Water

Water Champion: Salma Sadikha
When Water Connection Barriers Disappear
May 2007

By Ma. Christina Dueñas
Water Knowledge and Communications Coordinator, ADB

Ms. Salma Sadikha served as Social Development Specialist at the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) from 2000 up to early 2007. She was seconded there from the Department of Women and Child Development in Karnataka specifically to work on BWSSB's pro-poor initiative under the AusAID funded Master Plan Project. Her work focused on improving the access and quality of water supply and sanitation services to the urban slums without compromising the interest of the utility. During her stint with the BWSSB, Ms. Sadikha worked on two major reforms to the sector— rationalizing connection charges to reduce the actual fees, and relaxing the land tenure requirement for installing piped connections, which considerably hindered the urban poor's access to safe drinking water. This work was done through BWSSB's Social Development Unit (SDU), then a newly established unit with the unenviable responsibility of navigating through the social aspects of connecting the poor. From three pilot slums in 2002, coverage was extended to 43 slums. Throughout this experience, nongovernment organizations, community-based organizations and prominent persons from within the community served as liaison between the poor and the utility. Ms. Sadikha's and the SDU's work was instrumental in formulating the State Policy for Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor, the first in the country, which is now awaiting Cabinet approval for state-wide implementation. It has also attracted the attention of major universities and donors, i.e. Gates Foundation, Japan Bank for International Cooperation, etc. Ms. Sadikha is a Class I officer of the State Government holding a post graduate degree in Child Development and a Bachelor's degree in Law. In 2004 she successfully completed a Post Graduate Certificate Course in 'Cross Sector Partnerships' from the Cambridge University in United Kingdom. Her professional experience encompasses 20 years of fighting urban poverty, from the grass roots level to the policy making levels of the government.

Prior to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB)'s recent initiatives, what percentage of Bangalore's slums had access to safe water?

When we started AusAID's Master Plan Project in 2000, around 70% of the slums had far from satisfactory water supply arrangements. Slum residents relied on public facilities such as stand posts and boreholes. Long queues at these water points meant waste of time, loss of work, or even missing school for girl children who usually fetch water for the household.

Since 2000, we've improved the lot of over 10,000 households in 43 slums. New funding is scheduled from the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) to extend the service to over 300 slums within the next 5 years.

How exactly did the BWSSB improve the urban poor's access to safe water?

In a nutshell, we made things easier for them. We reduced the connection fee from Rs.1850 to Rs. 830 and allowed them to be paid on an installment basis. We accepted proof of residency instead of proof of land ownership as requirement for connection. We simplified the procedures for connection and issuance of meters. We empowered the community to handle filling up of applications, collection of access charges, and issuance of meters. By 2004, we also successfully lowered water tariffs.

What was the Social Development Unit's contribution to this work?

Like all water utilities in the country, BWSSB staff are mainly engineers who didn't have the experience nor the perspective to handle the intricate social issues involved in servicing the poor, particularly slum residents. The SDU brought into the picture this much needed insight. The SDU successfully partnered with NGOs, community based organizations and even prominent community members to get the cooperation and trust of the communities. We also convinced BWSSB's engineers and frontline staff to engage with the poor and adopt flexible strategies for connecting and sustaining the water service. At the end of the day, trust was built between the utility and the communities, and the latter did not feel like they were being taken for a ride.

How did you reduce the connection fee from Rs. 1850 to Rs 830?

We eliminated certain charges which were not required to be levied on urban poor residents. These included sanitary point charges (slum households were only charged 2 points as against the normal 6), inspection charges, and 3-month advance deposit.

BWSSB lowered connection charges and tariff. How did it recover this lost revenue?

By connecting the urban poor, the BWSSB actually transformed illegal connections into revenue-yielding ones, bringing in greater revenue for the utility. And once they got their legal, individual, and metered connections, households stopped relying on public taps, enabling the utility to cut down on wastages.

How did the idea of using "proof of residency" instead of land tenure as connection eligibility criteria materialize?

When we started the AusAid project, we deliberately chose a slum community as a pilot area to demonstrate that security of tenure is a serious impediment to connecting the poor.

Photo by Genevieve Connors

The residents of this pilot slum possessed a lease cum title document given by a charitable organization to help them acquire housing loans for house construction. Despite their best appeals and willingness to pay, the residents were unable to get legal water supply connection because BWSSB regulation required them to produce land ownership documents. The Master Plan Project then proposed to the BWSSB Board to consider the lease cum title documents for the purpose of sanctioning water connections. The Board approved, and water and sanitary connections were installed for 299 residents.

Later on, ration cards, voter and other IDs began to be accepted as proof of residence for sanctioning connections. BWSSB's top management finally realized that it made sense to extend coverage in order to reduce losses.

What factors should be considered when reducing connection fees as a way of increasing the poor's access to safe water?

First and foremost, the utility must assess the capacity of the poor to pay. Then it should work out a suitable model that is affordable and acceptable to the community.

Willingness to pay does not always translate into actual payment because their eagerness to access water often prompts the poor to readily accept the terms. After a point, they realize that they cannot afford the amount being charged. It is important to decide on the connection fees after due deliberation and after obtaining the consensus of the community.

What key insights can you highlight from your work with BWSSB?

Photo by Genevieve Connors

BWSSB, like all business organizations, concentrates on revenue generation. The pro-poor initiative has opened the eyes of the utility to the fact that the urban poor population (which is between 30-35%) can be connected to the system, can contribute to capital costs through connection fees, and can help minimize losses— all that's needed is to make water affordable to them.

The BWSSB functions with a small staff and mounting work pressure. With no clear incentive, it is difficult to rope them into going the extra mile for the slums. Staff sensitization coupled with incentives can go a long way in motivating engineers and frontline staff to deliver quality care to the urban poor.

Social intermediaries (NGOs, CBOs etc) are important means to linking communities with service providers. They have a better understanding of the dynamics of poor neighborhoods. However the utility should have a clear policy for interacting with them, for instance outlining roles and responsibilities and specifying NGO costs.

Finally, political representatives do not always perceive such interventions as encroachments on their stronghold. With careful strategizing, the utility can enlist and put to good use their support.

Related Link:

• Bangalore Slums Get Bargain Connections