September 1st- :

**** The Challenges to make good governance practices applicable to the Poverty Agenda in Cities by Sheela Patel, Director SPARC (Presented at the Launch of the Good Governance Campaign in India New Delhi 4th Sept 2001.). Visit www.sparcindia.org to read the speech

*****Case study presented at the launch of the Global Good Governance campaign on 5th September 2001 by Sundar Burra. Visit www.sparcindia.org to read/download the paper

• Invitation of the Prime Minister's Office to make a presentation on sanitation in slums in Mumbai and Pune.
  
• The tough middle period in a project
  
• Pimpri - Chinchwad Municipal Corporation awards 46 toilets job to SPARC
  
• Earth Report Broadcast Schedules
  
• Urban Governance and the poor in cities
  
• Peoples' Housing: From Bombay to Newark

Visit to Delhi 19th September 2001:

A report by Sheela Patel

Ratnakar Giakwad, Secretary water and sanitation government of Maharashtra and Gautam Chatterjee, Additional Municipal Commissioner MCGB and Sheela Patel, Sundar Burra and Jockin from SPARC all went to Delhi for the day on the invitation of the PMO to make a presentation about what is happening about sanitation to slums in Mumbai and Pune.

It may be recalled that during the Launch of the Global Campaign for Good Urban governance in Delhi, we had made this initial presentation of what government of Maharashtra (GR on slum sanitation) and the two Municipal Corporations of Mumbai and Pune have done for slum sanitation. This was very appreciated and we (SPARC ) were asked by PMO to propose various options to provide universal sanitation to slums in cities, starting with metropolitan cities. That visit we made a presentation jointly with Mr Gaikwad to Minister for urban development Mr Anant Kumar about this. This visit was to further build on this possibility and create a detailed project strategy.

During our visit we also visited the Italian Embassy to share what we had discussed about the possibility of obtaining grants from the Italian government. IN report briefly summarises both these discussions.

1. Discussion about Universal sanitation for slums:

• the huge deficit in sanitation for slum population and its impact on lives of the poor and the city.
• The need to change the manner in which this investment of construction of community toilet blocks was not construction activity but needed to be a process to build communities, and create a path for linking Municipal Corporation to poor communities.
• Since two major cities have already begun this work, we examined what we can learn from that.
• Explore what we need to do in order to plan for minimum universal sanitation for slums in large metropolitan cities to begin with.
• Later to create incentives for all Municipal Corporation to put their local processes in place to draw down attractive central subsidies to match state and Municipal Corporation expenses.

1. Discussions with Italian Embassy:

• The proposal we had given them was acceptable, and they appreciated the cc of the letter sent by Dept. of Housing to the Urban Development Department.
• They also said that they have a delegation tentatively planning to be in India 3-25^th October who will come to Mumbai as well.
• Presently there was a proposal from Mumbai Delhi and Hyderabad and although ours came last, the work we are doing makes them want to finance our program so they can learn from it.
• They likes the idea of the government the Municipal Corporation Italian government representative and NGO/Cbos working together to plan budget and utilization and such details
  

The tough middle period in a project
People make a difference!

Just a few months ago we started working on the Mumbai slum sanitation project with the Mumbai Municipal Corporation. It may be recalled that most people in the city don?t believe anything that is announced as a project. This is especially true of slum dwellers. It is a cynical attitude that comes from years of being denied basic amenities. Taking on the challenge of doing this project is not just about constructing toilets. It is about doing it in a special and different way. In a way that begins to demonstrate that change is possible.

The project first of all seeks to create a partnership between community and Municipal Corporation. The Municipal Corporation is paying the construction cost. In return of this the expectations that communities should be able to manage and maintain the toilets. This is a new and unfamiliar expectation and one which is being looked at by many leaders in a very suspicious way. But we believe that based on what we have seen in many places this will work in the long run.

We want to make sure the quality of construction is very good, and for that we pay a lot of attention to quality and design. From this month, quality checks are done on a regular basis. We also hope to create a whole new set of committed professionals and engineers and architects who work in partnership with communities. We have begun to encourage contractors to feel very proud of what they are doing. Similarly we hope that Municipal Corporation staff also see this as a special process.

For any real change to occur the very process that is initiated must be different.
And we hope we can provide everyone a chance to see this as a new way for community and city to work together

Community leaders tell us how hard it is to from groups in slums L/WARD :
Mrs. Zulekha Khan and Ms. Sunita went to the L-Ward on Saturday 28th July, 2001 tell u this story: ?We met Mr. Dilip Landeye who is a local leader for the first time. Mr. Shah who is an engineer from BSDP office also accompanied us. When Dilip Landeye saw us he announced in a loud voice - "Kya SPARC vale?" In the room of the local leader were Annamalai, Latiflanja, who were followers of the local leaders were also present. The leader commented ?these sparcwalas go to the people from door to door and collect money, and they frighten the people?. He said ?this donkey - Mr Jockin has grabbed the project of so many crores?, Yet he is collecting money from the poor people . The leader said first you build the toilets then we shall give you money..

This is the paradox with which community leaders trying to organise communities have to cope with. Half truths which seem so real. No one is reminding each other that for the last 52 years after independence these communities do not have toilets. Now the money that is beng collected is fo the maintenance that people will do themselves, not to be taken away! Maybe after the toilets are built this attitude will change? until then we have to be patient
Some of the project leaders tell their story : Visit :www.sparcindia.org

Pimpri - Chinchwad Municipal Corporation awards 46 toilets job to SPARC

Pimpri Chinchwad is a Municipal Corporation which adjoins the city of Pune and is about 2-3 hours drive or train ride from Mumbai, in the State of Maharashtra. It was very much in the news some time ago as the Municipal Corporation with the highest surplus as it has a large industries base for revenue.

NSDF and Mahila Milan have been working there for over 5 years now, and have constructed several demonstration toilets in the past. Last week, it invited NGOs for putting in bids to construct 46 toilet blocks in areas specified by them through a public advertisement.

SPARC and Nirman jointly applied for these toilets and have won the bid. What this means is that in the next 6 months, along with the projects in Mumbai, the alliance will work in Pimpri Chinchwad. Since the Pune Toilets have been completed and handed over to the Municipal Corporation there will be activities in Pimpri to link up the experience community groups had in Pune, which will be used in this new project.

About 4 years ago, in a sub contract to a study that the USAID commissioned to Kirloskar Consultancy, sparc was asked to explore choices that communities sought in the area of sanitation. The expectation was to do a survey and get response of a "willingness to pay" questionnaire. We call it that because the study of that sort often does not acknowledge any history of non-involvement, indifference by the city as variables, which influence what people, say in response t questions like that.

What we did was to use the money given to us in that study as Consultancy fee to actually locate communities in Pimpri and Pune ready to work with the alliance. Then we began to work with them to develop a model of sanitation in which they would locate roles for themselves and the city, and within that context explore what people were ready to contribute. The response did not surprise us, because the solution that emerged was that if the cost of construction of the toilet block was paid for by the city, communities agreed to manage it. Provided they were involved in the construction and assured of the quality.

But at that time, the communities were not able to define construction and design standards, as they were very unfamiliar with that process. Instead they sought to learn how to do that through those pilot projects. Communities learnt to manage the construction through actually doing it and in both Pune and Pimpri that year several toilet blocks were constructed.

Those blocks has many faults some based on design and others on construction strategies; others were simply found after usage. Based on that NSDF and MM have now taken on board many changes by the communities and in the work in Bombay and Pune.

Now its the turn of the Pimpri Chinchwad federations to take these insights and plough them back into their own projects. In the last two years like all the other federations affiliated with NSDF they too have travelled to these two cities and seen how the communities and professionals and contractors they appoint work on the filed, they see how money gets managed and how they negotiate with the Municipal Corporation . In the next 6 months they will be center stage and will undertake these projects themselves.

For September 2001 Earth Report features stories on:
-Community credit and small scale fishing initiatives from Asia.
-The future of transport - clean, hydrogen-powered cars.
-A corporate vision of sustainable business.
- How communities in rural Africa are tackling the desperate need for roads.
- An international initiative to bring much needed development and stability to countries of the Nile basin.

'Earth Report' is broadcast weekly on BBC World at the following times
GMT: Monday at 03:30 & 21:30, Tuesday at 08:30, 11:30 & 14:30,
Wednesday at 01:30, Saturday at 18:30, Sunday at 07:30
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August 27 - September 2: Hands On - Out of Asia
This week Hands On travels to India, Sri Lanka and Thailand to see how credit initiatives can boost more than just incomes; and how innovative fishing methods combined with new practices can also improve people's livelihoods and safeguard the environment. In the Indian state of Maharashtra, a group of women entrepreneurs are benefiting from a new credit scheme which has helped them out of the poverty trap and into thriving businesses - a boost not only to their livelihoods, but also to their confidence. Meanwhile in the south of Thailand, fishing communities are working to restore depleted fish stocks, by replanting mangrove and seagrass beds which act as spawning grounds, and by phasing out the destructive push nets which have contributed to the problem in the first place.

September 3 - 9: Water in Your Tank
Cars, and transport in general, account for more than 20% of global emissions of carbon dioxide - and that proportion is growing rapidly.
Cleaning up the internal combustion engine - or replacing it altogether - is now an urgent priority to combat climate change. So this week Earth Report looks into the cars of the future and asks why aren't they widely available today? They look normal, but under the bonnet there's a remarkable technology - the fuel cell. It makes electricity from hydrogen and the only by-product is water. While all the world's big car manufacturers are working on hydrogen-powered cars, how quickly they can be introduced is still a matter of contentious debate between environmentalists, governments and the car industry.

September 10 - 16: The Nature of Business
Today, the global economy is five times greater than it was in 1950 and so far, that economic growth has taken little account of the environment. Meanwhile the world's population is still rising. But some corporations are now beginning to wake up to the fact that if they continue to plunder natural resources, pollute air and water and damage ecosystems they will not be in business much longer. In this Earth Report, corporate leaders who have committed to a sustainable approach, and the President of the World Bank, give their views on how global business can take care of the environment - and profits - at the same time.

September 17 - 23: The Long Walk
While many parts of the world battle against the rising tide of cars and lorries, for at least 400 million Africans transport problems are of a completely different order. In rural Africa, south of the Sahara desert, there are few roads, let alone vehicles to drive down them. For some communities the choice is stark: if you want a road you have to build it and maintain it yourself. But roads are not just a matter of convenience, they are essential for basic services such as access to healthcare, employment, education and business opportunities. Earth Report visits Guinea, Senegal, Tanzania and Malawi to find out how communities are helping themselves to develop roads and low cost modes of transport.

September 24 - 30: Hope and the Nile
Rising in East Africa and flowing 7000 kilometres to the Mediterranean, The Nile is the world's longest river. Today 10 countries share its waters. But in a region already beset with dispute, with a population predicted to double in 25 years and natural resources already stretched to the limit, the potential for hostility over water is huge. So now Nile Basin countries are embarking on an unprecedented international co-operation in an attempt to head off the threat, provide much needed social and economic development and protect the Nile itself. Earth Report travels down the river to uncover the social and environmental problems facing the countries of the Nile basin, and to see what hope there is on the horizon.
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'Earth Report' is produced by TVE with support from the United Nations Environment Programme, WWF, the Toyota Motor Corporation, the Global Environment Facility, the European Commission, the UK's Department for International Development, Intermediate Technology and the UK National Lotteries Charity Board.

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