Crisis at the Delhi Jal Board

Abstract

This case study highlights some of the issues in restructuring public institutions in developing countries with active civil society organisations. New Delhi, the large and fast growing capital city of India, has had a water problem for years which is a result of not just water shortage but also inefficient water management. In 1998, the local Delhi authorities embarked on a project to reform the local water supply authority, the Delhi Jal Board and approached the World Bank for assistance. The World Bank granted an initial loan of $2.5 Million for hiring consultants to study the issues and submit recommendations. Based on the advice of the selected consultants, the Delhi authorities planned to introduce reforms in two of the 21 existing water districts as a pilot scheme with additional funding from the World Bank to part-finance the project. However, this ran into rough weather with environmentalists as well as anti-corruption citizen groups protesting against the ‘privatization’ of water amid allegations of irregularities in awarding the project to the selected consultants by the World Bank.