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Cycle 8 (2019 Deadline)
Conversion from intermittent to continuous water supply (24 x 7) through public-private partnership (PPP): investigating governance and sustenance issues in Karnataka, India
PI: Nayanatara Nayak (nsn.cmdr@gmail.com, nsnayanatara@yahoo.com), Centre for Multi-Disciplinary Development Research (CMDR), in partnership with Karnatak University, Dharwad
U.S. Partner: Emily Kumpel, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Project Dates: January 2020 - December 2022
Project Overview
The World Bank assistance to Continuous Water Supply (CWS)/24x7 in cities of the Indian state of Karnataka is based on contracts signed by the state’s government. Although the CWS pilot project has been successful in Hubli-Dharwad city, the question remains whether participation of the private sector in urban water supply improves service delivery in terms of water availability, quality, pressure, new connections, maintenance, reduction of non-revenue water, billing, and fee collections in the long run, particularly when the project is extended to the entire city. Does 24x7 water supply address issues of equity and sustainability? Does 24x7 water supply reduce waterborne diseases? Does the public-private-partnership model improve the quality of municipal services and their capacities? Has 24x7 resulted in conflicts of interest between traditional water supply institutions? If so, does this impact implementation of 24x7 and its upscaling? These are some of the questions that the proposed study intends to answer.
A study of CWS vs. Intermittent Water Supply (IWC) in Hubli-Dharwad city by Jayaramu et al. (2015) reveals higher satisfaction among customers on water quality, continuity in supply, quantity, and pressure as compared to considerable dissatisfaction with similar parameters under intermittent supply. Similarly, the draft report on environmental and social assessment of continuous water supply project in Hubli-Dharwad also reveals that customers, particularly daily wage laborers in the 24x7 demo zones, are happy, as they need not take time off work to fill water containers. On the other hand, Burt and Ray’s (2014) study on 24x7 water supply in Hubli-Dharwad reveals that the system does not satisfy the assumptions that were expected to be fulfilled with its implementation. The current PEER study will be based both on empirical data to be collected from members of selected urban households and secondary data to be obtained from municipal corporations, local and international private operators responsible for operations and management, financial institutions, and water boards in the sample region. The study is well-poised to address the above mentioned questions and should significantly contribute to ongoing policy debates on continuous water delivery in India, as well as in other developing countries.
Final Summary of Project Activities
 | | Dr. Narayan Billava (center, in plaid shirt) at the 39th Annual Conference held at Centre for Urban Economic Studies, University of Calcutta, in February 2020 [photo courtesy of Dr. Nayak]. |
Dr. Nayanatara Nayak and her colleagues studied four cases of public-private-partnership 24x7 water supply models during this project. The first is the much-publicized “Demo” or “Pilot” project implemented successfully with support from a World Bank loan and state government grant the cities of Hubballi-Dharwad, Belagavi, and Kalaburagi in 2008 and functioning well since then. The second is the ongoing upscaling of 24x7 water supply from “Pilot” to an entire city implemented with a World Bank loan, state government grant, and contributions from the local municipal body, which began operations behind schedule (initiated in 2021) and has struggled to cope with labor problems and agitations from citizens, municipal councillors, and other elected leaders. The preparations seem to be good, but success depends on how well the project addresses the intruding elements of technical, administrative, and human factors. The third effort is the very successful model of Ilkal town, which is the second town in India to provide 24x7 water supply to an entire city under the public-private-partnership (PPP) model, with financial support from the Asian Development Bank, a state government grant, and municipal government share. This model can be replicable elsewhere subject to certain conditions, including a perennial water source, appropriate seed financing, technical expertise, managerial competence, community involvement, successful operation of a user payment system, and leadership (political and religious). The fourth model is the failed Mysuru 24x7 water supply project, which was implemented under the central government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in 2013 with contributions from the state government and the municipal government. In Mysuru, both contractors hired for the project failed to complete the work as per the agreement, so the city has switched back to intermittent supply, with system operations and management being taken over by Mysuru Vani Vial Water Works, a wing of the municipal government.
The water user payment system is another key aspect of 24x7 water supply that the PEER researchers studied. Through surveys they found that most of the households across all cities studied perceive continuous water supply (CWS) as favorable, and they are willing to pay higher tariffs for it. However, it should be noted that while CWS in the pilot district has been operating satisfactorily, up-scaling has been very slow, with various problems in implementation, necessitating a wider study on the impact evaluation after completion of the project for the entire city. With regard to the water pricing policy, the PEER team found it be based on socio-political considerations rather than economic ones. Average water tariffs in India are low relative to costs, making the entire system nonviable and inefficient in the long run. Household surveys such as those conducted during the PEER project elucidate the likelihood of dynamic pricing of water depending on the efficiency of the service provided. In order to make 24x7 water supply available to all in the long run, the researchers recommend that the state governments should collaborate with international organizations and all stakeholders to create more awareness to expedite the transition from intermittent water supply (IWS). It is important to note that this transition requires not only the availability of water and funding but also efficient management.
In summing up the policy impacts of the project, Dr. Nayak notes that it represented a pioneering attempt to present a comparative analysis of the situation with IWS versus that with CWS, finding that customers prefer CWS due to convenience, satisfaction with quantity and improved quality, benefits of technical and managerial know-how from private operators, adequate capitalization, financial discipline due to international funding, cost recovery and efficiency in service delivery. She and her team found that water usage is higher among customers of CWS, annulling the assumption that continuous availability of water reduces consumption of water or leads to judicious usage. However, further studies are needed to determine if this is generally true in other regions. Water charges under CWS seem to be progressive and are higher for higher income groups, non-slum dwellers, and, for above-poverty-line cardholders. This is a good indication from the development standpoint (as those who can afford and use more water pay more and aid in cost recovery) as well from the welfare and equity point of view (subsidized and differential rates allow everyone to have access to water).
The researchers found increased awareness among the public that water is no longer a free good. Having water 24x7 has made the public realize its value and pay for its usage, and there is increased mindfulness in the usage of water. Nevertheless, CWS has not yet restored confidence in residents to “Drink from Tap.” Even after more than a decade of 24x7 water supply in some areas, customers are not confident about its quality, so they treat their drinking water using various methods. They also store water due to fears of the supply being shut down for long hours. So, the assurance of quality and continuous supply stated in project documents as justification for 24x7 water supply is not adhered to. As with water availability, governance and management are equally important in promoting economic use of water. The lesson is that the lack of planning, coordination, and failure to stick to timelines have delayed the implementation of 24x7 water supply and will continue to cause delays further if these issues are not addressed.
The team’s five regional workshops organized to disseminate the project findings were extremely fruitful in increasing awareness among stakeholders. The commissioners of the respective urban local bodies (ULBs) in the team’s study sites have instructed the parastatal agencies and the private operator to test water quality based on the team’s report and fix the problem. Presentations made by team members at the international conference on water management and climate change, organized January 24-25, 2023, by the Water and Land Management Institute in Dharwad, Karnataka, also facilitated wider dissemination of the study before water experts coming in from different states of India, as well as Australia, Europe, and Africa. Karnataka government officials were happy to know about both the positive results and the negative perceptions about the ongoing project and asked the team to highlight them in the policy document to be shared with the concerned departments.
In particular, Dr. Nayak and her colleagues highlighted the success of the PPP model among those they studied. Determined local leadership, 100% metering, efficient demand collection, clearance of water bill arrears as a condition for getting 24x7 water supply, the continuance of the same operator for the past 10 years, and system augmentation to meet the increasing demand for water supply have led to the success of the 24x7 water supply projects using this model. As for the model of projects with public funding and maintenance, those have also demonstrated their ability to function well for several years, indicating that ULBs can pool domestic resources and expertise and explore the possibilities of implementing 24x7 water supply using their own capacities in collaboration with technical departments to reduce the costs and burden of external funding to them and as well the public.
Overall, the study found a conducive environment for 24x7 water supply in India, as the Government of India is set to provide every household with continuous tap water under the Jal Jeevan Mission. While this presents an optimistic view, there are also apprehensions due to delays in executing such projects in the past and inadequate learning from the failures. The inability of the ULBs to take back the responsibility of water supply after private contractors complete the contract period is a great concern. Increasing dependence on several schemes on existing water resources without increasing their capacities or augmenting reservoir storage capacities, along with complete dependence on private operators without increasing the capacities of the ULBs, may be obstacles in completion of the project and hinder decentralized governance and sustenance of the project in future.
Now that the PEER project has ended, Dr. Nayak and her team plan to continue their research collaboration with their U.S. partners. The joint Indian-U.S. group features experts from a range of relevant areas, including an economist, a health studies expert, and a chemical engineer with expertise in water quality from the US, as well as Indian researchers with expertise in empirical studies, health economics, and decentralization. By the time of her final report in late January 2023, Dr. Nayak had received 11 new grants (5 Indian, 6 international) totaling almost $170,000 to support her ongoing work. The successful completion of the PEER project, the dissemination of the research findings in five workshops held in different cities, and the positive response received from the stakeholders were the main reasons cited by Dr. Nayak for obtaining the additional funding from state government grants. Building on the PEER project results, CMDR has been carrying out a case study of the Alnavar 24x7 water supply at the request of the Commissioner of the Hubballi-Dharwad Corporation and the Alnavar Town municipality. CMDR has also been requested to do an investigation of upscaling of 24x7 water supply from pilot scale. In addition, CMDR has been asked to undertake evaluation of upscaling in all the three cities by the Task Force Manager of the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure and Development Corporation (KUIDFC) in the workshop held at Kalaburagi. This is because upscaling had not begun in the selected cities during the survey period. The cities did not have recent water quality tests done for the water samples of all the wards in their respective cities, so CMDR was also asked to do a water quality analysis for the entire city. Finally, CMDR has been asked to conduct a case study of Alnavar Town Municipal Council, which has recently implemented a “Drink from Tap” project. CMDR has initiated the study under a Karnataka state government grant.
Publications
N. Sivanna, Narayan Billava, and Nayanatara Nayak, editors. 2023. Decentralised Governance and Planning in India: Its Impact on Economic Development and Social Justice. Concept Publishing, New Delhi. ISBN : 9789355942081
Emily Kumpel, Narayan Billava, Nayanatara Nayak, and Ayse Ercumen. 2022. Water use behaviors and water access in intermittent and continuous water supply areas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Water Health (2022) 20(1): 139–148 https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2021.184
Narayan Billava and Nayanatara Nayak. 2022. Tracking scale-up of continuous water services in Hubli-Dharwad, Karnataka: discussion on sustenance issues. Global Journal of Human Social Science 22(1): 48-55 https://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/4018/3909
Arunkumar Kulkarni and Narayan Billava. 2021. Disparity in Rural Sanitation in Karnataka: Status and Challenges. In Federalism and Regionalism, edited by Vinod B. Annigeri, S.V. Hanagodimath, Arunkumar R. Kulkarni, and R.S. Deshpande. Rawat Publications, Jaipur.
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