National Consultation of Civil Society and Institutions on Urban Water and Sanitation for the

Planning Commission of India’s 12th Five Year Plan approach paper

Purpose of the Consultation:

The Planning Commission is in the process of preparing the approach paper for
the 12th Plan. Therefore, the objective is to hold a national consultation process
that is inclusive and representative, and will yield collective recommendations
for the 12th Plan on Urban water.

It is the practice of the Planning Commission to hold consultations with civil

society groups to accommodate and include their perspectives in addressing
the needs of the deprived and vulnerable sections of society.

In the area of urban drinking water and sanitation, the Commission has
requested Arghyam and WaterAid to organize the civil society consultations.
The Water Community of UN-Solution Exchange will be the network and
documentation partner. This is 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.
Arghyam and Water Aid have just carried out an exercise for the rural water
and sanitation sector beginning with a series of 6 Regional consultations,
culminating in a National consultation in Delhi. In both instances the costs and
resource support for the exercise was borne by Arghyam and WaterAid.

The Planning Commission has a 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.

Urban Water in India

In the management of water in urban India, issues of universalization 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 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.

Themes for discussion

Given this context, the consultation in Delhi on the 15th Dec will be organized
around five themes – Urban Poor, Urban Infrastructure, Governance, Water
Sources and Beyond Watsan. Indicative topics that could be covered under
each of these themes are listed below:

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?

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
 • 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?

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?

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
• 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?

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