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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Parts of this report may be reproduced for professional use, provided that such material is not printed or sold. We expect that any material, which is used from this report, will be acknowledged.

Authored by
Muhammad Saleem Baluch Programme Officer Monitoring, Evaluation & Research Section

Designed by:
Nadeem Iqbal

Acknowledgements
The author wishes to thank all those who contributed for this report. I am very thankful to the staff of Field Unit Jhelum and other regional and head office staff. I express my deepest sense of gratitude to Malik Fateh Khan (Regional General Manager, Rawalpindi). I owe acknowledgements to Farooq Chishti (Senior Programme Officer, PITD) for his inestimable advice, guidance and valuable suggestions Special thanks are due to Virginia Appell, Tahir Waqar and Azhar Hussain Some relevant material from the documents produced at NRSP and RSPN has been reproduced with necessary changes.

NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Contents
Abbreviations Foreword Introduction The NRSP-District Government Jhelum Partnership process The Development Schemes Visitors to the Project Village-wise Schemes Assessments by Local Governments and Communities Challenges, lessons learnt and way ahead 18 i 1 2 6 8 9 15

Annexes
Guidelines for NRSP approved by the Planning & Development Department (P&D), Government of Punjab to implement Development Projects Copy of MoU between NRSP and District Government Jhelum

Abbreviations
CCB CO DCO MER MoU PITD PPAF PRSP RGM RP RSP UC VDO Citizen Community Board Community Organisation District Co-ordination Officer Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Memorandum of Understanding Physical Infrastructure & Technology Development Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund Punjab Rural Support Programme Regional General Manager Regional Professional Rural Support Programme Union Council Village Development Organisation (VDO)

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Foreword
This Report documents the progress of the Jhelum Pilot Project implemented by NRSP in partnership with the District Government Jhelum and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF). Under the Project, NRSP implemented six sanitation schemes (street pavement, and construction of drains and ponds) benefiting nearly 700 households. The total cost of these six schemes was Rs. 2.085 million. This cost was shared among the District Government (50%), the communities (20%) and PPAF (30%). NRSP paid all overhead costs and expenditures on training of Councillors and the members of Village Development Organisation (VDOs). NRSPs partnership with the District Government of Jhelum was modelled on NRSPs practice of participatory development and is a prime example of the partnerships between a Rural Support Programme, District Governments and Donors. It was successful in many ways: rural communities were enthusiastically involved, union Councillors were moulded into effective development workers with apolitical attitude towards development activities, assisted the District Government to increase its credibility with the peoples involvement in the development projects and to develop a mechanism for forming CCBs, helped PPAF to benefit a large number of poor people by decreasing its cost share from 80% to 30%, thus enhancing the utilisation of its funds and to set an example for its potential future role of working with District Governments through its Partner Organisations. The Project has also demonstrated a successful model of pooling of resources (50% from District Government Jhelum, 20% from the beneficiary communities and 30% from the PPAF). NRSP succeeded in playing a catalyst role in developing a partnership model between the District Governments, Donor and a Rural Support Programme for community-based development projects by involving local political representatives. It succeeded in changing the traditional attitude of people from thinking of street pavement and drain construction as the responsibility of the local governments to actively participate in the implementation of schemes, contribute to the costs and to take responsibility of properly operating and managing the scheme after completion. Based on the success of this model, the model has been scaled up in another ten Union Councils in District Jhelum. The model is also being replicated in other Districts of Pakistan. NRSP has signed MoUs with District Governments of Chakwal, Rahim Yar Khan, and Khairpur (Sindh). It is hoped that it will eventually be initiated in all the RSPs working districts. There is a huge potential for joint efforts between District Governments, Union/Tehsil councils, the communities and NRSP. This model can also be extended in other sectors especially in education, health and agriculture sectors. However, the partnership potentials are not limited to these fields. The partnerships can be extended to all areas/field that encourage grass-roots development and support to communities for harnessing their potential. RSPs if involved with District Governments can play an important role in strengthening the role of District Governments. The lessons learnt from the Jhelum Project clearly indicate that: a) the involvement of the communities is essential for sustainable development and for the delivery of quality services, b) Union Council level Councillors are not traditional politicians. They can become dedicated and apolitical developmental workers through proper mobilisation and motivation and their capacity building, c) there is a huge potential for joint efforts between District Governments, Union/Tehsil councils, the communities and NRSP. NRSP appreciates the institutional and legal provisions under the devolution plan for encouraging active public participation. This has presented NRSP with opportunities as well as challenges. Generally all RSPs, and especially NRSP, are in a position to offer governments, in particular the District Governments, a large network of Community Organisations, as well as their expertise and experiences in facilitating linkages between government bodies and people. NRSPs experience indicates that effective grassroots organisations such as CCBs can be created only through a process of capacity building of the communities. NRSP is willing to act as a development agent through a partnership with the District Governments, Federal & Provincial governments, communities and donors. The District Government-NRSP partnerships will also ensure an institutional arrangement that fosters true and genuine CCBs. This will also require further increasing the coverage of NRSP if there is to be a critical mass of effective social organisation to enable bottom-up planning and effective linkages. NRSP will be gratified if the various levels of Government in Pakistan especially the District Governments, use the Community Organisations (COs) as a platform in the delivery of povertytargeting services. NRSP expects that the District Governments will join hands with it in scaling-

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

up its programme coverage. NRSP also expects that the District Governments will encourage the NRSP-fostered COs as CCBs. NRSP greatly appreciates the District Government Jhelums confidence in NRSP. Mr. Ch. Farrukh Altaf (District Nazim Jhelum), Mr. Saif Ullha Chattha (DCO Jhelum), Mr. Pir Aqeel Haider Shah (Naib District Nazim Jhelum), Dr. Zafar Nasrullah (EDO-Revenue, District Jhelum) and other officials of District Government Jhelum, and Mr. Ch. Wajahat Khawar Waseem (Nazim UC Bokan), Mr. Ch. Muhammad Sarfraz (Naib Nazim UC Bokan) and the Councillors of Union Council Bokan are acknowledged for their sincere efforts and involvement in the implementation of the Project. We also acknowledge the technical, moral and financial support of PPAF. I would like to take this opportunity to thank NRSP teams led by Mr. Malik Fateh Khan (Regional General Manager), and the PITD section led by Mr. Farooq Chishti for the hard work they have put in to achieve the requisite targets. I want to give special thanks to the NRSP engineers, social organisers, other regional and field staff and the head office staff, since without their positive response and active support, we would not have been able to achieve these results. The Field Unit Jhelum Staff especially Mr. Akhlaq Hussain (social organiser) and Mr. Iftikhar Hussain (engineer) deserve due appreciation for the hard work and dedication that has enabled NRSP to set an excellent example of co-operation between the RSPs and the District Governments.

Dr. Rashid Bajwa Chief Executive Officer National Rural Support Programme Islamabad

NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Introduction
In the year 2000 large-scale structural and functional changes were initiated in Pakistans local Government system. The purpose was to devolve political powers and to decentralise administrative and financial authority for more effective service delivery and transparent decision making. The new system reorients the administrative system to enable public participation in decisionmaking and resource allocation. The devolved system operates through representatives elected to District, Tehsil and Union Councils. It also requires the formation of village and neighbourhood Councils, and Citizen Community Boards (CCBs) for community involvement. The elected Councils are mandated to facilitate the formation of CCBs, so as to (1) actively involve process and how these CCBs are to be plugged into present local government system. There is no clarity of institutional mechanism for facilitating the link between the local government institutions and CCBs and link of these CCBs with the village people they represent. NRSP considered the devolved local government system as a challenge and opportunity. It welcomed the devolved system and has been proactive in making available to the government sector its vast experience with its fostered community organisations (COs). NRSP approach compliments the work of elected representative institutions and does not seek to replace or challenge the work of political representatives. It espouses the principles of

NRSP experiences indicate that: working with union Councillors who are also the members of the COs is the most effective way of creating a much-needed change in working of the local government system. These COs members have demonstrated their managerial and other skills acquired through training programmes arranged by the NRSP for the planning and implementation of the development projects. According to the trained Councillors, this would be a great contribution to them in enhancing their status within the District governments. genuine community participation cannot be achieved without organising people through broad-based institutions at the village level, and secondly, that without having an institutional mechanism that can interface between Community Organisations (COs) and government institutions for community development, there is no connection between villagers and Local Government.

Based on its experiences in communitybased development, proven success of its methods and the scale of its country wide coverage, NRSP is in a critical position to play key role in ensuring that genuine CCBs be fostered. It can facilitate linkages between government line agencies and its fostered Community Organisations (COs). These COs have immense potential for inclusion and complementation to the devolution process at the grassroots. They are capable of taking the entire responsibility of implementing development schemes. NRSP can contribute greatly by enlisting the COs as CCBs and work on this has begun across Pakistan. NRSP can also offer its expertise in capacity building of the District governments.

community members in development initiatives and (2) improve service delivery through voluntary, proactive and self-help initiatives. Twenty-five percent of the entire District development budget is to be channelled through these CCBs. The most significant change through this system for the National Rural Support Programmes (NRSP) has been recognition on the part of the Government that an organised citizenry forms an essential part of the present District Government at the grassroots level in the form of CCBs. The CCBs have generated a nation-wide debate. The formation of CCBs is still a challenge yet not taken up seriously by the new District/Local Governments. They are not clear about the process and procedure of involving CCBs in economic development

participatory development approach and sees its role as supplementing and complimenting the District Governments. NRSP management started a debate on the possibilities of partnerships between NRSP and the District Governments set up under the Devolution Plan. The discussions were held at various levels and with a number of personalities including the Government officials, the National Reconstruction Bureau, and the Nazims and Councillors of elected councils. The focal point of these discussions was to: a) facilitate and strengthen the District/Local Government initiations (District/Tehsil/Union) in implementing community-based development projects

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

and programmes in an efficient, effective and transparent manner through active community involvement by establishing Citizen Community Boards (CCBs); b) establish a model of partnership between the local government institutions, donors, RSPs and the communities to pool resources for poverty alleviation and community development; and develop an institutional mechanism that can interface between the COs and local government institutions

The physical outcome of the interaction was the implementation of physical infrastructure schemes - street pavement, sewer-drain construction and reservoir construction - in six villages. The institutional outcome was a process of effective interaction between the partners that can be repeated and scaled up in future endeavours of this kind. The partnership presented both opportunities and challenges to NRSP. On the one hand it gave NRSP the opportunity to draw on its wide experience in social mobilisation for participatory, community-level development, and to put this experience to work in a new political environment. The challenge, however, was to re-structure the actions seen as political mindset of elected politicians and to ensure that every partner, from the Government to the Village Development Organisation (VDOs), was appropriately involved in decision-making and resource allocation.

c)

These dialogues revealed into a first formal interaction between NRSP and the District Government Jhelum. This Report describes this first formal interaction between NRSP and the District Government Jhelum. The partners in the initiative were NRSP, the newly-elected District Government of Jhelum and Union Council of Bokan, six Village Development Organisations (registered as CCBs), and the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF).

The NRSP-District Government Jhelum Partnership Process

Initial Dialogues
In May 2002 NRSP teams led by the Chief Executive Officer held several meetings with the District Nazim and District Co-ordination Officer Jhelum to discuss the potential for community development modelled on the NRSP participatory development approach. These meetings and discussions revealed to initiate a pilot project in one of union council of District Jhelum. Councillors. The meetings were held to introduce the NRSP programme and the implementation methodology to the Councillors. The Councillors assured NRSP that they would not influence the development process for individual vested interests. It was agreed that NRSP would implement those schemes identified as urgent priorities and were beneficial to the maximum number of households.

Identification of Union Council

The District Nazim discussed the potential partnership between NRSP and Local Governments in Jhelum with the members of the District Council and Nazims, Naib Nazims and Councillors of Tehsil Councils and Union Councils. Nazim Union Council Bokan was very enthusiastic about the idea. He requested District Nazim for the selection of his Union Council. He assured the District Nazim that he had full confidence of the elected councillors of his union council. He also showed willingness for the utilisation of the union council development funds through NRSP. Therefore, union council Bokan was selected for the pilot project.

Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

These dialogues and discussions between NRSP, the District Government Jhelum and the Union Council Bokan resulted into signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NRSP and the District Government Jhelum (A copy of MoU is annexed). It was agreed that the pilot project would be implemented with an initial amount of Rs. 2 million (Rs. 2,000,000). Other terms and conditions of MoU are as follows: NRSP will hold training cum orientation sessions with all the Councillors of that particular UC to aquatint them of the programme and its work methodology.

Meetings with Union Councillors

NRSPs Regional General Manager, Social Organisers and engineers met with the Union

NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

NRSP will do a benchmark (situation analysis) of that UC in collaboration with the Councillors to understand and identify the small physical infrastructure needs of the community. Dialogues would be held to organise the beneficiaries into broad based community organisations with the help of Councillors. Project feasibility reports, technical surveys and project implementation would be done by NRSP and the community without involving any contractors and according to the approved criteria by the Government of the Punjab.

community members. PPAF agreed, and the funding was secured.

Training of Union Councillors

NRSPs Institute of Rural Management arranged a three-day training programme for the Nazim, Naib Nazim and 18 Councillors of Union Council Bokan including 14 men and 4 women Councillors. The Councillors were trained in planning, designing and implementation of development schemes. They were also trained in mobilising and motivating the communities to participate in the development activities.

Situation Analysis
NRSP did a Situation Analysis to establish benchmark data in the Union Council. The Nazim, Naib Nazim and Union Councillors were involved in the situation analysis. The study covered the socio-economic situation, levels of education, existence and condition of physical infrastructure and natural and human resources. Communities were asked to identify the most significant problems they faced. Detailed discussions were then held to identify the small-scale physical infrastructure needs of the communities.

Financing The District Government, Community and NRSP (PPAF) shall put their shares in the project according to the following ratio: District Government NRSP (PPAF) = 50% = 30% Community Contribution = 20%

In addition, for the pilot UC, all costs relating to social mobilisation, surveys and project implementation would be borne by the NRSP The District Government shall provide the total amount of funds based on actual surveys to NRSP up-front. Separate accounts would be kept for the project.

Formation of Village Development Organizations (VDOs)

NRSP team including social organisers and engineers and accompanied by the Councillors contacted the communities. The NRSP programme and the project were introduced to them. Discussions were held with the villagers on NRSPs activities and the criteria for VDO formation. A dialogue was held in which the pilot project was explained and the communitys questions were answered. Upon agreeing of the community, a Village Development Organisation (VDO) was formed in the village.

Post Project Situation NRSP shall continue to extend its Poverty Alleviation Package to the organised communities. Operation and maintenance of the projects would be the responsibility of the community and the respective councillors. The communities wherever feasible shall be facilitated by the District Government to get themselves registered as Citizen Community Boards (CCBs).

Identification of the schemes

During the situation analysis, the villagers identified and prioritised their problems and needs for the community physical infrastructure. NRSP team discussed these identified and prioritised needs of the community with the VDO and assessed the social, physical and technical viability of these schemes.

Involvement of PPAF
The Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is providing funds to NRSP for the implementation of hundreds of small-scale community physical infrastructure projects. Costs are shared, with the communities contributing at least 20 percent of the total project cost. PPAF provides grants up to a maximum of 80% of scheme capital cost. For this project, NRSP proposed PPAF to fund 30% of the costs so as to benefit the maximum number of economically marginal

Selection of CPI Schemes

The NRSP team led by Regional General Manager reviewed and selected only those schemes to be implemented under the pilot project that were: identified as immediate priorities by the VDO; agreed upon by all VDO members by consensus;

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

of benefit to the majority of the households of the community, especially the poorest and women and where at least no household objects to the scheme; able to elicit active participation in terms of financial and human resources; within the capacity of the VDO to implement, operate and maintain on their own; technically feasible and have no adverse environmental impacts; capable of effectiveness approach. of demonstrating the the participatory

financial/economic viability of the project. The Project Digest also had detailed costs of the scheme such as the item-wise cost of the materials and labour, the total project cost, the contribution of the community, District Government and PPAF. Annual operation and maintenance costs of the project were estimated, using standard specifications. Project implementation and management plans were also part of the Project Digest. After reviewing the Project Digest, the regional engineer submitted it to the Head Office engineer through Regional General Manager for approval.

Project Approval
PITD section at the NRSP Head Office reviewed the Project Digest and technically approved it and sent it to Regional General Manager for final approval. Regional General Manager reviewed the Project Digest and gave final approval. The copies of the Project Digest were forwarded to District Government, Nazim Union Council, VDO and PPAF for information.

These criteria ensured that the schemes were properly implemented and that their operation and maintenance was ensured. The capacity of VDO members to execute and maintain the scheme was enhanced through training and demonstrations provided by NRSP.

Project Preparation
When a scheme was selected to be implemented, NRSP field staff prepared a Project Digest that included technical surveys, design, quantities, cost estimates, and a detailed feasibility proposal. The VDO, in its meeting, assigned responsibilities and duties and nominated its members for the required activities and surveys. Technical Surveys: The NRSP field engineer conducted the required surveys in collaboration and consultation with the VDO members. The VDO was also required to provide land if required for the project. Design and Estimates: After conducting surveys, the field engineer with the guidance of the Regional Engineer designed the project: prepared a survey report, and the necessary drawings, and calculated quantities and cost estimates. The regional engineer ensured that the designs were simple and that standard specifications were followed. The quantities and cost estimates were based on the Composite Schedule Rates of 1998 (CSR-98). Project Digest: The regional engineer1 reviewed the survey reports, drawings, design and estimates and made necessary changes. The regional engineer and the field engineer prepared a detailed project digest (feasibility proposal) covering the social, technical, environmental and
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Signing of Terms of Partnership (ToP)

After approval of the Project, the NRSP field staff, including the engineer and the Social Organiser, attended the general body meeting of the VDO at which at least 75% of the members must be present. They explained the details of the scheme including the project size, specifications, cost contributions of the VDO, District Government and PPAF, the disbursement schedule, the implementation process and procedures, the time required to complete the project and the estimated annual operation and maintenance costs, as well as roles and responsibilities to be accomplished at each stage by the community and NRSP. Upon agreement of the VDO members, the Terms of Partnership (ToP) was signed with the VDO. The ToP included all the terms and conditions agreed upon between NRSP and the VDO. The ToP was signed by the two authorised signatories of NRSP and the president and the manager of the VDO. A list of all the members of the VDO present in that meeting including their names and signatures was attached with the ToP. Both NRSP and the VDO kept the copy of the ToP and the list. After signing the ToP, the VDO was asked to open a separate bank account for the scheme. The account was operated by two signatories nominated by the majority of the members present in the meeting. The VDO was then asked to constitute a project committee from the VDO members for Project implementation and management.

The regional engineer is involved at each step of the project implementation. He supervises and monitors the engineering related all activities and guides the field engineers wherever required.

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Project Committee: This committee consisting of at least two members nominated/elected from the VDO is responsible for the overall implementation of the project. It supervises the project execution, interacts/liaises with NRSP, follows instructions from the NRSP engineer, assigns duties to the members, and keeps records of the funds received from NRSP and the expenditures made on the purchase of material and payment of labour. The Committee also records the progress of the work and reports it to NRSP as and when required. The committee is also responsible for drawing instalments from NRSP on the basis of the physical progress of the project. The request for installments is submitted in a resolution signed by at least 75% of the VDO members. The Project committee maintains the records and accounts of the project. In case of any discrepancy, the committee promptly informs the VDO members in their general body meeting. It also informs NRSP, which then takes the necessary actions. The committee is also responsible for managing the operation and maintenance of the project after its completion. The VDO monitors the working of the committee. The progress of the project and other related issues are discussed in the VDO meeting. The VDO may change the members of the Project Committee, if the need arises.

and financial management of the scheme as described below: Construction Management: The Project Committee was fully responsible for the execution of the work. It maintained all the records including instalments received from NRSP, expenditure vouchers, payments receipts, labour attendance sheets and community contributions, during the execution process. The NRSP engineer visited the scheme periodically, checked the quality of the work and ensured adherence to the design specifications. The project committee took technical guidance from the NRSP engineer who provided technical assistance and elaborated design specifications of the project to the committee throughout the construction period. Due care was given to protecting the surrounding environment during construction of the project and necessary measures were taken where required. The NRSP staff remained in touch with the communities to provide assistance throughout the construction period and even after completion of the project to ensure proper operation and maintenance. Financial Management: The District Government and the PPAF provided the total agreed amounts to NRSP up front. NRSP opened a separate project account and funds received from the District Government and PPAF were pooled in the same account. NRSP disbursed the grant for execution of the project to the VDO in instalments. The amount released was according to the nature of the project and the actual work done on site. The project committee forwarded a request to NRSP for the release of the instalment in the form of a resolution signed by at least 75% of the VDO members. NRSP staff checked the expenditure vouchers, the progress of the work, the quality as per the design specifications and the required contribution of the VDO. The field engineer evaluated and verified the work done through a standard form for release of the instalment. The engineer forwarded his/her assessments to the regional engineer for sanctioning the release of next instalment. The payment to the VDO was made through a cross cheque. Before releasing the final instalment, the NRSP engineer made sure that the work had been completed satisfactorily in all regards.

Training and Capacity Building of VDOs

NRSP arranged a four-day training programme for the members of these VDOs. These VDO members were trained to manage the construction process, to keep records, procure materials, and after project completion, to properly operate and maintain their projects. They were also trained to manage the VDOs affairs in a participatory way. For example, they are trained to conduct regular meetings, to ensure attendance of at least 75% of members in the meeting, to enhance the amount and utilisation of the VDOs savings, to keep accurate records of all the activities, to carry out needs analysis, to facilitate development planning, to link the VDO with other relevant organisations and to co-ordinate with NRSP.

Project Implementation and Management

NRSP and the VDO jointly managed the implementation of the scheme. The VDO was wholly responsible for its execution under the supervision of NRSP engineers. The VDO was bound to complete the scheme within the time specified in the ToP. NRSP and the VDO were jointly responsible for the construction

Operation and Maintenance

The VDO is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project. The VDO also bears the operation and maintenance costs. The project committee is fully responsible for the operation and maintenance of the project

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

for at least 3 years. The committee collects and uses the maintenance funds as and when required. However, NRSP provides the technical guidance and necessary training (free of charge to the VDO) to the Committee and other VDO members for the proper operation and maintenance of the project.

forwarded to the regional and head offices of NRSP. The Monitoring, Evaluation and Research (MER) section at head office and regional office levels continuously monitored the field activities and carried out impact and cost-benefit studies etc. The MER section in particular and other sections occasionally followed up on the effects of activities undertaken by NRSP in Jhelum in partnership with District Government. The SOs and field engineers were required to maintain a diary in which they recorded the days activities and arising issues. These diaries were reviewed by the incharges, managers, MER professionals and other NRSP staff. The regional and head offices staff of all sectors also monitored the physical infrastructure schemes during their field visit. NRSP programme activities, specially the progress of physical infrastructure projects in Jhelum were reviewed in weekly staff meetings at regional and head office levels. The issues were discussed and necessary actions were taken to resolve the issues. Programme Planning Meetings (PPMs) are held weekly at head office involving programme managers; quarterly PPMs are held at the head office involving the entire NRSP management and monthly meetings at the regional level involving all regional professionals. These meetings review the progress achieved and formulate plans. Semi-annual planning meetings are held at the head office: all NRSP management and senior professionals participate.

Monitoring of the Schemes

In addition to the visits of officials of District Government, government departments/ministries, NGOs, local people, Nazims/Councillors, DCO, and members of national and international organisations as well as PPAF officials, NRSP follows its own well-defined monitoring system. The following are the salient features of NRSPs monitoring system specific to the schemes implemented under this pilot project: The day to day progress of the scheme was monitored by the beneficiaries of the scheme and was reviewed regularly in the meetings of the VDO. The NRSP field staff also monitored the day to day activities of the scheme and maintained a close liaison with the community members in its execution. The Nazim, Naib Nazim and the Councillors of the union council regularly visited the schemes and reviewed the progress. The schemes were reviewed regularly in the union council meetings. The District Nazim and DCO were regularly and promptly informed about the scheme position and discussions in the union council meeting about the schemes. The PPAF officials regularly visited the schemes. Monthly Progress Reports (MPR) and Quarterly Progress Reports (QPR) were produced at the field unit level and

The Development Schemes

The development schemes under this Jhelum Pilot Project were initiated in June 2002 with an initial amount of Rs. 2 million to be shared between the District Government (50%), the communities (20%) and the PPAF (30%). NRSPs team including engineers and social organisers did the required surveys and prepared cost estimates. The total estimated cost of the six projects came to be Rs.2,209,128. The increased estimated cost was discussed with the District Government and the communities who agreed to provide the exceeding amount according to the agreed ratio (District Government: 50%; Community Contribution: 20% and PPAF share: 30%). Nearly 700 households residing in six villages in Union Council Bokan were benefited from these six schemes. NRSP implemented six infrastructure schemes in villages: Jhakkar, Mirajpur Beli, Bhundanh Gakhran, Bhundanh Jattan, Sheikh Qurashian and Kota Sawarian. All these schemes were of street pavement, construction of drains and ponds. Schemewise cost details are annexed. The details of costs incurred on these six projects are as follows:

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Costs

Details of costs (Rs)

Total District Government share 1,104,564 184,094 1,610 Community contribution 441,826 73,638 644 PPAF share

Costs of six schemes Average cost per scheme Av. cost per Beneficiary Household

2,209,128 368,188 3,220

662,738 110,456 966

Nazim and Councillors Training

NRSP always tries and arranges various training programmes to build the capacity of its development partners. Since establishment of new District Government System, NRSP has trained 132 local representatives including Nazims, Naib Nazims and Councillors of District, Tehsil and Union Council levels from a number of Districts of Pakistan. Of these 132 elected representatives, 57 were men and 75 were women. NRSP has also arranged more than 100 Orientation Workshops to District/Tehsil/Union Council Nazims and Councillors introducing them NRSP programme and planning and implementation of development projects.

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Visitors to the Project

The Project has played an important demonstrative role of partnership between District/Tehsil/Union Council, RSPs and the donor agency. Many personalities from local, national and international organisations/ agencies including a) officials from government departments; b) Nazims, Naib Nazims, and Councillors of District/Tehsil/Union Council from other districts of the country; c) officials from various donor/funding agencies; and d) many researchers/ consultants visited the Project activities. These visitors met with District Nazim Jhelum, DCO Jhelum, Naib Nazim, Councillors and Villagers from Union Council Bokan and discussed the Project regarding legal and institutional arrangements for the Project, meeting procedural requirements, maintaining and controlling quality and checking material quality, registration of VDOs as CCBs and apolitical attitude of elected representatives towards community development initiatives. The District Nazim and DCO Jhelum clarified them on these issues. They also clarified the visitors about the future role of VDOs as CCBs. The Nazim Union Council Bokan and the members of the VDOs explained the issues regarding maintaining transparency and quality in the Project implementation and how NRSP helped in community mobilisation and involvement in Project implementation and developing apolitical attitude of elected representatives by turning them into a true and genuine community development worker.

It has been a pleasure to visit this Union Council of District Jhelum and to witness the good work being done by NRSP with the participation of the local populace. We definitely would want to replicate the programme in our District of Kohat. Malik Asad - District Nazim Kohat
standards, communities involvement and contribution, and procedures for procuring

I the DCO Karak along with District Nazim Hangu and Karak availed the opportunity of visiting the Community Development Scheme of this village under the auspice of NRSP. I give my pleasure to note that the VDO of this village has very successfully implemented a scheme for community uplift. We all the visiting guests are really impressed about the dedication of the VDO in implementing the scheme with minimal expenses making the scheme cost effective. Khalid Khan Baluch -DCO Karak

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Village Jhakkar
Scheme Type Date of initiation Date of completion Beneficiary Households Total Cost District Government share Community contribution PPAF share (Rs.) = = = = = = = = Street pavement and construction of sewer drains and pond 14-07-2002 25-12-2002 280 Rs. 594,398 Rs. 297,199 Rs. 118,880 RS. 178, 319

Pictures showing conditions before and after the scheme implementation in the village

1- Before

1- After

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3- After

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Village Mirajpur Belli

Scheme Type Date of initiation Date of completion Beneficiary Households Total Cost District Government share Community contribution PPAF share (Rs.) = = = = = = = = Street pavement and construction of sewer drains 02-07-2002 31-10-2002 100 Rs. 446,119 Rs. 223,060 Rs. 89,224 RS. 133,836

Pictures showing conditions before and after the scheme implementation in the village

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Village Bhundanh Gakhran

Scheme Type Date of initiation Date of completion Beneficiary Households Total Cost District Government share Community contribution PPAF share (Rs.) = = = = = = = = Street pavement and construction of sewer drains 02-07-2002 29-09-2002 57 Rs. 102,731 Rs. 51,366 Rs. 20,546 RS. 30,819

Pictures showing conditions before and after the scheme implementation in the village

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1- After

2- Before

2- After

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3- After

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Village Bhundanh Jattan

Scheme Type Date of initiation Date of completion Beneficiary Households Total Cost District Government share Community contribution PPAF share (Rs.) = = = = = = = = Street pavement and construction of sewer drains 02-07-2002 15-11-2002 94 Rs. 390,671 Rs. 195,336 Rs. 78,134 RS. 117,201

Pictures showing conditions before and after the scheme implementation in the village

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Village Sheikh Qureshian

Scheme Type Date of initiation Date of completion Beneficiary Households Total Cost District Government share Community contribution PPAF share (Rs.) = = = = = = = = Street pavement and construction of sewer drains 02-07-2002 15-11-2002 110 Rs. 317,532 Rs. 158,766 Rs. 63,506 RS. 95,260

Pictures showing conditions before and after the scheme implementation in the village

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Village Kota Sawarian

Scheme Type Date of initiation Date of completion Beneficiary Households Total Cost District Government share Community contribution PPAF share (Rs.) = = = = = = = = Street pavement and construction of sewer drains 02-07-2002 05-11-2002 45 Rs. 233,841 Rs. 116,921 Rs. 46,768 RS. 70,152

Pictures showing conditions before and after the scheme implementation in the village

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Assessments by Local Governments & Communities

Following are the statements of District Nazims and DCO of District Jhelum and the Nazim, Naib Nazim, Councillors and members of VDOs of Union Council Bokan.

Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, District Nazim Jhelum

Our interaction with NRSP started in April 2002. I appreciate Dr. Rashid Bajwa- the Chief Executive Officer NRSP, for his efforts, interests and dedications for initiating this pilot project. I also appreciate Nazim, Naib Nazim and the councillors of Union Council Bokan for their enthusiastic involvement in project success. I must acknowledge professionalism and dedication of NRSP Jhelum staff for their efforts in making the pilot project successful. The people in District Jhelum especially of Union Council Bokan are feeling benefits of this approach. The achievement of this project is the faith and confidence of people in this system. This was because, not only the work quality and quantity was good, but also important thing was the involvement of people. The people from other villages are demanding now for initiation of NRSP activities in those villages. They are saying that they are willing to undertake development initiatives through NRSP system and they are ready to contribute in the costs. Overall, the partnership between District Government, NRSP and the communities has been appreciated in the general public of District Jhelum. This project has demonstrated of building peoples faith and confidence on development institutions. For example, in village Bella located on the other side of Rive Jhelum, no development work has been done in the last 30 years. Different Governments awarded development works to contractors but no contractor was ready to work in that village. This was due to difficulty of transportation of construction material. This was the first time, development work was done in the village. Now people of Bella village feel that they are the part of District Jhelum and they are equally important for District Government Jhelum. That is why, people are demanding for starting development activities in their village. The approach has build credibility and confidence among the people. This has happened only when we have practically set an example. If people have faith and confidence on the system, they can participate and contribute in the costs. I think we can enhance our partnership with NRSP in other sectors especially in agriculture, education and health sectors. For poverty alleviation, we need NRSPs

support for mobilising and motivating the people to alleviate poverty.

Mr. Saif Ullah Chaudhry Farrukh Altaf, Chattha, District Nazim Jhelum District Coordination Officer Jhelum
The working experience with NRSP in a very short period was very successful. After the establishment of District Government, we were facing a problem of spending funds at union council level through mobilising, and active and effective involvement of communities in the development process. We started a pilot project with NRSP in Union Council Bokan with the consultation of Nazim, Naib Nazim and Councillors of this Union Council. The success demonstrated in this pilot project has generated demand from other union councils for initiating NRSPs activities. It has been agreed to scale-up partnership with Mr. Saif Ullah Chattha, NRSP in another District Co-ordination Officer ten union Jhelum councils during this year. The District Government Jhelum would provide 80% of the scheme costs in these union councils. The demonstration effect of the project in the ten union councils will be much more. Like the success of pilot project, I hope and believe that the projects in another ten union councils would be successful and model would be replicated in all union councils of District Jhelum. We succeeded in doing a very important job through this project that was beyond the capacity of the District Government, i.e., setting up of CCBs. The District Government lacks expertise required for the formation of CCBs. A catalyst required for this (community mobilisation) was missing in the District Government. NRSP has played the role of this catalyst. This project has helped in the formation of CCBs and spending of unspent 25
21
NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

percent funds that are required to be spent through CCBs. Once communities are organised into CCBs, there are many activities of District and Provincial Governments that can be executed through these CCBs and communities can actively participate in these activities. In this way, we would be able to tap the human, physical and financial resources of the communities. The communities can do effective monitoring. This would be the best partnership model among District Government, NRSP and the communities. In future, we want to work with NRSP in many sectors especially in health, education, agriculture and e-governance. The partnership with NRSP can be extended in income generating activities through microcredit. It is hoped that future of partnership among District Government Jhelum, NRSP and the communities would be bright and successful.

Under this project, VDO was formed in each village. The VDO opened and operated a bank account for the scheme activities, people were involved at each step and stage. Every body had a feeling of ownership of the scheme. The involvement of people ensured high quality and more quantity of work. The regular visits of NRSP engineers and staff and their guidance also helped the members of the VDOs to maintain the quality and quantity of work. I think, this project was a main achievement in terms of quality and quanity of work as well as the involvement of people. NRSP arranged a three-day workshop for training of union councillors. The training contents and material was very good and beneficial to councillors. This training helped councillors in identifying, planning, implementing and monitoring of the small scale village level development initiatives. In terms of project benefits to people, I think with their involvement in development works, people feel their importance and value. Previously, no body asked them for their involvement in development work. They really did not exactly know what development activities are being done in their village. This time, NRSP staff made them clear about each step and mobilised them for their involvement in the work and own the work quality as well as quantity. For the future use of VDOs, I would request NRSP to arrange various training activities to build the capacity of these VDOs to strengthen their future role in various developmental activities. The role of VDOs should not be closed with the completion of the project. Through these VDOs, there has been awareness and empowerment in the people to undertake development activities. The VDOs can be involved in many types of development initiatives especially in improving the education and health sectors. This project has brought a change in the attitude and understanding of the people. I would like to give an example of Mirajpur Belli located on other side of the River Jhelum. Government awarded twice the development work of this village to contractors. It is very difficult to bring construction material to the village. The transportation costs are very high. The contractors were unable to do development work in the village and ultimately they ignored to do the work. This time, we were able to do the same work which the contractors were unable to do, with NRSP support through the formation of a VDO in the village. In the beginning, we had fear about peoples involvement and their 20 percent contribution in the capital costs of the schemes. This project has changed our perception. It has demonstrated that if properly mobilised, the people are willing for their involvement and

Ch. Wajahat Waseen, Nazim Union Council

Previously, the village level development works were done as per will of the local politicians/representatives and the work was done to benefit specific political group. The work was done in selected streets to benefit specific voters. Even some houses in the same streets could not benefit from the development work. This has not happened in this project. All people irrespective of their political affiliation were involved in the work. This has changed the traditional political approach and resulted in significant positive change in moral attitudes of both the councillors and the people. The NRSP staff in Jhelum is appreciated for their skills to mobilise the communities. Previously, people did not believe in the transparency Ch. Wajahat Waseen, of the system. Nazim Union Council This time, the people were astonished to see working of NRSP staff in a transparent way. The people could not imagine such level of staff. They had never dealt with such staff. Through this project, we made better use of funds for high quality and more quantity work. But for us, the important aspect and achievement of this project is the community involvement. This has created a sense of ownership among the villagers. They owned the work in their streets. Previously, the community was never involved in the village level projects.
22

NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

contribution in the costs. The people from other villages are demanding for this type of development activities. They are willing: to be involved in the work, to contribute in the costs and to do labour work. I think this is the main achievement of this project. This was not possible through traditional ways or systems. The twentypercent contribution was not a big issue for government, the issue was how to involve people. I suggest, NRSP programme should be scaled up in all areas of Pakistan.

political differences, which I think, is the main achievement of this project. The NRSP staff attended our UC meeting and introduced their programme and this project. A VDO was formed in my village. The VDO was responsible for managing the construction work under the supervision of NRSP staff. We have seen many development projects but working experience with NRSP was different in terms of peoples involvement, quality and quantity of work. We could not imagine such quality work with this small amount. This project has demonstrated how we can save ourselves from the low standards contractors work. People are happy. The contractors work is always low quality due to number of factors. All villagers were involved in the work. The work quality was remarkable. I would request NRSP to scale-up its programme activities in our union council in other sectors such as agriculture, education and health.

Chaudhry Muhammad Sarfraz, Naib Nazim Union Council Bokran

Our working experience with NRSP is an excellent example of developing cost effective and best quality physical infrastructure. People are appreciating NSRP system for this remarkable quality and quantity of work. Being elected representatives, we had promised our people to address their issues. The main issues at village level always have been the pavement of streets and construction of drains. We solved our problems through this project. It has helped us to have peoples confidence and enhanced our position in the public.

VDO members and Villagers

The physical infrastructure schemes were implemented in six villages: Jhakkar, Mirajpur Beli, Bhundanh Gakhran, Bhundanh Jattan, Sheikh Qurashian and Kota Sawarian. NRSP arranged training programmes for the members of Village Development Organisations (VDOs). During training programme, they expressed the achievements of Jhelum Pilot Project. Following are the comments of the members of VDOs: Chaudhry Sarfraz,
Naib Nazim Union Council Bokran

M.

I appreciate NRSP staff s commitment and honesty to work. The people are astonished to see such dedicated and sacrificing staff who worked day and night to complete the project within a short period of three months. The people have now faith and confidence in NRSPs work. They could not imagine such organisation whose development activities are very transparent and open to all. We have never seen an organisation like NRSP whose staff does not takes commission (illegal money earning). The people are now appreciating NRSP. I would request to enhance NRSPs role in other sectors such as agriculture, health and education. The need is to scale-up NRSPs role these VDOs.

It was not possible for a contractor to construct the streets with this amount. The people from many other villages are contacting us asking for information regarding VDO formation and the role of NRSP Our village people could not imagine that work could be done in such a way. Previously, the contractor was doing these works with government funding. People were not doing anything on self-help basis. We had not to contribute in the costs. NRSP mobilised and motivated us. We had no political objective. The people tried hard. Now the people have realised the benefits of a VDO. The quality of construction work was not possible through the contractor's work. Our VDO purchased good quality material and tried to make a better road. The government should involve the village people in such small village level works. The contractors should not be involved in such village level activities. The VDO is necessary to execute the work with discipline. The men, women and children from this village were used to walk through the waste water standing on the Kachcha path. We thank God that we were able to construct the streets with NRSP support
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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Mr. Mahboob Khan, Union Councillor

I belong to opposite political group of Nazim Union Council. But I appreciate NRSP for mobilising and training us to do development work with apolitical manner. We are undertaking the work collectively and there has been no appearance of

and District Government Grant. We contributed to the costs. Now our VDO is able to execute such other projects. If government really wants to make Pakistan prosperous, then it should involve the villagers through their VDOs in such village level activities. The contractor system is costly and work done through contractors is low quality. The person who had not seen the village may not understand the achievement. A contractor could not construct the same streets with this small money and the streets may not have lasted more than a year. Our VDO was involved in all the construction work and used a better quality material. The people from other villages come to see the village. They want to form community organisations. NRSP has shown us the right path of development. Now the people are happy. The people feel confident and can execute such similar development projects. We pray that the government, instead of wasting money through contractors work, should involve the people in village level

developmental activities. This will save money. The contractor can not produce such quality work, as he has to distribute money to many persons. The government should involve local villagers through VDOs for development works in villages and chaks. No surface drains existed in the village. Some houses had latrines, a few with septic tank. The human and animal excreta were used to float in the streets. Waterborne diseases particularly in children were common. NRSP approached the village and formed a VDO. We were facing difficulties even in going mosques to say prayers due to wastewater in the streets. This could happen only due to the VDO. We are very happy. We took the benefits. NRSP approached us and organised us into VDO. We would be registered as a Citizen Community Boards (CCB). The people of nearby villages are contacting us asking about the formation of the Community Organisation and the role of NRSP.

Challenges, lessons learnt and the way ahead

Challenges
NRSP encountered a number of challenges in implementing this project. It successfully met these challenges through a) its committed staff; b) the eagerness of the communities to implement the projects; c) the guidance, assistance and involvement of the District Government Nazim, District Co-Ordination Officer, and the enthusiastic involvement of Nazim, Naib Nazim, Councillors and the communities of the Union Council Bokan. The District Government is gratefully acknowledged for providing financial and moral support and involving NRSP in the implementation of community-based development projects. The District Government and the Nazim, Naib Nazim and the Councillors of Union Council Bokan are acknowledged for their sincere efforts and deep involvement in the implementation of the Pilot Project. NRSP thanks the VDOs and other people from these villages for their dedicated efforts. NRSP also appreciates PPAF for supporting this pilot project. The main challenges NRSP faced and the lessons learnt during the implementation of the Jhelum Pilot Project were: Union Councillors attitude: NRSP programme is targeted towards poverty alleviation and empowerment of the poor. When the Pilot Project began some NRSP staff were worried that NRSP was becoming involved in political activities. With guidance from the NRSP management, the staff was able to undertake the project in an apolitical manner benefiting the majority of the households irrespective of their political alliance.

Community

attitude: Traditionally governments are supposed to bear all the costs of development activities. The community is excluded from planning and implementation and does not contribute directly to the costs. In other words, the community is a relatively passive recipient of Government interventions. In this Project, however, the NRSP staff mobilised and motivated the communities, ensuring they had a clear understanding of the Project, their own roles and responsibilities, and those of NRSP, the District Government and Union Council.
In this Project, NRSP succeeded in changing the traditional attitude of people from

24

NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

thinking of street pavement and drain construction as the responsibility of the local governments. Now they actively participate in the implementation of schemes, contribute to the costs and properly operate and manage the scheme after completion. Now there is sense of community ownership. It is now clear to all concerned that the involvement in and ownership by the communities are essential ingredients for sustainable development and the delivery of quality services.

Transparency: Based on the previous experiences with contractors work, the communities had doubts about the transparency of the implementation, in particular doubts about the quality of work. The NRSP staff remained in close contact with the communities, made sure they understood every aspect of the scheme and tried to involve every body from the village in the process. The NRSP staffs attitude and ways of working meant that all the documents were available to everyone. They also ensured that everyone involved clearly understood the procedures and approaches, especially in the procurement of materials. This clearly demonstrated that projects can be implemented transparently and created trust in NRSP. Complexity of the Partnership:
NRSP was implementing the physical infrastructure schemes either with Government funding (e.g. schemes implemented through NRSP under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme) or with donor funding (e.g. PPAF, UNDP, UNICEF etc.). NRSP staff was managing the records of a single financing agency and reporting to a single agency. This agency was usually monitoring the implementation of the schemes. However, in case of this Pilot Project, the nature of partnership was more complex: on one side were the District Government, and the Tehsil and Union Councils and on the other was PPAF. Many complications emerged during the scheme implementation. The NRSP staff, with the guidance of management, handled the emerging problems as they arose.

the subjects and not as the objects of the development process, union Councillors were moulded into effective development workers with apolitical attitude towards development activities, assisted the District Government to increase its credibility with the people by doubling its development funds and by supporting the introduction of NRSP in the villages, which has a good reputation with the people and to develop a mechanism for forming and establishing CCBs, helped PPAF to benefit a large number of poor people by decreasing its cost share from 80% to 30%, thus enhancing the utilisation of its funds. PPAF is in an advantageous position to deliver its component-specific activities in a short time and to set an example for its potential future role of working with District Governments through its Partner Organisations. NRSP succeeded in playing a catalyst role in developing a partnership model between the District Governments, Donor and a Rural Support Programme for community-based development projects by involving local political representatives. According to the village people and the local elected representatives, the main achievement of Jhelum Project is building of faith and confidence of people in the transparency and openness of the NRSPs system/approach. The lessons learnt from this project clearly indicate that the involvement of communities is essential for sustainable development and for the delivery of quality services. The District Government Jhelum is proud in talking the achievements of this project for fulfilling its mandate in: a) development of physical infrastructure, and b) developing a mechanism for forming and establishing CCBs. The Nazim, Naib Nazim, Councillors and villagers are satisfied with the construction of high quality and more quantity infrastructure schemes in their villages. NRSP benefited by enhancing its experience of working with partners of different natures for community development. This pilot project experience clearly indicates that there is a huge potential for Partnerships between District Governments and NRSP for uplift of both rural and urban communities. Through these partnerships, the District Governments/Tehsil Municipal Administrations/Union Councils would be in better position to fulfil their legal and moral responsibilities for facilitating the active community participation through the formation of Citizen Community Boards (CCBs).

Lessons Learnt
This Project was modelled on NRSPs practice of participatory development. It has set an excellent example of working partnership between the District Governments set up under Devolution Plan, the Donors and the Rural Support Programmes. It was successful in many ways: rural communities were enthusiastically involved showing that organised villagers are able to participate as

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Lessons learnt from NRSPs work with District

costs

plus

overheads

to

implement

the

NRSP fostered COs

NRSP mobilizes the poor to organize themselves on a common platform called community organization (CO). It is the initial step of a process by which the people begin a journey towards economic and social empowerment. At CO forum, they can discuss their problems and share their ideas and solutions. Ideally, once they start acting as self-help organized group they will also be able to deal with many other constraints. The heart and soul of the social mobilization approach followed by NRSP is the formation of effective, strong and viable development oriented organizations. Once a CO is formed, the people do the rest, assisted by NRSP at every level, thorough credit, technical assistance or linkages, but the driving force remains the will of the people. This is called harnessing the peoples potential. NRSP provides training to the CO members/president/manager to build their capacity in managing the COs affairs in a participatory way. They are trained to manage regular CO meetings, to ensure 75% attendance level, to enhance savings and its utilization, to keep a proper record of all activities, to carry out a needs analysis, to facilitate development planning, to link COs with other organizations/agencies and to co-ordinate between the CO and NRSP for all interventions. Therefore, NRSP fostered COs are able to: hold regular meetings independent of NRSP staff, discuss the development constraints faced by their community, and finds ways to remove these constraints; enhance their COs saving level and its utilisation; keep accurate records of all activities; receive skill training and monitor their COs activities; identify and prioritise their own needs and finds ways to meet these needs on their own; execute village level physical infrastructure and other projects and to manage operation and maintenance of these projects after completion; contact government departments and other organisations/agencies to obtain necessary inputs; to articulate their development needs more efficiently while interacting with NRSP, Government, or other private and public sector agencies. They are also able to manage and implement development projects more efficiently, in which community participation is involved. Examples are various types of physical infrastructure projects; select their social activists carefully and exercise their right to change the manager and president if the group considers their behaviour and commitments below expected standards; and to resolve their social conflicts.

NRSPs COs have demonstrated the abilities and capabilities beyond what is required for a CCB and have capacities to undertake development initiatives. The valuable role of these COs has been recognised by many government, private and donor agencies. Government Jhelum in partnership with the communities and PPAF are as follows: Moulding Union Councillors into True Development Worker: The Pilot Project experience indicates that the Union Council members are not traditional politicians. They demonstrated the willingness to serve objectively and without prejudice as partners in participatory development. They were motivated and mobilised to set aside political considerations. Many Councillors worked co-operatively with their political opponents. This co-operative attitude helped create social cohesion in the participating communities. In the long term this attitude will play a constructive role in the development of these villages. Pooling of Resources: The initiative demonstrated the success of pooling of resources: 50% from District Government, 20% from beneficiary community and 30% from PPAF. The District Government Jhelum was able to save 50 percent of the capital
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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

schemes. In order words, the District Government was able to increase their development programmes by more than 100% in partnership with NRSP and the PPAF. It helped PPAF to enhance the utilisation of its funds by lowering its contribution in the scheme costs from 80% to 30%.

Community

Participation: The success of the Pilot Project in terms of costeffectiveness, quality, operation and maintenance arrangements, as well as the enthusiastic involvement of the communities, clearly indicate that organised villagers are able to participate as the subjects and not as the objects of the development process, given the appropriate opportunity.

Confidence Building of elected The enthusiastic representatives:

satisfaction of the elected representatives through this project in terms of creation of their credibility and appreciation in the

general public made them willing to enhance their share from 50% to 80% in the new union councils.

of the devolution process at the grassroots level in the form of Citizens Community Boards or CCBs. The main concern is that these CCBs may not be truly representative bodies and may, therefore, reinforce the main negative ingredient of elite capture, which our political systems suffer from. Therefore it is important that an institutional arrangement be set up which fosters true and genuine CCBs. Some of the tasks to be performed by such an institutional arrangement are: a) Social mobilisation to ensure that CCBs are formed as a result of community willingness and interest and that they function as participatory organisations. Capacity building of the CCBs including managerial and skills enhancement training. Monitoring the work and progress of CCBs. Promoting income generating activities in order to enable CCBs to contribute to development programmes.

Capacity Enhancement of the VDOs: It was often observed that there was
a positive change in the social cohesion of the community. They arranged frequent VDO meetings, discussed the issues and found means of resolving problems. The implementation of the schemes enhanced the social maturity of the VDOs. This would also help in future in implementing other interventions such as micro credit and income generating activities as well as improving the record keeping at VDO level. NRSP Staff Confidence and Capacity Building: The Government-civil society partnership approach to implementation began an intensive process of interaction with the various line departments, Nazims, Naib Nazims and Councillors. The success of the schemes helped to build NRSP staff confidence. Formerly, they were somewhat reluctant to expose themselves to interact with the political representatives. Now they are more confident of their achievements and performance. Moreover, staff capacity and performance have increased, as has the magnitude of their activities. They are doing more work with better co-ordination and better results.

b)

c) d)

The way ahead

This Project is a prime example of partnerships among the District Government, NRSP and donor agencies for community development activities. Based on the success of this model, the model has been scaled up in another ten Union Councils in District Jhelum. In these union councils, the District Government Jhelum would bear 80% of the costs instead of 50%. The model is also being replicated in other Districts of Pakistan. NRSP has signed MoUs with District Governments of Chakwal, Rahim Yar Khan, and Khairpur (Sindh). It is hoped that it will eventually be initiated in all the RSPs working districts. There is a huge potential for joint efforts between District Governments, Union/Tehsil councils, the communities and NRSP. The present model can also be extended in other sectors especially in education, health and agriculture sectors. However, the partnership potentials are not limited to these fields. The partnerships can be extended to all areas/field that encourage grass-roots development and support to communities for harnessing their potential. RSPs if involved with District Governments can play an important role in strengthening the role of District Governments. NRSP appreciates the institutional and legal provisions under the devolution plan for encouraging and recognition that an organized citizenry forms an essential part

The RSPs strongly believe that without creating a network of village-level development organisations, there will always be a vacuum between people and Local Government. The RSPs can contribute greatly by enlisting the COs as CCBs and work on this has begun in all RSPs across Pakistan. These COs have immense potential for inclusion and complementarily to the devolution process at the grassroots. This is an ideal opportunity for these COs to gain recognition within the local government system and to access public funds that can be utilized in an effective and transparent manner. The use and allocation of public funds in this manner can only strengthen the governments plan for devolution and good governance. The RSPs can facilitate District Governments, Tehsil and Union Administrations in compliance of their mandates. Generally all RSPs, and especially NRSP, are in a position to offer governments, in particular the District Governments, a large network of Community Organisations, as well as their expertise and experiences in facilitating linkages between government bodies and people. NRSPs experience indicates that effective grassroots organisations can be created only through a process of capacity building of the communities. NRSP is willing to act as a development agent through a partnership with the communities, elected local councils, federal & provincial governments and donors. This will also require further increasing the coverage of NRSP if there is to be a critical mass of effective social organisation to enable bottom-up planning and effective linkages.
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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum

Annexes
Guidelines/Terms of Reference (ToR) for NRSP/PRSP Copy of MoU between NRSP and District Government Jhelum

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NRSPs work with District Government Jhelum

Guidelines/Terms of Reference (ToR) for NRSP/PRSP

In the year 2001-02, Government of Punjab provided funds to NRSP and PRSP for the implementation of community physical infrastructure schemes under Khushhal Pakistan Programme. For this, the Planning and Development Department (P&D), Government of Punjab issued guidelines for NRSP and NRSP. These guidelines provide procedures for working of NRSP to implement development projects in partnership with departments and agencies working under the Government of Punjab. NRSP and District Government Jhelum agreed to follow these guidelines. The main points of the terms of Reference (ToR) for NRSP to implement projects under the Khushhal Pakistan Programme (KPP/IRUDP) are given below: 1. Regional General Managers / Regional Programme Managers/ Officers of Rural Support Programmes (National Rural Support Programme/Punjab Rural Support Programme) will forward a portfolio to the concerned District Development Committee (DDC) for information. No tendering will be done, as the Rural Support Programmes will be considered as executing agencies similar to the line departments. The RSPs will execute the schemes through the concerned community organisations. The Rural Support Programmes will open separate bank accounts for funds of IRUDP/KPP for poverty alleviation. The project will be completed within one year from the date of release of funds. RSPs field engineers will conduct technical surveys by involving the community, prepare the detailed estimates based on Composite Schedule Rates 98. Project Proposals and estimates shall contain the scope of work and all necessary plans, cross sections etc. A list of feasible schemes will be prepared prior to preparation of cost estimates. Terms of Partnership (ToP) will be signed with the community organisation (CO) before the start of execution. A project Committee of the concerned CO will be formed at the time of signing the ToP. An amount of Rs. 10 million shall be released for each of the two districts of NRSP: Chakwal and Khushab. A Project Completion Report will be prepared by NRSP and submitted to the District Development Committee (DDC). The Finance Department, in consultation with the RSPs, would prepare simple/separate guidelines to facilitate carrying out audit of these schemes.

2.

3. 4. 5.

6.

7. 8. 9.

10. The community organisations (COs) will contribute 20% of the total cost of the scheme in the form of cash, material and labour. 11. The Operation and maintenance of the scheme, as per the ToP, will be the responsibility of the beneficiary community. This will be verified by NRSP field staff during their routine visits and the facts recorded in the Karwai Register of the CO. 12. NRSP will be paid 4% of the total cost of the project for overheads as well as training of CO members for operation & maintenance. NRSP will not demand any funds against contingencies. 13. Small schemes not costing more than Rs. 500,000/- (Rs. 5 lakhs) for each scheme would be selected. Schemes over Rs. 5 lakhs would also be executed subject to conceptual clearance by Planning & Development Department. 14. Transparent accounting and financial efficiency should be the hallmark of this programme. 15. All schemes should fall within the scope of IRUDP/KPP for poverty alleviation. Culverts should be on public way to avoid subsequent complications in case of private ownership. Similarly private land should be transferred in the name of the community or the state, as the case may be, before spending Government funds on it. 16. Schemes will be identified on the basis of need indicated by the Community.

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NRSPs work with District Governmen Jhelum