“Safe Drinking Water for All”
– The Accountability Gap
 

One of the MDGs that was celebrated to have reached its target much before the set date was Access to Safe Water. According to WHO and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for ‘Water Supply and Sanitation’, in the last two decades more than 2 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources, such as piped supplies and protected wells. However, 11% of the world’s population i.e. 783 million people are still without access to safe water while around 2.5 billion people lack basic sanitation facilities such as latrines and hygienic waste disposal. The MDGs target to improve basic sanitation is still short of being met by at least 12 years.

Access to safe water as measured currently indicates only access to a source and does not necessarily reflect gaps in the total eco-system aspects of the water supply/delivery i.e. quality, reliability and sustainability. In the absence of real time monitoring it is likely that the number of people with access to safe water may have been overestimated. It is a no brainer to ask for institutional systems and processes that would be accountable for water source augmentation, protection from contamination, replenishment as well as equitable and affordable sharing. These pre-requisites need collective action involving governments, water utility facilities and local communities.

Testing water quality used to be expensive and logistically difficult but with the advancement of science and technology, especially with the inexpensive field based rapid testing kits and ICTs and GPS enabled communication systems, this scenario is fast changing. Application of these modern tools is opening up the possibility of mapping water sources and accessing the real time, on-line, water quality monitoring and action taken reports. Aided by these tools, further innovations in centralised treatment followed by the last mile service delivery models are being explored largely both by NGOs and the private sector. DA’s project on ‘Water for All’, supported by the Arghyam Trust, has demonstrated that the community based ‘Pay for Use’ model ensures both quality and source sustainability.

Facing water supply shortages as well as increased incidence of water borne diseases coupled with a better awareness of hygiene and a higher disposable income, Indian consumers are now willing to buy bottled water. Of late, even household based treatment devices such as R.O systems and Nano technologies, like TATA Swatch, are finding an increasing number of buyers. However, in the absence of strong policies to govern the resource extraction, source protection and replenishment, the run-away culture of profit focused organisations will continue jeopardising the environment and public health. It is time now to galvanise action around the ‘sanitation and water for all’ partnership so as to empower individuals and communities to demand accountability in services to which they have a right. q

Dr. K.Vijaya Lakshmi
kvijayalakshmi@devalt.org

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