Chennai's reservoirs became empty in the summer of 2019, prompting the government to truck in 10 million litres of water per day. “This was remarkable for a city with an annual average rainfall of 1,400 mm, more than double what London receives.” (Kaushik Deka, India Today, 2021)
In the heart of India's bustling cities and towns, this battle rages amidst the daily chaos every summer. The once-dependable water supply begins to falter, and taps begin to sputter, offering only feeble drips as summer's scorching heat settles, setting the stage for a looming crisis. Soon the scarcity turns into an everyday reality, with residents across the city finding themselves navigating an unforgiving terrain of long queues at water tankers and anxious glances at empty overhead tanks.
Inadequate coverage, sporadic supplies, low pressure, and sub-standard quality are some of the most noticeable drawbacks in the water supply in Indian cities. “By 2050, at least 30 Indian cities will face a grave water risk, according to the WWF." (Living Planet Report, WWF, 2020) The problems range from “poor management of water sources, contaminated supplies, leaky distribution networks and vast volumes of untreated wastewater being poured into India's rivers.” (ibid). Water delivery in Indian cities is becoming increasingly difficult due to the city's continued growth and high urban population growth. These challenges impact the availability, quality, and sustainability of water resources.
<p>India is experiencing <h3>rapid urbanisation</h3>, leading to increased demand for water in urban areas. “India's urban population growth in water-scarce regions was projected to be much higher than other countries , increasing from 222 million people to 550 (376–644) million people in 2050 and accounting for 26.7% (19.2%–31.2%) of the world's urban population facing water scarcity.” (<a href="He,%20C.,%20Liu,%20Z.,%20Wu,%20J.%20et%20al.%20Future%20global%20urban%20water%20scarcity%20and%20potential%20solutions.%20Nat%20Commun%2012,%204667%20(2021).%20https:/doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-25026-3">He et al, Nature</a>) This puts pressure on existing water infrastructure and resources, often resulting in inadequate supply to meet the growing population's needs.</p>
|
Summary of service norms for urban areas |
|
|
Water Supply |
|
|
Sewerage |
Underground sewerage system for all cities and 100 per cent collection and treatment of wastewater |
|
Solid Waste |
100% of solid waste collected, transported, and treated for all cities as per Municipal Solid Waste 2000 Rules |
|
Storm Water Drains |
Drain network covering 100% road length on both sides of the road for all cities |
Source: MoUD, Government of India (2008b and 2009a); and Report on Indian Urban Infrastructure and Services Committee, NIUA, 2011
Many urban areas in India face
The drop in water quality can be attributed to i
<p><h3>High levels of non-revenue water</h3> (<a href="https://indianinfrastructure.com/2023/05/29/water-losses-nrw-impact-and-reduction-initiatives/">Indian Infrastructure, 2023</a>), which includes losses due to leakage, theft, and unauthorized use, contribute to inefficiencies in the distribution system. An example is of Nagpur where “about 39% of water distributed through piped connections does not earn any revenue for the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC).” (<a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/non-revenue-water-stands-at-39-of-total-supply-in-nagpur/articleshow/95794499.cms">Proshun Chakraborty, The Times of India, 2022</a>) This affects revenue generation for water utilities.</p>
A study of Bangalore examined the issue of non-revenue water (NRW) in urban India. The study by Maitreyee Mukherjee et al, 2015, uses empirical evidence from a survey conducted among 601 low-income households. Its key findings are (i) public stand posts and public wells, which supply free water, are a non-trivial source of NRW, and (ii) revenue generation from metered tap connections is sub-optimal. The study observes that
<p>Socioeconomic disparities often result in <h3>unequal access to water supply and sanitation services</h3>. “No city in India can claim for universal coverage with continuous pressurized water supply.” (<a href="https%3A%2F%2Fwww.adb.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Flinked-documents%2F42486-016-sd-02.pdf">ADB, 2020</a>) Marginalized communities are more likely to face inadequate water supply and poor sanitation facilities. “Access to safe water remains a vexed issue for the urban poor living at the bottom of the pyramid. In absence of public services, households depend on multiple sources of water. This ranges from procuring water from private players or some form of provisioning which is difficult to access such as water tankers by public utilities.” (<a href="https%3A%2F%2Fsmartnet.niua.org%2Fsites%2Fdefault%2Ffiles%2Fresources%2Fwater-supply-for-urban-poor-in-india-web.pdf">Priyanjali Bose, WaterAid, 2017</a>)</p>
Water governance encompasses a spectrum of political, legal, societal, economic, and administrative frameworks established to facilitate the proficient oversight of water resources and their distribution across various strata of society. In India, municipal bodies, parastatal entities (such the Public Health and Engineering Department), and other statutory institutions are each given a fragmented portion of the responsibility for managing urban water supply. Urban water supply is a state subject, but the centre is in charge of creating sector-wide policies, standards, and investment guidance. Development, funding, and cost recovery for water supply and sanitation are the duties of the state.
Institutional categories are expected to vary in their degree of autonomy. There is no inter-se accountability between the entities in charge of planning, funding, development, and O&M. The case for decentralised administration of urban water supply is compelling in theory. Adopting a similar state-wide strategy is likely to have issues given regional variances in circumstances, water supply, capacity, and willingness to pay. Furthermore, members of elected urban local bodies don't have much control over state-level institutions.
But changing the institutional framework alone will not lead to anything. There have been several attempts for urban water supply reform since the middle of the 1990s, including the transfer of certain tasks from state level entities to properly elected urban local bodies. “Until the early 1990s, India’s urban local bodies (ULBs) were under the complete control of the states, having little functional, financial and administrative autonomy. The 74th Amendment Act of 1992 sought to make ULBs self-governing institutions. Many salutary provisions were made in the Act and there have been certain positive outcomes since it came into effect in April 1993. However, many key issues have remained unresolved and at present, the states continue to dominate the ULBs.” (Ramanath Jha, 2020)
Further, the transfer of employees or finances has not received much consideration or attention. “In the bulk of our cities, operations for providing water do not even cover O&M expense” (MoHUA, 2018). Additionally, the ULBs lack the technical staff (NIUA, 2014) needed to oversee these activities. In this case, just shifting the functions will only put more strain on urban local bodies resources and capabilities, setting them up for even greater failure.
Addressing the challenges of the urban water sector requires a multi-faceted approach involving policy reforms, investments in infrastructure, improved governance, community engagement, and the adoption of sustainable water management practices. Collaboration among government agencies, private sector, non-governmental organisations, and local communities is essential to ensuring a reliable and equitable urban water supply in India.