New Delhi: A uniquely exemplary research study on 'Policy and Enabling Environment for Urban Small Water Enterprises' (USWE) has been conducted by Safe Water Network and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The report focuses on the policy and enabling environment for small water enterprises (SWEs)' for the urban poor in India. The study has been developed as a part of a larger assessment of drinking water provision to the urban poor in the country. The report captures "the prevailing policy and enabling environment for urban small water enterprises in cities with a focus on slums and is based on the water delivery assessment studies conducted in the cities of Hyderabad, Mumbai, Delhi and Vishakhapatnam "
The report notes that with cities in India rapidly expanding, "with nearly 17 percent of the urban population (65 million people) living in slums, pipe water supply infrastructure has not been able to keep up with the growing demand." Majority of the population that migrates to the cities is poor, and they find shelter in in unplanned and informal settlements. "While urban local bodies (ULBs) continually endeavor to upgrade the water supply infrastructure to meet demand, water utilities are unable to keep pace with the rate of expansion. This leaves a large population (more than 50 percent of the 14 million urban poor families) without access to piped water," notes the report. This gap in supply is often met by ULBs through provision of community-level standpipes or tankers. However the quality of water from these sources is usually poor, particularly if the raw water is not treated prior to being distributed. The report reflects the on ground situation and suggests varied parameters to aid the Government in improving the situation of availability of drinking water in urban centers. It suggests that small water enterprises have the potential to complement piped water supply and provide decentralized safe drinking water access to urban poor in India transforming their lives.
"There's an opportunity for USWEs to provide high quality treated water, complementary to piped water for potable water needs. The study of four cities in India has found that "virtually all piped households in slums depend largely on alternate sources of waters such as stand posts, tankers, and groundwater to supplement their daily water needs," notes the report. In fact, a conducive enabling environment is required to ensure USWEs can grow and contribute to improved water service provision in urban India.
In the current scenario, to include USWE in the policy and planning framework, reform measures at the Central and the State level are needed especially to shift the focus from large infrastructure piped water schemes to rapid, decentralized, small investment solution provided by SWEs. There is a requirement of "properly structured tenders, to include criteria critical for sustainability, appropriate pricing, and funded incentives to attract organizations that have the capabilities to deliver sustainable, affordable water solutions." Also there is "a need to establish performance of USWEs to ensure that implementers are operating to standards and that water is safe, reliable and affordable. Performance standards would allow for regulated induction of USWEs into the formal urban water landscape. This can be achieved by the induction and adoption of mutually acceptable recommended USWE performance standard against which USWEs can be measured for performance by ULBs/rural water schemes (RWSS). These standard can be tracked to monitor service delivery and consumer satisfaction.
There are open source digital tools / apps available on Google playstore that facilitate oversight and self- regulation of USWEs against set performance standards example Plant Audit Tool. Self-regulation among USWE implementers should be instituted with measures for independent verification to ensure ULBs remain involved in the process and that USWEs are functioning as per norms. Accountability to ULBs ensure that even with self-regulation, there is uniformity in performance and external reporting for transparency."
With these steps in place, and as described in Drinking Water Supply for urban Poor, for an investment of an estimated INR 4,000 crores (US $600 million), 50 percent of India's urban poor could be served with self-sustaining, affordable, safe drinking water.