To
control water consumption, the pricing mechanism is not effective. Creating
awareness may be a better option
India
is not a water-starved country. The issue is inefficient distribution and
management of water resources, particularly urban water management.
Water is a sensitive issue and has various
dimensions and conflicts, such as equitable access, competing uses, quality
issues, displacement vis-à-vis development, commercialisation, privatisation,
urbanisation and inter-State conflicts. The government has urgent task
addressing these issues.
In
this two-part series, we discuss the right to water and efficacy of pricing of
water on conservation and consumption by the marginal sections of society.
Our govern- ment strives to achieve water for all and strike a balance between
the right to water for life and its pricing to recover the costs and prevent
its wanton overuse.
Use
of domestic water forms an integral part of a poor household's coping
strategies. It is an important part of poverty alleviation. Providing a basic
level of access to water and health services is the highest priority. Policy
initiatives are targeted at increasing the number of households with
sufficient levels of water resource and focus on consumption by the
marginalised sections.
Earlier
a comparison between per capita household water con sumption of sample
households and the recommended norms given by Bureau of Indian Stand- ards
(BIS), 2001 Master Plan of Delhi, Central Public Health Engin- eering and
Environmental Organ- isation, Leak Detection and Invest- igation (LD&I) and
Japan - International Corporation Agency, showed a bleak picture of con- sumption
in low income areas.
As
per 'India-Urban Slums Survey: NSS, 69th Round', at an all-India
level, though households living in slum areas
now have improved access to drinking water, households living in non-slum
areas have better access. This disparity in water availability and use is
increasing between economically lower and upper strata of the society.
The
government's Jal Jeevan Mission plans to provide tapped water to about 19
crore households, Har Ghar Jal, and fulfill an important commitment in the
Constitution, for provision of potable water to all its citizens. But there
is a lot ground to be covered. At the policy level there are competing ideologies and divided views, particularly on pricing and conservation. We need
discussion and debate on water.
Water Precious resource AFP
Pricing matters little
There
are diverse views relating to the impact of pricing of water on consumption
behaviour. Many studies on household consumables like water show that they are
price-inelastic. Despite this inherent inelasticity, some studies suggest
that price could be a good water-demand management tool.
Based
on the economic principle that demand decreases with increase in prices, some
economists believe that efficient water management requires clear price signals that provide incentives for efficient use of
water, resulting in efficient allocation of water among competing demands.
Awareness
of the prevailing price and self declared response to a change in price of
water by house- holds is considered as basic indicators to gauge price
sensitivity, our study observed that the consump- tion of around 90 per cent of
the households of low-income colonies will not come down as their con- sumption
levels were already very low.
The
proportion of income spent on water is another important parameter and our
study, using primary data, shows it is 4.93 per cent, implying that the
households are less sensitive to water prices. Also, the proportion of income
spent on water, falls as we move from the lower to higher-income colonies
suggesting that the sensitivity to prices of the lower-income group is
higher than the higher-income groups.
So
the consumption of water demand is highly price-insensitive. This is because
people perceive water as a necessity and not a luxury. It also implies that
increasing the price may not reduce the consumption of water significantly. Most of
the
literature on willingness to pay by
consumers justifies market pricing of water, as there is a willingness to pay.
But an important aspect ignored in these studies is that the willingness to
pay will always be there for necessities, in case of a shortage. Affordability
should be given more priority in designing policies pertaining to essential
elements like water. Pricing of water is a critical policy decision. The poor
will be affected more than higher-income classes.
The
best way to reduce household water wastage is to spread awareness about the
means to save water at home. Creating conscious- ness about the repercussions of
us- ing water carelessly will also help people to be more careful in its usage.
Some of the water-efficient equipment such as low-flow showers and taps, dual
flushing systems, water-saving equipment to wash clothes and utensils or even
simple taps in resettlement colonies etc., can help a lot in conservation.
Gopal Krishna Agarwal is President of Jaladhikar Foundation & National Spokesperson of BJP: Yuthika Agarwal is
Assistant Professor of Economics, Delhi University
