When water standards don’t hold water, Pg7

Key Highlights

• India’s per capita water supply standard (litres per capita per day, lpcd) is arbitrarily set and not grounded in actual empirical evidence or need.

• CPHEEO prescribes 150 lpcd for mega cities and 135 lpcd for others; no justification for these numbers.

• Multiple conflicting benchmarks are used across departments, leading to design inconsistencies in urban infrastructure.

• Water delivery is rarely metered, so actual usage and delivery are unknown.

• Planning and budgeting are based on these flawed standards, often diverting more water to cities, harming rural areas.

Detailed Insights

• The per capita water standard is a planning tool, not a delivery guarantee.

• It influences budget allocation, infrastructure design, and justifies city-level water diversion from rural areas.

• City-level distortions:

• Mumbai’s project for Gargai Dam used 150 lpcd (CPHEEO) instead of 240 lpcd (standard).

• Urban schemes like AMRUT, Smart Cities, and Jal Jeevan Mission follow multiple conflicting standards.

• Monitoring failure:

• No checks to ensure delivery matches standards.

• Most homes are not metered, making it impossible to measure individual or city-level consumption.

Scientific/Technical Concepts Involved

• LPCD (litres per capita per day): Common unit to assess water supply standards.

• Water Metering: Technique to measure actual water consumption per unit (household or community).

• Service Level Benchmarking: Framework by MoHUA to assess performance of urban water delivery systems.

Significance

• Per capita water standards are being used as a design fiction — cities plan for water supply based on faulty assumptions.

• This undermines accountability, resource efficiency, and equity in water access.

• Need for evidence-based, regionally contextualised standards to promote realistic and equitable planning.

Mains Mock Question:

Critically analyse the implications of arbitrary per capita water supply standards on urban infrastructure and equity in water access in India. Suggest reforms to align water policy with actual usage and needs.