In India the control and supply of water went into the hands of the state as urbanization spread and the realization grew that water is a public good and private individuals cannot be allowed to own it. The government subsidized water so as to be able to distribute the essential commodity equitably and to make it available to the poor, who can ill afford to spend big amounts on water. But this policy has backfired as poor cost recovery has rendered the water supply institutions fund-starved and hence unable to maintain the infrastructure or even meet the operational costs of water supply. Efficiency of management also deteriorated due to dearth of funds. As a result, water, in spite of being sufficiently available in the absolute sense, has become a scarce commodity. In most of urban India, it is a common phenomenon to find water scarcity, even in cities that have sufficient water resources. Nagpur city in Maharashtra state, the study site, is an example of this. The problem that the present study aims to address is that of how to evolve a method, which could exploit the potential of price in a way that will assure financial stability on the one hand and social justice on the other. Does 'Willingness-to-pay' (WTP) have a role to play?  The study seeks to establish a relationship between WTP and price that would satisfy both the conditions stated in the research problem. Willingness-to-pay was found to be the highest amongst the ‘unconnected' households. This is despite the fact that most of these households have their own source of water. The study also found that willingness-to-pay depends on many other factors besides income. Family characteristics and the convenience, reliability , and perceived quality of existing and proposed water supplies are dominant factors.

Project Funding: ICSSR, New Delhi

Project Output: Report

Location Map