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Of the Rs 11-crore sanctioned by the Centre for the `community-based drinking water project', a total of Rs 3 crore has already been disbursed to the various panchayats concerned.

MANGALORE, July 13

THE Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat has cleared 488 works under the Rajiv Gandhi Drinking Water Mission.

Work in several villages is `in progress' and of the Rs 11-crore sanctioned by the Centre for the `community-based drinking water project', a total of Rs 3 crore has already been disbursed to the various panchayats concerned, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, Mr Gonal Bheemappa.

Under the mission, three `pilot projects' are currently being implemented in Karnataka— in Dakshina Kannada, Bellary and Mysore districts — and a sum of Rs 40 crore has been sanctioned to Dakshina Kannada for the purpose. The project, however, depends on the `ability and willingness' of the villagers to contribute towards the scheme as according to the World Bank, a country where an estimated 250 million do not have access to potable water, a `demand-based and participatory' approach to the problem of rural water supply should involve the `participation' of the `beneficiaries' who should be made to contribute 10 per cent of the cost of every project taken up, apart from taking responsibility for maintenance and repairs.

There was some uncertainty regarding the progress of the scheme, especially since the Union Ministry of Rural Development had asked the zilla panchayat to expedite implementation of the scheme and, apparently, contributions from the `beneficiaries' were not forthcoming and there was not much sign of `grassroots participation'.

District authorities, however, maintain that work is progressing on schedule and that the contributions have been collected and deposited as per the guidelines of the project.

Whatever the case be, statistics available with the Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat give an indication of the state of water supply schemes in the rural parts of the district. According to available statistics, only about 84 per cent of the existing water schemes were still functional when the last survey was conducted. Of the 345 piped water supply schemes, 29 are defunct; of the 476 mini-water supply schemes, 43 are defunct and of 5,385 pump borewells, 956 are non-functional— which means that, on the whole 1,028 schemes out of a total of 6,206 are defunct.

As per estimates, about 1,277 water supply schemes are needed `urgently' in the five taluks of the Dakshina Kannada district covering 371 villages and involving an expenditure of Rs 3,338.34 lakh. Apart from this, the zilla panchayat had also chalked out 47 schemes for drawing water from rivers at a cost of Rs 6,000 lakh which was to have made water available to 143 villages.

Also, as per another survey conducted by the zilla panchayat, 408 schools in the district do not have access to drinking water.

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