Allow pvt firms; pay more for better water: Centre policy draft

‘‘Ninety per cent of the states are facing a financial crunch because of the poor pricing of the water served…It is highly subsidised,’’ the policy paper notes, adding that low revenue has, in turn, affected operation and maintenance. ‘‘There is no money for replacement, no money for chemicals, no money for day-to-day operations’’.

The rather hard-hitting paper also states that millions of rupees, either through Central grants or through external funding, have been invested to build water supply systems, but due to ‘‘poor and inefficient maintenance’’, end users get neither quality water nor enough in terms of quantity.

The report also wonders that the country does not have the concept of ‘‘quality water’’: ‘‘We really do not know; we supply water.’’

Pushing for slow and phased ‘‘privatisation’’ of maintenance and supply of water, the paper says water supply bodies have to either function like business houses or allow the private sector to step in.

‘‘We can try private sector participation by selecting good private sector agencies,’’ said M. Rajamani, joint secretary, UD ministry. Instead of entire cities, he said, a few zones could be entrusted to private entrepreneurs for may be ‘‘two to three years or maximum five years’’.

The paper also calls for a water utility map of the urban areas to be drawn up in collaboration with foreign agencies.