Urban Water Management in India:

Recommendations for the 12th Five

Year Plan Approach Paper
Final Report of the national consultation on urban water management

Submitted to Planning Commission of India

1/13/2011

By
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... 3
PREFACE ....................................................................................................................... 4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................ 8
Overarching principles emerging from the Consultation .............................................. 9
Recommendations at a glance................................................................................... 10
DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS .............................................................................. 16
Thematic Group 1: Urban poor .................................................................................. 16
Thematic Group 2: Infrastructure ............................................................................... 19
Thematic Group 3: Governance ................................................................................. 23
Thematic Group 4: Water sources ............................................................................. 25
Thematic Group 5: Beyond Watsan ........................................................................... 27
Annexure: List of participants ................................................................................... 28

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, we would like to thank the Planning Commission, particularly its Members, Mr. Arun
Maira and Dr. Mihir Shah, for seeking to make the planning process broad-based and
consultative and giving civil society organisations space to be heard. We note with appreciation
that Mr. Maira and Dr. Shah spent significant time at the consultation with the participants
sharing their thoughts and feedback.

The consultation process was made possible in such a short timeframe due to the efforts of a
large number of people and organisations working together. We thank Mr. Depinder Kapur of
India Wash Forum for all his inputs.

We thank all the participants for agreeing to spare valuable time for this process, often
rearranging their schedules in order to attend and contribute. We take this opportunity to place
on record our sincere thanks and appreciation for several participants who took additional effort
and time to prepare the draft recommendations based on the presentations from the thematic
group discussions on December 15, 2010.

WaterAid would like to thank Mr. Chittoor Krishnan, Consultant, Jal Seva Charitable Foundation
who helped to co-ordinate the activities on their side.

We thank the Planning Commission for hosting the consultation at the Commission's office. In
particular Mr. A K Chakrabarti and Mr Deepak of the Commission helped a great deal with the
logistics.

Arghyam and WaterAid

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PREFACE

The Planning Commission is in the process of preparing the approach paper for the 12th Five
Year Plan. As a part of the process, the Planning Commission convened a meeting of the civil
society organisations in October 2010 expressing its desire to deepen the channels of
communication with NGOs/CBOs working with vulnerable sections, in diverse regions of the
country. The belief is that through such a wide process, the input gathered from conversations
will be wholesome and valuable to the planning process.

In the area of urban drinking water and sanitation, the Commission requested Arghyam and
WaterAid to organise civil society consultations. This was perceived as a great opportunity for
the collective experience of grassroots organizations to be tabled and conveyed to the highest
policy-making body of the Government of India such that important modifications and inclusions
are made in the 12th Plan to mainstream civil society efforts.

Accordingly the national consultation on urban water management was organised on December
15, 2010 in the Planning Commission of India at New Delhi. The objective was to have an
inclusive and representative national consultation process to yield collective recommendations
for the 12th Plan on Urban water. The programme was designed to accommodate and include
different perspectives in addressing the needs of the deprived and vulnerable sections of
society. The costs and resource support for the exercise was borne by Arghyam and WaterAid.
The Water Community of UN-Solution Exchange was the network and documentation partner
for the consultation.

Participants:
A wide range of participants covering organisations working on different thematic, geographical
and socio-economic areas took part in the day long consultation. The sixty participants
represented diverse stakeholder groups in urban water management spectrum. They included
NGOs, right based groups, community based organisations, slum community, policy analysts,
researchers and academics, engineers and municipal functionaries and government officials.
(See annexure 1: List of participants)

Themes for discussion

In the management of water in urban India, issues of universalisation of access to water, equity,
guaranteed water supply of good quality, treatment and recycling of industrial and commercial
wastewater, and safe sanitation have prominence. These issues continue to remain as focal
points in equalizing the platform for water and sanitation services.

The distribution and management of urban water and collection and disposal of wastewater
function under a structured process. There are State level urban water utilities or departments
that plan and execute water supply and sewerage projects. The costs incurred and the financing

4
for various projects flows from various Central Government schemes, development banks, State
Governments etc. With the exception of large cities and metros, urban local bodies run and
maintain these systems with their meagre funds and capacities. Regulatory systems are non-
existent or weak, and there is little visibility into decision-making process of the responsible
entities. More importantly, the space for citizens‘ engagement and interaction with these bodies
is minimal leaving large gaps in understanding and administering services to a cross section of
society.

It is important to recognize that the entire urban water scenario is linked not just to
infrastructure, finance, and governance, but to urban developmental choices. The urban
population is expected to increase from 340 million (2008) to 590 million in 20301. The pressure
in managing demand, supply and equity in distribution of water will be immense. The present
systems are crumbling, and the need to cater to industrial water need in addition to universal
individual water security will further strain the water procurement cycle, and impose limits on the
amount of water available to fulfil the needs of an urban environment. At present, cities are
promoting water-intensive developments, while a more sustainable trajectory is essential.

Given this context, the consultation held in New Delhi on the December 15, 2010 was organized
around five themes – Urban Poor, Urban Infrastructure, Governance, Water Sources and
Beyond Watsan. A list of thematic areas with some indicative issues was presented to the
participants initially in order to provide a structure for the discussions and these are reproduced
below.
1. Urban poor:
 Accessibility: Poor access for certain groups; absence of clear system or benchmarks for
measuring access; intermittent supply at public standposts; poor maintenance of systems.
 Quality: Poor quality of water. Lack of knowledge and awareness in community on water
quality and health linkages. Increasing incidences of waterborne diseases. Not enough
demand or interest in addressing water quality issue.
 Schemes: Lack of proper implementation and integration of schemes
 Access/Usage of toilets: open defecation; lack of access to individual toilets; non- availability
of community toilets.
 Pro-poor policy & universal coverage: lack of proper framework to tackle the basic needs of
urban poor (inequities), including migrant population; water as right
Sample Discussion points: What are non-negotiable elements of a pro-poor policy? How do we
ensure that every last citizen today and in the future has access to water for her basic needs?
Are community toilets a workable alternative for space-starved urban slums?

2. Infrastructure:
 Lessons from JNNURM & UIDSSMT: what is the road ahead?

1
India‘s urban awakening: building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth, McKinsey Report, April
2010

5
 Water supply, wastewater/UGD, drains, Solid Waste Management: ailing infrastructure; lack
of framework to institutionalize change; integration to augment recharge of ground aquifers
and for sustainable re-use of wastewater
 Viable small-scale, decentralized options for all stages of urban water management
 Planning & design, O&M, financing
 Demand management/ water use efficiency
 Lack of capacities and skills at the local level to run and maintain supply and treatment
systems.

Sample Discussion Points: How to promote source-to-sink, closed loop (integrated)

approaches. What steps can be taken to bridge the water distribution gap between urban
and peri-urban areas?

3. Governance:
 Planning, policy, (National and State) pricing: Limited awareness on planning process. Not
much role or little scope for community participation/voice.
 Overlapping institutions & jurisdiction, institutional capacity & effectiveness, role of
community, responsiveness, accountability, transparency & PPP
 Regulation, decentralization, fund flows: create an enabling environment and framework for
debate and engagement between urban bodies and community
 Role of state agencies, utilities. Interaction with local level bodies and water managers
 Information and data availability: Lack of data on basic indicators and status of the present
system.
 Institutionalizing stronger regulatory practices to mitigate pollutions levels at the local level
 Absence of contingency planning: For conflicts, disasters, growth, migration, pollution

Sample Discussion points: Crossing the last mile to reach the community especially the
marginalized involves peeling away social and caste barriers; building awareness and
strengthening demand; addressing the sometimes uneven distribution of local political and
power balance. Does the private sector have the skills, interests and capability to do so?

Can water be considered as a fundamental right for every human being and whose
management must ensure reliable access for all as non-negotiable?

What are the challenges urban local bodies/involved entities face in implementing schemes and
programs?

4. Water Sources:
 Sustainability: sources dry up or available quantity fluctuates significantly in time; absence of
skilled manpower and finances; low awareness amongst community for importance of
protection of sources.
 water quality issues: ailing infrastructure of storm and sewerage drains

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 Ground water, rainwater, lakes & ponds: drinking water source protection, poor regulation
and implementation of groundwater laws; institutionalization of rainwater harvesting
 Recycling & reuse: Propagating alternate sources of water such as rainwater harvesting, re-
use of wastewater for potable and non-potable purposes, in the urban context

Sample Discussion points: Regulation of groundwater by the State has been discussed for a
long time now, but is not very feasible due to the high transaction costs and political costs
associated with regulating wells in the country. However a small number of examples have
shown how social regulation can work where the legal one is difficult. Is this feasible? What
mechanisms can be instituted to recharge groundwater?

5. Beyond watsan:

 Land titles, land use planning: land use and acquisition remains an opaque, murky process
 Public health, peri-urban agriculture, industry, pollution control, education, role of RRAs,
scheme linkages, RBAs
 Climate change: lack of available alternate options to the end user/ community. No proper
government body to facilitate/ institutionalize the adoption of adaptive strategies
 Ever-increasing conflicts between different stakeholders – rural–urban, industry-agriculture-
domestic, rich-poor, upstream-downstream, competing users of common resources, etc

Process
Based on the above the five groups met separately and came up with a set of issues to be
addressed and a set of recommendations for the 12th Five Year Plan approach paper. This was
presented in a plenary followed by a discussion. During the consultation, two to three
participants from each group volunteered to draft the recommendations to be submitted to the
Planning Commission. The same was then circulated to the entire group of participants for
comments and inputs. Based on these inputs recommendations from each of the thematic
groups were finalised.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Overview: The national consultation on urban water management organised on December 15,
2010 was one of its kind as it brought together a diverse group of stakeholders. Unlike the rural
water and sanitation space where such multi stakeholder consultations are common, similar
initiatives in the urban water management space is few and limited. The sixty odd participants at
the national consultation represented slum dwellers, community organisations, NGOs, right
based groups and activists, researchers and academicians, engineers and municipal
functionaries and government officials. Coming from different geographical and socio-economic
backgrounds there was a rich diversity in the discussions.

To facilitate detailed discussion, the meeting was organized around five themes – Urban Poor,
Urban Infrastructure, Governance, Water Sources and Beyond Watsan. Each of the groups
came up with a set of issues to be addressed and a set of recommendations for the 12th Five
Year Plan approach paper. This was presented in a plenary followed by a discussion. During
the consultation, two to three participants from each group volunteered to draft the
recommendations to be submitted to the Planning Commission. The same was then circulated
to the entire group of participants for comments and inputs. Based on these inputs
recommendations from each of the thematic groups were finalised.

It is very important to note here that at the national consultation and during the continuing
discussions there was consensus on many issues and divergent views on others. For instance,
creation of spaces for proactive community participation, strengthening governance by
deepening of 74th Constitutional amendment, capacity building of urban local bodies directed
towards decision making, implementation of right to water and sanitation, replacing parastatals
and corporate bodies without accountability by democratic and transparent structures, stopping
PPP model for any projects and the need for dealing with externalities that impact drinking water
security were agreed upon. On the other hand the issue of 24/7 water supply drew diverse
opinions as articulated in chapters on detailed recommendation from each group. Also, while
going through this report, it can be noticed that there are some recommendations/remarks
which may seem to differ. However, this was inevitable as the very idea of the consultation was
to capture voices of different stakeholders.

Some of the recommendations are at a high level (principles and ideas) to promote
participation, equity and sustainability in urban water management. These principles and ideas
are important as the urban water space do not have an operational framework (unlike the
national rural drinking water guidelines or Total Sanitation Campaign guidelines by the ministry
of rural development, Government of India which forms the basis of funding of rural drinking
water programmes) to implement its water and sanitation programmes. These ideas need
further detailing to make it actionable/implementable. Given the rich and diverse experience of
the participants, this group would be happy to engage with the Planning Commission in future to
work out the details.

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Overarching principles emerging from the Consultation

The consultation on urban water and sanitation to facilitate the Planning Commission in
developing its approach paper for the 12th Five Year Plan brought together a diverse group of
institutions and individuals working in the urban water and sanitation sector from all across
India.

The overarching issues that emerged during the discussions were:

The ECOLOGICAL issue – the need to systematically work to protect the ecosystem which
delivers water, either as surface water or groundwater, and ensure sustainable quantity and
quality of the flow of the resource. The need also to prevent overexploitation for water-intensive
uses and to prevent pollution of water was brought out.

The concept of using the ecological footprint for water or the water footprint to ensure that
cities stay within limits of the ecological availability of resources and do not overstretch
themselves was a clear concern expressed. Master plans and land use plans for cities need to
recognise the fragility of the water ecosystem within and plan for protecting the resource. The
carrying capacity of the city from a resources availability point of view should be a constraint
imposed on urban growth.

The SOCIAL EQUITY issue – the need for universal access to water as a human right
irrespective of the ability to pay for it was clearly highlighted by the group. That there should be
no denial of water simply on the basis of lack of payment for it was brought out. That the
inequity in access to water and sanitation in our cities needs to be addressed quickly and a pro-
poor approach should be adopted was the consensus.

The GOVERNANCE issue – the group felt that people‘s participation in policy, programme and
project formulation in water and sanitation was abysmal. They represented a strong need for
consultation with the communities on all aspects of water and sanitation programmes and in the
approach adopted to deliver water and sanitation services. There is an urgent need to have new
practices and policies to enhance public engagement and to create a politics and culture of
inclusiveness in urban water management. Making institutions democratically accountable and
including stakeholders in all aspects of projects was highlighted.

The hurried and non-consultative formulation of City Development Plans in schemes under
JNNURM and the like was pointed out as needing correction.

The choice of technology and economic paradigm for cities in future should be governed by the
above considerations.

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Recommendations at a glance

Urban poor: There is a lack of reliable data, definition and understanding of who constitutes
urban poor (is it only the below the poverty line group or people who live in slums, pavements,
migrant workers?). The group pointed out that urban poor does not refer only to the people
living in approved slums only. There was also a discussion on implementing right to water and
sanitation and on the issue of free Vs paid services.
1. The government shall do a survey to make a clear and reliable database of urban poor.
2. Watsan services to urban poor should be delivered without demanding for various
identities in both authorized and unauthorized slums. Service delivery should be made
available to the people who live in the communities irrespective of land tenure. Proof of
residence could be used as adequate proof as in the case of Gujarat, Agra and
Bhubaneswar.
3. There should be norms on provision for water and sanitation services for different kinds
of urban poor settlements; (availability of watsan infrastructure per capita population of
slums and availability per square kilometer of public spaces(alongside roads), integrated
toilets-water-bathing and washing complexes). Existing policies and programmes are
inadequate in addressing equity and right to water and sanitation in the urban context.
This shall be implemented in letter and spirit. There shall be no denial of minimum basic
services to all, on grounds of affordability. Water to the urban poor shall be free.
4. Options for services, designing and development of infrastructure location operation and
maintenance of water and sanitation services (community toilets) to be done in
consultation with the community members especially women groups. Important to
relocate stand posts which are close to drains and relay drinking water mains (wherever
needed) to avoid pollution of drinking water distribution. Establishing water quality testing
labs for testing the individual and public water sources by the community at a low-cost.
5. A subsidy of Rs.9000 available in Karnataka for the construction of individual household
toilet is not available in other states. Such a subsidy would encourage people to
construct individual toilets, thereby reducing open defecation in urban areas. End to
manual scavenging by focusing on rehabilitation of manual scavengers, in place to
targeting closure of dry latrines.
6. Establishing appropriate technology for connecting individual household toilets and
community managed toilet to UGDs will enable all citizens in the urban poor to be linked
to UGD and not to open drains. As a progression, municipalities shall promote
community toilets with decentralised waste water treatment systems.
7. There was no consensus on the issue of free versus paid service in the group. One
suggestion was that electricity and water charges to be charged in domestic tariff in the
case of community managed toilets. A universal reduction of charges for UGD is
recommended or the subsidy amount shall enable them to pay minimum charges as in
the case of a state like Orissa (reduced from Rs. 3,500 to Rs. 800). The deposit charges
for individual water connection and toilet construction are to be made minimum and

10
 through an installment system rather than a onetime payment. While the others in the
same group felt that these should be free.
8. To provide for annual maintenance charges to Community Based Organisations (CBOs)
to maintain community toilets for better operation and maintenance instead of once in
three years. Capital infrastructure of community toilet buildings will require capital
investment in up gradation, motor & other major repairs and maintenance(new toilet
blocks, overhead water tanks, septic tanks or sewerage connectivity and major
repairs of doors and flooring that occur once in 7-10 years) - should also be
supported by Municipal Corporation/Utility.
9. Community management alone can sustain the capital infrastructure through timely
operations and management by relying on members and users as participants in this
effort and not simply as clients for a business opportunity. This level of community
participation and management of slum infrastructure cannot be attained from contracted
out public works to private parties, corporate houses or NGOs. Institutionalising
community participation requires support and involvement of local NGOs.
10. There is a need for a social development unit (SDU) to be established within the
Municipal Corporations for better provisioning of watsan services to urban poor. The
experience of Bangalore (BWSSB) demonstrated that this can go a long way in
making the predominantly engineering focused utility to adapt to the social
responsibility

Infrastructure: One of the key issues identified by this group is the absence of community
participation in infrastructure planning. The group pointed out that under Jawaharlal Nehru
National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for
Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), the comprehensive development plans are prepared in
an adhoc manner (based on inaccurate data) in haste. Since there is no community involvement
these plans do not reflect the needs and aspirations of the local community. This practice need
to change.
1. Every city/town should develop participatory comprehensive development plans
based on sound data to ensure feasibility of infrastructure plan. This plan shall integrate
aspects of sustainability at all levels—social, technical, environmental, institutional and
financial based on source to sink (closing the loop) approach. It was suggested that the
―carrying capacity‖ of town must be calculated and used as an input into the planning
process.
2. CDPs must be based on the principle of minimum resource dependence outside the
planning area for critical needs. For e.g. if additional infrastructure for water is to be built,
the CDP must start with infrastructure for maximizing use of local water resources
(surface, ground, rain and recycled water) potential. Only the balance requirement may
be planned for from outside the plan area.
3. Sustainability planning should include demand management to reduce consumer end
demand. There should be incentives/rebates for efficient resource saving
gadgets/systems such as water-saving gadgets, dual water supply systems, sewer
mining‖; solar energy panels etc. These may be at the level of consumer or the producer
of the products.

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 4. Decentralized systems in sewage treatment (and in solid waste management &
composting) shall be promoted/facilitated. It is imperative to define norms and
standards (for quantity and quality) for different uses/re-uses of water (e.g. toilet
flushing to use only 6-8 litres of water – recycled water wherever possible). There is a
need to support and facilitate research on sustainable technologies.

Governance: One of the primary issues flagged by the group was the absence of or limited
space for community participation in urban water management. It was observed that the policies
pertaining to urban water and sanitation are largely developed with limited closed-door
consultations and almost no inputs from the third tier of the government, civil society groups,
and citizens at large. It is also observed that the policies are influenced by bilateral and multi-
lateral agencies such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Such policies expect
the local governments to merely follow them without considering local needs, requirements and
available resources and do not empower local decision makers and elected representatives to
have a say in designing and driving policies. There was a lot of discussion the need to create
voice mechanisms in urban areas and on deepening the provisions of the 74th amendment and
thereby democratic decision making in cities and towns. The group also recommended making
water and sanitation as a basic right, stopping of PPP model, replacing parastatals and
corporate bodies without accountability by ULBs, capacity building directed towards decision
making etc.
1. The process for setting the policies must be more democratic, transparent and open to
contributions from civil society, citizen groups, and local governments. Further the
policies should set a macro perspective and refrain from carrying conditionalities and
reforms that have not been subjected to wide public consultation and may lead to
uncalled for obligations on the local government and the citizens at large.
2. The provisions of the 74th Amendment have to be deepened and further
elaborated; and to what extent the states will adopt them in the State Acts which
can pave the way for policies that promote social accountability, transparency, and
distributive effectiveness in service delivery of Watsan services at the local level.
3. The group emphasized on the urgent attention for capacity building at State and Local
levels for affective and just service delivery. The capacity building has to be based on
realistic data collection, appropriate technical knowledge, and decentralized local body
planning and decision making.
4. Water must be recognized as a basic right of every citizen as enunciated by the
Supreme Court and mandatory provisions must be made to ensure supply of minimum
sustenance water to all without any cost.
5. Sanitation must also be recognized as a basic right and sufficient provisions must be
made to provide toilet facilities to all poor citizens who cannot afford such costs as well
as to meet other costs of availing water and sanitation services such as sewer or water
connection charges
6. While a large part of technical operations remain in the purview of the ULB staff, it is
essential to involve the user and citizen groups in setting priorities for the ULB to
improve service delivery. The group suggests participatory and disaggregated budgeting
for allocating and costing water and sanitation services for the city in a transparent and
consultative manner, setting up a tripartite body of citizens as consumers, service

12
 providers, and independent technical experts to set norms for supply, distribution‘
collection, and disposal etc.
7. Parastatals and corporate bodies without accountability have to be replaced by
democratic and transparent structures. It is imperative to strengthen local bodies to
deliver the provisions in the 74th amendment. It is essential to create a necessary
institutional incentive scheme at both state and local levels, which will enable effective
delivery of watsan services. These institutional incentives are to be set within the
framework of accountability faced by the ULBs.
8. To stop using PP model for any projects. Adoption of PPP mode, particularly in water
supply has been resisted by the citizens across the nation. These projects create
unaffordable burdens particular on poor. If city governance and the capacities of ULBs
for data collection, planning, decision-making, implementation, and providing effective
services are improved, most projects could be led and implemented by the ULBs. It is
recommended that PPP mode is not adopted at all in water supply and sanitation,
whether in metros or small and medium towns. The involvement of groups such as rag
pickers, resident welfare associations, CBOs and NGOs is strongly recommended for
sustainable municipal solid waste management and for creating and protecting livelihood
opportunities of informal sector workers.

Water sources: This group discussed in detail about how lack of data and urban planning
without considering water resources availability is threatening the urban water security.
To address these, the following recommendations are made:
1. Providing water security through provision of minimum of 100 litres per capita per
day (lpcd) for all inhabitants should be articulated as a priority that overrules all
other allocation targets. This implies that out of total available usable water, only
surplus water that is over and above the livelihood needs of entire population (floating
and permanent) can be made available for other uses as per city‘s requirements.
2. Cities with huge water footprints are unsustainable. Big cities are making heavy drafts on
the natural resources of their rural hinterland and generate immense quantities of waste
and cast a heavy burden of pollution and contamination on soil, water and air. A major
objective moving forward has to be the reduction of this water footprint of cities.
Each big city must aim at becoming self-sufficient in water.
3. To enable informed decision making, each city requires preparation of a detailed and
comprehensive assessment of watsan situation—mapping existing water resources
(rain, ground and surface (river, lakes etc) water) both quantitative and qualitative,
wastewater, solid and liquid waste, etc. This shall be the basis of diagnostic exercise
for each city that must precede designing of strategic action for rehabilitation of
city’s watsan as per conditions of ecological sustainability, social equity & urban
growth.
4. Baseline water audit for cities and towns – diagnostic analysis, followed by
regular audits shall also be made mandatory. Such a reference data will help analysis
of existing water use and expose the imbalance in access and its distribution that can
then be rectified to restore balanced/ equitable water availability to all constituencies of
water users.

13
 5. Urban integrated water management institution was recommended as a strategic,
statutory planning body which will consult public and will be socially responsive. It will
coordinate with all water agencies in the city/town as well as catchment agencies like
MOWR. It will also undertake, water resources assessment, demand and consumption
analysis. The details regarding the legal status and composition need to be worked out.
6. Citizen Platform for City for WATSAN should be encouraged, nurtured and recognized
as an institutionalized mechanism to carry grass root voice of the urban citizens into
policy, planning and programs of urban water and sanitation issues that affect
communities.

Beyond watsan: This group listed the issues like land use planning and externalities namely
pollution, climate change and water use by industry that impact the urban water security. It
came up with suggestions to deal with externalities caused by to industrial water use.
1. The group observed that industrialization works as a great negative externality for
sustainable urban water management, as it has impacts on urban population growth,
urban water use, degree of pollution and urban population density. It suggested
reduction of water footprint for industries through clear volumetric water
entitlements and volumetric taxes. Development of benchmarks against which
progression towards the most desirable level of water use efficiency in different
industries could be monitored was one of the action points suggested by the group.
2. In order to address larger externalities, it was also suggested to create new
institutions or reform existing institutions to address the externalities that have a
negative impact on water in the city context and its immediate region and also to
facilitate planning at the basin/sub-basin level so that the ecological considerations are
used to determine the extent of economic activities in a region. Such a river basin
organisation (RBO) at a hydrological unit shall comprise representatives of
various stakeholders and professionals from different disciplines. These RBOs will
also function as negotiating platforms for different competing uses.

Cross cutting issues

1. The land use policy of the city needs integration with constraints of watsan plans that are
derived from water sources management. Urban growth requires to work within limits of
water resources availability. Any violation of limits dictated by these constraints need to
be excluded through suitable planning. (Suggested by water sources group)
2. Given the fact that water management issues are much more complex than those in
rural areas, there is a need to create a special institution for generating knowledge about
urban water management, which can also document and disseminate data about best
urban water management practices and undertake training/capacity building activities for
urban local bodies. [Suggested by Beyond Watsan group]

Issues of contention
1. 24/7 supply: In the infrastructure group, a section of the participants suggested 24/7
water supply to achieve equity in water supply & distribution. Though the group agreed

14
 with the need to achieve equity, it did not agree with the 24X7 formula being the right
strategy to ensure the same – especially with the poor/unauthorized settlements.
2. O&M charges and full cost recovery: Infrastructure group discussed poor O&M as the
root cause of inefficiency and poor service delivery by Infrastructural projects. A
suggestion was made that the beneficiary community should pay entirely for the O&M
(full cost recovery) whatever the cost may be or whatever the paying capacity of the
beneficiary segment may be. Though the group agreed with the importance of providing
for O&M costs, it felt that a generalized approach for community bearing the cost cannot
be taken. It was broadly agreed that lifeline water should be free. In the urban poor
group too there was difference in opinion on free Vs paid services.

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DETAILED RECOMMENDATIONS

Thematic Group 1: Urban poor

(Compiled by J Geetha (Gramalaya) and Depinder Kapur (India Wash Forum))

The group came up with a list of prioritised issues that need immediate attention if the urban
poor were to be provided with sustainable and equitable water and sanitation services.

1. Poor quality of data: Lack of reliable data, definition and understanding of who constitutes
urban poor (is it only the below the poverty line group or people who live in slums,
pavements, migrant workers? It is important to realise that urban poor does not refer only to
the people living in approved slums only) affects the access to services to the urban poor.
The group felt that this is as much a definitional issue as about reliable collection. So there
is a need for both improving the definition and the process for collection of national data on
the poor and to use the data to make a smart analysis for planning. The government shall
do a survey to make a clear and reliable data base of urban poor.
2. Gaps in legislation and laws that guarantee access and quality of services to the
poor:
 Existing policies and programmes are inadequate in addressing equity and right to water
and sanitation in the urban context. This shall be implemented in letter and spirit. There
shall be no denial of minimum basic services to all, on grounds of affordability. Water
to the urban poor shall be free.
 Service delivery should be made available to the people who live in the communities
irrespective of land tenure. It is important to simplify the administrative procedures for water
and sanitation services. Watsan services to urban poor should be delivered without
demanding for various identities in both authorized and unauthorized slums— as in the case
of Gujarat, Agra and Bhubaneswar, proof of residence shall be considered as an adequate
proof for provisioning watsan services.

3. Water infrastructure for urban poor:

 Options for services to be decided in consultation with communities, preference to be for
individual household facilities but in case of community based facilities, only till houses are
connected to individual services. Designing and development of infrastructure, its location,
operation and maintenance of water and sanitation services (community toilets) to be done
in consultation with the community members especially women groups.
 The Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, State Government urban
departments, health and public works, Municipalities and utilities should invite
representatives of communities, women self-help groups and NGOs in developing designs
and norms for community infrastructure development, maintenance and management.
 In case of resettlement colonies for slum dwellers, urban local bodies should plan and
provide for quality infrastructure. This has to be provided upfront in case of new resettlement
colonies.

16
 The deposit charges for individual water connection and toilet construction are to be made
minimum and through an installment system rather than a onetime payment. Presently, the
Tiruchirapalli Municipal Corporation is charging Rs.9000/- for watsan connection ((individual
household water connection (Rs 3000) or house hold latrine (Rs 6000)) from everyone
including urban poor in the city. Same is the case with other municipalities. There is a need
for targeted subsidies for the urban poor.
 Total Sanitation Campaign for urban poor (similar to TSC in rural areas) need to be
launched in 12th FYP. An appropriate design and cost should be estimated as per price of
raw materials (Bricks, cement etc) and at least 75% should be subsidy to urban poor.
 A universal reduction of charges for underground drainage (UGD) is recommended or there
shall be a provision to subsidise the urban poor to enable them to pay a minimal charges as
in the case of a state like Orissa (Rs.3500 to Rs.800).
 A subsidy of Rs.9000 is available in Karnataka for the construction of individual household
toilets. This subsidy model if implemented in other states would encourage people to
construct individual toilets, thereby reducing open defecation in urban areas.
 Establishing appropriate technology for connecting individual household toilets and
community managed toilet to UGDs will enable all citizens in the urban poor to be linked to
UGD and not to open drains. It is recommended that the community toilets with septic tanks
should be connected to UGDs without additional cost. As a progression, municipalities shall
promote community toilets with decentralised waste water treatment systems.
 Community Complexes require large amounts of water to maintain hygiene. (More water is
required at complexes where bathing and cloth washing facilities are available). In such
cases, water is drawn from bore wells using electric motors, incurring substantial electricity
costs. [A participant from women‘s federation in Tiruchirappalli pointed out that the
average monthly expenditure on electricity is about Rs.1,200 (ranging from Rs.120 to
Rs.5,150)]. One section in the urban poor group felt that the communities should not be
asked to pay electricity and water charges and user fees. While the other group felt that
electricity charges and water charges should be subsidised in accordance to the domestic
tariff in the case of community managed toilets.
 There is a need to put an end to manual scavenging by focusing on rehabilitation of manual
scavengers, rather than the current practice of targeting closure of dry latrines. There is a
need to identify alternatives for rehabilitating the scavenging community by employing them
in solid waste management (garbage clearance).
 To set standards for toilets with bathing and washing section, integrated sanitation complex-
child friendly toilets, menstrual hygiene, disabled friendly. PWD (Person with Disability) are
the most marginalized section amongst the urban poor and proper attention for fund
allocation and disabled friendly design for their access to water and sanitation should be
inbuilt in the policy. As per existing PWD Act 1995, it is a legal binding too to allocate at
least 3% of the fund for PWDs development.
 Fund for proper drainage system in all the authorized and un-authorized slums in every town
and metros need to be allocated. Relocation of stand posts which are close to drains and
relaying of drinking water mains to avoid pollution of drinking water shall be undertaken as a
priority.

17
 There is a need to allocate funds to establish water quality testing labs for testing the
individual and public water sources used by the community at a low-cost.
 Community participation alone can guarantee a cost effective, well designed and user
friendly urban slum infrastructure. [Community participation does not mean that 100 % of
any urban slum community will at any one time to agree to be a member of a slum user
group or self-help group managing the infrastructure of a slum. This should be taken up in a
campaign mode with adequate time allocated for behaviour change and IEC]
 Similarly community management alone can sustain the capital infrastructure through timely
operations and management. This can be achieved by relying on community members and
users as participants in this effort and not simply as clients in a business. Such level of
community participation in management of slum infrastructure cannot be attained when
public works are contracted out to private parties, corporate houses or NGOs. In order to
institutionalise community participation support and involvement of local NGOs may be
sought.
 Government shall provide for annual maintenance charges to Community based
organisations to maintain community toilets for better operation and maintenance instead of
once in three years. Capital infrastructure of community toilet buildings will require capital
investment in up gradation, repairs and maintenance (new toilet blocks, overhead water
tanks, septic tanks or sewerage connectivity and major repairs of doors and flooring
that occur once in 7-10 years). This should also be supported by Municipal
Corporation/Utility.

4. Developing norms and improving the service delivery for community managed public
toilets and toilets in public places: Norms shall be developed in a participatory manner on
the following:
a. availability per capita population of slums and availability per square kilometre of
public spaces (alongside roads),
b. integrated toilets-water-bathing and washing complexes as a norm,
c. delinking provision of watsan services from tenure,
d. subsidised electricity and water,
e. in peri-urban areas there is a need for removal of APL/BPL targeting for services of
urban poor,

5. Strengthening capacities of the utilities and municipalities for providing better watsan
services to the urban poor:
 There is a need for establishment of a social development unit (SDU) within
Municipal Corporations to respond to and work with the urban poor Experience of
Bangalore (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board on this can go a long way
in making the predominantly engineering focused water utilities to be socially
responsible and responsive to the needs of the poor. This dedicated desk in the
utility will go to a long way in providing connectivity and good services to urban poor.
In addition to formally setting up of SDUs, the field staff of the utility should be given

18
 some recognition and rewards for working in slum areas. It is important that a senior
person with adequate experience is selected and appointed to manage the slum and
urban poor development issues as in the case of Bangalore BDU.
 There is a shortage of staff dedicated to slum/resettlement colonies and this needs to be
increased especially sanitary workers. The present level of staff at ward level (Junior
engineer, Sanitary Inspector, Supervisor, Sanitary workers) is overburdened and they are
unable to offer good services. There is a need to provide capacity building to Municipal
officials for promoting the proper solid waste management system in the cities
 There is a need for convergence of programs (like health, education, housing, water etc)
and inter and intra departmental coordination inter and intra department.

Thematic Group 2: Infrastructure

(Compiled by Lucas Dengel (Eco-Pro) & Jyoti Sharma (FORCE))

Urban infrastructure projects envisaged under JNNURM appear to suffer from a few common
problems:

1) City Development Plans (CDP) prepared (a mandatory condition to access JNNURM fund)
is not specific and seem to be largely ad-hoc. This is attributable to the lack of adequate
time and effort spent on the CDP – it which is usually prepared in the last minute by the
agency applying for JNNURM assistance with the help of consultants. This in turn means
that it is not based on current information about resource availability, lacks a long term
vision and is not integrated with other developmental projects in the area.
2) There is no community participation in the preparation or implementation of CDPs.
3) Sanctioned funds tend to lapse because of gap between project conceptualisation and its
actual implementation. This is usually because of unavailability of land, inability to integrate
the project with existing infrastructure or difficulty in access to natural resources (such as
water for a water treatment plant project). All these can in turn be linked with improper
planning of projects as discussed above in point 1.

The following recommendations are suggested in order to tackle these challenges in urban
infrastructure:

a. Recommendations related to contents of infrastructure planning

1) ULBs to carry out a rigorous planning exercise and develop detailed and accurate
comprehensive development plans (CDP) irrespective of whichever scheme they seek to
avail such as JNNURM or UIDSSMT. This will help ensure the feasibility of the infrastructure
plan with regard to availability of land and technical capacity, and financial, institutional,
environmental and social sustainability. Such a rigorous planning exercise will also help avoid
conflicts with existing infrastructure (water supply, sewerage, electricity, telecommunication,

19
etc.). It should be based on source-to sink (closing the loop approach) which integrates water
sources, water usage, sanitation, wastewater management (treatment, disposal and reuse).

2) CDPs must be based on sound data and must be made available in the GIS format. This
must include:

a) GIS maps of existing infrastructure including reservoirs, pipelines etc.

b) Information about city developmental plans and land ownership status
3) Public Participation must be sought at this stage itself in order to assure completeness of
data and subsequent equity in use of infrastructure. Community can contribute to:

a) data required for GIS mapping by Resource Mapping of their areas. Information can
be gathered with the help of civic societies and local welfare organizations.

b) needs assessment—detailing the infrastructure requirements of the area, detailing out

the issues related to equity, access and economic viability

4) CDPs must be based on the principle of Minimum resource dependence for critical needs
outside the Plan area. For instance, if any additional infrastructure for water is to be built, the
CDP must first ensure the creation of infrastructure which can be employed for maximizing the
use of all available local water resources (such as surface, ground, rain and recycled water).
Only the additional requirement may be planned to be sourced from areas that lie outside the
plan area.

5) The above point also includes internal use of resources generated as a by-product of the
primary infrastructure being created. For e.g. in case of a solid waste disposal system, the
electricity that may be generated by the gas output expected from the plant, must be used
before making additional estimates for electricity requirement,

6) CDPs must integrate aspects of sustainability at all levels - technical, environmental, social,
institutional and financial:

a) The ―carrying capacity‖ of town must be calculated and used as an input into the
planning process.

b) Sustainability planning would also include demand management to reduce consumer

end demand for the scarce resource.

c), funding for preventive maintenance must be envisaged to provide for O & M
services.

b. Recommendations on infrastructure related norms at town/city level

1) The town size that is obligatory CDPs needs to be defined, e.g. all towns between 1 and 5
lakh population. Phasing of implementation for differently-sized towns must also be defined.

20
2) Decentralized systems in sewage treatment, solid waste management & composting to be
promoted to avoid costs of long-distance pipe systems, facilitate on-site/ area-wise re-use of
treated wastewater, minimize dependence on energy and high-skilled engineering for O&M, and
to assure decentralized management of O&M. Government of India must also look at further
developments of affordable and sustainable technologies in this area.

3) There is a need to define norms and standards (quantity and quality) for water use and
re-use (e.g. since toilet flushing uses only 6-8 litres of water – recycled water wherever
possible).

a) This would also include re-defining by-laws for industries, hotels, institutions etc. to
include a percentage of self-generated resources (such as recycled water) in
accordance with size and water needs. Such self generated resources should then be
subtracted from the additional infrastructural provisions being made for these institutions.

4) There is a need to incentivise efficient resource use through the use of appropriate gadgets
/ systems such as water-saving gadgets, dual water supply systems, sewer mining; solar energy
panels etc. These can be both at the level of the consumer or the producer of the products.

c. Recommendations related to process of planning & implementation

1) Ensure Participatory planning of infrastructure & participatory development of

CDPs to address the above-mentioned issues, to be phased as follows:
a) Stage 1 – Infrastructure demand and needs assessment for each area (to be
prepared by ward committees / residents welfare associations/CBOs);

b) Stage 2 – Pre-feasibility study i.e. preparation of a list of options of infrastructure

types and availability of resources with community cost / benefit / responsibility analysis
for each. For e.g. if additional infrastructure for water supply has to be created for a
community, then the pre-feasibility study would identify a tubewell based, remote surface
water source (dam / river) or neighborhood sources such as lake based water
distribution system. For each option identified it would then give the total cost, cost to
community, O&M costs, additional costs (such as environmental costs) ; benefits such
as quantity and quality of water, security of source and responsibilities of the community
such as precautions for catchment protection.

c) Stage 3 - Public hearing to share the Pre-feasibility study options with potential
beneficiaries. Collection of inputs and suggestions from public;

(d) Stage 4 - Integration of public suggestions, development of preferred plan, feasibility

study; integration of capacity building and training requirements;

(e) Stage 5c - Public hearing of final plan, definition of deliverables.

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2) Make all papers (translated in local language) and studies available to public; this
should include a list of tentative options (pre-feasibility), reports of hearings, etc.

3) Citizen and civil society monitoring of deliverables of CDPs and development plans. The
following should be carried out to enable this:

a) Making contract details of service providers publicly available and transparent,

independent of status of service provider, PPP or not.
b) Facilitation of long-term contracts with local / regional service providers.

4) Capacity building and training of:

a. infrastructure planners and implementation partners. This will help bridge the gap
between concept development and implementation caused by of lack of technical /
strategic planning capacity of area specific town planners and implementing agencies.
b. staff in-charge of maintaining infrastructure projects. This is important because, in
many cases, an infrastructure project is conceptualized, designed and built by a central
government / institutional agency. It is then handed over to the ULBs for operations and
maintenance. The ULB staff is therefore not kept abreast of system requirements or on
methods to maximize its performance capacities. In many cases, since they have not
been consulted in designing the projects, there are gaps in project design which make it
difficult for the staff to operate &maintain the system. Infrastructure planning must
include this aspect.
d. Other points discussed but not unanimously agreed upon
1) Full cost recovery of O&M charges: One section of the group felt that water supply,
sewerage and sewage treatment, SWM need to be made financially self-sustainable at level
of local government service provider organization. It was discussed that poor O&M is the root
cause of inefficiency and poor service delivery by Infrastructural projects. A suggestion was
made that the beneficiary community should pay entirely for the O&M whatever the cost may be
or whatever the paying capacity of the beneficiary segment may be. Though the group agreed
with the importance of providing for O&M costs, but it felt that a generalized approach for
community bearing the full cost cannot be taken.

2) 24/7 for achieving equity in water supply & distribution– Though the group agreed with the
need for equity, it did not agree with the 24X7 formula being the correct method to ensure the
same – especially with poor/ unauthorized settlements.

22
Thematic Group 3: Governance
(Compiled by Pramod Dabrase (MP Government), Chandan Chawla (CEPT), Vinay Baindur
(Urban Researcher, Bangalore) and Dunu Roy (Hazard Centre) based on the discussions in the
group comprising Sitaram Shelar (YUVA), Rajendran Prabhakar (People‘s Campaign for Right
to Water), Gaurav Dwivedi (Manthan), Jammu Anand (Nagpur Municipal Corporation
Employees Union), Khatibullah Sheikh (PRIA), Lourdes Baptista (WaterAid) and Vijay Krishna
(Arghyam))

The following are the recommendations on Governance issues in Urban Water and Sanitation
Sector for Approach to 12th Five Year Plan, as arrived at after extensive consultation and
circulation within group members.

1. Policies have to be driven democratically

The policies pertaining to urban water and sanitation are largely developed with limited closed-
door consultations and almost no inputs from the third tier of the government, civil society
groups, and citizens at large. It is also observed that the policies are influenced by bilateral and
multi-lateral agencies such as the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Such policies
expect the local governments to merely follow them without considering local needs,
requirements and available resources and do not empower local decision makers and elected
representatives to have a say in designing and driving policies. The process for setting the
policies must be more democratic, transparent and open to contributions from civil society,
citizen groups, and local governments. Further the policies should set a macro perspective and
refrain from carrying conditionalities and reforms that have not been subjected to wide public
consultation and may lead to uncalled for obligations on the local government and the citizens at
large. The policies should empower local decision makers (including accountable elected
representatives and officials) to plan for their own cities and towns reducing dependency on
external agencies, consultants, funders and parastatals.

2. The provisions of the 74th Amendment have to be deepened and further elaborated;
and to what extent the states will adopt them in the State Acts
While discussing aspects pertaining to water supply and sanitation delivery, the mode of
planning for delivery of these services assumes critical importance. It should become mandatory
to look at the 74th Amendment provisions and enable State Governments to set mechanisms to
proactively adopt them in their Acts, which can pave the way for policies that promote social
accountability, transparency, and distributive effectiveness in service delivery of Watsan
services at the local level.

3. Capacity-building has to be directed towards decision-making

The group emphasized on the urgent attention for capacity building at State and Local levels for
affective and just service delivery. The capacity building has to be based on realistic data
collection, appropriate technical knowledge, and decentralized local body planning and decision
making. This essentially means inclusive planning by the local planners and decision makers on
type and level of distribution of services with active involvement of user groups, civil society
groups, service providers, and citizens.

23
4. Incorporated within this is the right to water as enunciated by the Supreme Court.
This group recommends similar right to basic sanitation as well
Water must be recognized as a basic right of every citizen and mandatory provisions must be
made to ensure supply of minimum sustenance water to all without any cost. Water resource
allocation must be mandatory in all cities and towns ensuring priority to drinking water supply
followed by other uses as may be appropriate locally. Sanitation must also be recognized as a
basic right and sufficient provisions must be made to provide toilet facilities to all poor citizens
who cannot afford such costs as well as to meet other costs of availing water and sanitation
services such as sewer or water connection charges.

5. As to how this water and sanitation is to be made available (tech specs, how to treat
water, manage solid waste, sanitation)
While effective and just governance of water resources and tackling sanitation and SWM
challenges will require detailing institutional matters and institutions that deliver this service, one
cannot ignore the technical aspects related to adhering to the benchmarks for such services.
While a large part of technical operations remain in the purview of the ULB staff, it is essential to
involve the user and citizen groups in setting priorities for the ULB to improve service delivery.
Some of the aspects can pertain to:
- Participatory and disaggregated budgeting for allocating and costing water and
sanitation services for the city in a transparent and consultative manner
- Setting up a tripartite body of citizens as consumers, service providers, and
independent technical experts to set norms for supply, distribution‘ collection, and
disposal
- Decision making to be supported by authentic data collected locally with the
involvement of users
- Adequacy and technical capacity of the existing staff has to be supplemented with
additional recruitment as required

6. Parastatals and corporate bodies without accountability have to be replaced by

democratic and transparent structures
In order to implement the provisions made in 74th Constitutional Amendment, it is imperative to
strengthen local bodies to enable them to deliver the assigned responsibilities. Currently there
are few incentives or a limited framework of ‗rewards and punishments‘ linked to service
delivery in most ULBs. It is essential to create a necessary institutional incentive scheme at both
state and local levels, which will enable effective delivery of Watsan services. These institutional
incentives are to be set within the framework of accountability faced by the ULBs. The gaps in
accountability framework with local government should not be an excuse to create and promote
parastatal or corporate bodies.

7. To stop using the PPP model for any projects

Adoption of PPP mode, particularly in water supply, has been resisted by the citizens across the
nation. The projects create unaffordable financial burdens, particularly for the poor. If city
governance and the capacities of ULBs for data collection, planning, decision-making,
implementation, and providing effective services are improved, most projects could be led and
implemented by the ULBs. It is recommended that PPP mode is not adopted at all in water
supply and sanitation, whether in metros or small and medium towns. The involvement of
groups such as rag pickers, resident welfare associations, CBOs and NGOs is strongly
recommended for sustainable municipal solid waste management and for creating and
protecting livelihood opportunities of informal sector workers.

24
Thematic Group 4: Water sources
(Compiled by Ajit Seshadri (Vigyan Vijay Foundation) and Jasveen Jairath)

Background: Basic sources supplying water to urban areas are of two types: internal i.e. within
the urban precincts, and from external sources, coming from other states or a jurisdiction
beyond the urban boundary. In each of these revenue divisions water sources (WS) again
branch into two categories, namely surface water and groundwater, both being connected
through the hydrological cycle.

Further, each of these physical sources exists under different proprietary systems; some are
private, some are public, while in some cases public sources are appropriated through private
agencies.

Recommendations:

 Any form of planning requires a commitment of goals and statement of an objective that
defines the end points of a planning exercise. This ought to be articulated clearly as
providing water security (with a minimum provision of100 lpcd) for all inhabitants is a priority
that overrules all other allocation targets. This implies that out of the total available usable
water, only surplus water that is over and above the livelihood needs of entire population
(floating and permanent) can be made available for other uses as per city‘s requirements.
 Each city requires the preparation of a detailed and comprehensive assessment of watsan
situation. The basis of such a diagnostic exercise for each city must precede the designing
of a strategic action plan for rehabilitation of the city‘s watsan taking into account ecological
sustainability, social equity & urban growth. (Examples can be sourced from studies done
for Mulbagal town, Karnataka done by ARGHYAM). The comprehensive assessment
exercise would include mapping of existing sources (quantitative and qualitative);
generation of wastewater and its treatment; systems of solid and liquid waste generation
and management; data on rainwater harvested as against the potential; condition of urban
water bodies and their capacity for storing rain water; protection from polluted water; in flows
& recharging of ground water; the systematic practices of destroying or preserving water
bodies that affect their water support capacities etc.
 Preparation of a Comprehensive Water Consumption Database on the basis of per capita
consumption, measuring also purpose of usage and quantity utilised. Such reference data
will help in analysis of current water usage and reveal the imbalance of water access, such
that its distribution can be rectified to restore equitable water availability to all constituencies
of water users. This will be especially vital in identifying if water is in fact a scarce
commodity, or if scarcity has been caused artificially for some sections of users due to over
use or misuse by a few privileged set of users. Such data, when collated, will become an
essential planning tool for a city and subsequently aid in planning other cities as well.

25
 For appropriate management of Water Sources (WS), it is recommended to create an
Urban Integrated water management institution (UIWMI) at town/city level with the
following mandate:

1. Assessment of city‘s WS as above- one time as well as on an ongoing basis.

2. Planning for protection and conservation of water sources as an integrated hydro
cycle – rain, surface, ground, waste water – and, instituting legal/ administrative laws/
rules/ regulatory systems.
3. The institution would function as a statutory planning body as well carry out strategic
management of city‘s Water Sources
4. It will carry out public consultations and be socially responsive to diverse interest groups
with special consideration for ensuring water security for low income groups
5. Carry out water audits on an ongoing basis for sustained monitoring of water supply,
use and access with regard to quality (including timing of supply) and quantity of water
supplied.
6. UIWMI should gather all citizen platforms, for addressing civic, water and sanitation
issues and evolve necessary solutions for each issue area.
7. Community organizations, urban local bodies, political institutions and groups,
academia, R&D institutions will have a combined interaction with an UIWMI.
 Citizen Platform for a City for WATSAN: Such a platform should be encouraged, nurtured
and recognized by (UIWMI) as an institutionalized mechanism to absorb and incorporate the
voice of grassroots urban citizens into policy, planning and programs of urban water and
sanitation issues that affect different communities. Such a forums can adopt community
regulation of public assets related to watsan as well as monitor a set of social practices by
user communities that often aggravate maintenance challenges of watsan services at
terminal level that depend on community cooperation. Such a platform will also support the
facilitation of effective governance of watsan through an ongoing citizen-administration
dialogue.
 Adequate emphasis needs to be given to build capacities of line departments, UIWMI,
citizen platforms for playing their respective roles, and equipping them to address problems
encountered by areas not served by service delivery.
 Pro-active communication and dissemination of city‘s watsan information, plans, service
availability, local problems, and actions proposed needs to be evolved and put in place for
wider involvement of the community, including for an assessment of the impact to water
sources in the larger context of development plans for the city.
 Land use policy of the city needs to incorporate the constraints of watsan plans that derive
from WS management. Urban growth needs to be restricted to limits prescribed by supply of
water, and include feasible drainage/ rain water harvesting projects to the extent possible.
Any violation of limits dictated by these constraints need to be excluded through suitable
planning.

26
Thematic Group 5: Beyond Watsan
(Compiled by Prashant Hedao (Auroville) and S Vishwanath (Arghyam))

Some ―Externalities‖ have a strong impact on the water situation in the city context. Based on
prioritization, the group that discussed issues on the topic ―beyond water and sanitation‖ came
up with the following as critical items to be examined: –

 Land Use Planning – Does not take into account water requirements and/or availability
 Water for Agriculture and Industry – these sectors are easily the largest users of
water. The group decided to take up ―Water for Industry‖ as the main theme where
intervention is crucial as it is a large user of the resource. Industrialization poses a grave
threat to sustainable urban water management, as it impacts population growth and
density; water use and pollution.
 Climate Change – is predicted to have a strong impact on water situation, especially in
coastal cities, in the near future
 Pollution – due to natural (garbage, untreated sewerage) and anthropogenic fertilizers
& pesticides, industrial waste, etc.) pollutants. Pollution creates a strong negative impact
on water in cities.

Recommendations:

1. IMPROVING WATER USE BY INDUSTRY:

The following are the recommendations of the group to ensure sustainable water use by
industry:

o Improvement in economic efficiency of water use through continuously

minimizing the water footprint of the industries through measures such as imposition
of clear volumetric water entitlement and taxes based on quantity of consumption.
o Allocate water to economically more efficient production processes
o Benchmarking to monitor progress towards achieving the most desirable level of water
use efficiency in different industrial processes

2. OVERARCHING INSTITUTIONAL REFORMS / CREATING NEW INSTITUTIONS

There is a need to create new institutions or reform existing institutions to tackle the externalities
that have a negative impact on water within the city and also to facilitate planning at the
basin/sub-basin level to ensure that ecological considerations are used to determine the extent
of economic activities in a region. This could be done by:

27
  Creating river basin organizations (RBOs) for water resource planning at the level of
hydrological units, comprising of professionals from disciplines, representatives of
various stakeholders
o These RBOs can also be agencies for allocation of both surface water and
groundwater within the basin amongst different sectors of water use, and also
play the role of monitoring and enforcement of these allocations
o The RBOs can also function as negotiating platforms for different competing
users
 Creating knowledge and dissemination centres - Given the fact that water
management issues in the urban context are much more complex than those in rural
areas, there is a need to create a special institution for generating knowledge about
urban water management, which can also document and disseminate data about best
urban water management practices and undertake training/capacity building activities for
urban local bodies

Annexure: List of participants

Name of participant NGO/Org

1 J Geetha Gramalaya
2 Jyoti Sharma FORCE
3 Basanta Jena PRAGATI
4 Satish Girija Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra
5 Shri Om MYRDO
6 Jasveen Jairath Chetana
7 Sandeep Khare Vigyan Foundation
8 Ajay Mehta National Foundation for India
9 Barsha Parischa National Foundation for India
10 Ranjan Kumar Nidan, Bihar
11 Bijal Bhatt Mahila Housing Trust
12 Basant Jena PRAGATI
13 Arpita De Freshwater Action Network, South Asia
14 N. Rajathi Womens' Federation Member, Tiruchirapalli
15 Vimla CFAR/ Mahila pragati manch
16 Snehlata Bhardwaj CFAR/ Mahila pragati manch
17 Shivakant Gorakhpuri Samajik Sadbhaw Niyaye Manch
18 Isaac Arul Selva People's Campaign for Right to Water
19 Rajendran Prabhakar People's Campaign for Right to Water
20 Surabhi Mehrotra JAGORI
21 Dunu Roy Hazards Center
22 Suchi Pandey Parivartan

28
23 Sitaram Shelar Yuva
24 Jammu Anand Nagpur Municipal Corporation Employees Union
25 Gaurav Dwivedi Manthan
26 Depinder Kapur India WASH Forum
27 Vinay Baindur Urban Researcher
28 Renu Khosla CURE
29 Prashant Hedao Auroville
30 Lucas Dengel Eco-Pro
31 Avinash Krishnamurthy Biome Environmental Solutions
32 Ajit Seshadri Vigyan Vijay Foundation
33 Jogendra Bisht Lok Chetna Manch
34 Chandan Chawla CEPT University
35 Dr. Khatibullah Sheikh PRIA
36 Pramod Dabrase MP State Urban Sanitation Programme
37 M. Dinesh Kumar Institute for Resource Analysis and Policy
38 Subhas Andey National Environment Engineering and Research
Insititute
39 Anshuman The Energy And Resources Institute
40 Vikram Soni National Physical Laboratory
41 Shekar Muddu Indian Institute of Science
42 Ramswamy Iyer Center for Policy Research
43 S. Nayak Confederation of Indian Industry
44 M.N. Thippeswamy Bangalore Water Supply And Sewerage Board (Retd)
45 O. P. Chadda WAPCOS (Retd)
46 Rakesh Ranjan Planning Commission
47 L. P. Sonkar Planning Commission
48 Harsh Shrivastava Planning Commission
49 Vinod Kumar Mishra Uttrakhand Academy of Administration
50 Vishwanath S. Arghyam
51 Manjunath Prasad Arghyam
52 Vijay Krishna G Arghyam
53 Suresh Babu S.V. Arghyam
54 Rohini Nilekani Arghyam
55 Sunita Nadhamuni Arghyam
56 Lourdes Baptista WaterAid
57 Kamal Gupta WaterAid

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