Solar Based Drinking water Purification System Panchayat manages its own safe water supply Success story of Water Purification Plant in Hiwara Lahe Village, Dist-Washin. Yuva rural Association (YRA) partnered with the HDB financial services to transform villages into a pure & safe drinking water, under its WASH program

1. SolarBasedDrinking water Purification System
Panchayat manages its own safe water supply
Success story of Water Purification Plant in Hiwara Lahe Village, Dist-Washin
About Hiwara Rohila
The Hiwara (Lahe) village is situated in the Taluka of Karanja of Washim district with district code
number 502 and it is situated 29 Kms away from Taluka & 45 Kms from the district Washim.
Hiwara (lahe) is a Village, having total population of 2200, total of 1324 male and 876 females. It has 432
households in the Village and a total number of 76 children below 6 years in Hiwara (lahe).
The district has average of 872 mm of rains affected badly in the drought, due to excess use of water
and chemicals, percentage of salts have been increased in ground water as per the report of Water
Supply and Sanitation department, Govt of Maharashtra.
In the Larger Context
The provision of clean drinking water has been an important area of focus for the today’s life. In spite of
this, the problem of scarcity of pure drinking water still continues to plague, mainly because of the
diversity in population density, difference in levels of awareness, socioeconomic development,
education, poverty, practices and rituals, which add to the complexity of the issue. Groundwater is the
major source of water with 85% of population dependent on it. The Government Policies have
undergone a change since Independence. Earlier the focus was on setting up physical infrastructure
through hand -pumps. Thereafter, efforts have been in seeking participation from the community. In
order to have a sustainable system in place, community participation has initiated for maintenance of
rural water supply. Hence the previous “Government oriented supply driven approach” have been
replaced by “People oriented demand driven approach”.
Rationale behind installing the RO Water Plant
In year 2017, YRA partnered with the HDB financial services to transform villages into a pure & safe
drinking water, under its WASH program, over a period of two years, through a community led
development process. A needs assessment study was conducted in 2018 by a team from YRA. It was
observed that, drinking water from common water supply wells and common/public hand pumps
became salty in past few years. TDS was found high (max 768 when water was tested in the laboratory.
This salty water was used for drinking which used to cause several diseases to the villagers like stomach
ache, dehydration, gastro, hepatitis etc. all wells and hand pumps in vicinity were affected by salty water
so and Water Purification Plant was the only way to get pure and healthy water.
Interventions taken up
In this context, YRA has taken the initiative to promote and install RO Plants in Hiwara Lahe village,
spread awareness on the importance of consuming clean & safe drinking water, so some experienced
people came together, discussed, initiated and put this proposal and passed in Gramsabha for
installation of Water Purification Plant. Local donors from different backgrounds have come forward to
support the cause, in order to make clean & safe drinking water available to the public. The issue was
prioritized in the Gram Sabha and a request was made to install the solar based RO Water purification
Plant. YRA agreed to install the Plant on the pre-condition that the Gram Panchayath will facilitate the
operational aspects of the Plant by providing a letter of undertaking to the Village Organization for
regular maintenance.

2. Plant Cost, Capacity & donations:
To resolve the issue, a number of steps were taken; YRA done installation for RO plant of 2000 Lit with
the help of financial assistance given by HDB financial services. In order to appoint a RO Water Plant
operator, the YRA team discussed with the Water user Committee which was formed under the GP to
identify and appoint a suitable member for the post. The ‘Any Time Water’ (ATW) Machine was
installed to keep track of the water being dispensed and to maintain transparency in accounting.
For Water Purification Plant Shri. Ramprakash Toshniwal of same village has donated 250 Sq. Ft of his
land for installation of plant and Shri. Ashokrao Dhere has given Rs. 100000/- for construction of bore
well as water source for plant. Grampanchayat members Shri. Ashok Kale, Shri. Satyapal Manwar, Mrs.
Vishakha Aghame, Mrs. Vimal Aghame, Mrs. Kavita Takre & Shri. Sudhakar Dhole have given
contribution of Rs. 200 / member / month to purchase 45 Water Cans.
The Plant was established on January 2019, by YRA with generous financial support from HDB financial
services near to the Gram Panchayat. The Plant was setup with the aim of making Clean Drinking water
available for 312 Households within the vicinity of the Main Village.
On April 16th, 2019 Shro Gourab Majumdaar from HDB financial services CSR wing visited the village,
inaugurated the RO Water Plant. A team from YRA was present along with the Sarpanch, members,
leader and SHG members.
Management of the Plant
Before declaring it open for all on 16th, the responsible Water User Committee was oriented & trained
on the operation of the Water Plant, maintenance, financial transactions, and ATW. Water User
Committee is currently maintained by an appointed Plant Operator. He is paid as per the income being
made by the RO Water Plant. The Operator is available at the RO Water Plant for supervision, (Timings)
all days of the week.
The Prime Responsibility assigned to the Water User Committee to run the plant and supply water to
the villagers at affordable price. The goal was to have the community take responsibility for the Plant, so
that the process is community led. The main objective of this action was to promote human
development, by ensuring the basic necessity of healthy living. YRA took up the issue in the meetings
with the Village Development Committee, SHG members & Gram Panchayat. YRA began its strategic
interventions to solve the problem of drinking water scarcity in Hiwara by providing technical assistance
to the GP.
Rules:
It has decided in the Gramsabha to form water user committee (WUC) for smooth operation and to get
regular supply of pure water. Accordingly WUC have made a list of rules for themselves as.
 Pure water from the plant will be available for residents of Hiwara village those who have paid
taxes of GP regularly.
 To avail pure water have to buy a Water ATM of Rs. 125 which is available at RO plant
 20 litter jar of pure water costs Rs. 10, which will go to for maintenance of plant
 For any functions at local level Charges of water can will be Rs. 15/liter.
 Village primary school and pregnant women will get 20 litters of water every day for free.
 Pure water will be served in plastic jar only

3. Current Status of the Plant: A comprehensive overview has been given below
SN Month Number of cans sold
per day( average)
Number of cards
sold( in total)
1 April 16 16
2 May 21 28
3 June 25 37
4 July 25 48
Impact
After installation of this plant 260 families in the village have started using pure water. 1 ltr of pure
water merely costs Rs. 2/-. More than 100 families use around 800 ltrs of water for drinking and
domestic purpose. This pure water has positive health benefits. Villagers are not facing stomach
diseases anymore and saving money which was used to spend on medical bills. Damages to vessels due
to salty water are stopped. This pure water from the plant is famous as Mineral water among the
villagers.
GP has total pending tax of Rs. 4.30 lacs with total HH 432 but as per rule made by the villagers, after
installation of plant and open it to villagers a total of 130 HHs paid pending tax of Rs. 2.30 lacs.
Social responsibilities:
Considering the social responsibilities, all the members of committee and villagers are decided, any
pregnant women from the local village mandatory to get one pure and safe water can till her pregnancy
period.
Conclusion
The provision of safe drinking water is a milestone in the transformation procedure into a model village.
It cuts across a number of aspects such as sanitation, health, community participation, involvement of
SHGs, self-sustainability, etc. In the long run, this could turn into an entrepreneurial model for supplying
water at an affordable price, with the Panchayat’s Support. With the water user committee slowly
coming forward to take responsibilities, the outreach of clean drinking water is expected to increase to
other habitations in near by villages.
Voices of the stakeholders
“The safe and pure drinking water is the major problem in our village. In order to solve this issue there is
an immediate need to initiate to install RO water purification plant to address the clean water problem
of the community. With the RO Plant, a number of families in the village have been relieved of the issue
of access to safe and clean drinking water. With the RO Plant being entrusted to us, it gives us more
credibility to stand up for ourselves & fight for issues. “Shri. Ashok Kale”(Gram Panchayat Member).
I want to thank you for your personal care and wonderful services. The installation was flawless and
professionally done. I thought much of what you were saying about the system was sales type but I’m
pleasantly surprised that it’s true. The water tastes great! No more bottled water. System works
considerably better & the cost of water can is affordable so that I have been able to use & protect our
family health from water problem.I know you told me so, I just regret not having done this, years ago.

4. I want to tell you how pleased our entire family is with the Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System
installed by YRA & HDB. We had used "do-it-yourself" filter pitchers for years - we are amazed at the
difference in the taste of the water now. Even our 12 year-old son can tell the difference. He refuses to
drink anything but the new RO water now! The whole process was a pleasure - from the initial call to
the installation. The installer who put in our system was polite, professional, fast and even cleaned up
after himself! We are moving into another village shortly and didn't even discuss if we should have a RO
system installed. We just called YRA team and asked them to take care of it.
Benefits of Solar Energy Systems
Solar energy is inexhaustible and freely available  Power production using PV panels is environment
friendly, no burning of materials & no waste . PV panels are one-time investment, no fuel cost or
maintenance  Financial incentives such as, tax exemption, lower customs and excise duties, subsidies
etc. available
Limitations of Solar Energy
Solar energy radiation is intermittent, varies with time & season.  As energy conversion efficiency is
less, large number of solar PV panels and thereby large amount of space and initial investment are
required.
LET IT BE THE PAST
Present & Future