O&M cost of a private connection in a new piped water scheme ranges from Rs 12 (US$0.3) per month per household in Uttar Pradesh to Rs 34 (US$0.8) per month per household in Maharashtra and Rs 38 per month in West Bengal. These figures fall short of the actual cost, which is likely to be in the range of Rs 40–50 (US$0.9–1.1) per month per household (or higher in some cases).56 The average sum that handpump users are willing to pay per month as the O&M cost of using a standpost ranges from Rs 6 (US$0.14) per month in Kerala and Rs 7 (US$0.16) per month in Uttar Pradesh to Rs 23 (US$0.5) in Maharashtra.
The estimates of willingness to pay among handpump users in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal clearly indicate that these households are keen to have piped water supply. The amount that households are willing to pay is, however, not adequate to fully cover the O&M cost. The demand for piped water supply among current handpump users exists in
Kerala, Orissa, and Punjab also. However, 56 This assessment is based on the cost norms.
NA: not available. *: includes payment for the cost of a community filter for fluoride. Pvt conn: private connection.
Source: Household survey data.
Option AP KAR KER MAH ORSS PUN TN UP UTTK WB Weighted average Better Mean WTP maintenance (Rs/month) 7* 6 8 7 5 11* 5 5 NA 7 6 of existing handpumps Maintenance of Mean WTP
a new handpump (Rs/month) 9* 7 9 9 8 NA 8 6 6 9 8
Pvt conn of a new Mean WTP
piped water (Rs/month) 26 20 30 34 NA 44 30 12 19 38 21
scheme: O&M
Pvt conn of a Mean WTP
new piped water (Rs) 834 1,020 970 860 NA 1,004 1,040 NA NA 920 983 scheme:
Capital cost
Standposts of a Mean WTP
new piped water (Rs/month) 13 12 6 23 15 NA 21 7 9 19 13
scheme: O&M
Standposts of a Mean WTP
new piped (Rs) 716 941 294 700 476 NA 805 NA NA 729 689
water scheme: Capital cost
households in Kerala and Punjab appear to be more interested in private connections rather than standposts.
98
State Better maintenance Better maintenance Better maintenance Better maintenance of handpumps of existing public of existing public of existing public
handpump plus more handpump plus handpump plus and regular hours of household filter community filter
supply from piped for fluoride for fluoride water scheme
Mean WTP Mean WTP Mean WTP Mean WTP (Rs/month) (Rs/month) (Rs/month) (Rs/month)
Andhra 6 7 10 7
Pradesh
Maharashtra 7 10 9
Punjab 25 11
Tamil Nadu 5 11 15 10
As mentioned earlier, in several fluoride-affected states handpump users were offered options of getting fluoride-free water for assessing their willingness to pay for such measures. As can be seen from Table 7.3, households are willing to pay a higher sum for the O&M if the handpump scheme is supplemented by a well-performing piped water scheme in the neighborhood, or if community-level filters are installed to address the problem of fluoride.
In Tamil Nadu, for instance, households would pay Rs 5 extra per month for having a
community fluoride filter and about Rs 10 extra per month for a household filter (their mean WTP increases from Rs 5 per month to Rs 10 per month for a community filter and further to Rs 15 for a household filter). The option of a household filter did not find much acceptance among households in Maharashtra, but was acceptable to many handpump users in Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Tamil Nadu, as reflected in their stated willingness to pay. Indeed, in these three states, the willingness to pay is highest for this option. The difference is particularly marked in the case of Punjab. The rural households are willing to pay Rs 25 per month towards the O&M if the handpump is better maintained and a household filter for fluoride is provided and maintained through annual maintenance contracts. This is in contrast to a payment of Rs 11 per month, which they are ready to make if the
scheme is supplemented by a well-performing piped water scheme in the neighborhood, or if community-level filters are installed to address the problem of arsenic/fluoride. The willingness to pay is substantially higher if the handpump scheme is supplemented by household filters for arsenic/fluoride. In arsenic-affected districts, the households currently using handpumps are willing to pay Rs 8 per month on an average for better maintenance of the existing handpump or a new handpump; they would pay Rs 20 per month if the handpump scheme is well
maintained and is supplemented with household arsenic filters. In fluoride-affected areas, a similar increase in willingness to pay is observed for supplementing the handpump scheme with household fluoride filters.
It is interesting to note that in arsenic-affected areas, households place a greater value on the availability of piped water supply in the neighborhood (from where they could collect maintenance of the handpump improves and a community fluoride filter is installed.
Table 7.4 shows the willingness to pay of
handpump users in West Bengal for measures to address the arsenic problem (Burdwan, Malda, Murshidabad, and South 24 Parganas districts) and fluoride (Birbhum district). The households in arsenic/fluoride-affected area are willing to pay a higher sum for the O&M if the handpump
Table 7.3 Willingness to Pay of Handpump Users for Measures to Address the Problem of Fluoride in Affected States (O&M Cost, Rs/Month)
Source: Household survey data.
Note: In Punjab, the respondents indicated their willingness to pay only for the fluoride filter options. In Maharashtra, on the other hand, there were very few