By
Rahm, Abdul; Jha, Parveen; Chaudhuri, S K; Singh, Surjit; Joshi, K.N; Joddar, Pinki; Bishnoi,
Promila
Sponsored by European Union State Partnership Programme

In the context of a sector policy approach and perspective planning, a comprehensive review of the water sector for the last 5‐7 years was undertaken to provide a useful starting point to make the MTEF efforts more credible and effective. This special ‘Public Expenditure Review (PER) of Water Sector in Rajasthan’ analyzed past trends in water sector finances in order to inform the future projections and targets for the water sector MTEF in the state. The study recommended that the MTEF has to be complement to, not a substitute for, basic budgetary management reform. Before launching an MTEF reform a comprehensive and detailed diagnosis of the most important PEM problems has to be prepared, as is being done in the new generation of PERs. Reforms of budget classification, formulation, comprehensiveness, execution, controls and audit, and transparency are also required to be undertaken. Introduction of the MTEF reform then are to be tailored, based on these initial PEM conditions and the prescriptions for their reform.

By
Singh, Surjit; Ratna Reddy,V; Batchelor, Charles; Marothia, D K; James, A J; Rathore, M.S.
Sponsored by European Union State Partnership Programme

Rajasthan’s 2010 State Water Policy (SWP) recognises that increasing water scarcity is a result of an imbalance between available water resources and rapidly escalating water demand. The policy also recognises that water pollution from natural contaminants (e.g. fluoride) and anthropogenic contaminants (e.g. untreated wastewaters) is widening the gap between demand and available water resources of an acceptable quality. Significantly the policy acknowledges that as water scarcity increases, it is the poor and marginal social groups who tend to suffer the greatest hardship. Increasing water scarcity in Rajasthan has created pressures and incentives for major policy change. The study reviewed the state of knowledge regarding the use and utility of regulatory instruments in the water sector internationally, regionally and in Rajasthan. Specific attention was given to the practical lessons learnt that are relevant to the implementation of the 2010 Rajasthan Water Policy and to the sector reform activities of the EU‐supported State Partnership Programme. Important findings from the study include: Current focus is mainly on using economic instruments for regulating water use. The emphasis of the 2010 Rajasthan Water Policy is on charging for water so that users have incentives to reduce water use and, where relevant, to switch to water uses that derive higher social, economic and environmental benefits. However instead of focusing mainly on water tariffs, a much wider range of regulatory instruments could and should be considered. In addition, regulatory instruments should be matched to different groups of water users and uses; Metering of water (or power) usage by individual users is a pre‐requisite for regulatory systems that aim to manage demand for water (or power) via economic instruments; few examples exist of economic instruments being used successfully to manage demand for irrigation water. The overriding conclusion of the study is that regulation and management of demand for water, particularly by agricultural users, is far from easy. There are no quick “regulatory” fixes that can be adopted in Rajasthan. This said there is no denying the fundamental importance to Rajasthan’s future prosperity of developing viable scalable water regulatory systems.

By
Singh, Surjit; James, A J; Ratna Reddy,V; Marothia, D K; Gardener, Janet
Sponsored by European Union State Partnership Programme

Democratic decentralisation and local‐level planning are often used interchangeably and viewed as vital for sustainable development through more accountable governance. Despite the long history of local‐level Panchayats in India, the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) created in 1959 received a stimulus only with the passing of the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendment of 1992 and 1993. However, even after this, the performance of Panchayats has been generally weak and there have only been a few exceptions to the poor experience with local‐level planning. The study reports that there is poor coordination across departments‐ that departments are highly segregated and focused on supply‐side, specialist engineering and there is little coordination across departments while planning water‐related interventions; Departments consult each other largely when requiring jurisdictional permissions; The local government structure achieves a limited degree of coordination of the technical planning processes only at District‐ level under the auspices of the District Collector, CEO and CPO; Coordination of the water sector remains weak without the authority and associated fund flows from the State‐level; Only the centrally driven programmes with their specific funding and approval arrangements have achieved a degree of inter‐Departmental interaction; Departments plan and implement in a ‘compartmentalised’ way with little interaction and there is very little sharing of planning data either vertically between State, District, Block or GP; or horizontally between Departments; There is an absence of a technical planning framework, methodology and tools to guide the application of decentralised and participatory planning for IWRM; There is limited vertical coordination of planning from village/GP to block and District except for the purposes of administrative approval and annual budgeting; Issues of scale and the need to nest local‐level plans within intermediate and national level plans and/or basin and aquifer level planning processes both within and beyond the water sector therefore remain, even in successful cases of decentralized planning, as in Kerala.

By
Shobhita Rajagopal and RS Sharma
Sponsored by Ministry of Human Resource Development, New Delhi

The Institute of Development studies is one of the Monitoring Institutions for carrying out Monitoring of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in Rajasthan identified by the Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resources, GoI. The main objective of the ongoing Monitoring includes: making an assessment and analysing the implementation of the approved interventions and processes underlying these interventions at the habitation and school level keeping in view the overarching goals of SSA and provisions under RTE Act 2009; identifying the social, cultural, linguistic or other barriers coming in the way of successful implementation of schematic interventions and attainment of goals. Over a two year period monitoring was carried out in 14 districts of Rajasthan. The quarterly reports have been shared both with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Rajasthan and Government of India. In the last quarter monitoring was carried out in Barmer, Banswara and Rajsamand districts. In the districts surveyed, the MDM was being cooked in the school premises under the supervision of the SMC in all schools. Out of total surveyed schools 86.7 percent schools reported that the MDM was served regularly in the past 12 months. Out of the total children enrolled, 64.2 percent children were availing MDM on the day of visit. The participation of parents, VEC members and PRIs in monitoring and Supervision of MDM was reported only in 56.7 percent schools.

By
Varsha Joshi and G.S. Rathore
Sponsored by ICSSR, New Delhi

According to the United Nations, “The term handmade articles should be taken to cover those produced with or without the use of tools, simple instruments or implements operated directly by the craftsman mainly by hand or by foot… Within the group of handmade goods, some such as Handicraft often have identifying features such as, traditional or artistic features deriving from the geographical region or country of production; and production by craftsmen working generally on a cottage industry basis. Rajasthan is one of the major states in handicraft productions. The study indicates that crafts have undergone tremendous changes at all levels whether its usage, production and designing process. It has shifted from rural households to elite households. The craft which was actually having a usage in every household has now turned into a show piece for homes. The changes in processes and designing have come especially in last twenty five years. In some of the crafts opening of markets and exports have certainly led to changes. The very fact those crafts which are exported have shifted from household production to factories. This was basically demand driven and also limited to those crafts which are into export markets. In export oriented crafts we also find that employment pattern has changed. We also find the displacement of women from some of the production processes. This too has changed because of the changes in designing and the process of making the craft. Interestingly, the changes in the style, production, colours and designing have been accepted and internalized by the artisans. As one 70 year old artisan mentioned “in order to survive and earn we have been accepting the changes”. But where the artisans are not able to find marketing linkages and with rise of prices of raw material they have switched over to other professions.