Can the average population of Kulgaon-Badlapur, a semi-urban township near Mumbai, be richer than the average population of India’s commercial capital?
Three years ago, the per capita income of Mumbai was Rs 1.28 lakh, India’s second highest . Even today, the per capita income of the city continues to remain among the highest in the country. The size of the 2012-13 budget of Kulgaon-Badlapur Municipal Council, a ‘B’ Grade municipality, is Rs 207.86 crore. The current budget of the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), India’s richest municipal corporation, is Rs. 25,581.02 crore, more than a 100 times bigger than that of Kulgaon-Badlapur’s.

Yet, absurdly, when it comes to paying for something as basic a necessity as water, the people in mofussil areas across Maharashtra, like Badlapur for instance, pay nearly double than the citizens of Mumbai. This, even after the miniscule hike in water tariff introduced by MCGM in July, when the price of water, amid much hue and cry from the city fathers, was increased from Rs 3.50 per 1,000 litres to Rs 4 for residential consumers. Calculation of this base price due to the telescopic tariff structure, implemented since 2009, works out to Rs 6.11 per 1,000 litres. For slums, tariff was hiked from Rs 2.25 per 1,000 litres to a flat rate of Rs 3.50, without any telescopic increase. On an average, the price of water in Mumbai after the recent revision comes to 0.004 paise for one litre… you pay at least Rs 15 for one litre of bottled water.

Against this, the Maharashtra Water Supply and Sewerage Board, rechristened Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) in 1997, recovers Rs 11.20 as the base price for 1,000 litres. Thanks to MJP’s telescopic tariff prevalent across the state, people in all ‘B’ Grade semi-rural areas end up paying as much as Rs 22.40 at the maximum slab of water consumption. Likewise, slum residents in these areas pay Rs 5.25 to Rs 13 every1,000 litres.

Water tariff in Mumbai continues to remain one of the lowest in India for all consumer categories. For example, the Delhi Jal Board charges approximately Rs 5 per 1,000 litres for the lowest slab of consumption, going up to Rs 45 for the highest. Charges in Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad, too, are comparatively much higher than Mumbai.

But unrealistic pricing of this precious natural resource is just one of the burning issues that confront MCGM’s overall water management. Failure or delayed onset of monsoon has created a crisis situation in Mumbai fairly regularly since 2009, and imposition of water cuts in varying degrees has become an annual affair. This has driven the MCGM to embark on ambitious source augmentation projects to meet the inevitable rising demand in the future, anticipated to grow to 6,000 million litres of water per day (MLD) by 2031. However, the recurring water crises have exposed a deeper systemic malaise, which needs to be addressed.

From a humble beginning in 1860, when the then Bombay Municipal Corporation set up its first piped water supply system fetching 32 MLD from the Vihar lake to cater to a population of 7 lakh, the MCGM today fetches 3,340 MLD from six main sources, located as far as 120 km from the city, for its 1.24 million citizens. The supply of water from the sources to the filtration plants happens almost entirely by gravity, saving the MCGM crores of rupees in energy bills. To its credit, MCGM’s filtration plants at Bhandup Complex and Panjrapur produce world-class initial water quality.

MCGM’s overall water management takes a tragic turn from that point on, as en route from the filtration plants to the taps, the distribution system leaks 20-25% of water due to leakage and theft, amounting to a total daily loss of 700 million litres. This is more water lost than Pune’s daily supply of 650 million litres. This voluminous loss of water happens in just four hours of intermittent supply across the city. While leakages in the system have gone unabated, the leak detection cell of the MCGM, an inevitable component, has been lying defunct since 2002.

Groping in the dark
What really makes the situation worse is that once the water is released into the distribution system comprising a complex 4,000-km-long pipeline network, MCGM has little or no idea of how much water flows into which parts of the city and how much is consumed where. This happens primarily because the MCGM does not have a digitised GIS-based map of its pipeline network. Absence of bulk flow meters at inlet and outlet points at ward boundaries, and up to 60% of domestic meters and 20% of bulk meters damaged or malfunctioning, add to the MCGM’s ignorance.

Prone to contamination
The pipeline network (in many areas in south Mumbai more than a century old), runs across the city in close proximity to the sewers and stormwater drains, making it prone to high levels of water contamination, especially during monsoons. The entire network faces the risk of direct contamination for nearly 20 hours every day, as during these hours of no supply, the pressure inside the idle water pipes falls to zero, allowing free seepage of gutter water through cracks and breaches.

Birth defect
The picture really gets murky when one considers the inequity of distribution, which is one of the direct results of the MCGM not having any idea of the consumption pattern of the city. South Mumbai, which has registered a negative growth rate of population of -5.75% and also a steep decline in commercial and industrial activity, continues to be fed with the maximum amount of water, while the much heavily populated and fast expanding western and eastern suburbs are being supplied with far less quantity of water.

These factors have combined to give rise to a situation where water supply in the city fails to deliver on the three key aspects of equity, quality and quantity, with the poor, who often depend on tanker water, paying more than the rich — both in terms of real and opportunity costs. Also badly hit are the slum dwellers, who constitute 62 percent (nearly 77 lakh people) of the city’s population. Just by virtue of living in slums, they are excluded from the basic amenities like proper water and sanitation that most other residents take for granted.

In search of solutions
To rectify the situation, MCGM has embarked on ambitious supply management measures, giving little or no thought to the demand management of this crucial natural resource. These include commissioning of the Middle Vaitarna scheme, to fetch 455 MLD. Originally estimated to cost Rs 1,584 crore, it will be made operational by early 2013 at Rs 2,700 crore. In the pipeline is the ambitious Pinjal-Damanganga project following the tripartite MoU signed between the union ministry of water resources and governments of Maharashtra and Gujarat under the interlinking of rivers programme, expected to fetch an additional 2,451 MLD. It envisages transfer of surplus water of Damanganga basin available at the proposed Bhugad and Khargihill dam sites in Gujarat to the proposed Pinjal reservoir. While the project is still at its preliminary stage of scientific and topographic studies, MCGM has set aside ‘on paper’ funds of over Rs 12,000 crore. Also being currently taken up (some already in various stages of implementation) are capital intensive works to replace trunk mains with underground tunnels – steps in the right direction which will contribute to reducing water loss, but only in the long run. Till then, adding any amount of water to a system that leaks 700 MLD in a 4-hour supply will be disastrous.

Depletion of lake levels each monsoon has also driven MCGM to seek innovative measures, including the largely uncertain cloud seeding experiments and desalination. Desalination, given its very high cost of water production, is certain to prove a white elephant for the city, as unlike Chennai, Mumbai does not have any shortage of water. Currently, the total quantum of available water gives MCGM the capacity to supply 277 litres per capita per day (LPCD). Even at a 15% water cut, MCGM is still left with enough water availability to supply 235 LPCD.

MCGM seems to have missed the big picture and not given any serious thought to demand management, which is equally, if not more important. There is zero progress on the urgent need for preparing an accurate digitised network map which could be integrated with the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) system and calibrated with bulk flow meters and consumer meters to ensure real-time monitoring of pressure, flow, leakages etc. As a result, the Rs 621 crore plan to install automatic meter reading (AMR) devices at all consumer connections, though much needed, will not achieve its full potential. Rainwater harvesting, which was made mandatory in 2002, has failed to take off, with more than half of all new buildings not having this facility. Water recycling and reuse, a critical component of water conservation, has not even been thought of.

Departmental ailment
MCGM has also neglected its hydraulic engineering (HE) department, whose engineers have indigenously executed mega projects like Tansa and Bhatsa in the past with distinction. There has been no new recruitment in the department for the past 15 years. The department, like most havens of bureaucracy, has zero empowerment and zero accountability. For example, the chief hydraulic engineer is empowered to sanction works to the tune of Rs 10,000. The assistant engineer at the ward level cannot spend more than Rs 250. As a result, even the most insignificant works land up for approval with the standing committee, which has traditionally shown more interest in giving prominence and priority to only ‘big ticket’ works. The department has seen nine chiefs in the last six years. The general apathy has left the once ingenious department with no sense of ownership and it has become a victim of ‘chalta hai’ attitude.
Mumbai is a rich city. But the city has a very poor quality of life. According to EIU’s Liveability Index, Mumbai is one of world’s worst cities to live in. MCGM will have to initiate the following reforms to transform Mumbai into a water sustainable city, before it is too late.

Consumption mapping
Prepare a comprehensive and accurate consumption map of the city by doing a very exhaustive, expansive and meticulous door-to-door survey or any other technology-driven solution that would give accurate conclusions. This exercise must be carried out in a transparent manner with the sincerity and diligence of the Census of India and be repeated every 10 years with the regularity of the census.

Network mapping
An exercise to prepare an accurate map of the underground pipeline network using the latest GIS-based technologies must be undertaken on priority.

Flow meters
Install reliable bulk flow meters at all major water inlets and outlets to measure the exact inflow. Of the total water supply, only 8-12% water goes to bulk users, who generate 60% of the total water supply and sanitation department revenue. It will be wise if MCGM, under its universal metering drive, gives priority to install bulk meters at these customer connections, ensure their systematic calibration and test their accuracy to ensure increased profitability.

Minimising leaks and bursts
Prepare a comprehensive and watertight five-year plan focusing purely on controlling leaks and bursts. This exercise must be undertaken in an absolute mission mode and become the single most priority area.

Organisational reforms
Immediately initiate organisational reforms to empower and make accountable its hydraulic engineering department. It must also ensure retention of talent and fill up longstanding vacancies.

Recycling
Mumbai gets 3,430 million litres of water daily. It also releases nearly an equal quantity of water in its sewage system. Recycling even a fraction of this enormous amount of water to cater to some of the principal water guzzling industries like construction, and for possible secondary or non-potable uses like gardening and toilet-flushing etc will go a long way in controlling the abuse of drinking water.

Pricing of water
Approve the proposal of an annual eight percent incremental hike in water tariff. Even with these annual incremental hikes, the price of water in Mumbai will match the current tariff imposed by the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran in semi-rural centres across MMR, only by the year 2020-21.

Rainwater harvesting
Strengthen the capacity of the rainwater harvesting cell and give it a better office space where proper public interactions and awareness campaigns can be facilitated. Support buildings which are willing to implementing this measure. Develop a mechanism to conduct regular checks of rainwater harvesting facilities, as water stored in anaerobic conditions throughout the year could be prone to bacterial contamination. Further, show gumption and act against builders who initiate construction schemes without incorporating comprehensive rainwater harvesting mechanisms in their plans.

Public awareness and engagement
Nowhere in the world have water reforms been possible without a strong focus on public awareness and public engagement. Forge a strong people-to-people partnership through sustained and targeted awareness and education campaigns to achieve the desired long-term results. School children can be the best messengers to spread the word of prevention of water abuse and promotion of simple conservation methods.