Is BMC Causing The Water Shortage In Mumbai?

The subject topic was listed for 'discussion' under Message #60892 at the Karmayog Blog:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/karmayog/messages

The topic has a large number of responses, most requesting for more controls, regulations and punitive measures. Very few were prepared to address the real issues as I see them. Hence I put my views on record under #55 on 16th March 2010, as shown hereunder.

The fundamental job of every Govt is to 'raise' the standards of living of its citizens. So how will cutting off water to swimming pools help? They recycle the water and replacement is small anyway. Can we only think of 'lowering' standards to meet every crisis? The current shortage of water in Mumbai is due to uncontrolled and unattended pipe leakages and theft (direct and illegal connections). Implementation is the key ... not denial to those who aspire for better standards and quality of life. Remember, if denied they will move away and so will their taxes and contribution to city and nation building activities. They are the wealth and asset creators ... lets not belittle them.

The means suggested to inspect housing complexes, etc. is a pipe-dream; when leakages and illegal connections cannot be reduced, how these new ideas will be implemented? No rules should be made which cannot be implemented without fear or favor. Even power theft, child labor, basic law and order, traffic laws, encroachments and minimum wages act cannot be implemented in the city of Mumbai.

The urban areas are growing relentlessly ... so is Mumbai. Daily we have hundreds of 'wage-earners' arriving with huge aspirations. Obviously their basic needs cannot be accommodated without adequate foresight in planning, execution, outcome ... that is implementation and monitoring. Just denying water to new projects and putting limits of 90 L per day per head will never solve the problem. More has to be planned and executed for. This is where the focus should be ... not 'short cut direct action rabble rousing' plans of cutting off here and there.

Water desalination, new projects are all needed as various types of solutions ... no doubt they cost a lot and also deny rights of the local PAP (project affected persons), but these too have to be provided for. We must not plan to go back to the two buckets per day per person of the last century. Mumbai gets enough rains for all the water needs ... we are not harnessing it. Simple technics like ground charging, retention pools, recycling are not implemented and enforced.

User pays is the norm for all development ... yet we have skewed rates for water ... why? Why a subsidy when shortage is felt? Why not first fix a norm for consumption based on aspirational lifestyle and then telescoping rates for higher consumption. Remember, private sector was not keen to generate electric power because of rampant subsidy and clear case of no recovery of revenue. So we have a tremendous electricity shortage all over the nation. Must we repeat the mistakes again for water for Mumbai?

Governances' first job is to enable projects to provide for its citizens. Controls and regulation must follow, not lead every issue of the city. Let us dream big, plan big, execute and monitor big and get big outcomes for our big nation of a billion plus citizens.