Pipe Dreams? The Governance of Urban Water Supply in Informal Settlements, New Delhi

Suneetha Dasappa Kacker and Anuradha Joshi

IDS Bulletin, 2012, vol. 43, issue 2, 27-36

Abstract: This article explores two trends which exemplify recent research and thinking in service delivery: first, understanding the role of small‐scale informal providers and second, understanding the politics and governance of service provision. Drawing on field research on urban water in New Delhi, we show that while informal providers fill a gap left by the public utility, residents are captive consumers with limited ability to influence service quality or price. However, this low service level trap can be shifted; and the very seeds of change seem to lie in the evolving relationships between informal providers, residents of informal settlements, politicians and the water utility. The case highlights two factors that enabled the transition: (1) the nature of the service, particularly piped water systems, are more conducive to triggering collective action; and (2) rising political awareness and competition can enable community groups to break out of clientelistic relationships with local politicians.

Date: 2012
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/idsb.2012.43.issue-2

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:idsxxx:v:43:y:2012:i:2:p:27-36

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in IDS Bulletin from Blackwell Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().