Piped water supply to Greater Bangalore: Putting the cart before the horse – An EPW special article

The paper critically evaluates the Greater Bangalore Water and Sanitation Project (GWSAP), implemented by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). This project aims to extend piped water supply from the Cauvery to over two million residents in peri-urban Bangalore. This ambitious project has been viewed against the backdrop of the broader trends and debates around market-based reforms in the water sector in Karnataka.

The paper critically discusses the project’s financing model and its implementation over the period 1998-2008. Based on household surveys, interviews with residents and administrators and secondary data, the research categorized and quantified the modes and strategies of accessing water.

In light of growing enthusiasm for market-based financing and beneficiary contributions for infrastructure in India, the goal of the paper is to shed light on the actual workings of these models at the ground level and the risks entailed when they are disconnected from the social, political and planning realities of urban settlements. The study examines the project and makes four interlinked arguments:

• Upfront payments from citizens have not guaranteed timely and satisfactory service.
• The project’s financial model is disconnected from actually existing settlement and urbanization patterns, thus delaying water delivery and undermining accountability.
• The project’s highly centralized decision-making process has resulted in low political buy-in and public acceptance.
• Modifications to the original financial model have been crucial in sustaining credibility and getting the project off the ground.

The paper shows how certain modifications to the original design – based on decisions taken by BWSSB and pressure by citizen groups & resident welfare associations (RWAs) are crucial in getting the project off the ground and sustaining its legitimacy. It ends with overarching conclusions that are relevant to similar water projects and strategies that are in the works or are anticipated throughout the developing world.