Delhi has an adequate supply of water. With over 200 litres of water available per capita per day it has more water than many other big cities in the world that provide their residents with 24X7 water supply. The urgent need for reform
Despite this, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), in its current mode of operation, is unable to meet the water and wastewater needs of the nation’s capital, and provides its citizens with an erratic and unequally distributed water supply that is well below international standards. The Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi recognize the urgent need for reform. They have therefore requested the World Bank’s support in helping DJB improve the reliability, sustainability, and affordability of Delhi's water supply and sanitation services.
The World Bank's proposed Delhi Jal Board Project The proposed DJB project aims to provide Delhi’s citizens, including the poor in resettlement colonies, slums, and JJ clusters, with continuous (24/7) water supply. It also aims to improve the collection of waste water and upgrade its treatment, and place the DJB on a sound financial footing. The first phase of the Government's improvement plan is to be implemented on a pilot basis in just two of its 21 zones. Once the first phase in these two zones is complete, a plan for improving services and infrastructure city-wide is to be prepared in the light of lessons learnt.
To bring about the necessary improvements, DJB proposes to award management contracts to professional operators for the two zones for an initial period of six years. This is not a “privatization” of DJB. DJB continues to retain control over assets, staffing, tariff and investment decisions, and will supervise the operators. Importance of bringing in necessary expertise
With many countries across the world facing similar problems, a number of companies have acquired the necessary expertise in tackling such challenges successfully. Bringing in professional experience and know-how can therefore help upgrade DJB’s operations.
DJB proposes that the operator will be held accountable through clear performance criteria established in enforceable contracts. DJB will pay the operator a fixed management fee for meeting these performance criteria, with bonuses for exceeding targets and penalties for poor performance. Independent technical audits will review the performance of the operator against agreed targets. Contracts and performance criteria will be made public upfront. The pace of tariff increase
The pace of tariff increase is expected to be gradual, corresponding to improvements in service efficiency and delivery. This would mean that during the interim period of about five years, it is envisaged that the Delhi Government will have to provide operating subsidies to DJB to cover its operations and maintenance costs.
The proposed project is still in its preparation phase. Consultations are underway on all the project's aspects, including among others, the technical, institutional, economic, financial, environmental and social aspects. Once these consultations are complete, the Bank will appraise the project according to its standard procedures before making any loan proposal to its Board.
So far the Bank has provided a sum of US $ 2.5 million under a project preparation facility to enable DJB to prepare the project.
Bridging the Gap Between Water Supply Infrastructure and Services (46kb.doc)
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