Multiple Uses of Water in Small Towns in India The Case of Bhuj (India) Joep Verhagen (HabiCom International) with Mihir Bhatt (Disaster Mitigation Institute)

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Contents Introduction – Urban Development and Urban Livelihoods Bhuj – earthquake and water supply Productive Use of Water Saving and Losing Time Conclusions

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Urban Development in India - Government reactive rather than pro-active - Increased marginalisation of the poor - Neglect of Small and Medium Cities - Poor Quality of Basic Amenities Urban Development in India Rapid Urbanisation Increase from 25 (1901) to 300 million (2001) Increase from 11% to 27% Lack of Control Urban development process lead by (illegal) land brokers. Government has no control over land use Lack of Capacity 75 % of urban population lives in small and medium cities Small and Medium cities get little attention Complex Urban Environment Many actors Outdated and inadequate legislation Overlapping jurisdictions

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Urban Livelihoods RuralUrban Access to natural capitalAccess to labour market Access to land and housing no problem Access to land and housing difficult Government ‘distant’Vulnerable to ‘bad governance’ Services not availableServices expensive Natural capital is keyHouse as economic resource Urban areas in rural settingUrban Villages

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Urban Livelihoods & Water Type of livelihoodAverage water consumption Quality of water needed Animal husbandry347Drinkable Block and screen printing250Drinkable Cobbler120Clean and non-saline Cold drinks vendor93Drinkable Dobhi117Drinkable Flour mill500clean and non-saline Mason1000clean and non-saline Matka vendor100Drinkable Snack vendor96Drinkable Tea cabin95Drinkable Vegetables vendor317Clean and non-saline

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Bhuj – Earthquake  Earthquake almost destroyed Bhuj – the historic centre and the surrounding areas  Existing water supply system badly damaged – 61% respondents mentions deteriorated quality of water supply after earthquake.  Reconstruction and rehabilitation focuses on historic centre  Surrounding slums are still waiting, water supply still not repaired

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Bhuj – Water Supply Water is available 1.2 hrs a day, and … Only 50% of the year, and … In 5 out of 10 neighbourhoods water is fit for human consumption People need to use multiple sources. 32% of respondents need to go out of the neighbourhood to fetch water. On average, a household spends Rs. 240 per month on water. A legal connection costs Rs. 1,400 per year Women spend between 3.2 and 6.4 hrs/day on fetching water

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Time & water  Women loose half a day income per month due to breakdowns of piped water supply.  Women estimate that they loose on average Rs. 85/- per week (equal to 25% of weekly income) because of bad quality of water supply.  The opportunity costs of time spent on fetching water is approximately Rs. 16 per day.

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Water for Economic Activities  Around 40% of the entrepreneurs have to fetch water for their enterprise outside their neighbourhood.  On average entrepreneurs spend Rs. 180/- per month on water for their enterprise.  They spend on average 1.9 hrs a day on fetching water.  Most important problems related to the water supply are (1) energy waste – 43% respondents (2) irregular supply – 32%.  The estimate an improved water supply will result in an increase of income of almost Rs. 500 per month. Contd…

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Water for Economic Activities contd…  62 % entrepreneurs mentions water supply deteriorated after earthquake.  86% of these entrepreneurs mentions that this deteriorated water supply lead to a loss of income.  The average loss of income is Rs. 500 per month (average present income is Rs. 2,200)

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Conclusions  Urban water supply is complex, especially in the  Improving quality of water supply systems has a big potential to alleviate poverty in small cities in India. However, providing water alone is not enough.  Improvement of water supply needs strong Community Based Organisations to pressurise.  Investing in the water supply of small cities might have a cost benefit ratio as compared to large cities

Delft – June Productive Uses of Water Recommendations  The case of Bhuj might provide an excellent opportunity to start a Learning Alliance centred around Multiple Uses of Water in Small Cities. DMI has a strong base in the local communities and is committed to learning and disseminating lessons learned, and finds it important to collaborate with local government. IRC can bring in the international experience and sound learning and documentation methodologies.

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