See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/332686631

The role of new ‘Smart technology’ to provide water to the urban poor: A case
study of water ATMs in Delhi, India

Article  in  Energy Ecology and Environment · April 2019

DOI: 10.1007/s40974-019-00119-4

CITATIONS READS

2 1,363

1 author:

Anindita Sarkar
University of Delhi
26 PUBLICATIONS   117 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Multidisciplinary innovation project on Climate Change, Water Security and Livelihood Resilience: Role of Traditional Knowledge and Modern Technologies in Rajasthan,
India, Delhi; 2015 to on-going View project

Water Insecurity among the Urban Poor View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Anindita Sarkar on 29 July 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Energy, Ecology and Environment
The role of new ‘Smart technology’ to provide water to the urban poor: A case study of
water ATMs in Delhi, India
--Manuscript Draft--

Manuscript Number: EEAE-D-18-00102R5

Full Title: The role of new ‘Smart technology’ to provide water to the urban poor: A case study of
water ATMs in Delhi, India

Article Type: S.I. : Water Security

Funding Information: This paper has been prepared from the Dr Anindita Sarkar
project “Water insecurity among urban
poor” funded by the University Grants
Commission, India, under the Research
award Programme 2016 -19.
(30-50/2016 (SA-II))

Abstract: A new form of coin-operated or electronic card-operated water vending machine;

popularly known as the water ATMs are gaining popularity as a ‘smart’ yet a ‘low-cost’
technology to provide safe water at nominal rates in India. Water ATMs (Automated
Teller Machine) are being currently experimented as a market-based solution on the
idea of social entrepreneurship to provide safe drinking water to the urban poor in Delhi
who are inadequately served by the public utility network. Based on a primary survey,
the present case study aims to look at the challenges and opportunities these water
ATMs pose. The study assesses its scope for further expansion as a solution to water
security for urban poor residing in low income areas by analysing the issues of both
supply side as well as demand side management of this technology. It is believed that
water ATMs have tremendous potential to reduce waterborne diseases affecting the
lives of millions of people in India and can minimize plastic waste and prevent plastic
contamination as posed by the booming packaged water industries. Though water
tariffs are nominal, water ATMs, for the first time are operating on the model of a paid
community standpipe, in urban poor areas in India. So the big question remains
whether the water ATMs can be seen as a complimentary source of safe water to the
urban poor or it can be turned into an alternative option for universal coverage of piped
network.

Corresponding Author: Anindita Sarkar, Ph.D

University of Delhi Miranda House
DELHI, DELHI INDIA

Corresponding Author Secondary

Information:

Corresponding Author's Institution: University of Delhi Miranda House

Corresponding Author's Secondary

Institution:

First Author: Anindita Sarkar, Ph.D

First Author Secondary Information:

Order of Authors: Anindita Sarkar, Ph.D

Order of Authors Secondary Information:

Author Comments: I am submitting this paper for the special issue of E3 on “Water Security”. this is a case
study with data collected though a primary field research on the newly introduced water
ATMs in Delhi as a smart water technology to provide water security to the urban poor
at reasonable rates.

Response to Reviewers: I have made all the corrections as pointed out

Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation
Manuscript with final editing Click here to access/download;Manuscript;WATER ATMS
revised Final.docx
Click here to view linked References

1
The role of new ‘Smart technology’ to provide water to the urban poor: A case study of
2 water ATMs in Delhi, India
3
4
5 ANINDITA SARKAR
6 Department of Geography, Miranda House, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007, India
7
8
Email: aninditasarkar28@gmail.com
9
10 Abstract
11
12 A new form of coin-operated or electronic card-operated water vending machine; popularly
13
14 known as the water ATMs (Automated Teller Machine) are gaining popularity as a ‘smart’
15
16 yet a ‘low-cost’ technology to provide safe water at nominal rates in India. Water ATMs are
17
18 being currently experimented as a market-based solution on the idea of social
19
entrepreneurship to provide safe drinking water to the urban poor in Delhi who are
20
21 inadequately served by the public utility network. Based on a primary survey, the present
22
23 case study aims to look at the challenges and opportunities these water ATMs pose. The
24
25 study assesses its scope for further expansion as a solution to water security for urban poor
26
27 residing in low income areas by analysing the issues of both supply side as well as demand
28
29 side management of this technology. It is believed that water ATMs have tremendous
30 potential to reduce waterborne diseases affecting the lives of millions of people in India and
31
32 can minimize plastic waste and prevent plastic contamination as posed by the booming
33
34 packaged water industries. Though water tariffs are nominal, water ATMs, for the first time
35
36 are operating on the model of a paid community standpipe, in urban poor areas in India. So
37
38 the big question remains whether the water ATMs can be seen as a complimentary source of
39
40
safe water to the urban poor or it can be turned into an alternative option for universal
41 coverage of piped network.
42
43
44 Key words: Water ATM, Delhi, water tariff, urban poor, drinking water, smart card
45
46 1. Introduction
47
48
Rapid population growth and accelerating urbanization in the developing countries present
49
50 growing challenge to the public utilities to provide water for all urban residents with the
51
52 existing water infrastructures. Although the coverage of piped water supply has been
53
54 increasing over time in India, water delivery has remained of poor quality especially to the
55
56 urban poor (Satapathy 2014). Intermittent water supply, insufficient pressure and
57
58 unpredictable service impose both financial and health costs for the residents of Delhi (Zérah
59 2000). Most residents receive water through the municipal pipes for only a couple of hours at
60
61
62 1
63
64
65
 a time and not every day (Leipziger & Foster 2003).
1
2 A reliable water supply provision to the city depends on the geographical limits of the service
3
4 network expansion. As population increases in the cities and its area expands, new
5
6 unexploited water reserves are incorporated in the urban water cycle or existing water
7
8 supplies are tapped more intensely. Another alternative to this challenge is to devise a ‘smart
9
10 technology’ independent of the city’s existing piped network to particularly serve people who
11
12
are at present either unserved or inadequately served. Existing evidences suggest that many
13 low income households in India can afford to pay more for water, particularly if the increase
14
15 in prices is accompanied by better service (Raghupati & Foster 2002). At present, households
16
17 may pay several times the municipal charges in coping costs arising from the irregularity and
18
19 unreliability of supply (Connors 2005; Zérah 2000).
20
21 With the focus on fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goal of providing universal access
22
23 to safe drinking water by 2030, and with the backing from several international organisations
24
25 like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, coin-operated or electronic card-operated
26
27 standpipes, popularly known as the water ATMs (Automated Teller Machine) have gained
28
prominence as an alternative source of safe water in many cities in the global South.
29
30 Gradually these water ATMs are also making significant intervention in India’s drinking
31
32 waterscape and is being lauded for being a ‘smart low-cost technology’ providing clean and
33
34 safe drinking water at a cheaper rate. Water ATMs are believed to have the potential of
35
36 significantly reducing water related diseases in India where 1.7 million children die of
37
38 diarrhoea and 37.7 million people are affected by various waterborne diseases annually
39 (Khurana & Sen 2007). Water ATMs can also reduce plastic waste and prevent plastic
40
41 contamination as predominant in the booming packaged bottled water industry.
42
43
44 In India the water ATMs are mostly being experimented on the model of private-public
45 partnership to provide drinking water with the help of low-cost technology at a nominal
46
47 charge. Since there is no official record of the number of ATMs currently functioning in the
48
49 country, it is difficult to estimate its spatial spread. However in addition to the formally
50
51 registered ATMs, there are many such water vending machines operated by religious
52
53 organisations in India (Dey 2017). Possibly due to lack of official statistics or its nascent sage
54
55 into India’s drinking waterscapes, there are a few sporadic studies on water ATMs; mostly
56 based on market research (USAID & SWN 2016) or independent viewpoints (Dey 2017;
57
58 Cullet 2016). This case study gives a comprehensive understanding of the water ATMs as a
59
60 new alternative water source to provide safe water to the poor residing in Indian cities.
61
62 2
63
64
65
 2. Objectives and methodology
1
2 This case study aims to look at the challenges and opportunities of the water ATMs which
3
4 has been conceptualised as a solution to water security for urban poor residing in low income
5
6 areas in Delhi. It discusses the technical and financial operation of the water ATMs, cost and
7 revenue generated by them and evaluates the awareness, coverage, usefulness and glitches
8
9 faced by the water ATM users. It also attempts to analyses the potential for its replication as a
10
11 larger policy initiative to provide water security to the millions of people currently unserved.
12
13 In Delhi, water ATMs at present are located in four resettlement colonies 1. Since South-west
14
15 district has the lowest percentage of households with taps within premises which is about
16
17 only 14.62% (Census of India, 2011), Matiyala village from South-west district is chosen for
18
19 the primary filed work. With a large number of households depending on shared sources
20
21 outside premises in this district, the impact of water ATMs on the accessibility of water can
22
23
be better studied. The primary data are collected from 233 households chosen randomly in
24 the Matiyala village resettlement colony though structured household questionnaires
25
26 conducted during 2017 – 2018. The questionnaire was scrutinized for behavioural reviewing
27
28 and informed consent was taken from all the interviewees. Respondents were asked questions
29
30 about their awareness of the ATMs, its functioning, utility and changes of accessing water
31
32 from them. Additionally, focus group discussions with the colony residents and key
33
34
informant interviews with water industry experts in public and commercial enterprises form
35 the basis of my arguments.
36
37
38 2.1 Study Area
39
40 New Delhi, the capital of India is the largest city in terms of area and has the highest
41
42 population density sheltering about 17 million residents. As of 2012, New Delhi housed
43
44 about 6,343 slums with approximately 1 million households. While the latest census (2011),
45
reports 83% slums households to be using treated tap water as a primary source of potable
46
47 water, only half of such households have any water source within their premises. This reflects
48
49 the inadequate accessibility and absolute dependence on unreliable shared sources. According
50
51 to a recent survey of slums in Delhi in 2016, community level public taps were reported to be
52
53 shared between 10 and 30 households with an average daily water supply for only 1 to 2
54
55 hours. Majority of the slum dwellers spent 30-60 minutes daily to fetch water and sometimes
56
57
58 1
These settlements consist of those households which were formerly residing in the illegal settlements and are
59 resettled with the aid of public interventions. They are usually located in the peripheral areas of the city. It is a
60 low income neighbourhood.
61
62 3
63
64
65
 even took up to 3 hours (USAID & SWN 2016). According to the estimation of Delhi Jal
1
2 Board2 (DJB), Delhi used an average of 835 MGD (Million Gallons per Day) of raw water
3
4 from a supply of about 906 MGD in 2014 and it is estimated to rise to 1,174 MGD by 2021
5
indicating towards greater challenges to meet this demand.
6
7
8 3. Results
9
10
11
3.1 Delhi
12 Water ATMs are set up with partnership of business conglomerates which invest money for
13
14 installation of water vending machines and digital platforms and local government bodies
15
16 which allocate land for housing the water treatment plants and the vending machines. Water
17
18 is also provided by the government since either groundwater is tapped or it is procured from
19
20 the public utility network. At present Water ATMs can be found all over the country though
21
22
in fewer pockets in both rural and urban areas mostly located in public spaces like railway
23 stations, bus stands, parks, slums and resettlement colonies. There are several kinds of water
24
25 dispensing machines like stand-alone dispensing units, container booths and delivery vans
26
27 with dispensers. Such wide variety of water ATMs are instituted so that they can function in
28
29 varied locations catering to different types of users.
30
31
32 3.1.1 Water ATMs
33
34
In Delhi, water ATMs are set up by the private company Sarvajal under the design-finance-
35 build-operate transfer (DFBOT) model in 2012. The first water ATM was established in
36
37 Savda Ghevra, a resettlement colony in North-west Delhi followed by three more such
38
39 clusters in Holambi Kalan and Shabad Dairy in North-west Delhi, Matiyala Village in South-
40
41 west Delhi. Later, water ATMs were set up in Mahavir Colony also in South-west Delhi in
42
43 collaboration with Sulabh international. Table 1 gives a brief overview of the general
44 characteristics of the water ATMs set up in Delhi.
45
46
47 Table 1 General details of water ATMs in Delhi
48 Holambi Dwarka Ph- Savda Mahavir
49 Kalan 3 Matiyala Ghevra Enclave
50
51
General Details (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sulabh)
52 Number of HHs in the locality 12,000 1,200 7,000 n/a 7
53 Number of RFID cards issued 2,000 300 1,300 No RFID
54 Quantity of treated water per day 7,000 4,200 5,700 2,500
55
56
Number of water ATMs 4 6 9 1
57 Number of employees at the
3 3 3 1
58 plant
59
60 2
DJB is the public utility that is responsible for providing water in Delhi.
61
62 4
63
64
65
 Source: USAID & SWN (2016). Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: City of New Delhi,
1 Report prepared by USAID and SWN.
2
3 3.1.2 Function of Water ATMs
4
5 Technically the water ATMs that are currently functional in Delhi are self-contained
6
7 automated water vending machines that store clean water and are often connected to a water
8
9 purifying plant that uses groundwater. When an electronic chip card or coin is inserted into
10
11 the vending machine it gives a stream of purified drinking water. The vending machines are
12
13
either fitted with small-scale purification devices using the technology of reverse-osmosis or
14 are regularly filled with water from purification units where more sophisticated technologies
15
16 such as UV-filtration or silver ionization is used. The vending machines are usually
17
18 monitored on a 24x7 basis by means of cloud-based systems which detect the quality of water
19
20 being processed and monitor the functioning of the device.
21
22 Most of the water ATMs have a provision of accepting currency coins issued by the
23
24 Government of India. However in places where vending units are set up along with
25
26 purification plants, exclusive usage of prepaid RFID cards (radio frequency identification
27
28 Device) has become a norm. There are no limitations on the number of cards a family (or an
29
30
individual) can have and there is no upper limit to the quantity of water taken out at a time.
31 The cards can be bought and can be topped up with additional money by the ATM managers
32
33 the at the vending unit sites. The credit information of the card can be seen on the ATM
34
35 screens when swiped.
36
37
38 3.1.3 Cost and revenue
39
40 It is estimated that the water ATMs in Delhi are managing to cover operating costs and are
41
42
also generating some additional revenue. While the monthly operating costs were usually
43 around INR 30,000 (USD 404.28), the average revenues were found to be around INR 54,000
44
45 (USD 727.70). Since the water ATMs are private ventures run for profit, it is believed that
46
47 without sufficient demand they will lose their financial viability and will not be sustainable in
48
49 the long run. It is observed that in spite of higher number of registered members, the actual
50
51 amount of water sold through the ATMs was much less3 generating much less revenue than
52 was expected.
53
54
55
56
57
58
3
59 The number of registered users does not correctly give an idea of the water ATM coverage, as registration does
60 not ensure its active use.
61
62 5
63
64
65
 Table 2 Monthly operating costs of water ATMs
1 Dwarka Ph 3 Savda
2 Holambi Kalan Mahavir Enclave
Matiyala Ghevra
3 (Sarvajal) (Sulabh)
4 (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal)
5 Cost Heads INR USD INR USD INR USD INR USD
6 113.2 8,40 113.2
7 Salary 9,000 121.28 8,400 6,000
0 0 0
8 operator
9 (19%) (25%) (18%) (17%)
10 128.0 9,50 128.0
11 Salary 8,000 107.81 9,500
2 0 2 n/a
12 driver
13
(17%) (28%) (21%)
14 Salary 6,00
6,000 80.86 3,000 40.43 80.86
15 delivery 0 n/a
16 man (13%) (9%) (13%)
17
18 15,0 202.1
Electricity 20,000 269.52 8,700 7,000 94.33
19 00 4
20 bill
(42%) (26%) (33%) (20%)
21
22 0 0 0 0 0 0 20,000 269.52
Raw water
23 (0%) (0%) (0%) (57%)
24 7,00
25 5,000 67.38 4,000 53.90 94.33 2,000 26.95
Other costs 0
26
27 (10%) (12%) (15%) (6%)
28 452.7 45,9 618.5
29 48,000 646.85 33,600 35,000 471.66
Total 9 00 5
30
31
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
32 Note: Drivers take water from water treatment plants to water ATMs for refilling. Other costs
33 include Cost of membrane replacement, plant and vehicle maintenance.
34 Figures in brackets denote the percentages of the cost incurred on each head to the total cost.
35
36
Source: USAID & SWN (2016). Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: City of New Delhi,
37 Report prepared by USAID and SWN.
38
39
40 The monthly average costs and revenues of the water ATMs installed in the four resettlement
41
42
colonies of Delhi are analysed in tables 2 and 3. The water tariffs on an average typically
43 varied from 15 to 37 paisa (USD 0.0022 to 0.005) per litre depending on the distance between
44
45 the water ATMS and the water treatment plants since added cost was incurred to transported
46
47 water to the ATMs. A major portion of the operating cost (ranging from 49% to 62%) goes
48
49 on the salary of the staffs running the kiosks followed by the electricity charges (20% to
50
51 42%) used to purify the water and run the electronic monitor. Interestingly, unlike other
52
vending sites where the groundwater is filtered by RO process in the purification plants, in
53
54 Mahavir Enclave, the raw water is bought from private tankers at INR 800 to 1,000 (USD
55
56 10.78 – 13.48) per tanker holding 5,000 litres of water. buying of water adds a significant
57
58 share of their operating costs.
59
60
61
62 6
63
64
65
 Table – 3 Monthly revenue collections of the water ATMs
1 Holambi Dwarka Ph 3 Savda Mahavir
2
3
Kalan Matiyala Ghevra Enclave
4 Revenue Heads (INR) (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sulabh)
5 Volumes sold at kiosk (litres) 2,000 800 1,000 2,500
6 Volumes sold at remote ATMs
7
8
(litres) 4,000 2,400 3,500 0
9 Volumes sold by home delivery
10 (litres) 30 20 50 0
11 Revenue at kiosk ATM 12,000 4,800 6,000 1,250
12
13
(INR/month) (161.71) (64.68) (80.86) (16.84)
14 Revenue at remote ATMs 44,400 26,640 38,850
15 (INR/month) ( 598.38) (359) (523.54) 0
16 Revenue through home delivery 13,500 9,000 22,500
17 (INR/month) (181.93) (121.28) (303.21) 0
18
19 69,900 40,440 67,350 37,500
20 Total (941.97) (544.97) (907.61) (505.35)
21 Source: USAID & SWN (2016). Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: City of New Delhi,
22 Report prepared by USAID and SWN.
23
24 Note: Figures in brackets show (USD/month)
*
25 Tariff of water per litre: at kiosks - 20p (0.27 cents), at remote ATMs - 37p (0.50 cents),
26 home delivered - 75p (1 cent)
27
28 3.2 Matiyala
29
30 3.2.1 Water ATMs
31
32
There are five water ATMs in Matiyala village in Dwarka, Sector 3 where the primary survey
33
34 was undertaken. According to an ATM operator, these five water ATMs on an average sell
35
36 7000 litres of drinking water daily catering to 2000 to 3000 households. Water is purified
37
38 with reverse osmosis method in the purification plant and then is transferred to the ATM
39
40 tanks directly by a pipe or is transported by tankers. The water is mandatorily sold by
41
42 registered RFID cards typically called as the ‘Pani Cards4’ which are attached with a mobile
43 number and can be purchased with a non-refundable deposit of INR 50 (USD 0.68). It can be
44
45 recharged with a minimum amount of INR.100 (USD 1.36) at the water vending site or in
46
47 special cases ATM managers would go to the customers place to recharge. People have to
48
49 bring their own containers to fill water.
50
51 A customer could fetch up to a maximum of 20 litres of water at one swipe. The cost of 20
52
53 litres of water varied from INR 4 to 7.50 (USD 0.054 to 0.10) depending on the distance of
54
55 the water vending machine from the water purifying plant. The additional cost incurred for
56
57
58
59
60 4
Pani means water in Hindi. Pani card literally means ‘water card’.
61
62 7
63
64
65
 transporting water5 through tankers makes a difference of INR 3.50 (USD 0.048) per 20
1
2 litres.
3
4
5
3.2.2 Awareness of Water ATMs
6
Though all the residents who were surveyed knew about the water ATMs, only half of them
7
8 were aware of its management. The water ATMs were mostly managed by the local youths
9
10 hired by Sarvajal, many of whom were students working on a part time basis. It is interesting
11
12 to know that around 39% residents thought it was run by the government or the public utility
13
14 and none of the ATM users knew that it was a private for profit venture. Since for the first
15
16 time, water is being provided by private firms even the users are unaware of it and for them it
17 is like a ‘public paid standpipe’.
18
19
20 3.2.3 Coverage of Water ATMs
21
22 In Matiyala village, around 64% residents surveyed bought water from the water ATMs most
23
24 of whose houses were located near the ATM sites. Most of them bought water because they
25
26 liked its taste as compared to the taste of free water supplied by the taps connected to the
27
28
utility network or from the bore-wells. Water was especially bought when the relatives were
29 visiting or when family members were sick. Some also claimed that since municipality piped
30
31 water was not safe to drink; they bought purified water from the water ATMs.
32
33
34
There is a clear evidence of a higher usage of water ATMs linked to higher per capita
35 income. Among the residents who bought water from the water ATMs, more than half
36
37 belonged to the upper class. Only 6.8% from poor households reported to be buying water.
38
39 However the water ATMs were the most preferred form of vended water as it was not only
40
41 cheaper per unit litre; customers had an option of buying in lesser quantities as and when
42
43 required. In cases of bottled water, they needed to buy in bulk (at least 20 litres bubble top
44
45
bottles) to get at get a cheaper per unit cost in addition to security deposits to the vendors. It
46 was, thus, a much more cheaper and flexible option and helped in contingencies such as no
47
48 supply from the mains, poor quality water supply and illness of children or elderly in the
49
50 family.
51
52 Even with these benefits, none of the residents used water ATMs as their primary source of
53
54 drinking water. They mostly depended on municipality tap water for drinking purposes which
55
56 was available within their premises and free of cost where monthly household consumption
57
58
59
5
60 Transport cost includes salary of the driver, fuel and operational and maintenance charge of the vehicle.
61
62 8
63
64
65
 was less than 20,000 litres. Moreover, after the installation of a water treatment plant in
1
2 Dwarka, the utility water service provision has significantly improved with a daily 3 to 4
3
4 hours of piped water supply becoming a norm (earlier it was 1 to 2 hours). Residents believed
5
that the quality and taste of water presently being supplied by the utility have also improved
6
7 reducing their dependence on paid water.
8
9
10 So water ATMs were mostly used as a secondary source of water when there was no supply
11
12
in the other free sources such as water tankers, community taps or in-house municipality taps.
13 The common chorus among the residents was “If water supply is there at home free of cost,
14
15 then there is no need to buy water unless it is a situation of absolute scarcity”. It was evident
16
17 that for most poor residents, quality considerations did not matter when they have to pay per-
18
19 use water kiosks.
20
21 Besides issues of low demand, water sale was also low due to its unreliable supply. While
22
23 around 57% of the respondents said the ATMs were open 24 by 7, 32% claimed that the
24
25 water supply was erratic and around 5.4% said it was open only when the ATM tanks had
26
27 water. Many times the ATMs that were not directly connected to the purification plants
28
remained empty because of irregularity in filling of the ATM tanks. Residents complained
29
30 that there was no surety that they would get water even after walking to the ATM site.
31
32 Residents remarked, “Though the ATMs claim to have all time water, it is absolutely
33
34 unreliable in supply. There will be no water when it is most needed”; “Why will I pay money
35
36 for buying water when there is no surety of the water supply”; “Even the water ATMs are
37
38 unreliable just like the tap water”.
39
40 Several residents complained that sometimes the persons entrusted with re-filling credit in the
41
42 pani cards were not available and multiple visits had to be made to recharge the cards.
43
44 Although technically water could be take out from an unmanned water ATM, in reality it was
45 not so because card recharging was still left to the ATM managers. In official records,
46
47 Sarvajal claims to have a dedicated salaried employee per water ATM. In contrary to this,
48
49 many residents complained of managerial issues and that there was no dedicated manager
50
51 who could look after the multiple grievances of the customers. Many residents also did not
52
53 use water ATMs as it was far from their house and carrying water was a difficult task.
54
55 Moreover, several residents complained of long queues particularly in the mornings. They
56 preferred to use either bore-wells or utility taps which were both available within their
57
58 premises or nearby. A few residents also had water filters fitted with their taps to purify
59
60 utility supplied water and some preferred boiling to disinfect.
61
62 9
63
64
65
 3.2.4 Price and Costs
1
2 It is interesting to note that among the residents who bought water from the ATMs only 2%
3
4 knew about the correct price of water. A large number of people interviewed (42%) thought
5
6 the price was INR 7 (USD 0.095) per 20 litres while it was INR 7.50 (USD 0.10). On closer
7 observation I noticed that men were mostly responsible for recharging the cards while women
8
9 were fetching water by swiping the cards. So, most of the women respondents did not seem to
10
11 have a clear idea about the price of water. Another reason could be because people bought
12
13 water with the pani card where money was automatically deducted from the cards, most of
14
15 the users could not say with precision how much they were getting charged for a litre of
16
17
water and only knew the approximate cost.
18
19 Table 4 Amount of water bought from water ATMs in the Matiyala village
20 Percentage Monthly expenditure (INR)
21 Water bought from
of ATMs near the ATMs in remote locations
22 water ATM
23 households purification plant
24 Can’t say exact amount 8.47%
25
26 As and when i need 13.56%
27 5 To 7 L per day 6.78% 30 to 42 (0.40 to 0.57) 56.25 to 78.75 (0.76 to 1.06)
28
29 6 to 8 l per day 5.08% 36 to 48 (0.49 to 0.65) 67.5 to 90 (0.91 to 1.21)
30 90 to 112.5 (1.21 to 1.52)
31
8 to 10 l per day 11.86% 48 to 60 (0.65 to 0.81)
32 10 to 15 l per day 11.86% 60 to 90 (0.81 to 1.21) 112.5 to 168.75 (1.52 to 2.27)
33
34 More than 20 l per day 42.37% More than 120 (> 1.62) More than 225 (> 3.03)
35 Total 100%
36
37 Note: The water prices varied from INR 4 (USD 0.054) per 20 litres in the ATMs near the
38 purification plant and Rs.7.50 in the remote locations of the resettlement colony.
39 Figures in brackets give values in USD
40 Source: Questionnaire surveys in various slums of Delhi, 2017 -18
41
42 Around 42% people surveyed on an average bought more than 20 litres of water every day
43
44 (Table 4) spending around INR 120 to 225 (USD 1.80 to 3.40) on a monthly basis. A
45
46 significant majority of households in Matiyala village did not complain about the cost they
47
48 had to incur in accessing drinking water from the ATMs as it was cheaper than the bottled
49
50
water and many users have got used to its taste6. However many respondents felt the pani
51 cards were costly as they had to pay at least INR 100 (USD 1.36) to recharge in addition to a
52
53 non-refundable deposit of INR 50 (USD 0.68). So the poor people especially the daily wage
54
55 labourers did not want to invest on a pani card and pay for any water. They preferred the free
56
57 water from the common standpipes or from the bore wells.
58
59
60 6
A lower TDS in the water dispensed through the water ATMs changes the taste of the water completely.
61
62 10
63
64
65
 4 Discussion
1
2 In the backdrop of municipalities’ inability to provide with safe drinking water, there is a
3
4 booming demand of the water business especially of bottled water. Since water ATMs
5
6 provide a cheaper option for purified drinking water and also do not entail use of plastic
7 containers, it can be lauded for a potential option for safe drinking water. However in India it
8
9 is operating in a public-private partnership conceived as a new water technology that can
10
11 provide safe and affordable water to the poor along with cost recouping for self-sustenance.
12
13 Thus the smaller business firms engaged in the business of water vending machines are now
14
15 eager to collaborate with local bodies to set up water ATMs in areas where there is
16
17
inadequate access to water. Dey (2017) in her study opines that opening up of water ATMs
18 with franchise with small business firms could promote local stewardship creating of new
19
20 jobs.
21
22
23
From the users’ side, the water ATMs seem to have been welcomed with mixed reactions.
24 The main challenges sighted for fetching water were irregularity by the service provider in
25
26 filling ATM tanks through tankers, unfavourable distance from home, long queues, difficulty
27
28 in carrying large quantities of water and trouble in recharging RFID cards due to non-
29
30 availability of ATM managers. Since RFID recharge is available through registered mobile
31
32 numbers, women who are generally responsible for fetching water face difficulties in
33
34
recharging the cards on their own due to their technological illiteracy or their inaccessibility
35 to personal cell phones. Even though ATM water tariffs were nominal, per-unit charges were
36
37 much higher compared to utility piped water supply which offered free water usage to a limit
38
39 of 20,000 litres.
40
41
42 Unlike other social sector investments like health and education, investments in the water
43
44 sector is often perceived, by private investors, as a high risk sector with low returns and as a
45
46
risk reduction strategy, most of the private companies restrict investments to management or
47 operation services that carry low risks (UN DESA 2004). It is believed that this model could
48
49 be replicated for wider customer base with some initial investment without any significant
50
51 financial burden on the exchequer. The cost of the decentralized water purification plant is
52
53 around INR 4-10 lakhs (USD 5390 -13476). So with a government loan available at zero
54
55 interest rate and a repayment period of three to five years, though this may seem to be a
56
57
viable investment venture for private players, but considering the current state of revenue
58 generation from the sample plants it does not look like a profitable option. Market survey by
59
60 USAID & SWN (2016) estimated that in order to interest private entrepreneurs, the minimum
61
62 11
63
64
65
 revenue generated per month should be at least three times the monthly repayment, which is
1
2 not possible even if the plants work at 100% capacity utilization. It is a fact that low private
3
4 capital investment in water infrastructure is due to poor returns on investment and water
5
ATMs at present do not show high demands. Water services infrastructure requires large
6
7 capital outlay and has longer payback periods (Bakker 2010) and with profit motive and short
8
9 term gain in mind, private investments in water supply infrastructure do not seem to be a
10
11 viable option, especially in low-income areas.
12
13
14 However it is important to point out that since the pilot project for ATM installation was
15
16 carried out in resettlement colonies, it could not attract adequate demand (for profit
17
18
generation) since there is piped water supply within premises along with standpipes and
19 sufficient tanker water supply. Some key informants from the public utility also opined that
20
21 the current government has laid emphasis on better water provision in the resettlement
22
23 colonies, further reducing the water ATM demands. Water subsidies given by the government
24
25 makes piped water free or extremely low in tariffs which is also a deterrent on willingness to
26
27 pay for water from these kiosks even when they are clean and safe. So they believe, with
28
slow or no return on investment, gradually the availability of capital for this sector is likely to
29
30 be dimmer. Another significant challenge from the investors’ side is the difficulty in
31
32 obtaining access to land, which has been widely reported as a bottleneck for Sarvajal in
33
34 commissioning kiosks in Delhi. While DJB was willing to provide a water connection and
35
36 letters of recommendation for land and electricity connection, it took over 18 months for
37
38 Sarvajal to get approval for land from Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).
39
40 Since water has traditionally been a free good (it is still free for standpipe users), citizens do
41
42 not have the culture of paying for water or its services. Paying for an essential daily good like
43
44 water can be particularly challenging for poor and marginalised communities. Poor people by
45 virtue of their geographical location are also in many cases not covered under the municipal
46
47 piped network and hence hardly have access to safe drinking water and suffer most from
48
49 water-borne diseases. Additionally, buying water may take up a major share of their meagre
50
51 income.
52
53 Even though water ATMs are advertised as environment friendly systems, most purification
54
55 units catering to water ATMs typically dispose the waste water either via open drains or is
56
57 pumped back into aquifers. Since the efficiency of such systems is usually very low 7, a lot of
58
59
7
60 Only 50 to 65% of the water is extracted after purification for use, rest goes as a waste.
61
62 12
63
64
65
 water is wasted. If this water is used to recharge the groundwater, it further contaminates the
1
2 groundwater because of excessive TDS in it (Paliwal 2013). Moreover if water ATMs are
3
4 using groundwater, it may lead to decline in water table especially in areas where the water
5
table is already alarmingly low. Water table in South-west district of Delhi falls under the
6
7 dark zone where Matiyala village is located and comes under regulation of Central
8
9 Groundwater Board (CGWB) for regulated (or not) withdrawing of groundwater8. Moreover,
10
11 the water ATMs not only commodity water, it uses groundwater for profit by the corporates
12
13 which is a common property resource. Groundwater depletion may also give rise to negative
14
15 externalities to other users of the same resource.
16
17 While water ATMs are laudable interventions for providing safe drinking water at cheaper
18
19 rates ensuring wider reach to citizens even who are not covered under municipality piped
20
21 network, it is still at a very nascent stage. Proponents of water ATMs argue that since Urban
22
Small Water Enterprises (USWEs) are not highlighted in Indian water policy, there are
23
24 challenges in promoting them as a solution for access to safe drinking water in India.
25
26 According to them, the water ATMs were designed to be complementary and affordable
27
28 potable water sources to municipal piped supply but they could be compromised by
29
30 ambitious piped water plans.
31
32 USWEs could become an important part of the solution to address insufficient potable water
33
34 supply in Delhi slums where there is still a gap in water provision particularly where there is
35
36 no municipality in-house connections not because of utility’s capacity to expand network but
37
38 because of legal provisions. Since piped water system entails cost and are more permanent in
39 nature, they are not built where land is under dispute of has no clear ownership rights. Since
40
41 at present the water ATMs are established at resettlement colonies which are formalised by
42
43 public interventions with individual utility piped connections within premises, it seems to be
44
45 competing with the municipality water supply. So these ATMs could be more beneficial in
46
47 slums where people entirely depend on shared community standpipes and there is no
48
49
provision for continuous water supply. To make USWEs successful and reach their potential
50 demand, playing a complementary role to piped water and providing treated, reliable and
51
52 affordable water to underserved slum populations, they must be supported by an enabling
53
54 environment with favourable policy.
55
56 Nevertheless, if water ATMs are replicated in large numbers, regulatory mechanisms should
57
58
8
59 Notified areas for groundwater regulations announced by CGWB. Available at:
60 http://cgwb.gov.in/CGWA/List-Notified-Areas.html
61
62 13
63
64
65
 be put in place to monitor their establishment and regular functioning so that negative
1
2 externalities are kept under check. Besides environmental externality, quality of the water
3
4 needs to be regularly supervised and subsidies like free land or water provided by local
5
bodies need to reach the poorest instead of being siphoned off by the middle men. It is seen
6
7 that wherever local bodies have partnered with private entities to establish such kiosks (in
8
9 Bengaluru and Delhi), the land and water is provided free of cost stating an aim to benefit the
10
11 poorest. Since there are no legal or regulatory frameworks in which water ATMs are
12
13 operating at present, they are also prone to being (mis)used by other water vendors who can
14
15 buy water from the ATMs at a cheaper rate and resell this water at a higher price. It is
16 common to see water kiosks selling water to middle-men or to other business ventures instead
17
18 of exclusively serving the target population (Deepika 2016).
19
20
21 5. Conclusion
22
23 Water ATMs in India is definitely an innovative way to serve safe and reliable water to the
24
25 urban poor with the help of “smart solutions”. With gradual increase in water ATM coverage,
26
27 more people can have access to safe drinking water and pay per use system can keep its
28
operation and maintenance viable. However, the way in which water ATMs are being
29
30 conceptualised raises some basic ethical concerns. The ATMs have been initiated by treating
31
32 citizens as customers who are most often poor and in most cases by virtue of not being
33
34 covered under piped municipal network are also outside the ambit of government subsidy
35
36 enjoyed by the citizens accessing municipal water supply. So when a major share of subsidy
37
38 is being directed to the piped water households it is unfair to charge the poor for a basic
39 minimum necessity like safe water. Water ATMs poses a doubt whether the state is relegating
40
41 its duties and empowering private entities to make profit with a common property resource
42
43 that too by making citizens pay who are most marginalised and vulnerable. For ensuring the
44
45 basic rights to water to all citizens, states should not shy away from its duty to provide
46
47 universal access to water to all its citizens equally. Water ATMs can be a temporary solution
48
49
to provide safe water to unserved population but it cannot be seen as a permanent solution to
50 serving safe water to the unserved excluded citizens. In that case the state will be colluding
51
52 with corporates to profit from public resources under the garb of social entrepreneurship. So,
53
54 water ATMs can be seen as a complimentary source of safe water but not as an alternative
55
56 option of universal coverage of piped network.
57
58 Acknowledgement - This paper has been prepared from the project “Water insecurity among
59 urban poor” funded by the University Grants Commission, India, under the Research award
60
61
62 14
63
64
65
 Programme, 2016 -19.
1
2 References
3
4 Bakker, K (2010) Privatizing water: governance failure and the world's urban water crisis.
5 Cornell University Press, Cornell.
6
7 Connors, G. (2005) When utilities muddle through: Pro-poor governance in Bangalore’s
8 public water sector. Environment and Urbanization, 17: 201-217.
9
10 Cullet, P (2016) Why Delhi must think beyond water ATMs?. The Statesman.
11 https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/why-delhi-must-think-beyond-water-atms-
12 152192.html/news/4/7/16/1. Accessed 23 April 2017.
13
14 Deepika, K. C. (2016) Whose ‘water ATM’ is it anyway?. Hindu. May 16.
15 http://www.thehindu.com/news/bangalore/whose-water-atm-is-it-
16
17 anyway/article8605175.ece./news/16/5/2016. Accessed 23 April 2017.
18 Dey Sarkar, Uma (2017) Water ATMs a boon or bane? Geography and You. 101: 56-58.
19
20 Khurana, I., and Sen. R. (2007) Drinking water quality in rural India: issues and approaches.
21 WaterAid, New Delhi.
22
23 http://www.corecentre.co.in/Database/Docs/DocFiles/drinking_water .pdf. Accessed
24 23 April 2017.
25
26
Leipziger, D. & Foster, V. (2003) Is privatization good for the poor?. International Finance
27 Corporation: Washington, DC. Available at: http://www.ifc.
28 org/publications/pubs/impact/issue2/dl-vf/dl-vf.Html.
29
30 Paliwal, A. (2013) An ATM for clean water. Business Standard. Available at:
31 http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/an-atm-for-cleanwater-
32 113010200091_1.html./news/2/1/13. Accessed 23 April 2017.
33
34 Raghupati, U. P. & Foster V. (2002) Water: A scorecard for India. Water Tariffs and
35 Subsidies in South Asia Paper 2, Water and Sanitation Program: South Asia.
36
37 Satapathy, B. K. (2014) Safe drinking water in slums: From water coverage to water quality.
38 Economic and Political Weekly. 49 (24): 50-55.
39
40 UN DESA (2004) OECD global forum on sustainable development: Financing water and
41 environmental infrastructure for all. Background Paper 6.
42 www.oecd.org/document/36/0,2340. Accessed 11 November 2017.
43
44 USAID & SWN (2016) Drinking water supply for urban poor: City of New Delhi, Report
45 prepared by USAID and SWN.
46
https://www.safewaternetwork.org/sites/default/files/2016_India_Urban_Sector_Revie
47
48 w.pdf. Accessed 11 November 2017.
49 Zérah, M., H. (2000) Water: Unreliable Supply in Delhi. Centre de Sciences Humaines,
50
51 Manohar Publishers, Delhi.
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62 15
63
64
65
Table Click here to access/download;Table;tables.docx

Table – I General details of water ATMs in Delhi

Holambi Dwarka Ph- Savda Mahavir
Kalan 3 Matiyala Ghevra Enclave
General Details (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sulabh)
Number of HHs in the locality 12,000 1,200 7,000 n/a 7
Number of RFID cards issued 2,000 300 1,300 No RFID
Quantity of treated water per day 7,000 4,200 5,700 2,500
Number of water ATMs 4 6 9 1
Number of employees at the
3 3 3 1
plant
Source: USAID & SWN (2016). Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: City of New Delhi,
Report prepared by USAID and SWN.

Table – II Monthly operating costs of water ATMs

Dwarka Ph 3 Savda
Holambi Kalan Mahavir Enclave
Matiyala Ghevra
(Sarvajal) (Sulabh)
(Sarvajal) (Sarvajal)
Cost Heads INR USD INR USD INR USD INR USD
113.2 8,40 113.2
Salary 9,000 121.28 8,400 6,000
0 0 0
operator
(19%) (25%) (18%) (17%)
128.0 9,50 128.0
Salary 8,000 107.81 9,500
2 0 2 n/a
driver
(17%) (28%) (21%)
Salary 6,00
6,000 80.86 3,000 40.43 80.86
delivery 0 n/a
man (13%) (9%) (13%)
15,0 202.1
Electricity 20,000 269.52 8,700 7,000 94.33
00 4
bill
(42%) (26%) (33%) (20%)
0 0 0 0 0 0 20,000 269.52
Raw water
(0%) (0%) (0%) (57%)
7,00
5,000 67.38 4,000 53.90 94.33 2,000 26.95
Other costs 0
(10%) (12%) (15%) (6%)
452.7 45,9 618.5
48,000 646.85 33,600 35,000 471.66
Total 9 00 5
(100%) (100%) (100%) (100%)
Note: Drivers take water from water treatment plants to water ATMs for refilling. Other costs
include Cost of membrane replacement, plant and vehicle maintenance.
Figures in brackets denote the percentages of the cost incurred on each head to the total cost.
Source: USAID & SWN (2016). Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: City of New Delhi,
Report prepared by USAID and SWN.
 Table – III Monthly revenue collections of the water ATMs
Holambi Dwarka Ph 3 Savda Mahavir
Kalan Matiyala Ghevra Enclave
Revenue Heads (INR) (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sarvajal) (Sulabh)
Volumes sold at kiosk (litres) 2,000 800 1,000 2,500
Volumes sold at remote ATMs
(litres) 4,000 2,400 3,500 0
Volumes sold by home delivery
(litres) 30 20 50 0
Revenue at kiosk ATM 12,000 4,800 6,000 1,250
(INR/month) (161.71) (64.68) (80.86) (16.84)
Revenue at remote ATMs 44,400 26,640 38,850
(INR/month) ( 598.38) (359) (523.54) 0
Revenue through home delivery 13,500 9,000 22,500
(INR/month) (181.93) (121.28) (303.21) 0
69,900 40,440 67,350 37,500
Total (941.97) (544.97) (907.61) (505.35)
Source: USAID & SWN (2016). Drinking Water Supply for Urban Poor: City of New Delhi,
Report prepared by USAID and SWN.
Note: Figures in brackets show (USD/month)
*
Tariff of water per litre: at kiosks - 20p (0.27 cents), at remote ATMs - 37p (0.50 cents),
home delivered - 75p (1 cent)

Table – IV Amount of water bought from water ATMs in the Matiyala village
Percentage Monthly expenditure (INR)
Water bought from
of ATMs near the ATMs in remote locations
water ATM
households purification plant
Can’t say exact amount 8.47%
As and when i need 13.56%
5 To 7 L per day 6.78% 30 to 42 (0.40 to 0.57) 56.25 to 78.75 (0.76 to 1.06)
6 to 8 l per day 5.08% 36 to 48 (0.49 to 0.65) 67.5 to 90 (0.91 to 1.21)
8 to 10 l per day 11.86% 48 to 60 (0.65 to 0.81) 90 to 112.5 (1.21 to 1.52)
10 to 15 l per day 11.86% 60 to 90 (0.81 to 1.21) 112.5 to 168.75 (1.52 to 2.27)
More than 20 l per day 42.37% More than 120 (> 1.62) More than 225 (> 3.03)
Total 100%
Note: The water prices varied from INR 4 (USD 0.054) per 20 litres in the ATMs near the
purification plant and Rs.7.50 in the remote locations of the resettlement colony.
Figures in brackets give values in USD
Source: Questionnaire surveys in various slums of Delhi, 2017 -18

View publication stats