Private Sector Participation: The private sector is critical for the transformation of water usage in a country. Therefore, while developing a plan for transformation, both regulatory frameworks and financing should be evolved to mobilize the private sector to become an active stakeholder in the reform process. In India, there has been a thrust at the policy level to encourage private sector participation as a means to improve performance delivered by publicly owned utilities. The National Water Policy of 2002, the National Water Policy Draft – 2012, as well the Planning Commission’s Five Year Plans explicitly encourage private sector participation in the water sector. Furthermore, the flagship urban development programs of the Government, such as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT), encourage institutional reform in a publicly owned sector through private sector capital and capabilities.
Role of Utilities: Water service providers (urban local bodies or utilities) can achieve improvements in their water service delivery by implementing a number of measures that are aimed at influencing and managing demand, augmentation and equitable distribution of water supply, and bringing about self-sustenance in their operations through improved financial and technical practices.
Planning and Forecasting: Based on identification of measures to manage demand, supply and efficiency of service delivery, utilities must engage in long-term planning and forecasting. Such long-term development needs to encompass prioritization of sectors, observance of equity in inter-regional resource allocation, provision of compensation to regions that provide water resources to other regions and improved efficiency of systems through financial sustenance.
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Source: E&Y.
