department of West Bengal. This variable has been addressed as PBPL in the analysis Rural Water Supply The coverage of rural water supply in West Bengal is substantially high. It has been observed that 86 percent of the population and 78 percent of the habitations has been fully covered by rural water supply by March (Table 5.1). However, habitation covered by rural water supply is less than 50 percent in Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, Purba Medinipur, South 24 Parganas and Coochbehar district. On the other hand, in 1 Political discretion of higher level government plays a major role in distribution of resources for poverty alleviation programme in West Bengal (Bardhan and Mookheljee, 2004) 2 Literacy movement have positive spillover effects in terms of enlarging the stake of large numbers of poor in the system and strengthening the institutions of local democracy (Bardhan, 2002),. 3 Norms for Full Coverage of Habitation 1. One Spot Source for 250 persons. 2. In case of Piped Water Supply 40 litres per capita per day I one Public Stand Post for 250 persons 3. The Drinking Water Source exists within 1.6 Km of the Habitation in Plains /100 metres elevation in hilly areas. 4. Quality parameters of drinking water are within the specified limits of habitation survey guidelines 120

8 Bardharnan district 98 percent of the habitation and almost all the population have been covered. In Bankura, Jalpaiguri, Birbhum and Dakshin Dinajpur district more than 95 percent of the habitation have been covered by rural water supply (Figure 5.1 ). Table 5.1: District-wise Status of Rural Water Supply Coverage in West Bengal as on March 2006 Percent District Not Partially Fully Population NEEDWATER Covered Covered Covered Covered (2001) Habitation Habitation Habitation Bankura Birbhum Bardhaman Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur D~eeling a) Plains b)dghc Hoogh1y Howrah Jalpaiguri_ Malda Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Medinipur Paschim Medinipur Purba Medinipur Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Public Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal We have also calculated need of water supply of each district (NEEWATER) by adding percentage of households having sources of tap, handpump, tubewell and well away from premises and percentage of households using all other sources. It reveals that NEEDW A TER is lowest in Coochbehar and highest in Darjeeling district. It has been observed that although NEEDW A TER is lowest in Coochbehar but only 43 percent of the habitations and 52 percent of the population have been covered by rural water supply. 121

9 The discrepancy between habitation or population covered and NEEDW A TER could be due to the fact that the earlier represents the supply side and the later depicts the demand side. Habitation or population covered is calculated by the PHED which supplies the. water supply. NEEDW ATER represents the percentage of people collecting water away from premises or different unsafe sources due to lack of safe water supply source nearby. Therefore NEEDW ATER appears to be more relevant to take into account the actual need as well as people's demand for water supply to the Panchayats. Rural piped water supply has covered around 32 percent of the rural population of the state as on March By this time there has been 1396 rural piped water supply schemes in West Bengal. It has been observed that number of schemes and percentage of rural population covered has dramatically increased during the Eighth Plan ( ) as compared to the same between 1985 to 1990 and 1990 to It is also much higher than the same during the Seventh Plan period ( ). During the Eighth Plan number of schemes has increased by more than 250 and coverage of rural population has increased by 8 percent (Table 5.2). The reason behind the sudden rise in the coverage of rural piped water supply may that the Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission (RGNDWM) has been entrusted with the task of covering the remaining not-covered villages before the end of the Eighth Plan. 122

10 Table 5.2: Rural Piped Water Supply Coverage in West Bengal Total Number of Percentage of Total Rural Year Schemes Population Served Source: Public Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal It has been observed that by March 2006, total number of schemes sanctioned in West Bengal is more than These schemes would cover 39 percent of the rural population. In this regard highest importance has been provided to Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, where 94 percent of the rural population would be covered by' these schemes (Table 5.3 and Figure 5.2). The reason behind such high importance could be due to water scarcity in the hill region as shown by the fact that only 49 percent of the rural population in this region is fully covered by water supply. High importance has also been provided to South 24 Parganas and Maida district as percentage of rural population fully covered is less than 70 percent in these two districts. Furthermore, these two districts are also severally affected by arsenic contamination. 123

11 Table 5.3: District-wise Status of Sanction of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes in West Bengal as on March 2006 Mouja Covered Habitation Covered Population Covered Bankura Birbhum Bardhaman Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling (DGHC) Darjeeling (Plains) Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Maida Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Paschim Midnapur Purba Midnapur Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Public Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal In case of spot sources it has been observed that 19 percent of the ordinary tubewell are in Coochbehar as on March Moreover, almost 90 percent of the ordinary tubewells are in running condition in this district (Table A.5.1 in the Appendix). This may be the reason behind low NEEDW ATER in Coochbehar district. In Uttar Dinajpur 17 percent and in Nadia district 13 percent of the ordinary tubewells are distributed (Figure 5.3). Similarly, NEEDWATER is also low in these two districts. In case of deep well pump 18 percent is distributed in Hooghly district, 15 percent each in Bardhaman and Paschim Medinipur district, and 14 percent in Murshidabad district (Figure 5.4). In Hooghly, Bardhaman and Paschim Medinipur districts 10 to 15 percent of these tubewells are not running but repirable with spare parts. In Murshidabad district 11 percent of these tubewells are affected by lowering of the water level. That is the reason that NEEDW A TER is medium in these districts. Rig Bored tubewells are more distributed 124

12 towards districts which are on the western part of the state. Purulia accounts for 27 percent of these tubewells and Bakura accounts for 25 percent (Figure 5.5). Geographically these districts are situated on the Rarh region which is 50 to 100 m above the sea level. NEEDW A TER is very high in these districts as compared to other districts of the state. There are 75 blocks in 8 districts in West Bengal which are affected by arsenic contamination in ground water. The prevalence of contamination is very high in Nadia, North 24 Parganas and Murshidabad district. In Nadia district all 17 blocks, in North 24 Parganas district 19 out of 22 blocks, and in Murshidabad district 18 out of 26 blocks have been affected by arsenic contamination in ground water (Table 5.4). By March 2006 it has been observed that 57 percent of the population in West Bengal in the arsenic affected blocks have been covered by rural water supply schemes. In South 24 Parganas almost 90 percent of the population and in Malda around 85 percent of the population has been covered. However, in Bardhaman district only 24 percent of the population and in Howrah district 38. percent of the population has been covered by rural water supply schemes. Table 5.4: District-wise Provision of Safe Water in Arsenic Affected Blocks in West Bengal as on March 2006 District No. of Blocks Showing Total No. of Population Covered in Presence of Arsenic in Blocks Arsenic Affected Blocks(%) Groundwater Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Pas South 24 Pg_s Maida Bardhaman Howrah Hooghly West Bengal Source: Pubhc Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal 125

13 In this section, in addition to status of rural water supply we have also analysed flow of funds for capital investment in rural water supply. Among different water supply sources, we have separately discussed about piped water supply, and hand bored tubewell and well. We have also looked into O&M of piped water supply by PHED and ZP separately. In subsection we have discussed about capital investment in rural water supply. In the next subsection we have discussed about expenditure in O&M of piped water supply by PHED and Zill Parishad. In subsection we have demonstrated regression results explaining the determinants of capital expenditure in piped water supply and tubewell Capital Investment in Water Supply It has been observed that almost 45 percent of total capital fund of PHED in rural water supply programme has been concentrated in three districts viz. South 24 Parganas, North 24 Parganas and Medinipur during (Table 5.5). In case of ARWSP fund, 40 percent of the total fund has been distributed in South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas. The distribution of MNP fund is less skewed in distribution. In this case, 27 percent of total fund has been distributed in Medinipur and Bardhaman. Distribution of total fund is as less as 1.12 percent in Malda and as large as 23 percent in South 24 Parganas. It is important to note that ARWSP assumes the maximum importance so far as distribution is concerned. This is because the share of ARWSP in total capital investment of rural water supply is almost 76 percent. Ideally central government fund ARWSP and state government fund MNP should have been invested in equal amount. It has been observed that the share of ARWSP fund varies across the districts. Share of ARWSP in North 24 Parganas district is as high as 88 percent. These distribution figures do not always match with the need of the districts. While Darjeeling has the highest need but distribution to the district is quite low. Same thing has happened in case of Purulia. On the other hand, in case of North 24 Parganas need is quite low but percentage of funds distributed is quite high. One can argue that since different districts have varying amount 126

14 of population, the funds get distributed accordingly to it. We will examine this proposition in the following discussion. Table 5.5: District-wise Percentage Distribution of Capital Fund by PHED for Rural Water Supply in West Bengal during ARWSPin District MNP ARWSP Total NEEDWATER Total(%) )3ankura )3ardhaman Birbhum Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darieeling (Plains) Hooghly Howrah alpaiguri Maida Medinipur Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Pubhc Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal Per capita allocation of fund for capital investment ( ) in rural water supply for different districts has been listed in Table 5.6. It demonstrates that per capita distribution of funds among different districts is indeed biased more in favour of districts where there is more need of water supply. The correlation matrix presented in Table 5.7 reveals the degree of association between NEEDWATER and per capita distribution of different types of fund. Besides, one important observation is that distribution of ARWSP and MNP funds are not significantly correlated, while MNP is the matching contribution of the state government against centrally provided ARWSP fund. 127

15 Table 5.6: District-wise Per Capital Allocation of Fund for Capital Investment in Rural Water Supply in West Bengal during R upees District MNP li\rwsp h"otal NEEDWATER Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum lcoochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darieeling (Plains) Hooghly Howrah ~alpaiguri Maida Mediniour Murshidabad !Nadia North 24 Parganas Purulia South 24 Paraanas Uttar Dinaiour Source: Pubhc Health Engineering Department, West Bengal Table 5.7: Correlation of District-wise Per Capital Allocation of Fund for Capital Investment in Rural Water Supply with Need of Water Supply in West Bengal MNP ~RWSP Total NEEDWATER Per capita MNP 1.00 Per capita ARWSP Per capita Total (MNP+ ARWSP) 0.56** 0.98*** 1.00!NEEDWATER 0.64** 0.69*** 0.75*** 1.00 * Significant at 10% Level, ** Significant at 5% Level and *** Significant at 1% Level Therefore we can infer that differences in distribution of funds for capital investment are due to differences in need for water supply and population of districts. We have discussed about flow of funds in different districts of West Bengal for two types of water supply systems, piped water supply and spot sources. Capital investment in piped water supply is primarily done by the PHED. In case of spot sources such as hand bored tubewell and well funds for installation are distributed by the PHED to the ZPs. 128

16 Capital investment in Piped Water Supply Schemes In piped water supply more than 40 percent of total funds have been concentrated in three districts viz. North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas and Bardhaman during (Table 5.8). The ARWSP fund has been concentrated in North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, taking out 35 percent of total fund. In case of MNP fund almost 40 percent fund has been concentrated in Bardhaman, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. The reason behind concentration of funds for capital expenditure in these three districts is that all these three districts are severally affected by arsenic contamination. In Bardhaman district 31 blocks, in South 24 Parganas 29 blocks, in North 24 Parganas 22 blocks are affected by arsenic contamination. Table 5.8: District-wise Percentage Distribution of Plan Allocation for Implementation of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by PHED in West Bengal during District MNP ARWSP Total ARWSPin Total Bankura IBardhaman IBirbhum toochbehar [Q_akshin Dinajpur Parieeling (Plains) IHooghly IHowrah ~alpaiguri !Maida IMurshidabad !Nadia N_orth 24 Parganas Paschim Medinipur Purba Medinipur !Purulia lsouth 24 Parganas ~ttar Dinajpur IW est Bengal Source: Pubhc Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal 129

17 It has been observed that as total capital investment, the per capita average yearly expenditure for rural piped water supply schemes also varies widely across districts. It is very high in North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas in case of ARWSP; and Bardhman and North 24 Parganas in case of MNP during (Table 5.9). In case of MNP, per capita yearly expenditure is lowest at 0.29 Rs in Coochbehar. In case of ARWSP fund, it is lowest in Uttar Dinajpur. Table 5.9: District-wise Per Capita Average Yearly Expenditure for Implementation of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by PHED in West Bengal during R up~s District MNP ARWSP Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling_{Piain~ Hoo_g_hlv Howrah Ualpaiguri Maida Medinipur Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Paroanas Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Public Health Engineering Department, West Bengal It is expected that percentage distribution of funds and per capita distribution of funds across districts would have a positive relation with population density. This is because distribution of piped water in sparsely populated areas may be highly costly. However, it has been observed that both percentage distribution of funds and per capita distribution of funds across districts of West Bengal have no relation with population density of districts. 130

18 The determinants of per capita average yearly expenditure for rural piped water supply have been illustrated through regression analysis later in this chapter. Installation of Hand Bored Tubewell and Well through Zilla Parishad PHED of the state also distributes funds for setting up of new Hand Bored Tubewell and Well through Zilla Parishad. During the concentration of resources for tubewell and well in a few districts has appeared to be lesser than the same in case ofpiped water supply. Medinipur has obtained a lion share of almost 14 percent of the total funds (Table 5.10). There are districts like Darjeeling (Plains), Nadia, Dakshin Dinajpur, Uttar Dinajpur and Howrah which has obtained only 3-4 percent of the total funds. Darjeeling (Plains) might be receiving less due to it's geographical location but that logic does not hold good for other districts, which have obtained low share of total funds. Table 5.10: District-wise Percentage Allocation of the Total Expenditure in the State, Percentage Allocation to ZP of Total Capital Investment by PHED (for Different Sources) and Per Capita Average Yearly Expenditure for Installation of Hand Bored Tubewell and Well (MNP) in West Bengal during Allocation of Total Allocation to ZP of Total Capital Per Capita District Expenditure{%) Investment by PHED {%) Expenditure {Rs' Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling (Plains) Hoqghly Howrah Jalpaiouri Maida Medinipur Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Purulia !south 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajl)ur !Yi_est Bengal Source: Pubhc Health Engmeering Department, West Bengal 131

19 Percentage of funds allocated to ZP for installation of Hand Bored Tubewell and Well out of the total capital expenditure by PHED for different purposes also show a diverse scenario. Table 5.10 illustrates that although 22 percent of the expenditure has been incurred by ZP in Maida; 17 percent in Coochbehar and Uttar Dinajpur but the figures are as low as 2-3 percent in South 24 Parganas, Bardhman and Darjeeling (Plains). Taking West Bengal as a whole, only around 6 percent of total capital investment in rural water supply is done by the ZPs. PHED makes capital investment with rest of the amount. The determinants of per capita average yearly expenditure for installation of hand bored tubewell and well as been illustrated later in this chapter O&M of Rural Water Supply Piped water supply is maintained by both PHED and ZP. In general PHED takes the responsibility of O&M of piped water supply schemes. However, in case of some of the schemes PHED devolves the responsibility of O&M to the ZP. Handpump and tubewell are maintained by the local government and local community. In this section we have analysed the distribution of funds for O&M of piped water supply only. This is due to lack of information regarding distribution of funds for O&M of handpump and tubewell. Maintenance of Piped_ Water Supply Schemes through PHED The expenditure for O&M is as important as installing new sources of water supply. If the system already set up is not operated and maintained properly then it would not be possible to maintain a reliable source of water supply. PHED spends for maintaining a safe and reliable water supply. It has been observed that as in case of capital expenditure, the distribution of funds for O&M of piped water supply during has also been concentrated in few districts. Table 5.11 shows that 40 percent of total fund available has been allocated in Bardhaman and South 24 Parganas district. Disaggregating total expenditure between plan (MNP and ARWSP) and no-plan expenditure we have found 132

20 that 18 percent of MNP fund has gone to South 24 Parganas and 30 percent of ARWSP fund has been distributed in Bardhman and South 24 Parganas district. Among all types of fund available for O&M in piped water supply, the most skewed distribution has been found in case of non-plan expenditure where Bardhman district has accounted for 44 percent fund available in this category. The reason behind distributing higher proportion of fund to Bardhaman and South 24 Parganas could be due the need of fund for treatment of water to make it free of arsenic contamination and also to maintain the burgeoning water supply system constructed by high capital expenditure. Table 5.11: District-wise Percentage Distribution of Fund Allocated for O&M of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by PHED in West Bengal during District MNP ARWSP Non Plan Total Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum ~oochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darj_eelino (Plains) Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Maida Medinipur Murshidabad fiadia fiorth 24 Parg_anas Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Public Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal In West Bengal, 10 percent of fund for O&M of rural piped water supply during has come from MNP. In case of ARWSP, the share has been much higher at 34 percent (Table 5.12). The highest amount of fund for this purpose has come from non-plan source (55 percent). Share of fund from different sources varies between districts. In 133

21 Bardhaman, share of MNP fund in total amount spend in O&M is only 2.36 percent, while for other districts it hovers around percent. The share of ARWSP hovers around 40 percent in case of all the district excepting Bardhaman where the share is lower at 15 percent. On the other hand, the share of non-plan fund is as high as 82 percent in Bardhman district. The same share is lowest at 28 percent in Dakshin Dinajpur district. So district-wise distribution of funds from different sources for O&M is very much diverse in West Bengal. Table 5.12: Percentage Distribution of Funds by Schemes for O&M of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by PHED in Districts of West Bengal during District MNP ARWSP Non-Plan Total Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling (Plains) Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Maida Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Medinipur Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Pubbc Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal In terms of per capita yearly expenditure during , Bardhman scores the highest followed by Drujeeling Plains (Table 5.13). The district also scores much higher than other districts in terms of per capita average yearly non-plan expenditure in O&M. In case of MNP fund, South 24 Parganas has the highest per capita average yearly expenditure followed by Drujeeling Plains. The disparity between districts in terms of per capita average yearly expenditure is not very wide in case of MNP fund as it is in case of 134

22 non-plan fund. Similar observation has been found in case of ARWSP fund. In case of ARWSP fund, the per capita average yearly expenditure is highest in Darjeeling followed by Bardhaman. Table 5.13: District-wise Per Capita Average Yearly Expenditure for O&M of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by PHED in West Bengal during R upees District MNP ARWSP Non Plan Total Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling (Plains) Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Maida Medinipur Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parg_anas Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal Source: Public Health Engineering Department, West Bengal The reason behind higher allocation of fund in Darjeeling, Bardhaman and South 24 Parganas districts may due to larger amount of capital investment in these districts. It is evident from per capita allocation of ARWSP and MNP fund during O&M of the Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by the Zilla Parishad Zilla Parishads in many districts have taken over some of the rural piped water supply schemes. By 2006 the number of such schemes is 59 in West Bengal. The number of schemes taken over by ZP also varies across districts. In Bardhaman there are 14 such 135

23 schemes (Table 5.14). In Birbhum, Coochbehar and Howrah districts number of schemes taken over by ZP for O&M is between 8 and 9. In South 24 Parganas district the number is 3. In five districts Bankura, Hooghly, Jalpaiguri, Nadia, Medinipur (Purba) it is only 1. In the rest 7 districts there are no schemes that have been taken over by ZP for O&M. The average yearly expenditure during also varies widely between the districts. It is highest in Bardhaman where there are 14 schemes taken over by ZP and lowest in Nadia where there is only 1 such scheme. The average (per scheme) yearly distribution of funds for O&M during also varies between districts, with Bankura getting the highest amount and South 24 Parganas getting the lowest amount. Table 5.14: District-wise Provision of Fund for O&M of Rural Piped Water Supply Schemes by ZP in West Bengal ZP Expenditure as a No. of Yearly Expenditure Per Percentage of Total ZP Schemes Scheme by zp During and PHED Expenditure District (2006) (Rs. Lakh) ( ) Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Coochbehar Dakshin Dinajpur 0 Darjeeling (Plains) 0 Hooghly Howrah JalpaiQuri Maida 0 Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas 0 Paschim Medinipur 0 Purba Medinipur Purulia 0 South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur 0 Total Source: Pubhc Health Engmeenng Department, West Bengal 136

24 The allocation of fund from PHED to the ZPs has been observed to be distributed more to districts where percentage of elected representatives from state ruling party (left alliance) in the ZP is higher. It is evident from the partial correlation between total expenditure by ZP during in O&M and percentage of elected members from left alliance in the. ZP. The later has been obtained by taking an average over 1998 and 2003 Panchayat election. We have controlled for number of schemes taken over by ZP for O&M in calculating the partial correlation. The correlation coefficient between expenditure by ZP on O&M and percentage of elected representatives from left alliance is around 0.65, which is significant at 5 percent level. The result has been presented in Table 5.15 Table 5.15: Partial Correlation of District-wise Total Expenditure by ZP on O&M with Percentage of Left Alliance Elected Representatives in the ZP and Total Number of Schemes in West Bengal Partial Correlation Coefficient Percentage of Left Alliance Elected Representative 0.65** in the Zilla Parishad Total Number of Schemes Taken over by ZP for 0.98*** O&M * S1gn1ficant at 10% Level, ** S1gruficant at 5% Level and *** S1gruficant at 1% Level It has been observed that expenditure by ZP on O&M of piped water supply schemes as a percentage of total expenditure of ZP and PHED in O&M is very less in most of the districts. In Howrah it is around 8 percent, in Birbhum and Choochbehar district it is around 6 percent, and in Bardhaman and Murshidabad district it is between 2 to 4 percent. In rest of the district it is either around 1 percent or less than that. It implies that overall responsibility of ZP in O&M of rural piped water supply is very less in West Bengal. Much of the responsibility is with the line department (PHED) rather than local government. It as been observed that year to year variation in average (per scheme) expenditure on O&M by ZP is substantially high in all the districts (Table 5.16). In most of the districts average expenditure has declined during as compared to However it 137

25 has increased in and again declined thereafter. The year to year fluctuations in average expenditure for districts where there are more than 5 schemes operated and maintained by ZP has been depicted in Figure 5.6. The reasons behind these fluctuations may be changing fiscal buoyancy of the state government. However, these fluctuations imply that resources towards the ZP for O&M of piped water supply schemes are unpredictable. The average expenditure in Jalpaiguri, Nadia, Medinipur, South 24 Parganas and Bardhman has declined in as compared to at current prices. Table 5.16: District-wise Expenditure in O&M of Piped Water Supply by ZP in West Bengal R upees Lakhl S c h erne District Coochbehar Jalpaiguri Murshidabad Howrah Nadia Birbhum Midnapore (Purba) Bankura South 24 Parganas Bardhaman West Bengal Source: Pub he Health Engineering Department, West Bengal To sum up, the expenditure by ZP on O&M of piped water supply not only depends on number of schemes devolved but also percentage of Left Alliance representatives in the ZP. It implies that political bargaining power is significant in allocation of funds for O&M of piped water supply by the ZP. Moreover, it has been observed that funds provided to the ZP are unpredictable as year to year fluctuations are high. 138

26 Regression Results We have made an effort to find out the determinants of per capita capital expenditure for both piped water supply and spot sources (hand bored tubewells and wells) across districts. The influence of Panchayats in the distribution of resources for capital expenditure has also been looked into. Capital expenditure in rural water supply is done though ARWSP fund provided by the central government and MNP fund provided by the state government. It is expected that ARWSP fund for capital expenditure would be distributed more in favour of districts where literacy rate is higher which is used as a proxy for capability of people to bargain. ARWSP fund is also expected to be distributed more in favour of districts where percentage of SC and ST population is higher. This is because a portion of ARWSP fund is earmarked for the SC and ST population. It is also expected that ARWSP fund would be distributed by higher amount in districts which are affected by arsenic contamination. This is because a proportion of ARWSP fund is directed towards blocks affected by arsenic contamination. Sub missions are undertaken using ARWSP fund to solve water quality problem. ARWSP fund is also expected to be distributed where need for water supply (NEEDW A TER) is high. We have used percentage of BPL household to control for economic conditions of the districts. MNP fund for capita investment is expected to be distributed more in favour of districts which have higher percentage of elected representative from state ruling party (left alliance). This is because MNP is a state government fund and the state government may distribute it in favour of ZPs where elected representatives from the state ruling party are higher. The MNP fund is also expected to be distributed in favour of district where literacy rate is higher as in case of ARWSP fund. Moreover, it is expected to be distributed more in favour of districts where need of water supply is higher and there is problem of arsenic contamination. This is because these districts need more fund for 139

27 creation of safe water supply source. Percentage of BPL household has been used to control for the effect of economic conditions of the districts. Capital investment for piped water supply can take place through both ARWSP and MNP fund. In case of capital investment in spot sources we have only considered the MNP fund as information regarding other types of fund is not available. We have considered log of per capita ARWSP fund (LARWSP) and log of per capita MNP fund (LMNP) as dependent variable. When LARWSP is the dependent variable then independent variables are literacy rate (LITERACY), percentage of SC and ST population (SCST), proportion of blocks affected by arsenic contamination in a district (ARSENIC), need of water supply (NEEDW ATER) and percentage of BPL household (PBPL). When LMNP is the dependent variable then independent variables are percentage of Left Alliance elected representatives in ZP (LA), ARSENIC, NEEDW A TER and PBPL. To avoid multicollenearity problem we have dropped LITERACY from the list of independent variables in this case as LITERACY is having high positive correlation with LA. The correlation coefficient between them is 0.71, which is significant at 1% level. The regression models can be specified as follows: Piped Water Supply LARWSP = c +LITERACY+ SCST +ARSENIC + NEEDW A TER + PBPL LMNP = c +LA+ ARSENIC+ NEEDW ATER + PBPL Spot Source (Hand Bored Tubewell and Well) LMNP = c +LA +ARSENIC+ NEEDW A TER + PBPL The results ofthe regression models have been presented in Table

28 Table 5.17: Determinants of District-wise Per Capita Allocation of Fund for Capital Investment in Rural Water Supply in West Bengal Piped Water Supply Tube well Dependent LARWSP LMNP LMNP Variable Independent Variable LITERACY 0.03* (1.97) LA * (1.36) (1.94) SCST 0.02 (1.69) ARSENIC 0.82* * (1.95) (1.22) (-2.17) NEEDWATER 0.06*** ** (3.28) (1.69) (3.00) PBPL *** (-0.01) (-0.53) (4.361 Constant -3.27* *** (-1.86) (-0.86) (-4.27) Number of Observations Rsquare Adj R-square F statistic Prob>F O.ot Numbers m the parenthesis are t statistics * Significant at 10% Level, ** Significant at 5% Level and *** Significant at 1% Level - The regression result for piped water supply taking LARWSP as dependent variable shows that the model is well fitted with R 2 equals to The result reveals that as literacy of a district increases per capita allocation of ARWSP fund for piped water supply increases. This is due to higher capability to bargain through the Zilla Parishad by the residents of the district where literacy rate is higher. Per capita allocation of ARWSP fund also increases with the increase proportion of blocks affected by arsenic contamination. This is because a certain proportion of ARWSP fund is earmarked for distributing to blocks where there are problems regarding quality of water. It has also been observed that allocation is higher in districts where need of water supply is higher. Need of water supply is expressed to the PHED and State Government _by the Zilla 141

29 Parishad and funds are allocated accordingly. It has been observed that as percentage of SC and ST population increases, per capita allocation of ARWSP fund also increases but this relation is statistically insignificant. Moreover if percentage of BPL household in a district increases then per capita allocation of ARWSP fund declines. However, this relation is also statistically insignificant. The regression result for piped water supply taking LMNP as a dependent variable demonstrates that the model is not a good fit in this case. However it has been observed that as percentage of members from state ruling party (left alliance) in the ZP increases, percentage of blocks affected by arsenic contamination increases and need for water supply increases per capita allocation of MNP fund also increase. The later has also been found to have a negative relation with percentage of BPL household in the district. However, all these relations are statistically insignificant. The regression result for spot sources taking LMNP as a dependent variable represents that the model is well fitted with R 2 equals to The result reveals that as percentage of elected representatives from state ruling party (left alliance) increases in the ZP, per capita allocation of MNP fund also increase.. This is because MNP is a state government fund and so state government would like to distribute it to the ZPs where their party's representatives are at a higher proportion. It has been observed that per capita distribution of fund for spot sources declines with increases in the percentage of blocks in a district affected by arsenic contamination. This is because tubewell and well are not safe water supply source in blocks affected by arsenic contamination. Tubewell pulls water from upper layer which may be affected by arsenic. It has also been observed that as need for water supply in a district increase, per capita distribution of funds also increases. This may be due to higher demand for fund in these districts. It has also been observed that as percentage of BPL household increases, per capita allocation of fund for spot sources also increases. This may be due to the fact that PHED in the direction of 142