Water And Sanitation Programmes


1. Water and Sanitation in Hill Areas (WASH)




Water and Sanitation in Hill Areas (WASH) Project was sanctioned by The Hans Foundation in year 2015 and the project continued up to September, 2017. The prime focus of this programme was to conserve the rain water that flows unutilized in hill areas through rain water harvesting tanks and also promote rural sanitation through construction of Toilets in convergence with SWAJAL, Government Programme of Uttarakhand. The organization completed the construction of 1000 Roof Top Rain Water Harvesting Tanks 0f 3000L each in 60 villages of Devprayag and Kirtinagar Blocks of Tehri Garhwal. Besides, over 500 toilets were constructed in these villages with community contribution and grant from SWAJAL Programme of Uttarakhand Government. All 60 target villages were made Open Defecation Free (ODF) within a period of 2 years.

Major Activities Undertaken in the Project :


  • 1. Construction of 1000 Rain Water Harvesting Tanks in 60 villages.
  • 2. Construction of over 500 Toilets with community contribution and grant from SWAJAL Programme, Uttarakhand.
  • 3. Formation of 60 Water and Sanitation User Groups (WSUGs) in project villages.
  • 4. Capacity Building Programmes for WSUGs through Village Level and Cluster Level Training Programmes.
  • 5. BCC Activities for community mobilization and sensitization towards rural sanitation and water conservation.
  • 6. Making all 60 project villages Open Defecation Free (ODF).
  • 7. Promoting Kitchen Gardens for vegetable and flowers cultivation through waste water of Rain Water Harvesting Tanks.

2. Construction of drinking water schemes in Pauri Garhwal




Drinking water remains the prime challenge for the people of hills in Uttarakhand as the habitations are located on hilly and slopy terrains above the rivers and streams from where the water can't be lifted easily and economically. Habitations built around the perennial rivers and streams have regular supply of drinking water but majority of the habitations located at distance from these sources and are dependent on minor streams/ gadheras which are tapped as source for providing drinking water through gravity system : from higher source to the lower habitations by pipeline. Hence there is need to provide drinking water in these uncovered or partly covered villages through household connections or Rain Water Harvesting Tanks which is also an alternate mode of water harvesting in hills.

Prime objectives of the project are :


  • 1. To mobilize the community in selected villages for participation in the project activities.
  • 2. To form the User Water and Sanitation Groups/ Committees in villages and capacitate them to manage the water supply schemes.
  • 3. To ensure drinking water supply to all households in the villages through community participation and contribution in the project.
  • 4. To hand over the completed water supply schemes to the UWSGs and help them manage the O&M of the schemes.

3. Construction of toilets Under SWACHHA BHARAT MISSION (URBAN)




Swachha Bharat Mission is a top priority Programme of Government of India. Under this programme it is envisaged to achieve 100 percent construction of individual toilets in the country. The Hans Foundation supported VARDAN for construction of 809 Toilets for the urban poor in Piran Kaliyar Nagar Panchayat of Haridwar district. The area is predominantly Muslim populated and majority of the households do not have individual toilets. Hence it was selected for promoting sanitation under the Swachha Bharat Mission (Urban) by Govt. of Uttarakhand and financially supported by The Hans Foundation, New Delhi. The project was implemented in coordination with the local urban body as list of beneficiaries was provided by the ULB and project staff of VARDAN ensured the selection of proper beneficiaries through ground verification of the data. All the toilets were geo-tagged on Collect App to ensure the quality of construction and transparency in the project work. The total construction of 809 Toilets was completed in 4 months period and handed over to the selected 809 beneficiaries.


4. SWAP PROGRAMME (2008-13)




SWAP Programme was focused on providing safe drinking water to the rural households in Devprayag and Kirtinagar blocks of Tehri Garhwal district. It included preparation of PFR and Feasibility Reports, DPRs of the Water Supply Schemes and also providing drinking water to all households in the project villages with the technical support from Uttarakhand Peyjal Nirman Nigam. The project was implemented through UWSSCs at village level in all the project villages.