A WB-appointed firm has recommended major reforms, in water management. But water conservationists say it is an attempt to privatise the water supply in city.
A WB-appointed firm suggests corporatisation of BMC’s hydraulic dept
A World Bank-appointed firm has recommended major reforms – read privatisation - in water management.
“Make the hydraulic department of the corporation an autonomous authority with its own budgetary provisions and outsource technical works awarding contracts.” Thus suggested New Zealand firm Castalia, appointed by World Bank’s outfit Public Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF), working for the corporation. The firm that carried a year-long study in the K-East municipal ward will submit its findings on June 3.
But water conservationists say it is an attempt to privatise the water supply in city. “I do not understand the need for outsourcing when the firm itself has concluded that water supply was not a problem in the area. Distribution can be improved by bringing about administrative reforms. It is like suggesting that as your staff is not performing, privatise your network, said Afsar Jafri, a research associate with Focus on Global South India.
Suggesting that the water supply in the ward was sufficient to work towards a 24-hour supply, but it is marred by poor distribution network and water wastages, the firm has suggested contractual basis be offered for leak detection and repairs, curbing illegal usage, creating pressure zones, metering and upgrading slum networks. The firm said water assets and the management should remain with the corporation.
Firm’s chief executive officer David Ehrhardt denied it was a move to privatize the water supply. But officials from hydraulic department do not agree.
“The suggested reforms will only make the hydraulic department in the ward defunct, which will be eventually taken over by private operators,” one of them said adding, “The corporation has long been ideating on corporatising the department.”
Interestingly, despite studying the area for more than a year, the firm surprisingly found no contamination and illegal connections in the supply chain.
What more, it states that the corporation provides enough water – 288 million litres daily (mld) – to the ward to meet its demands.
“176 mld is metered and billed for while 110 mld is lost on account of wastage of water due to leakage and pilferage. Close to 2 mld is unmetered due to faulty meter connections,’’ Ehrhardt said.
BMC officials alleged the firm exaggerated the water supplied to increase the percentage lost to leakages. The firm ironically concluded that municipal supply network was largely contamination free.
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