Today was the first of the two-day seminar on PPP at Delhi. It is happening in ITC Maurya. It started at 9.30am and eneded at 7.20 pm: a long but useul day. Pranab Mukherjee and Montek Singh Ahluwalia were there in the inaugural session.
In the panel discussion at the Water Exchange, I made the following points:
(1) Capacity building is a step in right direction. But manpower shortage at ULB levels is also a real problem.
(2) Correct DPR and clear assessment of UfW (Unaccounted-for-Water) is necessary for PPP
(3) Chairpersons of ULBs must be sensitised. Political 'race to the bottom' (water user charges are being made free) must be stopped.
(4) For equity reasons (how will the poor pay water user charges?), PPP for water may succeed better for supplementary quality water supply system coexisting with municipal water system (think of the co-existence of bottled/mineral water and municipal tap water or co-existence of unleaded 'normal' petrol and 'speed' fuel).
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