Scaling up community ownership and management in piped water supply

Given the importance of community-managed drinking water supply for the success of Jal Jeevan Mission (a government scheme on piped water supply for all rural households by 2024), it is important to look back and learn from some of the demand-driven and community-managed schemes functional in the country.

The objective of this study was to understand the reasons for the success of these schemes and the challenges encountered in planning, operations, and maintenance thereby providing insights for further planning.

The five case studies provide details on some successfully managed piped water supply schemes that have been functioning in different geographies of India – Koderma in Jharkhand, Kanker in Chhattisgarh, Ganjam in Odisha, Gaya in Bihar, and Almora in Uttarakhand. Each case presents various learnings - challenges encountered along with reasons for the success of the scheme - thereby providing insights for further planning.