Improved portable water supply and sanitation facilities and services are critical to enhance public health and improve human development outcomes, more so for rural households. Though the State of Bihar has recorded an impressive performance in providing safe drinking water to its rural households, further improvements are required in terms of quantity, quality, equity and sustainability. Further, there is great need for improved sanitation, especially for people living in rural areas. To address these issues in a coherent, concerted and urgent manner, new initiatives have to be taken in a mission mode. New sustainable Water Supply & Sanitation schemes have to be executed in time-bound manner along with effective operation and maintenance. Community participation is also necessary in all stages starting from planning and execution to operation and maintenance of such schemes.
For this, emphasis needs to be placed on systematically: promoting wide-ranging stakeholder partnerships and ensuring convergence in stakeholder priorities and actions; planning and implementing high quality capacity building and information, education and communication (IEC) efforts, particularly efforts geared towards improved community awareness and substantive community participation in all stages; robust monitoring, evaluation and learning arrangements; and, identifying and disseminating technology options appropriate to local realities.
The BSWSM shall have the overall goal to improve the quality of life of rural citizens by enhancing access to improved and sustainable water supply and sanitation facilities and services in rural areas. It will act as an autonomous body to implement, coordinate and monitor implementation of activities/ projects relating to rural water supply, sanitation, solid & liquid waste management and hygiene
|