25359 July 1999

- ~UNDP- x

Waorld Bank iWaater andSanitation ofthcyapteProgram

South Asia Region

Baroda Citizens Council

1.7dllio Adodaral is the third largest

Gujarat city in Gujarat and the I 6thlargest city in India. The

population of the city, as per the <. -

1991 census, was 1.02 million. Theprojected population for 1 999 is1.7 million According to a Needs X

Assessment Study for Vadodara

undertaken in 1 991, the rate ofunemployment in Vadodara was5.4 percent - which is relatively low.

Gujarat Mahila Twenty-three percent of workers wereHousing SEWA Trust employed in the public sector while

over 50 percent worked in the --.-

unorganized or informal sector.Owing in large part to the ,

availability of work in Vadodara (an

'Formerly known as Baroda.

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From a slumpopulation of Growth of Vadodar. Slums49,950 in 1972,toda" tee r Year No. of No. of Population Average Percentage oftoday there are Year Slums Families Family Size City Slum257,195 persons Population

residirig in slums1972 192 11,130 49,950 449 10.4%

in various parts of 1982 210 21,292 94,700 4.45 12.8%

Vadodara. In other 1992 336 50,338 225,200 4.50 22.0%

words, the slum , 1996 336 51,439 257,195 5 00 19.4%

population hasincreased five industrial center), the city has seen maximum number of slums - 94 out oftimes during the heavy migration from mostly rural, but a total of 336 in the entire city. Lack oflast two decades. also urban, areas, resulting in slums proper drainage facilities, paved roads

mushrooming throughout the city. and sanitation facilities have adversely

These slums are mostly situated on affected the quality of life of people

topographically disadvantageous sites living in slums.

or on marginal lands. From a slum The sub-human living conditions inpopulation of 49,950 in 1972, today the slums negatively impact women

and children the most, in terms ofnegative health effects, increased

school drop-out rates and hours spent

in meeting basic survival needs such as

collection of drinking water.there are ove 257,5 pWith the concurrent growth of slums

and a rising population, the localcity.notheword, te sm Municipal Corporation has been

population has increased fivetimpunable to meet the increased demandd for infrastructure services due to a

variety of factors, including limited

financial and managerial capabilities.

Baroda Citizens Council -the Organization

DevelopmentThe Baroda Citizens Council was

there are over 257,195 persons established in 1 966 as a voluntary,

residing in slums in various parts of the non-profit, secular developmentcity. In other words, the slum organization. It was a unique

population has increased five times partnership of industr (Gujarat

during the last two decades. The Federation of Mills and Industries), anincrease in industrial arid commercial academic institution (MS University,

activities in the city has resulted in an Baroda) and the urban local body

increase in migration and hence in the (Baroda Municipal Corporation).growth of slums. Fifty-two percent of The Council's main objective is to

Ward Number 9's population lives in improve the quality of life of the urban

slums. This ward also has the poor by initiating and facilitating

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community development in the areas persons, economic programs (includingof education, health, vocational skills training and a savings and credittraining, infrastructure and shelter association) and various communityupgradation programs. initiatives such as solid waste

Baroda Citizens Council has worked management, slum upgradation,with 13,000 families involving a community leadership trainingpopulation of 50,000 people in programs and so forth.43 slums. The slums targeted by theCouncil are organized into 15 clusters The Evolution of thethroughout Vadodara. Savings and Credit

Program Initiated byAims ane bJectives the Council

As an organization, the BarodaCitizens Council's aim has been to Very soon after Baroda Citizenspromote community development. Council was established and began itsTwo essential elements of this type of developmental work in the slums ofdevelopment are: Vadodara, it realized that inadequateO participation by the community in access to financial credit was a majorefforts to improve its standard of living constraint for the slum dwellers. In 61ii-"-I am very excitedwith as much reliance as possible on its 1971, the Council began encouraging about the . c- -own initiatives; and the formation of savings cooperativesIncorporation and0 provision of technical, managerial in slum pockets throughout Vadodara. growth ofand other services in order to The objective of these cooperatives was STHAPATI Creditencourage self-help initiatives and to inculcate a regular savings habit in Ltd. In the last twoguided change. order to reduce exploitation by years we

Baroda Citizens Council's vast moneylenders. have beenexperience has led to the belief that In 1989, the slum dwellers formally concentratingsocial improvement does not come set up the 'Community Savings and greatly on thisabout until the people involved believe Loan Association' with the technical activity, asthat improvement is possible. Thus, assistance of the Baroda Citizens economicalong with the provision of directed Council. The Association had 600 empowerment is--programs in the traditional sense, the members in 30 slums of Vadodara in the key foCouncil lays great emphasis on 1989. It began by giving small loans of development.

Demand for creditleadership training for members of Rs 500 funded by rotating members' is so high that wepoor communities so that in time they savings for various purposes, including have begunare able to help themselves and their education, income generation and exploring outside local communities. hospitalization. sources of bulk

In practice, the Council's aim, that One of the main objectives of the institutional creditof providing information and services Baroda Citizens Council is to help build to meet thisthrough its community development the capacity of its members and make demand from ourworkers, has been ongoing to them self-reliant. As such, the members. ¢

stimulate comprehensive development. Community Savings and LoanBaroda Citizens Council's programs Association regularly organizes Sweta Trivediinclude the provision of formal and leadership and financial skills training Deputy DirectorBaroda Citizensnon-formal education, primary health programs for its members, so that they Council and. STHAPATIcare, special focus on disabled are able to manage their day-to-day Credit Ltd .

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EE)D$oGNDG9ooD(D le loziGs L7 [O) PQDV(D®$ Infrastructure Educationu DD| )g) Bg3q)£D(Ramdevnagar) 1%

Purpose Amount Number Percentage Hospitalization -7 -

(Rs) (%) 6%

Shelter improve- Incomement (including 15%infrastructure) 19.8 million 5,651 73% 15%Income generation 4 million 1,105 15%Infrastructure(Ramdevnogar) 1 7 million 542 5%Hospitalization 1 66 million 575 6%Education 0.143 million 30 1%

Shelter ImprovementTotal 27.3 million 7,903 100 % 73%

affairs independently. $1HAPA'1 H 0 Q®eM IWOA significant development took place [Ri$ aEe IF62) ?$2

in 1998, when the Association was

formally incorporated as a separate 0 STHAPATI Credit Ltd has

legal entity and registered as STHAPATI 7,311 members, of which 60 percent

Credit Ltd, with an Authorized Share are women.

The average loarn Capita) of Rs 1,500,000 and Issued 0 STHAPATI provides an efficient

repayment rate from Share Capital of Rs 854,770. mechanism for rotation of themembers to Thus the former Community Savings members' own savings in order to

STHAPATI Credit Ltd and Loan Association was transformed provide credit for the following

is 95 percent. into STHAPATI Credit Ltd, a formal purposes:

corporate entity. 0 house repair and infrastructure;

____________________________ ____________________ 0 incom e generation or

- _ S skills training;0 hospitalization;

_ education; and

- . 0 infrastructure

;~ ( ~ \ j,^ '-.upgradation (Ramdevnagar

..... , S , lslum upgradation project).

0 Maximum loan amount

per member is currently

| S * - *v mRs 7,500 per loan.

">fS,!E;<J -f < _t0 Since the Association's

i4" |t _ 1inception in 1989,

, Rs 27.5 million have

- -, E ~ \D 1s|ibeen disbursed in

the form of loans to7,903 members.

0 The average loan

repayment rate from

_ _ _ _ _- _ _ _a _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 As on M arch 31, 1999.

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million. This isSTHAPATI Credit Ltd

(As on March 31, 1999) revolved and on-lent in the form of

30 27 5 million loans.

25 - 0 No collateral is19 9 million required for a

cI: 20 -CD Floan, but two

15 guarantors fromthe community or

10 -- 8 604 million 10 804ml. 7 6 million from any

5 - [ 13 million STHAPATI(Loan default

_~ * V write-off) shareholders are0 - - ______

Total Total Loans Loans Outstanding required for aSavings Distributed Recovered Loans loan to be

sanctioned.members to STHAPATI Credit Ltd is 0 The loan repayment terms and95 percent. However, there are often instalment amounts are fixed bydelays (35 percent) in loan repayments STHAPATI. The maximum loanbeyond the repayment due date. This repayment period is 24 months.late repayment aspect is currently 0 Area leaders and communitybeing closely

monitored by STHAPATI STHAPATI Credit Ltd Loan Process Map: fromin order to reduce it. Loan Application to Release* The interest rate onsavings is 6 percent, inform localcommunity

Become a member ot SCL by Eligible to apply for loan altnr orgamzer/area leader/communitywhile the interest rate buying share capital o l Rs 20 saving regularly for at least volunteer about need for loan

and saving regulariy siX months and completecharged on loans is 12 loan application form

percent. The 6 percent

interest spread is usedby STHAPATI to pay for ottend monthly loan meeting

In local area and state purposestaff and administrative of loan

expenses.

* The only source offunds currently committee eels oanneed

isgenuine and repayment assured,available to STHAPATI then loan is granted sanctionfor on-lending in the rm complete

form of loans are the

members' own savings.STHAPATI communitNinety percent of the rganizer submits approvedform to accountant attotal savings collected Head Office

in each area are on-

lent in the form of STAAIaccountantloans to members. Loan (cash) disbursed checks savings balance and

directly from STHAPATI shares owned by loanee Sanctions* Total savings Head Office to loanee the loan application

every 15 days and calculates total interest anddeposited by members payment due

since 1989 is Rs 8.604

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©D2V 8® H 02G08'(DM 5f0 nVGg0 ®S EBM1UG(AD (C808EGMO QDQ9MG0Chairman

I IBoard of Directors (6)

Chartered Committee Leader - Executive Director Deputy Director Committee Leader - TreasurerAccountant Community CommunTty

Area-levelCommittees Paid Staft of Supervisors of

STHAPATI Credit Ltd Baroda Citizens Council (6)

Senior Offlcer/Accountant Community Organizers

(20)

Accountants Data Entry "Assistant Operator

Paid Volunteers/ Community CommitteesMultipurpose Workers (20) and Leaders (100)

members meet on a monthly basis to workers of Baroda Citizens Council

discuss loan sanctions. The community perform a range of tasks including

has full autonomy over all loan health- and education-related service

decisions. provisions as well as savings and

credit-related functions. Loan

95VM%9A%V0: IvDo repayment and savings collection is

R D DO8b8DG @UG9®D'G9o only one of their many responsibilities.The rationale behind developing an

O Need to save regularly for a - -_ _

period of six months to one year

before becoming eligible to apply

for a loan. (Average savings amount

is Rs 100 to 200 per month,

depending upon the members'

capacity to save). { IO Ten percent of loan amount has / \ 7 8 \@CI tto be invested in the form of shares

in STHAPATI Credit Ltd.

O Can apply for a loan totaling five jtimes a member's savings account

balance, subject to a maximum of -

Rs 7,500 per loan. A5

STHAPATI Credit Ltd is in the

process of recruiting additional

specialized staff in order to expand

its savings and credit activities and

meet formal reporting requirements. A m 1D

Currently, multipurpose field

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them in improved access to C(Baroda Citizenswater and sanitation servces. Council does not

The stimulus for provision of beliete twater supply and sanitationcm unttoescame about when the Council are a sustainablebegan its health program in the answer to

a j r -a slums of Vadodara and realized sanitationthat improved health could only improvement. Our

UtX I @,e vk . > * be achieved with improved experience showss L ,r . sanitation and clean drinking that maintenance

water. The slums were of communitycompletely lacking in terms of toilets is very poorphysical infrastructure. People due to lack of

independent team for STHAPATI Credit were squatting on any available open ownership Thus,-the Council'only

Ltd is two-fold- space in place of toilets and access faeilitates the1. Since STHAPATI Credit Ltd was to clean drinking water was virtually facilitates theprovision, o~f . -incorporated, better management non-existent. individual toilets. cSj;information systems are being put in The Council's water supply and 2

place with online computerization of sanitation program began in Ranjit Jaiswal,data. This requires increased collaboration with UNICEF through the Low-cost Sanitationmanpower at the Head Office. provision of individual toilets and . --In-charge2. Following a thorough review of the handpumps for community use. B Couda ncitizensloan repayment monitoring system, Although UNICEF provided part of theSTHAPATI Credit Ltd is concentrating cost of toilets and handpumps, aon improved loan repayments by significant proportion of the cost ofreducing delayed payments (from their obtaining and installing them wascurrent high level of 35 percent) as borne by the slum dwellers themselves.well as minimizing loan defaults. This Initially, they did not have access to anyincreased monitoring requires both source of credit to help pay these costsadditional field workers and and had to meet the costs from theircommunity leaders. own resources. After the Community

Savings and Loan Association began itsFacilitating Provision operations in 1 989, loans to facilitateof Improved Water the provision of infrastructureand Sanitation - the increasingly became available to theseCouncil's Experience poor communities.

Funding toilets: Baroda CitizensThe Baroda Citizens Council's Council began providing 20 to 25

involvement in the water and percent subsidy since 1 985 forsanitation sector dates back to 1 985, individual toilets by linking up withfour years prior to the establishment of donor or state government-aidedits savings and credit activity through programs. Individuals contributed thethe Community Savings and Loan balance 75 to 80 percent of the cost ofAssociation in 1 989. Thus, even before the toilet, initially from their ownloans for infrastructure were available resources and subsequently throughto slum dwellers, the Council aided loans (of approximately Rs 2,500)

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Drinking water:~~ \ The main sou rces of

t -A~) 0 drinking water

| X 1 ;' 18V([2) gW W 4:R4>I -}PJ - orortin)available in the slums~jf j'I Dhuof Vadodara are:

k ~~0 handpumps (mostly9~~ ~~ ~ ~ in interior slum

~~ ~pockets);

U\ + . < 1 > O piped0 water standposts~~~~~ ~~~~(provided by the

l A' ~' ~Corporation) availablefor two to three hours

~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~~~ ~per day for iS to 25

households to share);

and

L _ O~~~~~~~~~~~0piped water fromCorporation mains for

individual houses. This

from the Association if needed. may only be applied for if the resident

Process: Due to the lack of main has legal title to her house. Ninety

sewerage networks within the slums of percent of the slums in Vadodara are

Vadodara, the Council mostly helped illegal, so this source is out of reach

build individual low-cost water seal for most.

pour-flush single-pit latrines in the The Council implemented a UNICEF

slums. Baroda Citizens Council program in the early 1 990s for the

sanitation engineers trained a guild of provision and maintenance of

masons who built the necessary handpumps.

latrines. They worked with community [Funding: The cost of the hardware,

groups who contributed their unskilled which included the handpump

labor in the construction process, while (Rs 3,000) was donated by UNICEF

the Council provided technical through the Council. However, the cost

supervision. of installation, including boring and

All the toilets built were for labor charges (Rs 8,000) was fully met

individual use. Thus maintenance is not by the community. One handpump

a problem as they are owner- serviced 30 families. Thus, the cost was

maintained. The Council's field divided amongst them and each family

workers provide individual training to contributed Rs 250 to 300 each. This

owners in both the use of and was usually paid out of their own

maintenance of toilets. savings, although they had access to

Achievements (between 1985-98): loans from the Association, if required.

O 2,685 toilets built in 14 slum areas Process: The Council did not just

(90 percent single-pit; 10 percent aid in the installation of the

twin-pit). handpumps but, more importantly,

0 192 soak pits built in slums provided a complete tool kit with each

(90 percent traditional style; 10 percent pump for its maintenance. Community

scientific filtration method). members were trained in day-to-day .

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maintenance and repairs from 1 0 slumareas; they became the official 1 189-9 ( @3 o 2e an co

maintenance persons of all [Lo)@ BDsbX msOed f@Dhandpumps in those slums (including dmgDevee9 WSn ater. bsy Bthose provided by the Vadodara c Saeaio byMunicipal Council) and subsequentlyconducted training programs on House repair loans: Rs 19.8handpump maintenance to other million (70 percent of total loansmembers of Baroda Citizens Council. disbursed), of which loans for

Achievements: water supply and sanitation areo 76 handpumps installed in 10 slums. estimated to be Rs 6 millionO 76 toolkits disbursed for operations (approximately 30 percent of totaland maintenance house repair loans disbursed).O 15 women and 60 men trained inhandpump maintenance, covering 10 of total loans given in the 'Shelterslums. Upgradation' category are used forO Ongoing training on handpump and installation of toilets, handpumps,jetpump installation and maintenance. soak-pits and community drainage

The role of credit linkages through facilities. This translates into a cashSTHAPATI Credit Ltd in the provision of disbursal value of approximatelytoilets and handpumps has been fairly Rs 6 million3.limited so far. The demand for creditfor communal water supply has been Individual Initiativeslimited even when it is available. This isbecause the individual cash STHAPATI Credit Ltd has recentlycontributions to be paid by the begun giving loans for the installationcommunity are relatively small and of 'jetpumps' which can provideoften required in a non-cash form, that drinking water to 40-60 families. Their The staff ofis, in terms of unskilled labor. biggest advantage is that they operate STHAPATI Credit-

The staff of STHAPATI Credit Ltd on electricity as opposed to manual Ltd estimate thatestimate that approximately 30 percent labor. approximately.

Members treat the 30 percent of totalinstallation of loans given in thejetpumps as both a 'Sheltersource of income Upgradation'

-- jl 4¢ z n n XF t1 a tgeneration as well as category are usedr 9 \ {S 71 _ > ^ O # 4 jz 1 a meons to meetfor installation -of'Wi U their own drinking toilets,

water requirements. hndpumps, soak-Approximately 60 pt n

indiidul lans(ofcommunityN_i s r , :-; individual loans (of drainage facilities.

______________ - This translates into

_F -f - -i * .3Sincethe Commu- a cash disbursalnity Savings and value ofLoan Association was approximatelyset up in 1989. Rs 6 million.

9

i:p X_.7 S 4 m X, l S t

-~~~~~~~~At\~~~~~~~~~ 1 ' X -,4-'=n ,J : :,¶-- 1)

Rs 7,500 each) have been taken from In the future, Baroda Citizens

STHAPATI to partially meet the Council plans to design a collectiveinstallation cost (Rs 12,000-15,000) of loan product for the procurement and

a jetpump. The 'owners' then charge installation of jetpumps, so thatRs 50 per month for water charges and community groups may jointlyprovide 40-60 families with individual own them.access to half-an-hour of water perday. The charges paid are used to 9MOMBAgoD YsgdliBvl$repay the initial capital cost of the Jai Bhavani Nagar, Vadodara:jetpump (including repayment of the Individual toilets, collectiveloan from STHAPATI Credit Ltd) and handpumps and undergroundcover maintenance costs. The excess is gutter gines - facilitated through

deemed profit for the 'owner'. access to credit from STHOAPATD___________L Credit Ltd: Jai Bhavani Nagar is a

- sprawling slum housing 1,700- families on the 'wrong' side of the

railway tracks of Vadodara city.Six hundred residents of Jai

g Bhavani Nagar are members oflY STHAPATI Credit Ltd.

j:,-: i Most (80 percent) of the womenliving here work as part-time

domestic servants. They are also^ | t:++-i~ 1 Z .t9i.M - o,2 the main bread-winners, as the

menfolk are largely unemployed.

Average monthly incomes1 ;l owEX -g_ j range from Rs 2,000 to 2,500 per

month for a family of four to six.- ~ 9 +~~~w<Most houses here are semi-pucca

->i &g,,M<52' r -, -, .ZY,; (mud and brick walls with

a eii &GOb aa C asbestos roofl and containtwo rooms.

10

Current water supply and along with training and facilitation of a

sanitation status: 'Maintenance Committee' for ongoingO 50 percent of families have operation and maintenance of theindividual toilets. handpumps.

o 50 percent of families useneighboring pond and outlying areas. Collective InitiativeO One pocket of 50 houses has an

underground gutter line. The The Story of Ramdevnagar:-remaining slum dwellers have Community, Donor, MGO,constructed single flush-pit latrines. Savings and Credit Assoediation0 80 handpumps and 25 water and Munikipalty Woirkstandposts (water available five hours in Partnership f@r Slumper day) to provide all the water Up gradationrequirements for 1,700 families.

Ramdevnagar - BeforeRole of Credit through o Six to eight hours spent by womenSTHAPATI Credit Ltdl for per day in water collection.Water Supply and Sanitation o Regular fights within the communityProvision in Jai BhaVani Nagar over water collection.

STHAPATI Credit Ltd has provided 0 Four standposts and twoindividual loans for the following in Jai handpumps to service the waterBhavani Nagar: needs of 829 families.

O Loans of Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 each 0 Although most residents managedto build 200 single-pit latrines, built by to have a bath once a day, there wasthe community following training and not enough water to adequately washsupervision by the Council. clothes or surroundings.

o Loans of Rs 2,000 each to 0 Frequent outbursts of cholera,50 families to build an underground malaria, diarrhoea and various skin

gutter line; technical supervision diseasesprovided by the Council; labor 0 No outlet for dirty water due to lackcontributed by the community. of drains; disposed outside eachO Loans for five handpumps to house, allowing mosquitoes to breedcommunity groups; the Council has and spread disease.

also provided a maintenance toolkit 0 No latrines. Entire community used

common open area

adjoining a pondbehind the slum.

collection of garbage -

_ , :=.< - -- _ emptied into the

pond behind

0 100 percent

r'.1 individual electricityconnection albeit

1E 'illegal'.

1 1

(water available for two hoursevery day); most households havealso built individual storage watertanks;

I 0 ! individual toilets attached tomain, underground sewer line;

o underground drainage;

0 average body weight of womenresidents has increased;

0 better health for all; dramatic

90 percent reduction in seriousi --. P. -- -,,disease (figure provided by the

Council's Primary Health Centerbased in Ramdevnagar);0 no cases of malaria registeredin 1998; and

o an increase in income due tolonger hours available for income

Z generation activities. Sixty percentpA g 9- of women are now working

(mostly domestic servants).

i Baroda Citizens Councilinitiated the Ramdevnagar project

0 Interconnecting roads were kuchcha, in order to prove its belief that slum

made of mud. No drainage or dwellers are willing to contribute both

o Average body sanitation facilities. physically and financially towards theirweight of women 0 Annual flooding of pond during own development, providedresidents has monsoons made Ramdevnagar virtually appropriate financial and institutional

increased; inaccessible for two to three months mechanisms are set up to stimulate

o Better health for every year. self-help.all; dramatic 90 The transformation of Ramdevnagar

percent reduction OoMD=deumalool1 -r2f' slum and success of the project clearly

in serious disease; Each participant household in the dispels the myth that poor communities

® No cases of slum upgradation project now has: are not willing to contribute towardsmalaria registered 0 individual piped water connection their own development.in 1998;o Increase inincome due to Rmum@dwia '2O O®G®Di-lMOG E[ 8DAU®loniger hoursavailable for Total number of households: 829 Main occupation: Domestic helpers,avaincome for Location: Behind Gatri lake in western small business or service provisionincome 9generation Vadodara Average family size: Five membersactivities; sixty Monthly average family income: Literacy rate: 70 percent male

percent of women Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 50 percent female

are now working.12

Process: The Ramdevnagar Project program. Even throughout projectwas initiated by the Council in implementation, there was regular

response to a presentation by architect sharing of progress reports along withHimanshu Parikh, showcasing the slum monitoring the inputs provided by theupgradation project undertaken in community. Another policy-levelIndore. The concept involved working decision taken by the Council inin partnership with different institutions con junction with community leaders- both financial and technical in order was that the physical implementationto achieve on-site infrastructure work would be contracted out viadevelopment in a slum. However, the tender to the lowest bidder. It wasCouncil made the decision to include a agreed at the outset that instead ofhigh degree of community involvement municipal engineers, local contractorsfrom the outset. To this end, right from in partnership with communitythe inception of the project the Council members would undertake the physicalstaff at both the head office and field upgradation of the slum. It was felt thatlevel, held numerous regular meetings this system would allow for greaterwith community leaders and groups of community participation, accountability .Slum dweller~s areresidents regarding the proposed to residents and increased efficiency. willing to

contribute both

hantaben, a resident of Ramdevnagar, has a home tailoring business. She had pyial nSpreviously taken a loan from STHAPATI Credit Ltd to purchase a sewing machine, financially to-wardsbut was finding it difficult to meet her repayments despite a high demand for their ownstitched garments. development,

The reason was her own tiredness and lack of time. All her time was spent in provided'water collection and completion of household chores In addition, she was often sick, appropriate.resulting in lost workdays financial -and

Shantaben was earning about Rs 500 per month. Following the slum upgradationintuioaprogram in Ramdevnagar, Shantaben now finds that she has much more time for her-. -business. She even has the luxury of getting up at 7 am, instead of the usual 4.30 mechanismsam, and has not suffered from any serious illnesses recently. Currently, Shantaben's are set up toearnings from her tailoring business have doubled to Rs 1,000 per month. stimulate

self-help.1 3

;Baroda Citizens The Corporation's role would be to project was initiated in May 1994;

Council is our provide connections with the city physical work was expected to start by

mother and father. mains, provide its share of cash January 1996 and be completed

We would never contribution to the project and give during that year. The current status is

have agreed to technical advice when requested. that while most of the work was

this slum It is interesting to note that from the completed in early 1999, the cemented

upgradaltion beginning the slum dwellers were approach road is yet to be completed.

project without the happy to contribute a significant Completion date is set for August 31,Council. We don't amount of the capital cost of 1999. There are four main reasons forhcave that much infrastructure, as long as they were the substantial delay:trust in the assured of a high level of service 0 Heavy annual monsoons lasting upVadodara provision with tangible benefits. Initial to five months caused delays andMunicipal skepticism from the community stoppage in physical work.Corpo>rationl as wedorporion' ko them revolved around whether 0 Lack of adequate cash contribution

what in they .ha implementation would really take place from all community residents withind.isappea wit as promised, but the presence of the initial timeframe.

our hard-earned Council as coordinator helped dispel 0 Delay due to learning curve - themoney? - that fear. upgradation was a new experience for

all the partners involved.

Chandrikaben .Ikv CRamowmCDO@ (OVT 0 State government delayed grant of aInfrastructure 'no objection certificate' to the

Resident of 0 A technical survey was undertaken residents of Ramdevnagar, which inRamdevnagar by Baroda Citizens Council engineers turn delayed the commencement of the

of proposed slums and Ramdevnagar project significantly. This permission

was perceived to be technically best was crucial as the slum is situated on

suited to the laying down of piped government land and the residents

water, drainage and sewage lines. were anxious to obtain permanent land

O Ramdevnagar was in particularly tenure status, prior to contributing

dire need of infrastructure towards capital costs of infrastructure.

improvement as it was very badly The Corporation has recently given

affected during the monsoon season; written assurance of a minimum tenure

one-third of the slum would get period of 10 years for all residents of

submerged every year. Ramdevnagar.

O Both the Council and STHAPATI Initially, when the Council

Credit Ltd were operating very communicated the proposed slum

successfully in the area through various upgradation program to residents of

development programs since 1989. Ramdevnagar, there was a high

The local community had a high degree of skepticism. However,

degree of faith in the Council, which following a series of motivational

had been involved in Ramdevnagar in area meetings followed up by

the areas of health education, skills individual home-to-home visits by

training, development of local Council field workers and local

leadership and community community leaders, pockets of

associations, prior to the slum residents were convinced of the

upgradation program. feasibility of the program. This

The Ramdevnagar upgradation encouraged others to join.

14

ph' slow E The F nan,far Contribution Without accessEach co the afwtners in to a reliable,(b72i76S'&§ >roflee2 i24 ProEDgram cheap source-of.

O Cement approach road credit from ourto slum. Baroda Citizens Council STHAPATI, weO Concrete (pucca) inter- Other Donors could never haveconnecting roads within 8% (616 1akh) paid our individucthe slum. r Munciacash contributionsVadodara Municipal / . ^ < ' ; Residents ofO Underground drainage Corporation Ramdevnagar so fast. We can1 1% (8 lakh)45 3 lahand sewerage pipes. 45%(331akh) only save Rs 50-O Individual piped water 100 per month-,`

so it would havesupply for every o hhousehold. taken us -three

. . . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~years to save upo Individual connection to ysour owngutter line, for each toilet. UNICEF contribution of

32% (24 lakh)cotiuonf

, . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Rs 3,500. r)r-Financingin motivating 87 percent of the Nandaben

Unique to this project is the residents to participate, with -Resident ofpartnership between various 70 percent of the community's Ramdevnagarinstitutions, with overall project contribution fully paid up and (Vegetable vendor)coordination provided by the Council. 1 7 percent about to completeEqually significant is the substantial payment The Council, along withproportion of the community's own community leaders, are engaged incontribution (45 percent) towards the ongoing dialogue with those that areupgradation of the physical yet to pay their cash contribution andinfrastructure. Coupled with this is the are hopeful of eventually collectinghigh degree of self-motivation and 1 00 percent of the community's share.leadership input put in by a significantnumber of community leaders, Specific Role ofensuring the eventual success of the Microfinance throughproject In short, there was wide STHAPATI Credit Ltd in thecommunity 'buy-in'. In any collective Ramdevnagar Upgradationupgradation process, a high degree of Pilot Projectbuy-in, translated into payment byeach family of their cash contribution The role of STHAPATI Credit Ltd wasamount is crucial for success, as crucial to the success of the Theinfrastructure upgradation is a Ramdevnagar project. transformationeofcollective good benefiting all residents. 664 loans were given to RamdevnagarThe program has so far been successful residents by STHAPATI Credit Ltd in clearlya dispels the

order to meet their myth-tat\poors O Original total cost projection: Rs 5 million individual cash communities are:0 Revised total cost projection: Rs 7.7 million contributions. not willing to-;0 Contribution per household: Rs 3,500 Of the 829 residents of contribute towards

(originally projected to be Rs 2,500) Ramdevnagar, 664 families their,,ownare members of STHAPATI development.

15

We are currentlyaccessing loansfrom STHAPATFICredit Ltd forhousing purposes,although we wish *that the maximumloan amount couldbe increased tolRs 1 5,000 acnd therepayment termextended to fiveyears.,)

Hansaben Credit Ltd and all of them have (©n Gj®8n0 flv';0o®O imo(g

Resident of accessed loans of Rs 3,500 each in (Do

Ramdevnagar and order to meet their cash contribution. 01u [mSi@B7M02g0account holder with Although 40 percent of these membersSTHAPATI Credit Ltd also have regular bank accounts in The community has collectively

nationalized banks throughout taken complete responsibility for

Vadodara, they have found it ongoing, on-site maintenance of

impossible to access loans from these services in Ramdevnagar. With the help

banks, despite several loan of Baroda Citizens Council, they have

applications. formed a formal 'maintenance'

A recent phenomenon has been a committee made up of local residents.

sharp upsurge in the demand for This committee will initiate and

housing upgradation loans from supervise future maintenance work.

residents of Ramdevnagar. With the Finances to meet maintenance costs

physical infrastructure work completed, will be collected through cash

residents now wish to construct their contributions from residents, whenever

own toilets, upgrade their walls from repairs are required.

kuchcha to pucca and put in

permanent roofs.

For more information, please contact:

UMDP-Ev-orId BIank Weater and SanOtaftn

Program - South Asia55 Lodi Estate, New Delhi 110 003, India

Tel: (91)-(0)11-4690488/9 Fax: (91)-(0)11-4628250E-mail: wspsa@worldbank.org

Gutrar Rachiga Housing Sl EA TrutO404, 4th Floor, Sakhar-IV, Opposite Town Hall, Ashram Road,

Ahmedabad 380 009, IndiaTel: (91)-(0)79-6581659 Fax: (91)-(0)79-5506446

E-mail: mahilahsg@icenet.net

Designed by Media Workshop and printed at PS Press Services Pvl Ltd, Email gdapress@bol net in