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INTENT SUSPECT 24/7 water supply: BMC is inept, say WB consultants Clara Lewis Is the BMC "incompetent'' to implement, on its own, 24x7 water supply for Mumbai? If World Bank-appointed consultants are to be believed, the civic administration is incapable of undertaking this task, going by its pilot study in the K-East ward (Andheri east) on upgrading the water distribution system in Mumbai. The consultants' report goes on to recommend that BMC must outsource all aspects of it to a single highly competent contractor. The French consultancy firm, Castalia, was appointed directly by the World Bank to carry out an assessment of Mumbai's water distribution system and suggest ways to upgrade to a 24x7 supply system. The study was sponsored by the bank through a non-refundable grant of Rs 3.2 crore. The bank is known to be a strong advocate for privatisation, especially in developing nations, with often-disastrous results, say experts. Civic sources said the fact that the World Bank, a known advocate of water privatisation, commissioned the study and directly appointed the consultant, indicates a pre-determined bias for privatisation. According to the sources, Castalia's expertise lies in drawing up contracts and not in water management. The ward selection for the pilot study has also been controversial as it is the most profitable ward and not representative of other wards. BMC officers alleged that the field supervision for the study was grossly inadequate with Castalia's water expert being present only for the first week while the study itself dragged on for over a year. Its report submitted in March this year, was so "deeply flawed'' and fraught with "inconsistencies'' that the BMC refused to accept it, officers said. But in little over a month, the company tweaked the report and presented a revised one. Now, additional municipal commissioner Manu Kumar Srivastava, in-charge of water supply, says a second revision is under preparation to be presented to stake-holders (locals and elected representatives) over the weekend. The second report, while lauding the water supply system in Mumbai as the best in South Asia and that in the K-East ward comparable to London and Germany, however, states that the BMC on its own is incapable of implementing the upgrading projects and it would be the worst option to opt for. Interestingly, the consultants did not find a single case of contamination though tests were conducted twice. The second time, on the insistence of the BMC. "The BMC does not lack financial resources or smart well-qualified engineers. If the current BMC systems were capable of achieving desired improvements in K-East, they would have already achieved them,'' reads the report. Pointing out the reasons for its conclusions it states that major infrastructure works are not well integrated with operations and maintenance. "The system for procuring infrastructure projects tends to be slow, fragmented and is not focused on achieving the best quality results over the medium term. The managers at the ward level have little autonomy and resources to implement new approaches, no incentives for customer-responsiveness and service and there is an attachment to traditional ways of working,'' said the report. In fact the option of improvement with the current structure scores the least marks (8 out of 16) as compared to the other four options offered by the consultants. The consultants have given an option that would involve contracting with a single contractor for up to six years. The contractor would be required to implement all technical works required; direct teams of its own staff and BMC to carry out active leak reduction and customer service. The BMC would pay the contractor for implementing the technical work, and also give a performance pay based on service improvements and cost-savings over the period of the contract. In the second option, the contractor would be accountable for the water service provided and the financial results of the operation. The contract would set progressively increasing standards for continuity of service, quality of the water and customer service. The contractor will collect the tariff and pay the BMC for the bulk water, for all operating and maintenance costs. The BMC would pay for the capital expenditure. The argument here is that if the contractor were good at reducing costs such as reducing unaccounted for water, it would profit from the difference between the fee and its cost of providing service. However, it must be noted that currently the water department and especially the KEast ward generates a large surplus. The report is not very clear if the current huge level of surplus, especially in the ward, will accrue to the BMC or get pocketed by the contractor, whereby the contractor's profits may emanate from this surplus rather than any efficiency improvements. It also does not mention if there would be a tariff reduction with improved efficiencies or how iron-clad would be any promise to maintain tariffs. No mention is made of any penalties on the contractor in case he fails to meet the set performance benchmarks. clara.lewis@timesgroup.com URL : http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA3LzA2LzAyI0FyMDA0MDE=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english |
| Also see : Rainwater Harvesting, Water |
