India - Water resources management sector review - World Bank (1998)

This background report on Rural Water Supply and Sanitation by the World Bank, as a part of the Water Resources Management sector review, dwells on the policy and constraints of this sector, institutional and financial issues related to sector reform process and advocates an approach/plan to bring about radical reforms in the sector.

The report provides a brief background on the present situation of the water supply and sanitation sector in the country. It informs that India has substantially increased its commitment to the water supply and sanitation sector with investments that presently constitute about 3 percent of the national budget. Significant achievements in coverage have been made, with over 75 % of the rural population now provided with public water supply facilities.

The report acknowledges limitations in the implementation of the water supply and sanitation programmes and argues that the sector has traditionally focused on expansion and has neglected aspects such as quality of services, the needs of the user communities and the design and construction issues related to the services.

The report identifies a number of sector issues, suggests strategies for sector reform and provides a plan of action to achieve further improvements in the implementation of the water and sanitation programmes.

These include consideration of:

Sector issues

• Protection of water resources
• Institutional performance
• Financial issues

Sector reform strategies

• Enabling Environment for Reform
• Institutional Sustainability
• Financial Viability and Sustainability
• Protection of Water Sources

Plan of Action

• Establish an enabling environment
• Ensure institutional sustainability
• Ensure financial viability and sustainability
• Protect water resources

Download the report: