"Public Service, Private Interest, and an Illusion of Accountability - Reflections on Governance Reforms in Urban Drinking Water Supply in India" by Preeta Dhar (ESR14)

Providing universal drinking water is challenging, especially in developing countries. Mainstream narratives attribute this to inadequate investments in developing water infrastructure and a lack of accountability around public services. Premised on this, governance reforms and developmental assistance in many countries support private sector participation. This presentation discusses one such intervention in India – the ‘24x7’ continuous water supply project in Hubballi-Dharwad, which is widely cited as a success story. Using an accountability lens, it draws attention to some of the underlying gaps and contradictions of this model. Specifically, it looks at the primary decision-makers, the narratives that they draw on, and what they reinforce and obscure. The case study in India is juxtaposed with the experience of private sector participation in Jakarta’s water supply shared by the invited discussant.

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About the speaker

Preeta Dhar is a doctoral researcher at SOAS University of London. Her research is a comparative study of irrigation and urban drinking water services in India and Indonesia. In her research, she explores themes of power and accountability in identifying and addressing systemic integrity challenges.

Moderators & discussants

Prof Peter P. Mollinga, comparatively researches water governance, policy and politics. His sectoral and geographical areas of focus are canal irrigation and urban water (notably riverfronts) in South Asia. He is one of the three founding editors of Water Alternatives. An interdisciplinary journal on water, politics and development (open access e-journal). After retirement in 2023 Prof. Mollinga continues to be associated with the SOAS University of London’s Department of Development Studies, UK as a Professorial Research Associate, and is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at Bonn University, Germany. 

Sigit Karyadi Budiono, works as staff for KRuHA (People's Coalition for the Right to Water) - Indonesia. He has worked extensively on water services in Jakarta and water policy in Indonesia. He is currently co-authoring journal and other media articles on these issues with academics and scholar activists on these issues.

This seminar is part of the “The Next Wave of Water Governance” Diffused Conference Thematic Seminar series. The series includes bi-weekly seminars on the key topics of water governance investigated by the NEWAVE Early Stage Researchers. You can register for learn more and see the full schedule of the upcoming sessions at this link.