o dr bihar summary

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Workshop on

Owner Driven Reconstruction and Rehabilitation

for Kosi Flood Affected Regions

Patna, Bihar, December 2008

Organised by

Government of Bihar

Department of Planning and Development

Supported by

Owner Driven Reconstruction (ODR) Collaborative

December 18 19, 2008

Report Compilation:

Amitabh Sharma

Neeraj Labh

(Initiatives in Development Studies, Patna, Bihar)


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Workshop on Owner Driven Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for Kosi Flood affected Regions 1

Owner Driven Reconstruction and Rehabilitation

for Kosi Flood Affected Regions

EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe Kosi floods of 2008 have thrown up the mammoth task of rebuilding the lives of affected

communities. Houses, schools, roads, hospitals all were damaged as the Kosi adopted a

new course following a breach in the embankment at the 12 th Km from Kosi barrage. The

total population of 33, 45,545 living in 993 villages of 412 Panchayats of 35 blocks of 5

districts was affected. A total of 3, 40,742 houses were damaged. It is evident that a

destruction of this scale requires the state to initiate measures to put a rehabilitation and

reconstruction plan in place, mobilise the required resources and facilitate the

implementation of the rehabilitation and reconstruction process. The challenge forreconstruction of this scale is to achieve balance between the competing domains of speed,

cost and quality of construction in a manner that enables quick delivery of flood safe and

earthquake safe houses, uses a number of local material and technology options, and does

not encourage exclusive use of any one material construction as well as supports the

affected families upgrade their existing housing and living standards.

Delivery of these objectives requires policy guidelines and packages rooted not only in the

regions strength and limitation but ideally should corroborate relevant experiences from post

disaster reconstruction elsewhere. Essential for this is building an informative platform to

facilitate articulation of rehabilitation and reconstruction experiences on critical issuesgained through reconstruction programmes in other disasters. The recognition and

acknowledgement by the Bihar state officials of owner driven reconstruction as a preferred

approach makes it obligatory to familiarize policy makers and implementers with critical

operational issues, challenges and pre-requisites for owner driven reconstruction approach

so that these are eventually holistically addressed by the policy framework of the state

government. A two day workshop was organised at Patna with the intended purpose to

facilitate such experience sharing.

Though the broad contours of the state policy have been established, which favour solutions

that are not in conflict with forces of nature, strengthen local coping mechanisms throughappropriate disaster preparedness measures, take a holistic view of problems, build an

environment to harness collective efforts and strive to introduce appropriate reforms in

government policies and programmes; the specifics of the state policy are yet to take a firm

shape. On the other hand, there is a shared clarity across various levels of the state

machinery that to meet the shelter needs of this scale, a solution has to base itself in a

sound appraisal of regional reality ranging from understanding the available indigenous

knowledge and skills, usage and availability of various building material, bringing in desired

safety features in traditional building practices and concomitantly creating regulatory

framework for stakeholder participation and enforcement of non-negotiable safety and

quality standards.


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2 Workshop on Owner Driven Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for Kosi Flood affected Regions

As these guiding principles for policy specifics are in strong alignment with principles,

values and mechanisms of owner driven reconstruction, there is a manifest readiness across

the government machinery to adopt owner driven reconstruction approach. Thus in light of

the Government of Bihars choice of an owner driven approach, the workshop aimed to

enable the formulation of policy guidelines and packages by underlining whyit was perhaps

the most viable approach, what needs to be done to make it effective in terms of cost,

speed, quality, safety, equity and aspirations of affected communities andhowto build back

better by adding value through provisioning of household services and creating

opportunities for dovetailing disaster response with long term development initiatives.

Pre-requisites for effective ODR were delineated through various presentations and

discussion. ODR requires proactive governance as State must evolve policy, technical

guidelines and packages for housing assistance. More importantly, it is expected to create

enabling mechanisms for material and technical support, financial disbursement, regular

monitoring and course correction. Also, since damage and loss assessment informsplanning and monitoring housing assistance, the imperative is to devote adequate time in

preparing for it and ensuring that it adapts to the local reality, includes fewer categories, is

technically specific, not prone to varying interpretations and is widely publicized.

Policy guidelines should be informed by experiences of government housing programme

(such as Indira Awas Yojana). All materials including bamboo can be built safely, with

prescribed standards, and walling and roofing options must be provided in the policy

guidelines, with non-negotiable safety features especially loft, plinth and joineries.

Financial disbursal systems should be premised on principles of equity, timely availability of

resources accompanied by beneficiary tracking system to monitor its usage. Needless toadd, a sound material and technical support mechanism is mandatory for facilitating

execution of owner drive reconstruction. For undertaking this, decentralized hubs need to

be established for training, material and financial disbursals, cluster facilitation and as

production centres. A special purpose vehicle needs to be instituted for better coordination

and to ensure sustained focus on rehabilitation as well as its emerging issues.

The workshop led to few key recommendations such as both, the embanked area and the

area affected in 2008 need to be planned together; safe community structure to be built in

each hamlet; community buildings to be equipped with drinking water facilities; emphasis

on collective efforts - of Government, people, NGOs and corporate sector; implementationstrategies to be decentralized to the extent possible and ensuring safe buildings by

establishing appropriate techno-legal regime (plans, bye-laws, building codes, etc.)

Regional planning, land use planning, settlement planning will be assessed and undertaken

so as to not only capture the landscape of Kosi region on a single canvas but also to inform

the planning process. The policy will address issues of fragmented land holdings,

demarcation of plots lost due to floods, and the issue of missing revenue records. For

upgrading the lives of the affected communities the shelter package envisages provisioning

of household services to meet the sanitation, lighting and drinking water needs keeping in

mind the ecological imperatives of the region alongwith issues of access, control,

affordability, viability and sustainability.


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Workshop on Owner Driven Reconstruction and

Rehabilitation for Kosi Flood Affected Regions

I. INTRODUCTION

With the near completion of an effectively governed and managedrescue and relief operations, the Government of Bihar plans torehabilitate the families in Kosi flood affected regions. While thecontours of the rehabilitation policy have been recently defined in thePolicy Document on Kosi Reconstruction, the government is currently inthe process of finalising various rehabilitation policy packages. Toinform this process, a workshop on Owner-Driven ReconstructionApproaches - Learning, Issues and Challenges was held onDecember 18 and 19, 2008 at Hotel Maurya in Patna.

The workshop was organised by Government of Bihar with assistancefrom the Owner Driven Reconstruction (ODR) Collaborative. Thecollaborative comprises of United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Gujarat StateDisaster Management Authority (GSDMA), Kutch Nav Nirman Abhiyan(a network of 30 grassroots NGOs that was founded as a response tothe devastating cyclone that hit Kutch, Gujarat in May 1998), AsianCoalition for Housing Rights (ACHR), Sustainable Environment andEcological Development Society (SEEDS), Hunnarshala Foundation,Unnati and World Habitat Centre, Switzerland.

Objectives of the Workshop:

The workshop aimed at enabling the formulation of the GovernmentsPolicy Guidelines and Packages by: Bringing in a select sharing of relevant National and South Asian

experiences in post-disaster reconstruction which create an

informative platform for the Government of Bihars imminent

reconstruction programme

Holistically addressing some of the critical operational issues,

challenges and requirements of implementing an owner-driven

reconstruction approach for/in the Kosi Flood Affected Regions.

Structure and Sessions of the Workshop:

The workshop included presentations and discussions on the followingaspects of reconstruction processes in light of the Government ofBihars choice of an owner-driven approach. They were as follows:

1. Implementing an Owner-Driven Reconstruction (ODR)

Programme:

Three topics were covered under this theme which were as follows:

a. Overview of Post-Disaster Reconstruction Approaches in the

past 15 yearsb. State Instituted Support Mechanisms for ODR


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Workshop on Owner Driven Reconstruction and Rehabilitation for Kosi Flood affected Regions4

c. Technology and Design Considerations for effective ODR cost,speed, quality, safety, equity and aspirations of affectedcommunities.

2. Build Back Better:

Three topics were covered under this theme which were as follows:a. Potential and challenges in introducing Household Services sanitation, energy and access to safe drinking water

b. Habitat and Settlement Planning in the context of existing landuse and water logged areas

c. Role of stakeholders in reconstruction of Shelter, Communityand Public Infrastructure

Inaugural Address

Shri Nitish Kumar, the Honourable Chief Minister. Bihar, in his

inaugural speech made the following points:

Though earthquakes are occasional, floods affect

Bihar on a recurrent basis almost every year causing

huge damage to life and property. 28 districts of the

state are prone to floods. However, people of districts

like Madhubani and Darbhanga who are more often

hit by floods have evolved means of coping with

floods. But this time the floods struck in areas, which

had been relatively flood protected with people

having no experience in dealing with floods. This

accounted for the huge suffering of the people.Otherwise the 2007 floods were one of the worst in

the history of Bihar affecting 2.5 crores population

spread over 22 districts.

There is a need to appreciate the role of political context of Nepal and

the past history of negligence in the maintenance of barrage in

understanding the floods this year.

The state government did the maximum possible it could creating

history of sorts by evacuating almost 10 lakh marooned people (the

largest ever rescue operation in Asia) and extending relief support to 4.5

lakh people in mega relief camps.

It would be vainglorious to assume that there would be no embankment

breaches in the future as mankind can never absolutely triumph over

the processes of nature. What we can do is to be better prepared to

mitigate the impact of such disasters in the future.

The pre-occupation with the current floods should not make one lose

sight of the plight of those within the Kosi embankment. They need to

be necessarily included in the planned rehabilitation package.

Shri Nitish Kumar, Hon. Chief Minister, Bihar


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There is a need to provide building material choices. Bamboo being

indigenous to the Kosi region, which people have been using

traditionally should also be encouraged as one of the material choices.

Community centres at the tola level (hamlet level) and not at the

revenue village level need to be constructed on elevated ground wherepeople can take shelter during floods. Such centres should also have

provision for toilets and drinking water. Along with community centres

elevated platforms also need to be developed where cattle can take

shelter.

The State Government has the resources to undertake

reconstruction of schools and hospitals. However, NGOs

and private parties are welcome to assist in the

construction of houses, community centres and village

infrastructure.

The Government would soon make a law making it

mandatory for builders to construct earthquake proof

houses in the state. The provisions of the proposed law

would apply in the construction of the new buildings.

Opinion from experts would be solicited regarding the

applicability of the proposed law to old buildings.

Though the the Kosi Floods were declared as a National Calamity, the

states request for financial assistance was not yet fulfilled. Here the

media has an important role to play in highlighting the resource needs.

The ambit of the Calamity Relief Fund also needs to be enlarged to

have provision for rehabilitation as well.

Shri Nitish Kumar, the Honourable Chief Minister, mentioned that

the Government will take forward the outcome of the workshop

recommendations by formulating appropriate policy packages and,

hence, set the tone for the deliberations in the workshop.

Sh. Nitish Kumar, Hon. Chief Minister, Bihar


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II. Key Points of Discussion

Keynote Address:

Dr. A.S. Arya, National Seismic Advisor to Government of India, in

his keynote address delineated the multi hazard context of Bihar(floods, earthquake and high wind velocity) and the opportunity that the

post Kosi floods reconstruction drive had to offer in mitigating the

impact of these disasters in the future. However, in order to optimise on

this opportunity, it was necessary that certain approaches, strategies

and standards stemming from the experience of previous disasters

were adhered to. His foremost emphasis in any reconstruction initiative

was on ensuring flood and earthquake resistance through enforcement

of safety standards as stipulated in Indian

Standard Codes and Guidelines for the different

disaster contexts and the contingent material andconstruction technology choices. While

emphasising the need for a holistic approach that

comprehensively addressed the needs of the

beneficiaries and not just their housing, he

suggested two broad reconstruction approaches

that could be adopted in a complementary way.

1. Owner Driven Reconstruction (say about80% of total)

2. Public Private Partnership Program (PPPP)

(remaining 20%)

In according primacy to owner driven reconstruction, the following

factors have an important role to play:

1. It ensures that the design of the houses are determined by theowners themselves, as per their needs and preferences

2. Also ensures that instead of being uniform, the housesreconstructed are of different patterns as found in case of organicevolution of the common villages

3. Approach ensures `Technology Transfer to the community andsubsequently the sustainability of program.

However, for an owner driven approach to succeed an appropriate

regulatory and facilitative framework had to be in place and in the

formulation and execution of such a framework the governance

institutions of the state had the most important role to play. The key

components of such a framework should be

Ensuring Flood & Earthquake Resistance Offering Choice of Building Materials & Construction Technologies. Collecting available Technical know how Development of Appropriate guidelines Appropriate Awareness Creation to enable informed choices and

control over the construction process

Prof. A. S. Arya, National Seismic Advisor, GoI


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Capacity building for carrying out the works Control and assurance of required quality of construction Facilitation of the constructions through

materials banks

In order to illustrate the significance of thesecomponents, he drew extensively upon the

experiences of his close association with the

mammoth post earthquake reconstruction exercise

undertaken in Gujarat and universally rated as one

of the more successful cases of owner driven

reconstruction. Dr. Arya concluded his

presentation on a very positive note by stating

What Gujarat could achieve, Bihar can surely do it

better.

1. Implementing an Owner-Driven Reconstruction (ODR)

Programme

a. Overview of Post-Disaster Reconstruction Approaches in

the Past 15 Years

The overview of post disaster reconstruction approachesimplemented in India and South Asia drew upon the followingexperiences:

Maharashtra Emergency Earthquake Rehabilitation Program(MEERP): Latur Earthquake, 1993

Gujarat Emergency Earthquake Reconstruction Project(GEERP): Bhuj Earthquake, 2001 South Asia Tsunami Reconstruction Program (India, Sri

Lanka and Maldives, 2004) South Asia Earthquake (Pakistan and J & K, India, 2005)

Disaggregating the overall reconstruction approach into its keycomponents, Mr. Vatsa dwelt upon what each component entailed inthe event of the various reconstruction experiences and what lessonswere to be learnt against each.

Key Lessons for ODR approach in light of various reconstruction

experiences were articulated as follows:

Experiential evidence gives an edge to ODR over otherreconstruction approaches for the following reasons:

o More efficient utilisation of resources through removal ofintermediaries

o Easier to manage and ensure greater transparency andaccountability

o Facilitates use of households own savings / borrowings forimproving the housing asset

o Promotes the fastest recovery

Damage and loss assessment should be adequately planned for, beadaptable to the local context, be specific and as uncomplicated as


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possible and preferably complemented with household andcommunity level surveys for wider social acceptance.

Policy for housing assistance with equityas the guiding principle should bepremised on provisioning of minimum cost

rather than replacement cost and shouldbe restricted to two packages linked to thecategories of reconstruction and repair.

In financing reconstruction there is anentire spectrum of options to be tappedranging from international agencies tospecially instituted mechanisms like multi-donor trust funds and special funds toingenuous approaches like budgetaryreallocation which however calls forpolitical support.

Development and application of hazardresistant technical guidelines coupled withan adequately capacitated technicalresource pool with provision for monitoring

quality including independent technical audit are standards to beobserved in any ODR initiative.

Special agencies, with an appropriate balance of technical expertiseand project management skills, should be set up for policyformulation, implementation, coordination and monitoring and beadequately empowered to make effective policy decisions, ensurecompliance with the same and effectively coordinate amongdifferent line departments/agencies. Such agencies should beallowed a measure of flexibility in recruitment and outsourcing ofcertain services

Participation and communication are strategic imperatives in ODRand specialised agencies and innovative mechanisms should beinstituted to address these issues. Special measures should be inplace for ensuring the participation of the socially excluded (women,disabled, widows, stigmatised caste groups etc.).

NGOs and Private Sector Supportshould beclearly defined and preferably

limited to community infrastructure, civicfacilities, livelihoods, etc. If allowed intoreconstruction of houses their conformitywith technical design and standards setby the Government needs to be ensuredthrough a strong coordination andregulatory structure.

It is important to have a monitoring andevaluation team as an integral part of theproject management team. Impact of theprogramme needs to be monitored on a

concurrent basis. Beneficiariesdatabase needs to be established andmade accessible to all. Periodic

Workshop Participants

Mr. C. Sridhar, IAS, DM, PurniaMr. Sravana Kumar, IAS, DM, Supaul,

Mr. Atish Chandra, IAS, DM, Madhepura

Mr. Laxmanan, IAS, DM, Saharsa


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evaluation needs to be carried out as it provides opportunities formid-course corrections.

b. State Instituted Support Mechanisms for Owner-Driven

Reconstruction ProgrammeIn order to allow the shelter policy to come up with clear policy positionson state instituted support mechanisms, pooling of experiences fromprevious disasters highlighting the critical elements of supportmechanisms and assistance could serve as guiding principles. Sharingof strategies and processes adopted for robust enabling mechanisms,monitoring systems and addressing capacity building needs andexperiences acquired in the course of implementation of rehabilitationefforts in various Indian states are vital for the development of soundand robust state instituted support mechanisms in Bihar.

Enabling Mechanisms The Gujarat Experience

The Gujarat experience clearly reveals the policy choices and policyimplications that confront the adoption of owner driven reconstructionapproach especially with regard to the enabling mechanisms requiredfor successful implementation and execution of owner drivenreconstruction. It also highlights the critical areas where state support isnecessary, the steps necessary for the delivery of such services andlearnings that got triggered subsequent to post earthquake measures.Multiplicity of construction approaches adopted in Gujarat lends itself tobetter understanding of their attendant strengths and challenges with aview to integrate critical learnings in post-floods shelter policy in Bihar.

The massive rebuilding required after the Gujarat Earthquake firmlyestablished the need to have an agency committed to carrying out keyfunctions central to rehabilitation measures. The implementation of themassive reconstruction and rehabilitation program, coordination withstate government, Government of India, potential donors (bilateral,multilaterals and International NGOs) and international community,quick policy making, resource mobilisation & financial management,monitoring and quality inspection and capacity building for long termdisaster management emerged as key functions and their fulfillmentestablished the necessity of having a committed agency to carry outthese. Gujarat State Disaster Management Authority was set up to

perform the above mentioned key tasks.

The ODR approach needs more commitment and resources fromgovernment when compared with other options. The cash assistancehas to be accompanied by a strong beneficiary tracking system gearedto ensure that money is spent for house construction. Systems need tobe developed to provide technical and material support and forengaging participation of owners in planning and implementationprocesses. For effective participation of owners knowledge, technologyand skill upgradation process have to be put in place. ODR requiresstrong and sustained commitment of human resources for technical

guidance, financial disbursement and program monitoring which entails


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more administrative expenditure, back office work and ingenuity inhandling political challenges.

The ODR approach requires creation of a strong enabling mechanismto ensure material availability, appropriate financial disbursement

systems, technical guidance and support, capacity building,deployment of human resources, quality audit and processes orientedto build information and knowledge base of owners. There is the needto inform and educate the owners about hazard resistant constructionand technology. Confidence building measures are required to propelpeople into self-reliant reconstruction.

Material banks have to be set up to ensure timely access of owners tobuilding materials. Tax exemption possibilities for locally producedmaterial need to be explored. This was successfully tried out in Kutchand helped in controlling cost escalation and generating localemployment.

Financial assistance should be based on principles of equity. Financialsupport systems need to create disbursal processes, which ensureprompt disbursement in installments to maintain cash flow andaccompanied by quantity and quality checks to establish thatassistance is being used for the purpose it is meant for and in a mannerthat does not compromise house safety. However, determining thenumber and quantum of installments should be guided byadministrative capacity considerations and the need to minimize thepossibility of leakages and corruption. In The support system shouldalso flag the commitment of government to facilitate loans for those who

wanted to add to government assistance, as this will allow them to buildbigger and better houses.

To enable effective and efficient ODR, an appraisal of human resourcerequirement followed by their deployment is crucial. To ensure astringent adherence to quality standards a well thought out quality auditprocess needs to be put in place. It should include continuousmonitoring for timely inspection and disbursement through technicalteams placed with the district and block administration, including thirdparty audit.

Enabling mechanisms should also be accompanied by development oftechnical guidelines and training efforts for district administration,technical teams, and local committees. Technical guidelines should beprepared for using locally available materials, for construction andretrofitting and for all type of constructions. Not only engineers andmasons trained on these guidelines but a large scale dissemination ofthe guidelines needs to be undertaken.

Gujarat experience has distinctly established that not all NGOs have thecapacity to build habitations and houses and there is a need forassessing the capacity of the NGOs before they are permitted to work.NGOs lack of clarity at entry leaves them wanting in terms of having an

appropriate exit strategy. Coordination and monitoring mechanisms arerequired so as to appraise not only their capacity but to ensure that their


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efforts dovetail properly in the larger rehabilitation process. While equityissues have to be regulated through instituting transparency andaccountability mechanisms, the regulatory framework should alsodevise ways to avoid duplication and wastage and look into issues ofexit strategy.

Grievance redressal is the key to building ownership over theconstruction process of the house owners. Legal literacy camps shouldbe mounted to educate people about their entitlements and specialcommittees need to be set up for grievance redressal at the village anddistrict level.

Shelter Monitoring Mechanisms The Tamilnadu ExperiencePost tsunami rehabilitation projects were implemented under therehabilitation framework put in place by the Government of Tamil Nadu.GOTN initiated a number of steps and held widestakeholder consultations for formulating comprehensive

guidelines for reconstruction and eventually establishedstrict building standards as well as supervisorymechanisms to ensure compliance.

The Government framework defines the partnershipformats for NGOs ensuring principles of equity, non-discrimination, safety and minimum quality standards.The Government took up responsibilities of providing land,basic services, setting up of quality standards andallotment of housing to beneficiary families, while NGOpartners reconstructed houses and infrastructure as per

the MoU adhering to the Government guidelines. Thecomplex nature of legal regulations regarding coastalareas such as CRZ, application of special building codes,etc. was required to be understood well for effective programmeimplementation. Primarily the District Collector coordinated tsunamirehabilitation works in each district.

Tamilnadu experience shows that PPP, especially NGO coordination, isan extremely sensitive and delicate activity and requires coordinationmechanism involving regular coordination meetings, timely sorting outof issues, NGO coordination centre preferably under the control of NGO

representatives themselves and methods to encourage NGOs to set uprehabilitation and resource centre. Though village bodies (panchayats)were quite sensitive to quality issues, the tsunami experience onceagain underlines the need for independent monitoring mechanism likethird party audit and the necessity for technical support system forNGOs and district administration.

Though Tamilnadu housing substantively addressed equity, gender,insurance, cultural, risk reduction and environmental issues, theexecution of the large scale reconstruction largely through contractorsconfronted severe deficits in material and labour availability. Suddenupsurge in demand of building material resulted in huge costescalations requiring revision in estimates and thereby delaying theexecution of construction process. It also revealed the criticality of

Mr. C. V. Sankar, IAS, NDMA

(was Relief Commissioner, GoTN during TsunamiRehabilitation


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settlement planning as wherever this was taken into account it resultedin better settlement and wherever it was ignored it became an issue.Moreover, the approach has led to enhanced dependency ofbeneficiaries on NGOs and state. Quality monitoring also emerged asan issue with abysmal beneficiary engagement in the process. Also, the

presence of large number of players and the attendant donor pressureimpeded quality monitoring resulting in quality compromise.

Tsunami experience has reaffirmed the need for building technical /Implementation systems which has the capacity to deliver houses ofbetter standards along with more appropriate and new sanitationsystems. Overcoming operation and maintenance challenges requirescommitted funds, personnel and systems to address O&M issues in asystemic fashion. There is also a need to undertake post-disasterplanning aimed at promoting sustainable practices. Risk reductionshould not only be part of the housing policy aimed at promotingpreparedness in face of future risks but should also be firmly embedded

in development activities. It is also crucial to develop partnerships,share knowledge and expertise among all stakeholders such as theGovernment, International Agencies and Organizations, InternationalNGOs, local NGOs and Communities to reduce risks.

Capacity Building The Pakistan ExperiencePost earthquake reconstruction experience in Pakistan has reinforcedand validated the core principles of ODR approach. Broadly speakingthe ODR approach consists of three components; housing grants forreconstruction or rehabilitation; technical assistance and capacity-building of all affected stakeholders. The guiding framework for rural

housing in Pakistan involved allowing owners to manage the rebuildingof their own houses and at the same time equipping them with properunderstanding of earthquake resistant building techniques. Theemphasis was to rebuild in-situ wherever possible with familiar methods

and easily accessible materials in a manner thatincorporated earthquake resistant elements in thetraditional and currently used building techniques.Uniform assistance packages were offered to allaffected households. The payments were made ininstallments and were linked to compliance withearthquake resistant standards.

Technical assistance covered a wide range of issuesproviding earthquake-resistant housing solutions,facilitating access to building materials market andresolving land and property related issues.Facilitating access to building materials involved notonly establishing links with private sector but puttingin place measures to ensure timely supply in wake of

increased demand and setting up of local building material centres instrategic locations. Relocation was made voluntary and steps weretaken to ensure that the vulnerable and disadvantaged groups receivedtheir entitlements.

Mr. Amod Dixit, NSET, Nepal


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The training objectives were to build capacities of stakeholders in socialmobilisation, safe building practices, in incorporating earthquake-resistant elements and materials into local housing types, and inmonitoring functions. Training curricula and material (posters,guidelines and manuals) were developed for carrying out capacity

building measures. A cascading training strategy was adopted whichenvisaged creation of a strong technical group devoted to continuousknowledge and capacity enhancement of team of trainers so that theycould in turn train technical field teams and community organizers.Community organizers trained in social mobilization skills and ingeneral technical knowhow functioned as information workersaddressing information and knowledge needs of common people sothat they could demand for services, monitor house construction andensure safe house construction. On the other hand technical field teamstrained and created a pool of capable masons.

The capacity building measures generated a mass of relevantguidelines and manuals along with curricula and courses for varioustrainings. The trainings were not confined to technical aspects only butalso build capacity in social mobilization, damage and vulnerabilityassessment, customizing relevant technical knowhow for commonpeople as to enable him to monitor construction process and ensureconstruction of safe houses.

State Instituted Support Mechanisms Learning from South Asian

Experience

The ODR approach needs more commitment and resources from

government when compared with other options. This, asrehabilitation experiences firmly establish, requires creation of anagency especially committed to carrying out key functions central torehabilitation measures. Apart from cash assistance, systems need tobe developed to provide policy, administrative, managerial, technical,material and capacity building support for engaging participation ofowners in planning and implementation processes.

Focussed IEC activities is another imperative for ODR to inform andeducate the owners about hazard resistant construction andtechnology and build up their confidence for self-reliantreconstruction.

Setting up of material banks and allowing tax exemptions on buildingmaterial enable timely access of owners to building materials andcontain cost escalation.

Financial assistance should be based on principles of equity andshould be backed up by adequate safeguards for checking leakageand corruption.

While minimum cost rather than replacement cost should be the basisof compensation package, support system should also flag thecommitment of government to facilitate loans for those who want toadd to government assistance as this will allow them to build biggerand better houses.

Development and application of hazard resistant technical guidelinescoupled with an adequately capacitated technical resource pool withprovision for monitoring quality including independent technical audit

are standards to be observed in any post disaster reconstructioninitiative.


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Regulatory mechanisms are required so as to appraise not only thecapacity of NGOs but also to ensure that their efforts dovetail properlyin the larger rehabilitation process and principles of equity are notviolated.

With grievance redressal as the key to ownership, legal literacycamps should be mounted to educate people about their entitlements

and special committees need to be set up for grievance redressal atthe village and district level.

Settlement planning is of critical significance. Wherever taken intoaccount it results in better habitat and wherever ignored it becomesan issue.

Risk reduction should not only be part of the housing policy aimed atpromoting preparedness in face of future risks but should also befirmly embedded in development activities.

Guidelines, manuals along with curricula and courses for varioustrainings become critical inputs for social mobilisation, safe buildingpractices, incorporating earthquake-resistant elements and materialsinto local housing types, and monitoring functions, all of which have

implications for the empowered control of owners over the process. It is also crucial to develop partnerships, share knowledge and

expertise among all stakeholders to reduce risks.

Possibilities and Issues for Bihar

With regard to possibilities and issues in Bihar, contextanalysis of flood affected districts by district teams todetermine locally available material and skill base and alsopreferences and aspirations of community for new house,clearly highlight the need and urgency to adopt an ODRapproach to construction. The scale of envisagedreconstruction alone makes ODR as the only viable option ifhouses are to be built in a time frame of 2-3 years.Furthermore, though majority of houses are kachha,thatched, tin sheeted, it is clear the people will prefer to havebrick houses with RCC roof as status ascendancy factor isalso crucial in determining peoples aspiration for houses.Again though there is unanimity across districts regardingpeoples preference, the district and state officials are alsounanimous that providing RCC/Brick option is fraught withserious issues.

Though good quality bricks are available in the region, the

limited local production capacity is likely to create a seriousimbalance between demand and supply especially in view ofthe huge demand that house construction in the region willpotentially generate. Presently even the modest targetsunder the IAY are unachieved because of limited brickavailability and supply bottlenecks in the region. Lack ofskilled masons and artisans is another serious bottleneck interms of brick/RCC houses. This gets corroborated by thepoor quality of existing RCC structures. Additionally,challenges associated with transportation of buildingmaterials given the poor connectivity of the region cannot be

overlooked.

Mr. H. C. Sirohi, IAS, Divisional

Commissioner, Kosi Division, Govt. of Bihar

Mr. Abhay Singh, IAS, OSD, Kosi

Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Committee, Govt. of Bihar


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On the other hand bamboo is a viable option as good quality bamboo isavailable in relative abundance and enjoys high acceptance withpeople. Also, the available skill base in bamboo work is of highstandard and in widespread use. Besides building houses, the strengthand resilience of bamboo can be gauged from its diverse application

such as water diversion by irrigation department and elsewhere inprivate and public buildings. Nevertheless, the scale of bambooapplication envisaged in housing necessitates capacity building ofmasons and artisans to bring in flood and seismic safety features inbamboo and other local materials. National building code also approvesbamboo as a building material though chemical treatment of bambooneeds to be tested and standardised. This will further help PWD to bringbamboo in the schedule of rates.

The context of flood affected regions and theenvisaged scale of habitat development leavesODR as the only realistic and viable option. Theemphasis on systematic damage assessment inconjunction with enabling structures in place willcatalyse demand and the prospect of relying onlocal material and skills suitably augmented bycapacity building measures will fulfil demand.However, checks and systems need to bedeveloped to overcome challenges of usingfinancial instalments for consumption needs,ensuring timely availability of materials, sorting outland issues, building effective deliverymechanisms, honing of existing and imparting new

skills as well as setting a realistic sunset clause.

c. Technology and DesignConsiderations for Effective ODRWith almost all the flood affected districts of Bihar falling in high seismiczones (Zone IV &V) and subject to high wind velocity and high intensityfloods, the proposed technology options should address multi hazardresistant reconstruction features at all levels of reconstruction rangingfrom foundation to plinth to walls to roof irrespective of building materialchoice. However, given the flood proneness of the area, houses needto be constructed on either brick pedestal piles with a plinth level RCCbeam at top to support the superstructure or a deep RC pile foundation

with appropriate RC bulb at the foundation irrespective of the buildingmaterial that goes into the superstructure.

In a scenario where 3 to 4 lakh house are to be built, the delivery modewill be ineffective in achieving the target in desirable time frame of twoyears. A realistic option is to harness the strength of the people, thehomeowners to build for themselves. The choice of technology andfacilitating its implementation can strengthen the peoples movement ifit is anchored in available indigenous skills, material availability in theregion and is as per the aspirations of the people and supported withstrong governance. Design and technology options need to be

considered as key initiative to induce peoples ownership over the entire

Mr. R. J. M. Pillai, IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Bihar


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reconstruction process as they give them the opportunity to choose anddecide in line with their need and preferences.

An analysis of material availability clearly reveals the need to prescribesolutions with a broad material base with a set of Non-negotiable

aspects. All materials RCC/Brick and Bamboo can be made safe fromall disasters of flood, earthquake and storms. However policy shouldnot be loaded in favor of Brick/RCC as availability, skills and cost arenot good. Brick/RCC house costs 550-600/- per sqft and EngineeredBamboo house is 200-225/- per sqft. Moreover, the regions strength isits wide spread capacity, and excellent skills for good indigenousconstruction (6-8 material typologies ranging from bamboo/thatch tobrick/concrete). A clear limitation is the availability and cost ofbrick/aggregate, and lower quality concrete construction in thesevillages.

Design and technology options should be rooted in sound technicalsafeguards so as to ensure that houses are resistant to multiple hazardsthat the region is prone to. A clear set of negotiable and non-negotiableaspects should be laid down so that safety and quality considerationsare rigorously adhered to in all the design/technology option thatpeople might opt for. Safety and quality principles governing plinth andjoineries along with provision of loft in all houses should be broughtunder the realm of non-negotiable aspects universally applicable for allhouse types. However, people should take informed decisions to selectfrom options available for roof, wall and column types. Design optionsshall include houses with brick walls and RCC roofs. Given the costimplications the government compensation of Rs. 50,000 is not

adequate for this house type and the opting house owner will have tobear the additional cost of Rs. 100,000 that is required for house with abuilt up area of 22sqm.

However, the shelter policy package should ideally notbe loaded in favour of this last technological option, asthis category requires price sensitive materials, whichare in short supply like bricks & aggregates & sand andscarcity may lead to compromise on the non-negotiablefor the other categories. This is the only typology wherethe construction practices in the region are not good.

The availability of options and enabling people to takeinformed decision requires facilitation with regard toclearly setting forth the cost, area, technology andmaterial availability implications that each house typeentails. People centered housing crucially hinges onsetting up of appropriate enabling mechanism.Supportive and enabling services should addressissues related with the following:

Material banks- minimum 3000 bricks to all Awareness and facilitation on safety features- engineer in each

village Mistriand engineer trainings

Mr. Sandeep Virmani, Hunnarshala


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Support tomistris for workshops/livelihood Third party technical audit Transparency of scheme and finance

It is suggested that the shelter package should make provision of Rs.

150,000 for each house to be built. Out of this Rs. 55000 should beallocated for core house (accounting for a basic minimum with non-negotiable safety features with people themselves augmenting theirhousing with increased access to resources over a period of time) ;25000 for household services (water, sanitation and lights) andRs.65000 for habitat (Tola) infrastructure. Household services packageenvisages setting up of dry-pit latrines (econ-san toilets), to avoidcontamination of the ground water; facilities for collection, storage andusage of roof rain water; and provisioning of Solar lanterns under TERIsLighting a Billion Lives Campaign (LABL).

Design and Technological Imperatives Key Issues

Emphasis on multi hazard resistant construction enforcing safetystandards

Need of regulatory and facilitative framework for success ofrehabilitation

Offering choice of building materials & construction technologies Design of model houses provided to the public to choose from with

an option to have ones own design Promote possibilities for using indigenous material and technology Development of Appropriate guidelines Appropriate awareness creation to enable informed choices and

control over the construction process

Capacity building for carrying out the works Control and assurance of required quality of construction Facilitation of the constructions through materials banks Shelter package to include provisioning of household services

2. Build Back Better- Role of stakeholders for

reconstruction of Community and Public Infrastructure

a. Potential and challenges in introducing Household

Services sanitation, energy and access to safe drinkingwater

The housing reconstruction package may be proposed as a total ofthree sub-packages which overall upgrades the housing and livingstandards. These three sub packages are:1. Package for Housing Reconstruction2. Household Services Package includes water, sanitation, energy3. Package for Community Infrastructure

Household Services Package

i) Sanitation


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The preponderant practice of open defecation, which gets to be a majorsource of groundwater contamination, given the high ground watertable in the region, makes sanitation a critical issue. Poor toilet usage isin part due to space and cost constraints in building toilets and in partdue to prevalent cultural practice.

Three kinds of toilet usage are currently in practice in the region. Thereis first the on the pit model which at Rs 1500/unit is cost effective andsimple to construct and is also being promoted under the TotalSanitation Campaign of Government of Bihar. The second option beingpracticed is the off the pit model wherein a new pit is dug when the oldone fills up and the sludge from the old pit can be used as manure.There is also a variant of the off the pit model with provision for two pits.The third option being exercised is that of septic tank which is resourceintensive, consumes much water and has frequent maintenance costs.

For household based sanitation service, Ecosan approach is beingsuggested as one of the most viable options particularly in light of thefact that the intervention districts constitute a high water table area andother forms of human excreta disposal like pit latrines, septic tanklatrines and centralized sewage disposal system have manydisadvantages. They are water intensive and contaminate air, waterand land.

Ecosan toilet is a twin chamber toilet. One of the two chambers is usedfor defecation and the other is kept sealed. The chamber gets filled upin about eight months. Then the chamber is sealed and the second oneis used. To prevent faeces from coming into contact with the soil and

underground water sources the bottom portion of the chamber iscemented. Human waste in the first chamber gets composted in about8 months. The compost does not have any foul smell and is free fromany disease causing pathogens or bacteria. The compost is a good soilconditioner and can be manually removed and used for agriculturerendering the first chamber fit for use again.

The ecosan toilet pan provides for separate collection of faeces, urineand wash-water. Urine is led through a pipe to be collected in a tank.This urine is very rich in nutrients for farm production and after beingdiluted with water can be used as liquid manure. The wash water is led

through another pipe into a filter bed from where it can be used forirrigation purpose.

As an approach to sanitation, ecosan is resource and managementoriented and not disposal oriented. It looks upon human excreta &wash water as resources to be reused for improving agriculturalproduction and prevent contamination of the environment. It aims atsanitizing the products and not transferring problems from one cycle toanother.

Though ecosan toilet may be the best technology available, it remains

to be tried and tested as an appropriate one for the Kosi region.


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ii) Lighting

Solar technology, despite being renewable and non-polluting, has neverbeen the preferred choice in mass programmes of lighting, because ofthe high initial costs on the solar lantern which comprises the lantern, aportable device, along with a battery and a solar panel for recharging

the battery and comes at Rs 1500 to 2000 per unit. Hence, in case ofBihar, it is being suggested that the energy package be linked to theLighting a Billion Lives (LaBL) campaign of TERI which has evolved adelivery model which neutralises the cost constraint in accessing solarlanterns even by the poor.

The Campaign aims to bring modern and cleansources of lighting into the lives of one billion ruralpeople by replacing the kerosene and paraffinlanterns with solar lighting devices. Each solarlantern saves about 40-60 litres of kerosene per yearand mitigates 145 kg CO2 emissions per year.Alternately it saves about 182.5 kWhr of electricityper year and mitigates 157 kg CO2 emissions peryear.

The delivery model for the campaign is a fee-for-service model, where solar charging stations are setup in villages for charging the lanterns and providing them on a nominalfee-for-service (or rental) basis to households and enterprises on a dailybasis. The charging stations are operated and managed by localentrepreneurs who are selected and trained by TERI in association withits implementation partners. Use of large capacity modules (with a

capacity to charge 50 lights) is preferred for better efficiency and lesserunit cost. 10% of the revenue earned by the entrepreneur is earmarkedfor replacement and repair costs. This delivery model is able to offerservices at an affordable cost, increases safety and accountability forthe equipment, ensures charging, and as modelledas a business activity has greater potential forbeing sustainable particularly in terms ofexpanding into multi-resources multi-utility platform(Health services, ICT based educational services,water purification services etc.) in the future.

iii) Drinking Water

The intervention area is characterised by a predominant usage of groundwater. However thiswater is found at very shallow depths of 3.5 m to4.5 m leaving it vulnerable to contamination byleaching. The bacterial load in water is on thehigher end of the spectrum. The degraded qualityof water is also reflected in the high iron content.Despite being a high rainfall region, waterconservation practices are very poor and run off losses are very high

which, along with the alluvial nature of soil, contributes to iodinedeficiency.

Mrs. Akanksha Chorey, TERI

Mr. S. S. Sharma, IAS,

Secretary, PHED, Govt. of Bihar


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Provision of hand pumps is the popular method of tapping groundwater in the area. Government sinks it up to a depth of 14 m. Howeverthis does not take care of the iron content in the water. Hand pumpsfitted with iron removal attachments are very costly at Rs 32000/unit.

Options exist in terms of promotion of tearfil filters, which at Rs 400/-filtercould also be promoted as a regional enterprise through training oflocals. Local filters costing just Rs 30/filter could also be promoted.While electricity driven piped water supply rules itself out as an optionbecause of the cost implications and uncertain power availability, thepossibility of small water supply schemes operated with solar panelsintegrating street lighting during nights could be looked into. All thisnotwithstanding the acceptance and ownership related issues aroundthese options remain to be explored.

Being a high rainfall region, installing rainwater harvesting systems perhousehold merits serious consideration. Not only is this approachhousehold centred and capable of providing access to one of the purestforms of water in adequate quantity, even the roofing materials (tinsheets, tiles and RCC) being proposed for the houses to bereconstructed lend themselves amenable to the installation of thissystem.

The traditional practice of using open dug wells as a source of cleanand safe water also needs to be revived. With water in the open dugwells exposed to air, iron content in water is lost due to the process ofoxidation which cannot happen in the case of water drawn from handpumps. Using indigenous practices like crushed guava leaves for

testing iron content in water could come in quite handy in effecting abehaviour change in water usage practices.

Presentations on household services package, more than offeringspecific options, dwelt on factors that should go into makingappropriate technology choices for the various categories of serviceslike drinking water, sanitation and lighting. Ecological considerationsalong with issues of access, control, affordability, viability andsustainability should inform the adoption of appropriate technology forhousehold services. Thus roof rainwater harvesting or solar lights orecosan are spelt out as mere illustrations of technologies with a

competitive edge when assessed against the aforesaid parameters andcertainly not as the only options.

b. Habitat and Settlement Planning in the context of existing

land use and water logged areasSettlement planning becomes extremely crucial in post disasterreconstruction as it helps integrate development decisions andinvestments taken both in the public and private domain, enablesgreater disaster resilience through a well thought out and plannedreconstruction process, ensures resource optimisation through efficientand effective resource allocation leading to sustainable resource usage

and plays the role of an honest broker in conflict over resourceallocation that inevitably emerges amongst the stakeholders.


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Planning is a hierarchical process entailing regional, sub regional andsettlement level planning. Following grid lays out the keyfeatures/issues that need to be considered for various levels ofsettlement planning:

Levels of settlement

planning

Key features/issues

Regional level Hazard risk Development priorities Land utilization at macro level Regional infrastructure Looking beyond 2008 inundation area

Sub-regional (districtsor cluster of villages)

Topography Existing land use pattern Development constraints or potential

Settlement Level Housing layout Settlement level infrastructure (physical

and social infrastructure) Water resource management Environmental management

Land use planning and land management are critical for settlementplanning. Available maps and reality as surveyed are important tools forgaining insight into existing land use and land management practicesand hence they constitute the basis of planning. Also, topographicalanalysis and contour mapping exercises should inform the planningexercise. Base data, especially topography and geology data is veryimportant to understand the slopes and terrain, to extract water ways /watersheds and understand aquifers and groundwater recharge areas.They also generate comprehensive landscape information on issues likewater logging and high points for relocation and reconstruction. In aGeographic Information Systems (GIS) thiscan be processed to project various scenarios.

Participatory mapping not only facilitatesproper understanding of pre-disaster situationsbut is a key tool for damage assessment andformulating possible options and post disasterscenarios. It instills a sense of ownershipamong affected communities over post disasterprocesses. It has been immensely valuable incircumstances like Aceh wherein there was nomethod to ascertain pre-disaster plotdemarcations other than engaging thecommunity to collectively map pre-disaster

dwelling units. Participatory mapping isperhaps the only method, in the absence of


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land records, to ascertain plot demarcation and those of agriculturalland in case of villages that have come in the river course.

Acceptance, ownership and occupancy, especially for ex nihiloconstruction, is a function of integrated settlement planning. This has

been strongly vindicated by Gujarat experience especially the townplanning for the walled city at Bhuj and Aceh where people decided tomove back in deviance to the government relocation policy. For thewalled city in lieu of property surrendered in the walled city people weregiven the option to access planned layouts with services plots. The coreissues in this case were to transform the walled city with a safe andefficient street network and serviced plots. The strategic requirement forattaining this was to ensure land pooling in manner that it wasequitable, participatory and entailed minimum displacement. Keepingthese in mind a detailed town planning exercise was carried out and itsexecution resulted in a decongested walled city with safe and efficientstreet network.

Integrated settlement planning has to be based on detailedinfrastructure planning. Infrastructure planning has to address issues ofvulnerability reduction and not exacerbate risks to hazards as has beenthe case in North Bihar with road and railway construction obstructingnatural drainage patterns causing floods and water logging.Environmental management issues like communities settling inwetlands, high population density impacting the ecosystem, revivingand strengthening natural drainage systems should inform theintegrated settlement planning. Strengthening disaster preparednessand mitigation is another vital issue to be addressed by settlement

planning. Also, the planning should catalyse livelihoods and economicdevelopment possibilities through agricultural diversification andpromotion of non-farm sector. Social infrastructure issues and heritageconservation are other key elements of integrated settlement planning.

However, settlement planning is a time intensive process which requirescommitted resources and experienced personnel for the undertaking.Another challenge is to obtain statutory acceptance for the planningoutcomes. To address such issues planning needs to beinstitutionalized in a manner that systems are put in place for regionaland settlement planning. Other key issues that need to be addressed in

a systemic way are: Building institutional capacity for planning Building knowledge bases Building information systems

A meaningful and effective planning process also requires establishingplatforms for effective participation of all stakeholders in planning andcreating a bottom-up process within an established policy framework.

c. Role of Stakeholders in Reconstruction of Shelter,

Community and Public Infrastructure

Stakeholder coordination mechanisms specifying the role of variousstakeholders engaged in rehabilitation process is mandatory for


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successful accomplishment of the same. Tamil Nadu and Gujaratexperiences are strong pointers and reiterate the necessity of properand clear stakeholder coordination. Even though the two statesadopted a completely different approach to shelter reconstruction, butthis did not diminish the relevance of rolling out policy initiatives

enunciating clearly the role of stakeholders in the reconstructionprocess.

However, process reflection brings out areas that have scope for furtherimprovement. A key area is to build synergies between existingdevelopment programmes, institutions and rehabilitation process suchas sharing of labour cost through government programmes, engagingtechnical and engineering institutions for quality checks and buildingcapacities and harnessing capacities to have a stronger support team atthe state and district levels. A rigorous process should be adopted tomap community expectations and ensure their participation but thisaspect is often a weak area when players enter the fray because offunds and lack long term stake in the region. Personnel turnover(govt/NGOs) also hinders the rehabilitation process and a measure ofstability in personnel will definitely aid the execution of rehabilitationplans. Contingency funds should be earmarked at the time of planningand budgeting to tide over unforeseen cost escalations. Moreover, tostrengthen stakeholder partnerships so that high quality results can bedelivered it is necessary to assess NGO capacity against technical,managerial, financial and transparency benchmarks as the absence ofthis led to involvement of NGOs with weak capacities.

The various experiences reveal that stakeholder

coordination needs to be worked out on thebasis that stakeholder spectrum extends from theweakest to the very powerful players; hence anymeaningful mechanism needs to be premised onharnessing collective efforts for achieving equityand inclusion. This would facilitate setting updownward accountability systems, which is amust for empowered control of people overdecision making.

Damage assessment is the first key step which if

properly and rigorously undertaken heightens theprobability of inclusive and equity orientedplanning and implementation. People centreddamage assessment requires demystification of damage assessmentprocess and ingenuity in evolving appropriate tools and techniques forcarrying out proper damage assessment. Validation of the damageassessment findings by the community is necessary. Timeframe forcompletion of rehabilitation should also be collectively agreed upon andshould be guided by considerations of political compulsions,administrative capacity and community expectations. A realistic timeframe also allows for better scope to dovetail building back better with

development programmes. Safeguards like beneficiary tracking areessential to generate information and institute correctives on a wide


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range of issues like utilisation of financial assistance, quality andtechnical issues, progress of housing and access to materials and theirproper use etc. A tracking system needs to be instituted fromcommunity to state level. PRIs can perform beneficiary trackingeffectively at the local level.

It is expected that the build back better process is likely to generate apile of regulations and guidelines but the challenge is to carry out itseffective dissemination and internalisation across the range ofstakeholders. Without an effective inter-organisational coordination it willbe difficult to carry out such dissemination. A special purpose vehicleneeds to guide, monitor and strengthen inter-organisationalcoordination. Financial commitment, building local stakes throughcommitment to have minimum continued presence and bettercoordination to prevent duplication are other imperatives for buildingback better.

The scale of reconstruction envisaged for Bihar will require massivedrive and commitment to overcome human resource constraints at alllevels (panchayat, block, district and departmental). Available options toaddress this constraint include filling up vacant positions or deputationfor temporary period from other districts / departments, appointing staffon contractual basis and engaging NGOs/institutions personnel. On theother hand, though support was extended for housing after the floods in2004 & 2007, the completion rate is a meager 10%. Providing adequatefinancial support, permitting alternate models, facilitating access toconstruction material and skill training are essential for attainment of

shelter targets. It is proposed that skill

augmentation in building techniques usingdiverse building materials can be carried outthrough rural artisan training centres in eachblock. This can either be done by thegovernment or on public private partnershipbasis.

It is more than evident that the task ofrehabilitation requires involvement of allstakeholders. It is envisaged that thegovernment would take up building of public

infrastructure and shelter construction alongwith community infrastructure wherever thereare no takers. Setting up stakeholdercoordination mechanisms and subsequentmonitoring of all players is another key task thatthe government needs to undertake. Proposal

screening mechanisms and approval processes need to bestandardized and institutionalized. Projects should take localconsiderations into account, for instance the building material choice forhouses within embankments should be such that they can be replaced,given the annual flood proneness of the region, with minimal effort and

cost. Building community and public infrastructure for traditionally floodaffected area within embankments should be a priority consideration for

Mr. J. Radhakrishanan, IAS, GoTN

(was Collector, Nagapattinam district, during Tsuunami

Rehabilitation)


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all stakeholders. Issues of adequate space for storage andrefuge should be urgently addressed by building first floorin existing community and government buildings inconjunction with construction of new community centreson elevated ground at the tola level. Facilities of piped

water supply / hand pumps on elevated platforms need tobe provided.

Civil society/PRIs need to engage in vigilance andmonitoring functions, selection and execution of variousschemes and awareness creation / behavioural changeprocesses. NGOs / Institutions / Corporates should beallowed to adopt villages to build either houses orcommunity infrastructure or both. They can also play keyrole in extending technical assistance, staff support and ascatalysers of social mobilisation, awareness creation andbehavioural change. However, government needs tocoordinate and monitor stakeholder participation by institutingappropriate supervisory checks and sound audit systems (engagingauditor for internal/ concurrent audit; third party assurance)

Stakeholder Participation The Imperatives

State policy to spell out principles, roles and responsibilities forstakeholder inclusion and participation

Build synergies between existing development programmes,institutions and rehabilitation process

Stakeholder commitment should be perspective and not resourcedriven Inclusive stakeholder participation Stakeholder capacities should be the basis for their engagement

in rehabilitation process Ensure personnel stability Promote people centred damage assessment and downward

accountability systems Beneficiary tracking system essential to generate information and

institute correctives on a wide range of issues Strengthen inter-organisational coordination for effective

dissemination of regulations and guidelines Devise mechanisms to overcome human resource constraints Standardisation and institutionalisation of proposal screening and

approval mechanisms Decentralised strategies for skill augmentation Key role for NGOs in technical assistance, staff support, social

mobilisation and awareness generation

Mr. R. K. Khandelwal, IAS,

Divisional Commissioner, Purnia Division,

Govt. of Bihar


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III. Emerging Recommendations and the WayForward

Key Messages:

Disaster is an opportunity to enhance preparedness for futuredisasters Development opportunity must be sought through the rehabilitation

policy. And opportunities for even partially addressing long termdevelopmental goals should not be lost such as social andeconomic equity

As local long-term rehabilitation planning is being done for the firsttime, the local machinery/administration should be fully and ablysupported for the same.

The timely reach of money is crucial in a region, which is annuallyprone to floods, ensuring that assistance meant for 2008 augustflood does not begin reaching by 2009 monsoon.

Choices before the Government should be made and clearlyreflected in the Policy framework and reconstruction packages

Speed? Quality? Visibility? Risk reduction? In situ or relocation?Owner driven? Agency driven?

There has to be a strong political and administrative will to gobeyond the cash support

ODR requires MORE from government in terms of enablingmechanisms - regular monitoring, participation and coursecorrection

The strategy must seek to complete a significant share of the shelterreconstruction within 2-3 years.

Enormity of challenge/scale does not allow a centralized approach Ensure no repeated damage assessments. We should plan for floods/emergencies that may happen while

reconstruction is underway Very high density in the region necessitates integrated regional

efforts at vulnerability reduction There are degraded ecosystems in the catchment area of Kosi,

which further enhance vulnerability in Kosi region

Challenges for ODR Policy Framework: There could be risks of higher social fragmentation/marginalization

through the reconstruction process for instance increase innuclear families and alienation of the old and single women ifassessment and house owners selection is not appropriately done.

There would be a risk of compensation installments getting divertedto consumptive needs, if these installments are not timely andaccompanied by easy access to affordable material.

There is the risk of inspection and corruption going hand in hand which must be addressed through the disbursement and monitoringmethodology.

If the State has to ensure building back better, then land availabilityand acquisition will become crucial. The policy and power vested

with the District administration for the same becomes crucial.


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The risk of construction material costs escalating has to beaddressed through price regulation.

Key Recommendations: Both, the embanked area and the area affected in 2008 need to be

planned together. For better coordination, and a sustained focus on rehabilitation as

well as its emerging issues, a Special Purpose Vehicle should beinstituted (going beyond committees)

Following aspects must be kept in focus-i. Damage and Loss Assessmentsii. Policy, technical guidelines, and packages for Housing

Assistance

iii. Finance Disbursal Systemiv. Material and Technical Support Mechanismv. Institutional Arrangementvi. Community Ownership and Communication Strategyvii. Capacity Building Skill & Knowledge upgradation, and

training for compliance monitoringviii. Partnership strategy, policy, MoUs with variety of

Institutions/organizations/Private Sectorix. Implementation Time-framex. Impact Monitoring and Evaluation Third Party Auditsxi. Exit Policy and Accountability Systemsxii. Grievance Redressal Systems

Safe community structure in each tola All materials including bamboo can be

used to build safely, with prescribedstandards, and walling and roofingoptions must be provided in the policyguidelines, with non-negotiable safetyfeatures especially roof or loft, plinthand joineries. Approach should to beto promote use of multiple choice ofmaterials.

Decentralized hubs a crucialcomponent training/ material/disbursals/ cluster facilitation/

production centres identify the unitof the hub

Critical household services must beconsidered with the housing package.(services opened up for Public PrivatePartnership)

The problems and mistakes of IAY should inform the reconstructionguidelines for the affected region in Kosi which in turn can improvethe IAY itself, across the State.

Organizations and Private Sector to be involved according tocapabilities, strengths, and integrated as per reconstruction needs.

Settlement of villages in the river path needs a more staggeredstrategy and implementation strategy.

Mr. Rameshwar singh, Principal Secretary, Palnning &

Development, Govt. of Bihar

Ms. Suhma Iyengar, ODR Collaborative


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Augmenting human resources and enhancing support systems withDistrict Administration is of particularly high priority.

Public private partnership defined with desired roles for NGOs workshop recommended role of facilitation, training,communication, skills/enterprise.

There has to be a framework for organizations/institutions who wantto support the rehabilitation. And simultaneously the State mustinvite and seek partnerships with institutions/organizations based onrequired roles/activities.

Vigilance and monitoring at the village level should be the role of thepanchayats/anushravan samitis. PRIs need to be structurallyintegrated within the implementation.

Beneficiary tracking and developing a database of the beneficiariesneed to be instituted.

Panchayat Bhavans, community shelters, drinking water accessfacilities are high priority for community infrastructure.

Regional planning, land use planning, settlement planning shouldbe undertaken, as decisions and investments in both private andpublic domain during reconstruction phase. It would reflect on asingle canvas - the landscape of the Kosi region.

Topography, geology would have to inform the planning process. The Policy would have to address issues of Fragmented land

holdings, demarcation of plot vanished plot boundaries, Missingrevenue records has to be addressed in the policy.


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List of Participants

Sl.

No.

Name Organisation E-mail ID

1 Chandra Kant Mishra United Nation

Population Fund

www.unjpa.org.in

2 Vaibhav Kaley Wonder Grass Initiative

Pvt. Ltd

[email protected]

3 Jitendra Singh National Institute of

Technology, Patna

[email protected],

[email protected]

4 Br. Sadashiva Chaitanya Mata Amritanandamayi

Math

[email protected]

5 Amit Sinha CEO [email protected]

6 R.K.Khandelwal Commissioner,

Purnea, GOB

[email protected]

7 Mahesh Kumar Jay Baba BaldeoJankalya Samiti

8 Dr. Vikas Yadav The National Polio

Surveliance Project-

India

[email protected]

9 Vivek Rawal People in Centre

Consulting

[email protected]

10 Sachidanand Singh NGO Sayana

11 R.Michael Govindraj Caritas India [email protected]

12 Er. Kailash Prasad Blawsinka Bihar Industrial

Association

[email protected]

13 Uday Kant Lal Das Rural Dev. Dept.14 Ajay Mahajan World Vision India [email protected],

[email protected]

15 Rajendra Prasad Das Agriculture

16 Satish Chandra Jha Welfare Department,

GOB

17 Prem Kumar Verma SAMTA samta_khagaria@rediffmail,.com

18 Prof. Ajay Kumar Yusuf Meherali

Centre, Mumbai

19 Fransi S. P.U. Caritas India [email protected]

20 Fr. Sebration K. Bihar Socia

l Forum [email protected] Amal Raj S. Seva Kendra (Caritas

India)

[email protected]

22 Fr. P.K.Jose Bhagalpur Social

Service Society C/o

Bihar Social Forum

perukarot @yahoo.co.uk,

[email protected]

23 Mr. Nishant Kairaly Holistic Child

Development India,

Pune

[email protected]

24 Prabhat Kumar Save the Children [email protected]

25 Girish Peter Caritas India [email protected]

26 Subhash Kumar Sinha Handicap International [email protected]

27 Sohaib Ahmad Minority Welfare Deptt.


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28 Sanjay Kr. Singh Mahabir Paramarth

Seva Sansthan

[email protected]

29 Jatin M.Chandra Kuten Nirman Abhiyan [email protected]

30 Liladhar Mahek Gada Kutch Navnirman

Abhiyan

31 Anil Kumar Singh CM House32 Ram Pravesh Singh CM House

33 Dharmendra Kumar CM House

34 Chandra Shekhar Prasad Srijan Materials &

Engineering

[email protected]

35 Sankalph The Shelter Group

(CEPT University)

[email protected]

36 Neeraj Labh Initiatives In Devlt.

Support

[email protected]

37 Eklavya Prasad Abhyant CGHS [email protected]

38 Mona Chhabra Anand [email protected] Amitabh Sharma Initiatives In Devlt.

Support

[email protected]

40 R.N.Jha Social Welfare Dept.

41 Awadhesh Pandey Panchayat Raj Vibhag,

Bihar

42 Radha Kunke Architecture &

Development

[email protected]

43 F.R. Satyajit Jan Vikas Smiti [email protected]

44 Sangeeta D. Pradhan UNDP, Bihar [email protected]

45 Chandrashekhar Gramyasheel [email protected]

46 Rajendra Jha Kosi Seva Sadan kosisevasadan.gmail.com

47 Sachida Nand Singh SAYANA

48 Ram Babu Prasad Building Construction

Dept.

49 Sanjay Pandey BIPARD [email protected]

50 Rajesh Kr. Singh Technical Support

Group -Condom

Promotion-NACO

[email protected]

51 Florent Vranica Catholic Relief

Services

[email protected]

52 Sunil Kumar Water Resources Dept.Bihar

53 Neeraj Prasad Catholic Relief

Services

[email protected]

54 Ramesh Kumar Ghoghardiha

Prakhand Swarjya

Vikas Sangh

[email protected]

55 Nagendra Singh S.S.K. [email protected]

56 Amelie Yan-Goviffes UNDP [email protected]

57 Somnath Sen Institutional

Development &

Stratergy

[email protected]


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58 Soma Ghosh Moulik Senior Institutional

Dev. Specialist,

Sustainable Dev. -

South Asia, Wold Bank

59 Dr. Yongmei Zhou Senior Institutional

Dev. Specialist,Sustainable Dev. -

South Asia, Wold Bank

[email protected]

60 Nidhi P. Tewari Democracy Connect [email protected]

61 Soma Ghosh Moulik World Bank

62 Anshuman Anand CII [email protected]

63 Sebastian I.V. Concern worldwide [email protected]

64 Aloke Kr. Ghosh Church's Auxiliary For

Social Action

[email protected]

65 S. Balaji Mahindra [email protected]

66 Sunil Kumar SIID [email protected]

67 Shurad Pd. Panchayat Raj Vibhag,

Bihar

68 Pritam Kumar Sinha Infosys Tech. Ltd. [email protected]

69 Br. Sadashiva Chaitanya Mata Amritanandamayi

Math

[email protected]

70 Satyajit Singh Confederation of

Indian Industry

[email protected]

71 R.G. Verma Riga Sugar Company

Ltd.

[email protected]

72 C. Kurian ACC Ltd. [email protected]

73 Charu Chandra Pradhan ACC Ltd. [email protected]

74 Kailash Chandra Sahoo Socio-Economic And

Educational

development Society

[email protected]

75 Deepak K. Mishra Socio-Economic And

Educational

development Society

(SEEDS)

[email protected]

76 Swami Narendra Santsu Asarmaji

Ashram

77 Sheodayal BIPARD

78 Vikas Gora Sphere India [email protected],

[email protected]

79 Paramhans Kumar Singh International

Multipurpose Social

Service Centre

80 Sunil Kumar Water Resources Dept.

Bihar

81 Sujeet Ranjan CARE [email protected]

82 Manu Gupta SEEDS [email protected]


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