DECENTRALISING WATER GOVERNANCE SYSTEMS 26 June 2012 Josyula Lakshmi Program Manager Centre for Good Governance 1

Background Water Crisis – improper governance and lack of effective accountability mechanisms World over, 80% of the people living in rural areas do not have access to safe drinking water Health and survival of life is in jeopardy MDG aims at halving the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation by 2015 Better water governance could change the situation 26/06/12 2 2

The Developments Focus on the finite resource and on its contingent value for human survival Trigger for the next World War – Control over water resources, strategic alliances, water wars Water as a fundamental right – not yet realised Connotative references in several judgments Democracy and Water – conjoined terms 26/06/12 3 3

Democracy and Water Democracy – ‘of the people’, ‘for the people’ ‘By the people’- to be realised Principle of subsidiarity – delegation and designation 73rd Constitutional Amendment (1992) Devolution of powers (Functions, Functionaries and Funds) Democracy = Inclusive, Transparent and Accountable governance 26/06/12 4 4

Water governance Issues pertaining to resource regulation, usage and its management Water governance –focuses on the decision making mechanisms and processes in place Good water governance = Better water sense at all levels Levels of water governance – institutional mechanisms Information flows and Service delivery standards Ethos and the practices of accountability 26/06/12 5 5

Good governance practices Systemic risk identification – Structural risks, Functional and Process risks Strengthening links with end-users Transparency and access to Information Leveraging accountability Improving service delivery Updation of data Quality Reporting 6 26/06/12 6

Enabling legislations Already in place – the Right to Information Act, 2005 In the pipeline – the Right of Citizens for Time bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances (2011) Bill Electronic delivery of services (draft) Bill-2011 26/06/12 7 7

Right to Information Act Information – files, notings…even SAMPLES Reactive and proactive information – no choice Sample – ‘a small part of ‘ anything Material, consumables, stocks, fixtures & fittings etc Sample is invariably tangible that is felt and seen and classified on the basis of quality Sample as such becomes an intelligible piece of information after going through some qualification 26/06/12 8 8

Information in RWS sector? Water Quality –the standards ? The standards – Quantity, Quality Standard verses Actual – Quality Audit Quality flow audit – Minimum deviance in quality between source and end point Quality Control – Infrastructure, sanitary works, pollution control etc Online monitoring systems for quality water works may be devised and deployed 26/06/12 9 9

Proactive Disclosure in RWS Periodic display and updation of information – especially the dynamic information Water source and supply mapping Available quantity Quality Standards Consumer Satisfaction reports 26/06/12 10 10

Service Guarantee & Grievance Redress Bill Preparation of a Citizen's Charter of Services Responsibility of the Head of the Department to ensure compliance and updation In case of appeal for non-compliance, burden of proof on Grievance Redress Officer 26/06/12 11 11

Electronic Delivery of Services Bill Minimum individual interaction of consumer with officers Static and Dynamic data online Quicker processes of problem identification and grievance redressal Transparent method of functioning Win – win situation 26/06/12 12 12

Accountability mechanisms in RWS Social Audit Resource availability Audit Q & Q Audit Equity Perception Audit Community Score Car -How inclusive ? Expenditure Tracking 26/06/12 13 13

Social Audit of Drinking Water Water Resource Audit (WRA) – Availability of the resource (per head / per community / per village) Water Quality Audit (WQA) – Compliance with International and national standards in terms of permissable limits How much is moderate, how much is dangerous and what is fatal Water Equity and Inclusive Audit (WEIA) – Fair and equitable distribution of the resource across castes, communities and gender 26/06/12 14 14

Community Score Card Identifying community level indicators for monitoring Identifying service provider level indicators for compliance Interface dialogues Plan of future plan of Action Repeat the process periodically 26/06/12 15 15

Expenditure Tracking Financial Accountability – Accountability for money being spent Input vs Output Investment (Input) vs Service levels (Output) Setting up Service level benchmarks and striving towards excellence Regulation of commercial private operations Value for money spent (by Govt. and by the citizen) Third party quality (TPQ) evaluations 26/06/12 16 16

Thank you !! 26/06/12 17 17