The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) offered water-tap connections on demand and covered all households. This was intended to make Vijayawada the first city in the country to have universal access to treated-water supply. VMC adopted a mission mode to provide all households with water supply. Existing water connection charges were reduced, and procedures streamlined.




Prior to the initiative (April 2007), only 66,209 out of 1,60,663 households in Vijayawada were connected to the water-supply network. People depended on PSPs, irrigation canals, borewells and open wells. To make Vijayawada the first city in the country with universal access to treated piped water supply, the VMC, as part of its silver jubilee celebrations, decided to offer water connections in mission mode at subsidized rates by streamlining the procedures.
The studies indicated that the existing network, which covered 60% of the streets, was substantial. With additional small investments, and through interconnections, re-organisation of existing supply zones and laying networks in a few areas, it was possible to cover another 15-20% of the streets.

The huge connection cost is now widely acknowledged as being the single biggest deterrent to increasing coverage among the poor. The rigid definition of BPL was limiting. To encourage coverage among poor, VMC decided to offer connections at Rs. 2,500 to households with a Rs. 175-300 property tax limit, and further gave a 25% discount on the same. A database of areas with networks with potential for new connections, and those without network but sufficient water-availability, was prepared. Camp and tap melas were organized in all areas. Connections were sanctioned across the counter after verification of documents, and connection charges were also collected. Additional labour was hired to avoid delays in connections, and the entire campaign was monitored on a daily basis by a dedicated cell.

Software was designed to monitor both sanctioning and physical commissioning of connections online. The aforementioned scheme was implemented from June '06 to January '07. Based on the response and demand, it was initiated again in December '08 to January '09.
With minimal investment, VMC was able to make a more efficient use of its existing distribution network. Connections were delivered on demand at the doorstep of customers. Connection charges were collected at the camp itself, thereby eliminating the need to visit e-sevas/cash counters for payments. Connections were given within 48 hours of the payment. Even though the discount for new connections is taken out, the demand for new connections continued to rise. Marginal cost of a new connection was zero, while the marginal returns were high. The council of VMC unanimously approved the initiative.

Category	Property Tax (Rs.)	Existing Charges (Rs.)	Revised Charges (Rs.)
BPL	Upto 175	1,225	925
BPL	175-300	2,525	1,250
General	Above 300	5,525	4,150

As a result of the initiative, VMC allotted 5,705 connections in the BPL category (increase of 31%) and 2,702 connections in the General category (increase of 6%) during April '07 to February '09. It helped reduced dependence on underground water and public taps. There was also a considerable increase in the revenue stream for VMC, from the new-connection charges and monthly charges. For further details, contact:

Mr. Pradyuman, IAS
Commissioner,
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation
Jawaharlal Nehru Building, Municipal Corporation, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh - 520 001
Ph: 0866-2421058
Fax:0866 -2423022