India - Improving Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Services : Lessons from Business Plans for Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and International Good Practices

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to distill
 lessons learnt for improving Water Supply and Sanitation
 (WSS) services in India, by reference to the recent WSS
 business plans prepared for the three states of Maharashtra,
 Rajasthan and Haryana and from various studies carried out
 by the World Bank on international good practices in urban
 water service delivery. The report culls out the core
 elements of the WSS reform program and proposes how such
 reforms might be implemented. The intended audience for this
 report is policy makers at the national and state levels,
 sector professionals and practitioners. The report
 identifies the key elements of a state-wide program for
 improving WSS services and accountability on the basis of
 the following three pillars: i) policies and institutions:
 appropriate policies and institutional arrangements that
 clarify the roles and responsibilities of key actors, and
 which create service providers that are efficient,
 accountable and customer focused with sufficient autonomy to
 manage their affairs in a professional manner; ii)
 infrastructure and financing: medium term infrastructure
 development program with appropriate financial frameworks
 that encourage service providers to rely increasingly on
 user fees and, later on, loans as their main sources of
 financing. Any subsidies within that framework should be
 provided in a targeted and transparent manner to support
 government policies; and iii) capacity building for
 professional services: ensuring well trained, knowledgeable
 and motivated staff to deliver the services in a high
 quality manner. To put the sector in context, the report
 begins by summarizing the results of various international
 studies undertaken over the last several years by the World
 Bank to better understand the makings of well run public WSS
 companies. These findings point towards the need to
 establish sectors which encourage the development of
 autonomous, accountable and customer oriented service
 providers. Within that framework the report provides
 suggestions on practical steps that can be taken by
 governments and service providers.