Beyond Catchphrases

The private sector may soon become a major player in Indias water sector. Media reports have it that the centre
is giving final shape to a policy that would diminish the role of municipalities and other civic agencies in urban
water supply. Private agencies will supply water to about 600-odd cities, including 100 smart cities. The
government, it seems, has homed in on publicprivate partnerships (PPP) as a way to address the troubled issue
of supplying water to Indias cities.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had broached privatisation of water supplies in its last
tenure. The National Water Policy of 2002 talked of PPPs in the water sector. The United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) did not jettison the idea. The Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) document
devoted a substantial part to PPPs in urban infrastructure, including water supplies. Between 2005 and 2014,
PPPs were chalked out to supply water to a few cities, including Nagpur and Mysore. Ministers in the UPA
government occasionally issued statements emphasising the urgency of private sector participation in the water
sector. But water utilities in the country have, by and large, remained publicly-owned outfits. The National Water
Policy of 2012, in fact, gave short shrift to PPPs.
But if media reports are to be believed, good times lie ahead for water corporations in India. The country, it
seems, would be bucking the global trend of re-municipalisation of water servicesthe return of privatised water
supply to municipal or other civic agencies. According to a Transnational Institute publication, Our Public Water
Future: The Global Experience with Remunicipalisation, between 2000 and 2014, 235 cities in 37 countries
reimposed faith in public agencies after a disappointing experience with private entities. A few months after the
publication of this report, a court in Jakarta annulled the citys privatised water contracts after it found that PPPs
could not take care of fulfilling the human right to water of residents. And in June, in a development ignored by
the countrys mainstream media, the Mysore municipality resumed control over the citys water supply after a
none-too-happy experience with a PPP project.
This is not to suggest that municipalities or other public bodies in the country have been adept at supplying water.
That almost every city in India is afflicted by the paradox of terrible water wastage and acute water scarcity
shows that public agencies have not done their work well. In most places across the country, water trickles out of
taps only for a few hours in a dayoften of poor qualityand this supply is bedevilled by high distribution losses
due to leakages and thefts. Advocates of privatisation claim that cash-strapped municipal agencies will
perpetually be dogged by such problems. People will not waste water if they are made to pay for it and once
wastage is checked, scarcity will be taken care of, they argue. PPP projects promise 247 water supply.
This neat argument converts water into an economic good from a social one. The reasoning also subverts the
United Nations Mar del Plata Declaration which made water a fundamental human right. It also goes against the
Indian Constitution. In 1991, the Supreme Courtin Subhash Kumar vs the State of Biharruled that the right to
water is an essential component of the fundamental right to life. Several other court verdicts have confirmed this
right, the most recent being the 2006 Kerala High Court judgment in the Vishala Kochi Kudivella Samrakshana
Samiti case. The court admonished the Kerala government for not giving foremost importance to providing safe
drinking water.
The reasoning that private players bring in moolah does not stand scrutiny of facts. An otherwise approbatory
World Bank report on PPP projects in Indias water sector notes that the centre or the state governments provide

70% to 90% of the start-up capital of such projects. In the recently-jettisoned Mysore PPP, the private partner did
not have to make any capital investment.
The World Bank report in question lauds the Nagpur water supply PPP. Advocates of privatisation have, as if on
cue, touted the project as a model. An evaluation of the project by the Administrative Staff College of India shows
a mixed picture. The project achieved the target of 247 supply only to about 50% of targeted connections.
Another study by the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP) showed that the project
operator stressed the importance of the reservoir on the Penchmeant for irrigationfor supplying water to
Nagpur city.
The SANDRP study, though focused on Nagpur, raises fundamental questions about water supply in India. A
247 water supply project looks good only when there are assured bulk supplies of water. In India, urban water
supplies have always been at the cost of rural areas. Farmers see this as unfair and there have been a number
of protests over the issue. Several other conflicts simmer over water in India. PPPs will only aggravate matters.
In fact, Karnataka and Goa are involved in a nearly five-year-long strife over the Mandovi River, called Mhadei in
Karnataka. Upstream Karnatakas plans to dam the river for the 247 PPP water supply project in Hubli
Dharwad has attracted opprobrium in Goa.
The challenge is to provide equitable water supplies, across classes and regions; the challenge is also to
manage demand. On given evidence, the PPP model does not pass this test. If media reports are to be believed,
these projects are also slated for smart cities. The sketchy action plan for these cities has homilies on rainwater
harvesting. Perhaps they are just attractive catchphrasesat least going by the governments new thinking on
PPPs.

Do you support a policy which seeks

to privatise water supply and
diminish the role of municipalities
and other civic agencies in urban
water supply? Is PPP model suitable
in this regard? Critically comment.
Water is an essential means of everyones life. With the increasing scarcity of water and
day-by-day reduction of potable water has turned this social good into commercial one.
As per the UNs Mar del Plata Declaration and according to SC, water is considered a
fundamental human right, for which government is responsible to make it available to
everyone.
However with the decreasing efficiency of municipalities to provide adequate water, new
welfare policies like National Water Policy of 2002, Smart City Programme, AMRUT are

indulging private sectors to provide this service at 24x7 basis. But with the rising
responsibility it has been observed that PPP models are creating larger impediments
like:
1. Disparity among regions: the water allocated to rural areas is being diverting to urban
area to attain the so called 24x7 facility, which is violating equality for water.
2. High prices: with the rising prices of water per litres, have increased the burden
specifically on the poor.
3. Degrading water quality: terrible water condition and acute water scarcity shows that
public agencies have not done their work well, increasing cases of water-borne diseases.
Way forward:
1. It is required that municipalities take this service and provide it judiciously to
everyone.
2. Due to heavy burden on the portable water, it must be circulated at certain intervals so
that people can make proper storage according to their needs.
3. High distribution losses due to leakages and thefts must be addressed at its earliest.
4. Creating behavioural change among the people to use water judiciously.
5. People participation along with social audit must be encouraged.
Since, the challenge is enormous but it is not insurmountable.

You could have made the answer more specific to the issue at hand i.e PPP model in
water supply by citing a few case studies and experiences from India( Nagpur) and
abroad:
Certain points:
1. The basic rationale for PPP is that water must be treated as an economic commodity
rather than a basic right, therefore exact cost must be recovered so as to ensure
effectiveness in supply.
2. However, the most important counter argument against PPP in water supply is its
repercussions on health.
- Stopping water supply at communal centers might force the poor to use unsafe water
resources. This can lead to epidemic outbreaks.
- Testing standards and procedures need to be properly regulated and transparency
ensured.
3. International experiences with privatisation of water supply in global cities like Paris
and Berlin have led to remunicipalisation of these services due to problems like
corruption, social mobilisation against such projects, increasing losses, higher rates,
issues of equity and access, inability to curb leakages.
4. Therefore, India needs to invest more into its water distribution network and

strengthen the capacities of municipalities else with 70million people in slums in urban
India, we risk reversing the gains made in MDGs.

There are basically 2 types of goods inn the market. One is luxury and other is essential.
Water comes under the umbrella of essential goods. Besides this water is also a scarse
commodity. As we know market works on principle of demand and supply, scarcity will
only lead to inflated cost of goods.
One of the close consorts of water is food. It was only due to extreme shortage of food
that India had to adopt a massive food security program to feed million or poor families.
Water also require similar intervation . Many families especially in tribal, hilly, or desert
areas find it very difficult to access water. They have to travel long distance to fetch
water.
In wake of privatization,one cannot expect private sector to take care of such families.
Not many household in India has tap connection. Such families have community taps or
point of water access. Thus private model may fail here as one cannot put meter on
community water supply.
Besides this the constitution of India has delineated access to safe drinking water as part
and parcel of "Right to Life " under art. 21. Being a fundamental right it is the
responsibility of the state to beef up its security and implementation.
The state thus should not flounder with such constitutional provision.
PPP model can be sought to develop infrastructure like setting pipes , installing pumps,
setting up water ATMs etc. But the supply of water should be managed by a responsible
and accountable authority.
Use of ICT by and modern infrastructure like water ATMs etc could help resolve issue
related to management of water supply.
Municipalities being the torch bearers of decentralized polity, should be given more
resources to come up with innovative solution to tackle water management issues.
Privatization of water supply will not only cull the decentralization and public
participation in management of local resources but also breach the spirit of constitution.

--Even though various regions in the country can be termed as water surplus, the laxity
in public water supply has led an acute water crisis in the country.
--The privatisation of water supply can lead to betterment in water supply, as the private
corporations always try to maintain a minimum standard of their services, in order to
retain the contract and justify the charge levied on the services, unlike public
corporations, which face negligible competition in the market.
--Although the proposal of privatisation of water supply in certain regions has been

proposed in initiatives like JNNURM, but no significant action was taken to implement
it, in the previous govt regime.
--Also, to keep the private corporation under reins, the PPP model can be appropriate to
use, where the initial investment can be made jointly by both for improvement in
infrastructure, while the improvement in distribution services can be undertaken by the
private companies independently.
--On the other hand, the govt should also remain cautious of the fact, that the private
companies can be driven away sometimes by their motives of profit, for which the govt
should intervene while deciding the charges for the services, so that all rungs of the
society can receive good quality of water, in an adequate amount. Currently, a large
population is using submersibles without installing any charging meter on them.
Regulation of such installations should also be undertaken by the govt.
--Such measures may sound herculean in nature, but they will surely help in improving
the condition of water crisis in various parts of the country.