Concept and Role of Per Capita Water Standards
- India useslitres per capita per day (lpcd) as a benchmark for water allocation and planning.
- This metric dictates how much water each person is entitled to, guiding infrastructure and policy decisions.
- Despite its critical role, this standard lacks scientific or empirical backing.
Relevance : GS 2(Social Issues)
Lack of Uniformity and Evidence
- Various agencies (e.g., BIS, CPHEEO) and cities (e.g., Mumbai, Delhi) prescribe different standards.
- For example:
- CPHEEO: 150 lpcd for megacities, 135 lpcd for others.
- Jal Jeevan Mission: 55 lpcd for rural households.
- No rationale, survey data, or regional adjustment supports these standards.
Discrepancy in Application
- Standards are applied inconsistently:
- Mumbai used 150 lpcd for the Gargai Dam to meet CPHEEO norms, though it uses 240 lpcd elsewhere.
- These numbers are often manipulated to align with project requirements or funding guidelines.
Flawed Planning Implications
- Water demand calculations using these standards influence:
- Urban-rural water diversion.
- Large-scale infrastructure like dams and pipelines.
- Funding allocations from schemes like AMRUT and Smart Cities Mission.
- Result: Overestimation or underestimation of actual needs, leading to inefficient investments.
Service Delivery Gap
- No effective monitoring to ensure delivery of water as per prescribed standards:
- Most cities lack household meters and bulk flow meters.
- Supply zones are not isolated — water tracking is unfeasible.
- MoHUA’s benchmarks measure per capita supply only at city-level, not individual level.
Impact on Equity and Rights
- The human right to water is undermined due to arbitrary, non-transparent planning.
- Without accurate metrics, marginalized populations may get less than the standard.
- Standards serve planners and engineers, not end-users or citizens.
Recommendations and Conclusion
- A call for evidence-based, region-specific per capita water standards.
- Need for:
- Functional water metering systems.
- Transparent, decentralized monitoring.
- Equitable distribution mechanisms.
- Ensuring that standards translate into actual rights-based service delivery.
