O&M Review

We recently conducted a review of various Operations and Maintenance (O&M) models, which we submitted to the government. The objective was to outline existing O&M models for communal sanitation facilities in India and highlight how the strengths and weaknesses of these models are informing Project Sammaan’s approach.

We studied cases on the Pune Model of NGO maintenance and Corporation-funded, NGO-managed construction, the case of management and part-funded construction by a community-based organization in the Kanpur slums, the Trichi model where the self-help groups trained by NGOs took over the maintenance of the Corporation’s existing toilets, and the case of Puri where community members took on the management of a toilet block constructed by an NGO.

In reviewing information, it was evident how limited the documentation available is. Most of what is available is in the form of project documents, raising concerns around the objectivity of the information. All of these models had a strong buy-in from the local government agencies, on whom they relied, for financing the provision of water, electricity and major maintenance costs. These are not evaluations and the actual impact these facilities had on reduction of open defecation rates over time is unknown.

Some common themes that emerge across the case-studies are:

  1. Stakeholder engagement – It is important to identify and engage with different stakeholders early on in the planning process. Clearly defining their roles and maintaining regular communication between them throughout the lifecycle of the project helps in successful engagement.
  2. User education – An important part of ensuring successful adoption of the facilities is educating the communities who form the user base for the toilets. Without user education, the operation of a well-functioning, well-managed facility may not necessarily translate to its use.
  3. Financial transparency – There is a need for transparency in managing the finances of any toilet facility. Users are more willing to pay for the services when they understand the costs involved in operating the facility and the payments that their contributions cover.
  4. Financial sustainability – None of the community-based models studied has generated revenues that fully cover operations and management, including water, electricity, labor and materials.  Models with higher usage rates and/or higher fees may be needed to reduce dependence on local governments.

 

All the four models studied were cases of some form of community-management. In the case of private management, the complete gamut of O&M activities is outsourced to a private entity (an organization or a group of people), which is the claimant of any residual profits, and which directly enters into an agreement with the Municipal Corporation. The Corporation sets out the parameters for implementation and the minimum operating requirements for the toilets, but the decision on how to operationalize them is left to the discretion of the private operator. This model has been successfully implemented in various public toilets in commercial areas where there is not only a high footfall of users, but also the potential for earning additional revenue through advertisement space.

While community management may offer strong accountability to the users, private management may have the potential for more efficient use of resources, which could improve financial sustainability. Only by evaluating the two models can we test these assumptions. Studying a full-fledged private model will enable us to understand if the feedback systems, incentives and accountability structures result in possibly better operational status of the facilities, thereby increasing toilet usage and its long-term sustainability.

In conclusion, while there have been cases of isolated, small-scale toilet blocks where different innovations have been implemented, for a nuanced understanding of the best practices for O&M, there is a need to go beyond a piecemeal approach, and conduct a rigorous evaluation of a holistic, consolidated set of interventions implemented on a larger scale. Project Sammaan is a step in this regard.

Leave a Reply