Role and credibility of NGO in Social Accountability - Indian Perspective

What is an NGO?

NGOs , termed as Non-Governmental Organizations are usually formed among private groups of
individuals sharing specialized interests in regards to issues that can be local, national or international.
. NGOs work on their own, in conjunction with individual governments or with international
organizations. The important function of the Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) is that of being
a link between the Government and the community and at the same time driving their efforts towards

the overall improvement in quality of life of the people of the society.

General Objectives of NGO’s

• To describe and discuss the common characteristics of health system functioning in the given
socio-economic, socio-cultural, political and ecological settings
• To highlight and delineate crucial factors responsible for the health sector reforms and to
undertake, as the most challenging endeavour, effective and efficient health management and
quality health care service provisions in the -community
• The fundamental objective is to act as a catalyst in bringing about local initiative and community
participation in overall improvement in quality of life.
NGO’s are committed to social justice, sustainable development and human rights and to the
dissemination of information and promotion of sustainable development initiatives, in response to the
needs of underrepresented and marginalized sectors of society.
NGO’s in India
India is a land of rich cultural diversity, customs and traditions. India has a long tradition of social
service, social reform and voluntary agencies. NGOs emerged in India soon after Independence when
Mahatma Gandhi made a plea for dissolving the Indian National Congress, and transforming it into a
Lok Sevak Sangh (Public Service Organization). Although the plea was rejected during that time, it
did not halt the formation of non-governmental organizations in India. Later on voluntary agencies
were established to work closely with the governmental programs on social and economical issues.
These agencies organized handicrafts and village industries, rural development programs, credit
cooperatives, educational institutions, etc.
Since Independence in 1947 until around 1980 there was little effort on the part of the Indian
Government to define the role of a voluntary agency or to recognize its importance. In 1980, however,
with the Sixth Five Year Plan (1980-1985), the government identified new areas in which NGOs as
new actors could participate in development. These areas included:
1. Optimal utilization and development of renewable source of energy, including forestry through
the formation of renewable energy association at the block level
2. Family welfare, health and nutrition, education and relevant community programs in the field
3. Health for all programs
4. Water management and soil conservation
5. Social welfare programs for weaker sections
6. Implementation of minimum needs program
7. Disaster preparedness and management (i.e. for floods, cyclones, etc)
8. Promotion of ecology and tribal development

NGOs because of their situation and interaction with local people can be very effective in bringing
change since they are able to address issues that governments are often not able to comprehend.

Today, India has a vigorous NGO sector. It is estimated that about 25,000 to 30,000 NGO’s
are active in India. One problem with NGOs in India, as with NGOs anywhere else in the
world, has been the increasing dependency on governmental funds or donations from external
(foreign) donors like the World Bank. This dependent relationship has resulted in a lack of
flexibility on the part of NGOs to pick their missions and objectives since many are expected
to perform certain tasks in return for funding. But, further still, it has also created structures
that have become more bureaucratic in nature and, hence, less effective in development.
Nevertheless, NGOs are here to stay and continues to work in India on political, economical
or social issues; the task before them is how they will manage to produce change. Some of the
non-government organizations in India are All India Blind Relief Society, Family Planning
Association of India (FPAI), Indian Medical Association, Indian Red Cross Society, National
Society for the Prevention of Blindness, Sent Parmanand Blin d Relief Mission, T.B. Association
of India, Bombay Mothers and Children Welfare Society; to name a few.

Developmental Activities Undertaken by the NGO’s in INDIA

 Solid waste management

This includes both municipal solid waste and bio-medical wastes. Some of the NGO’s in India
play a role in assisting the Municipal Corporation in the collection of garbage from individual
households and the deposition of the same in secondary collection points by appointing street
beautifiers in the concerned areas.
 Zero waste management
NGO’s have now started focusing its efforts on the concept of Zero Waste Management, by
which practically all wastes can be converted into wealth through recycling.
 Citizens' Waterways Monitoring Programme (WAMP)
This programme was started with the sole purpose of developing clean and pollution free waterways
in cities and for creating a healthy living environment for all city dwellers. WAMP was formed in
1991, as a joint programme with several NGOs and individuals dedicated to the cause of developing
clean waterways in the city.
 Community Sanitation Improvement Projects
Inadequate sanitation facilities are a major problem to human health, especially in the neglected
low- income areas and slum settlements. NGO’s concept of self- help is best displayed
by the community sanitation improvement projects in these areas. Two of the most successful
projects have been at the at Narikkurava (Gypsy) Colony in Indira Nagar, Chennai and at
Giriappa Road in T. Nagar, Chennai.
 STudent Environment Programme (STEP)
This program has a dual role - of creating environmental awareness amongst the student
community and to develop each child's mind resources through various personality development
programs. A teachers' manual and an activity book that have been brought out as a part of this
program are designed in the `do-and learn' format and provide an easy understanding of the
problems faced by us and at the same time kindles the mind to find remedial measures.
 Tree Planting
Exnora ,an NGO in India have been instrumental in planting trees for the purpose of
beautification of roads, parks, playgrounds, burial grounds, etc., with the larger perspective of
environmental protection.
 Vegetable Roof Gardening
With agricultural land shrinking rapidly and deforestation rates rocketing, urban agriculture is
the need of the hour. Exnora,an Indian NGO has been propagating and training youth in setting
up and maintaining vegetable roof gardens in households of Tamil Nadu. The organisation is
closely working with the Tamil Nadu Horticulture and Agriculture Departments on this project.
 Rain Harvesting
NGO’s have propagated the system of rain harvesting in several residential areas in the city with
the aim of exploiting one or another important water source, viz., and rainwater. Many cities
suffer from perennial water problems every summer and therefore it is important that all avenues
of water source be tapped. The NGO (Exnora) has arrived at a method to conserve a large part of
the 110 cms of rain that we receive annually. Exnora is a core member of Water Conservation
Committee constituted in Chennai by Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board,.
 AIDS Awareness
NGOs are working diligently to educate the public about the prevention of AIDS and provide
support and counseling for HIV- infected persons. . One key in the prevention of AIDS is to
eliminate negative images of HIV-infected persons as projected by the media. NGOs is working
toward educating the public to respect the dignity of all persons living with HIV, regardless of
how they became infected.
 Noise Pollution
Noise pollution has become a major problem in the metropolitan cities and in other urban
areas. NGOs have been constantly working towards imparting education to the people for the
prevention and control of noise producing sources.
 Air Pollution
The sources of Air Pollution are industries like thermal power plants, sugar mills, distilleries,
paper mills etc. Vehicular emissions are another source of air pollution. NGOs driving efforts
towards the various pollution control measures to be adopted by these industries.
Not only the above ,the NGO’s in India have been providing assistance towards the other issues
like socio-cultural,socio-political,scio-economic issues.

Success story of some NGO’s in India

• Kashmir Earthquake5
The recent Earthquake which hit both parts of Kashmir on Oct. 8th 2005, has unveiled many aspects
of the picture. the presence of the Army and other para military forces along the LoC and the affected
areas of Uri and Tangdhar proved to be a blessing for the area as it was the security forces which
could manage to reach the victims within 20 minutes of the event. The strengths of the NGO’s that
were witnessed in the aftermath of the killer quake was the quick response of all the stake holders
especially the Govt. Agencies and the Non Governmental Organizations and other social service
organizations. The relief material which poured in from every nook and corner of the country was an
exemplary strength of secular India where the NGO’s played a catalyst role. The adoption of most of
the villages by the various agencies especially the NGOs revealed that, ‘although economic resources
have a boundary, human hearts don’t have any’.
• CADME, (Coastal Area Disaster Mitigation Efforts)
The regular occurrence of disasters both natural and man made in Coastal Andhra Pradesh in India has
had a series of repercussions on the state and country’s economy, its development policies, political
equilibrium and daily life of millions of Indians.
CADME, (Coastal Area Disaster Mitigation Efforts) a net work of 20 voluntary organizations
working together has initiated a programme called “Community induced early warnings and
preparedness” in more than 350 most vulnerable villages in the coast and established taskforce groups
at each vulnerable village to mitigate the effects of disaster as well as to help their co-villagers in pre
during and post disaster situations. As many as 350 village level contingency plans have been
developed with the involvement of local communities and village taskforce groups. Each contingency
plan indicates the vulnerable areas, vulnerable people in the village, evacuation plan, elevated and
safer places nearby and actions and responsibilities of taskforce group members in different disaster
situations (pre, during and post).

• Chaitanya Jyothi Welfare Society (CJWS)

Chaitanya Jyothi Welfare Society (CJWS), situated at Nellore on Southern Coastal line of Andhra
Pradesh is working particularly on Disaster Risk Reduction and Management in the Coastal Mandals
that are Indhukurpet, Muthukur, T.P.Gudur, Bogolu, Alluru, Vidavalur, Chillakur, Kota, Vakadu,
Sulurpet and Tada of Nellore District since 1998.

• Environmental Training Institute

Interdisciplinary understanding, cooperation and coordination and increased public participation
and support are important components in the process towards sustainable development. To move
towards Sustainable Development, DANIDA has prepared a project document for establishing
"Environmental Training Institute" in Tamil Nadu. A side letter was signed between Government
of India, Ministry of Finance and the Kingdom of Denmark with a Danish grant of DKR 9.961
million. Government of Tamil Nadu has also given concurrence for setting up the Environmental
Training Institute in Tamil Nadu with DANIDA assistance ETI is a common platform that offers
training to pollution control board staff, industries, the urban sector as well as NGOs. Over the
years the institute has conducted 124 Technical programmes, involving over 1965 participants
and 36 special Environmental awareness programmes have been conducted for NGOs, Govt.
Officials, Professionals, Universities and Educational Institutions.
• TATA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) has launched a major project, the first phase of which
is nearing completion. This project called "Growth with Resource Enhancement of
Environment and Nature (GREEN India 2047)" has rigorously estimated the reduction in
India's key natural resources during the period 1947-97, and has computed economic values of
consequent losses, which in some cases are alarmingly high . In the case of indoor air pollution,
the major reason lies in the fact that the poorest sections of society are still dependent on low-
grade biomass energy resources. As a result, women and children in particular are exposed to
long hours of harmful emissions, which lead to a number of health problems including heart
disease, pregnancy related problems and various upper respiratory diseases. The solution to such
a problem will be larger production of biomass for increasing the availability of good quality fuel
wood, and the development and use of superior technologies in its conversion and end- use,
which provides the only means to enhance production of biomass under soil and climatic
conditions that have traditionally not been conducive to high growth.
• The National Institute of Health and Family
The National Institute of Health and Family Welfare is a premier institution in the country. It has
kept pace with new thinking and contributed to the knowledge in the area of health and family
welfare.
The main objective of the Institute is to serve as an apex technical institution to promote national
health and family welfare programmes in the country through education and training, research,
evaluation and monitoring, consultancy and advocacy, and providing certain specialized services.
NIHFW is an autonomous Institute funded by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare,
Government of India. It is situated in South Delhi.

Case Study

NGOs AND INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS: A CASE STUDY OF

IRRIGATION SECTOR REFORMS IN GUJARAT, INDIA

Aga Khan Rural Support Programme(AKRSP)

BACKGROUND

Being dependent for a long time on the vagaries of monsoon, India has placed a very great emphasis
on development of the irrigation sector right from independence. However the problems of under-
utilisation, lack of access by tail-end farmers, poor maintenance and non-viability of the irrigation
systems persist in the government owned surface irrigation schemes. On the other hand, small,
privately owned irrigation systems (dugwells, tubewells, etc.) are found to be more efficient and
provide more than 50 percent of irrigation in India.

Gujarat is an industrially prosperous state of western India. However, it lags behind the rest of the
country in the agriculture sector primarily because of the comparatively smaller area under irrigation
(only 27 percent of the cultivated area is under irrigation compared to the national average of 33
percent). In Gujarat the utilization of irrigation schemes, maintenance and water rate recovery also
continue to be very poor. The relationship between the farmers and the irrigation department is not
very cordial because the farmers perceive that the systems are not working well, and therefore not
worth paying any more for, while the department expresses inability to maintain systems.
Since water is a major priority, farmers were constantly looking for alternatives. In this scenario, a
few NGOs took up water related activities in the late 1970s and 1980s (Lift Irrigation Schemes,
Checkdams, Recharge Structures, etc.) which were very popular. Because of the Gandhian Movement,
the credibility of the Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in this state is high. There are many
examples of NGO-GO collaboration in the areas of education, relief work, etc.

The author of the case is working in one of the NGOs, the Aga Khan Rural Support Programme
(India) [AKRSP(I)], which is working in 3 distinct districts of Gujarat State on community
management of natural resources. AKRSP(I) was established in 1984 and believes that the village
community can be empowered to manage their own natural resources in a sustainable manner to
improve the quality of their lives. Hence, in the last 14 years, AKRSP(I) has promoted more than 450
Village Institutions to manage their natural resources. The initial leadership was provided by Mr. Anil
Shah, who previously was a senior officer in the Gujarat Government. Because of his background
AKRSP(I), in addition to implementing programmes at the grassroots level, also focused on making
government policies and procedures people-centered.

THE REFORM PROCESS

The AKRSP(I) had helped, in 1987, to establish Lift Irrigation Co-operative Societies in a tribal
district of Bharuch which had only 6 percent of its cultivated area under irrigation despite having an
average rainfall of 1100 mm. These co-operative Societies were functioning well, setting their own
water rates (3 to 4 times the Government rates) with high recovery. During a discussion on the relative
success of such schemes vis--vis the government schemes, the Secretary (irrigation) [the highest
ranking government official in the Irrigation Department] pointed out that while these small schemes
of 50-00 ha were noteworthy, a large number of canal irrigation projects of the Government were
under-utilised. In fact, there was one very near AKRSP(I)'s area of operation. By revitalising such a
project, more than 500 ha could be irrigated and 500 tribal farmers could have access to irrigation
facilities. Nervous about taking on such a large project, AKRSP(I) had a series of meetings with the
farmers of the Pingot Irrigation System which, on the right bank of Mich, was irrigating 10 ha against
the planned 500 ha. The tribal farmers in the command area were cynical and indifferent, because they
had been complaining since 1982 when the dam was established, and had gotten nowhere. To focus
on this, AKRSP(I) appointed a community organiser in 1989 specifically to motivate and organise
these farmers, and this process took 3 years (the society was registered in 1991). Senior officers
looking after the project were being persuaded to test the canal, identify the lacunae and rehabilitate
the system along with the farmers.

Meanwhile, Mr. Anil Shah had read 'Transforming a Bureaucracy' a book narrating how the irrigation
sector in Philippines had become farmer-centered. Realising that in canal irrigation the government
would always be a major actor, and unless its attitude was changed there was no hope. He persuaded
the Ford Foundation to sponsor an exposure visit to the Philippines with staff from the Government
Irrigation Department and his own NGO. The Government Engineer was Mr. G. D. Patel, a very
down-to-earth dynamic Chief Engineer who was in charge of Bharuch District which covered the
work at Pingot. The trip was a great success and Mr. G. D. Patel came back transformed into a man
with a mission, namely to ensure that irrigation systems were managed by farmers. With his zeal,
rapid progress took place. The government sponsored the visit of the founding father of Participatory
Irrigation Management (PIM) in Philippines, Benjamin Bagadion, who went around Gujarat and
addressed the Irrigation Department Staff from the State in a major workshop. While, on the one hand,
AKRSP(I) was asked to take up more pilot projects in Bharuch, on the other hand, work on changing
procedures to make farmers. participation feasible was taken up by Mr. Anil Shah and Mr. G. D.
Patel. Mr. G. D. Patel used to hold very frequent meetings with the villagers and review the progress
of the system rehabilitation. Because of these outdoor meetings (usually held in farmers. fields), the
villagers and the NGO field staff acquired confidence in dealing with the government engineers.

Working groups involving the Secretary, and even the Chief Secretary (the highest ranking bureaucrat
in the State), were established and all these fora had farmer leaders from the initial pilot projects of
Pingot and Baladeva.

A second exposure visit to Philippines in 1993 led by the Secretary (Irrigation) had ended with a
workshop in which PIM had been explained to over 100 senior staff from the state. Because of this,
there was awareness in the entire state about what was happening in Bharuch District and the need for
change in approach by the Irrigation Department. AKRSP(I) found that though irrigation staff at the
highest level were very clear, at the operational level, the involvement of farmers was resented. Field
staff did not understand and approve of the new role vis-vis farmers and there was resentment towards
NGOs for introducing these changes. Hence, AKRSP(I) staff, along with some interested staff from
WALMI, undertook a large amount of training to change the attitude and behaviour of the staff as
well as clarify why PIM was being introduced . Over time, many staff from the irrigation department
has emerged as trainers, and it has become easier to convince newer staff.

In 1994 the Secretary (Irrigation) changed, and there was concern about the new Secretary's stand on
PIM, since he had not been exposed to the Philippines. Fortunately the new Secretary, Mr. B. J.
Parmar, had been exposed to PIM in other countries, and also to the Pilot Projects already functioning
well in Bharuch District. This ensured his commitment to the reform process. In 1995, these efforts
resulted in the Government Resolution of 1 June 1995, clearly establishing PIM as a policy of the
State Government. Meanwhile, Anil Shah had left AKRSP(I) and started the Development Support
Centre, a support NGO focusing on water issues in Western Gujarat. Collaboration with AKRSP(I)
continued, both in terms of exposing procedural bottlenecks and training of irrigation staff through
field exposure visits and workshops.

Over the last two years, targets are being set for irrigation department staff to involve farmers. There
is continuous emphasis by the NGOs that farmers' society cannot be measured only by targets, but by
farmers taking up more responsibilities. The condition of getting farmers. contribution (5 percent for
new projects and 10 percent for old projects) for rehabilitation, which is a part of the PIM resolution,
ensures that farmers are involved intensively before rehabilitation (it takes a lot of dialogue and
interaction to get farmers to contribute!). Though the government still depends on NGOs for
community organising, a recent trial of NGOs training Community Organisers (COs) and giving them
to the irrigation department may help in scaling up.

Mr. Anil Shah remains a principal actor in this change process, but increasingly, at the project level,
co-ordination between the farmers and irrigation staff does not require NGO involvement.

THE OUTCOME

The following are the achievements so far:

• There is a Gujarat Government resolution which actively invites farmers to participate in the
management of irrigation systems. To prevent this resolution from being mere rhetoric, a
Memorandum of Understanding, through which the farmers take over the irrigation systems,
has also been established;
• A large number of procedures have been created and changed to ensure that farmers can
effectively participate in the management of their own irrigation systems
• Within the irrigation department staff, there is an acceptance that the way ahead is through
involving the farmers;
• There is also an acceptance that NGOs are equal partners in the reform process and the
community organisation is an essential component for any XXX government subsidises the
cost of community organising process by NGOs;
• This reform process has survived 3 governments (i.e. 3 different political parties), and
political leaders of all these parties have agreed that farmers. participation and handing over
responsibility by the government is the way ahead;
• It has also survived changes in key personnel over time, i.e., the Secretary of Irrigation has
changed and so have most of the Chief Engineers. This has affected the pace of the reforms in
some places, but has not led to any reversal of policy;
 • In terms of impact, 25,000 ha are being handed over to farmers. Now the government has
started taking up PIM on its own, where NGOs are not present. The major impact is in the
mindset of the departmental staff. ;
• At almost all levels it is accepted that there is a need to change. PIM is now a part of the
criteria on which irrigation staff are assessed, which ensures that the reward system within the
department also recognises PIM; and,
• Increasingly in training programmes, the irrigation staff is asking for inputs on how to do
PIM. The stage of convincing them as to why PIM is needed is over.

CONCLUSION
From the above case it can be concluded that if one desires to reform the existing public system, it is
essential to demonstrate that this can be done. Because AKRSP could demonstrate successful PIM
projects in a backward tribal area, the irrigation department had to acknowledge that farmers could
manage their own irrigation projects and farmers’ participation was not merely rhetoric but reality.
Reforms which have been started from within (Gujarat State in this case) are more likely to be
sustainable than those imposed by external agencies as conditionalities. However, it is essential that
the regional bureaucracy receives support at the national level. In this case there has been a conducive
environment supporting PIM at the national level, with two national PIM workshops being held
recently.
NGOs, if they focus on macro-policy changes, can do so successfully provided there is a positive
political acceptance of the role of NGOs in civil society. They are the key individuals who can
become change agents if they are motivated and transformed.
NGOs come in all sizes, shapes, ideologies, nationalities, organizing structures and styles. Some focus
on local issues,some on national issues others address issues that span whole continents and some
span the entire globe. Their very diversity reflects the complexity of these organizations. NGOs
encompass everything from charities and relief agencies to political parties; think tanks and academic
centers to community organizations; cultural associations to continent wide farmers' networks;
women's groups to environmental federations; social movements to human rights and religious
groups.
The need of the hour is to develop a coordinating mechanism involving all the organizations active in
this field along with the government machinery so that all efforts are institutionalized within a system
to ensure maximum utilization of available resources equitably.

Submitted by
Reema Dey
57/D/2009