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Meera Mehta

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Meera Mehta is executive director of the Center for Water and Sanitation (C-WAS). She is a Professor Emeritus at CEPT University and has 40 years of experience in water, urban development and infrastructure finance. She joined CEPT in 1979 and was the Director of School for Planning at CEPT University, Ahmedabad in 1992, before joining the USAID's FIRE Project in India (1994-1999) and later the World Bank in India and its Water and Sanitation Program in Africa (2000-2006). She has also consulted for a large number of international agencies, national and local governments, and leading international NGOs. She studied Architecture at under-graduate level and city and regional planning at post-graduate level. She has a doctoral degree in economics.

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for Community-managed

The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership for improving water and sanitati... more

Urban drinking water security in Gujarat

Journal of Social and Economic Development

Gujarat has made important strides to ensure that most parts of the state become water secure. In... more Gujarat has made important strides to ensure that most parts of the state become water secure. In 2005, Gujarat was one of the few states that recognized that its urban areas were its ‘engines of growth’ and made significant investments in urban infrastructure. A state-wide water supply grid was constructed to transfer inter-basin water from perennial surface water sources to water-scarce areas. While these schemes have improved household-level access to municipal water supply, service levels have not improved. In this paper, we argue that along with infrastructure creation, there is a need to focus on monitoring, operation and maintenance of existing system and improving efficiency. We analyze information available from the performance assessment system (PAS) setup by the CEPT University for monitoring of urban services in India. It has annual information of water service delivery in all the urban areas of Gujarat from 2010. We assess urban drinking water supply on three key aspect...

II. Funding Sanitation Promotion to Meet Coverage Targets...................................................................... 3

The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership for improving water and sanitati... more

Water utilities in Africa : case studies of transformation and market access

It is widely acknowledged that achievement of the urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) millenn... more It is widely acknowledged that achievement of the urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) millennium development targets will require better access by utilities in Africa to finance, in particular from domestic financial markets. In many African countries, utility reform has focused on creating autonomous governance structures to improve service delivery to an expanding customer base. However, implementation of reforms has, to date, been uneven, constrained by the absence of appropriate incentives to reform, and hampered by limited access to capital investment funding. In some countries, for example, South Africa, Senegal, and Namibia, utilities have successfully sourced capital investment from domestic financial markets. Others, including utilities in Kenya, Uganda, and Tunisia, regularly access commercial finance for working capital or minor investments. The workshop focused on two financing challenges: to mobilize additional funding resources for development of the water sector; ...

Small Water Supply and Sanitation Service Providers Exploring the Microfinance Option in Sub-Saharan Africa

December 2003 Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based ... more December 2003 Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based organizations and private sector suppliers, are being acknowledged as important suppliers within the African water and sanitation sector. One of the important constraints faced by these providers is finance and access to credit. This paper discusses the development of the microfinance sector and services in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential demand for financial services by small water and sanitation service providers. The role of governments and development partners in facilitating the finance and credit for small providers is also discussed. P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation Through Scheduled Desludging Services: Emerging Experience From India

Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2019

The focus of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) was to build toilets to make India open ... more The focus of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) was to build toilets to make India open defecation free. While India has succeeded in achieving this goal, to move toward "safely managed sanitation" as per target 6.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to ensure that all fecal waste is safely collected and treated. The common practice for desludging of septic tanks is "demand-based desludging" rather than a regular service. Such practices have adverse social and environmental impacts. To overcome these shortcomings, scheduled desludging is advocated. This paper first reviews the need for regular desludging of septic tanks. It then outlines the emerging experience of design and implementation of scheduled desludging for inclusive, equitable, and sustainable sanitation to achieve social and environmental benefits in two Indian cities. In these cities, a performance-linked annuity payment framework is used to engage a private desludging enterprise. Payment is met through a sanitation tax and transfer from the general property taxes. It outlines the benefits of scheduled desludging in Indian cities and argues that it is critical to achieve improved sanitation.

How can reforming African water utilities tap local financial markets?

The paper draws on presentations and discussions from a Practitioners' Workshop held in Pretoria,... more The paper draws on presentations and discussions from a Practitioners' Workshop held in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2006 as well as six utility case studies and 14 utility questionnaires. The authors would like to thank a number of people who have provided feedback on the paper: Kameel Virjee of the Water and Sanitation Program, Africa, and Chimere Diop and Johan Kruger, consultants to WSP-Af. We would also like to acknowledge the financial assistance of PPIAF and the DfID-funded global program on Unlocking the Potential of Domestic Private Sector, which is being managed by the Water and Sanitation Program. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to The World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the companies they represent.

Water supply and sanitation in poverty reduction-Strategy papers in sub saharan Africa: Developing a benchmarking review and exploring the way forward

The importance of water supply and sanitation (WSS) for poverty reduction is inadequately represe... more

Challenge of financing sanitation for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals

Base de dados : REPIDISCA. Pesquisa : 24075 [Identificador único]. Referências encontradas : 1 [r... more

Meeting the financing challenge for water supply and sanitation: Incentives to promote reforms, leverage resources and improve targeting

Base de dados : REPIDISCA. Pesquisa : 36883 [Identificador único]. Referências encontradas : 1 [r... more

Water Supply and Sanitation in PRSP Initiatives

A Desk Review of Emerging Experience in Sub- …, 2002

Public finance at scale for rural sanitation – a case of Swachh Bharat Mission, India

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 2018

In 2014, the Indian Government embarked on a major programme to end open defecation. The governme... more In 2014, the Indian Government embarked on a major programme to end open defecation. The government allocated significant public funds to ensure that the goal is reached by the year 2019. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) programme for rural sanitation is ambitious and probably no government has ever attempted to tackle sanitation at this scale and with such a large financial commitment. The main objectives of this paper are to assess sufficiency of financial commitments for SBM and to review efficiency and effectiveness in fund utilization against its stated objectives. In a large country like India, the programme achievements are not even. Some states are on track while others will need more attention and more funds to ensure that the goal is reached by 2019. An important challenge is to ensure sustainability of open defecation free (ODF) villages and communities. Supplementing public finance with innovative financing is needed to ensure that lack of finance does not become a constr...

Financing the Millennium Development Goals for Water and Sanitation: What Will it Take

International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2005

The key financing challenge in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to arrive at co... more The key financing challenge in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to arrive at consensus-based, viable and sustainable country-level financing strategies that are integrated into the overall national planning and expenditure process. This requires an assessment of various policy scenarios taking into account economic capacity (as defined by GDP) as well as (plausible) level of public expenditures and affordability at a household level. This paper is prepared to guide the discussions on the characteristics of financing requirements, affordability and feasibility of the MDGs on water and sanitation in Africa. It argues that for African countries to meet the targets, they will need to implement cost recovery policies (leverage more resources into the sector) and use public resources better so as to increase sector performance and help the poor gain access to water and sanitation.

Microfinance for infrastructure : recent experiences

Helping a new breed of private water operators access infrastructure finance Microfinance for community water schemes in Kenya

Microfinance for Rural Piped Water Services in Kenya

... Microfinance Institution Athi Water Services Board ... While carefully maintaining the DRA em... more

Business Development Services for Community-managed Small Water Enterprises From Post-Construction Support to Business Development Services in Kenya

Accountability and Incentives for Improving Performance in Urban Water Supply and Sanitation in India

In India, urban water and sanitation services are provided by state government departments or mun... more In India, urban water and sanitation services are provided by state government departments or municipal governments. Unlike the water utilities in other Asian countries, where accountability is measured through performance indicators, in India little attention is paid to performance measurements. Of the three forms of accountability -upward, downward and internal -a major focus in India is on upward accountability. However, this is limited to financial accountability and not performance monitoring. For downward accountability, efforts are underway through E-governance, but need further strengthening. The internal accountability processes are weak and need to be enhanced using performance targets at ULG level and its decentralized units. However, for these to work effectively, operational autonomy for water departments or 'ring-fencing' their operation from other municipal activities is needed.

Financing Small Water Supply and Sanitation Service Providers

Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based organizations ... more Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based organizations and private sector suppliers, are being acknowledged as important suppliers within the African water and sanitation sector. One of the important constraints faced by these providers is finance and access to credit. This paper discusses the development of the microfinance sector and services in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential demand for financial services by small water and sanitation service providers. The role of governments and development partners in facilitating the finance and credit for small providers is also dis discussed. Exploring the Microfinance Option in Sub-Saharan Africa FINANCING SMALL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SERVICE PROVIDERS Two main constraints face the microfinance sector in Sub-Saharan Africa: limited outreach and lack of market-linked product development, though there are some variations between countries, especially when viewed within the wider financial systems approach. What is the nature of latent demand for finance from small WSS service providers? The nature of demand varies across the three market segments of small WSS service provision: CBOs as providers, small private providers, and households as self-providers. What role can governments and development partners play? Such roles may include developing or revising WSS policies, supporting communities and other stakeholders, action research, and knowledge management.

for Community-managed

The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership for improving water and sanitati... more

Urban drinking water security in Gujarat

Journal of Social and Economic Development

Gujarat has made important strides to ensure that most parts of the state become water secure. In... more Gujarat has made important strides to ensure that most parts of the state become water secure. In 2005, Gujarat was one of the few states that recognized that its urban areas were its ‘engines of growth’ and made significant investments in urban infrastructure. A state-wide water supply grid was constructed to transfer inter-basin water from perennial surface water sources to water-scarce areas. While these schemes have improved household-level access to municipal water supply, service levels have not improved. In this paper, we argue that along with infrastructure creation, there is a need to focus on monitoring, operation and maintenance of existing system and improving efficiency. We analyze information available from the performance assessment system (PAS) setup by the CEPT University for monitoring of urban services in India. It has annual information of water service delivery in all the urban areas of Gujarat from 2010. We assess urban drinking water supply on three key aspect...

II. Funding Sanitation Promotion to Meet Coverage Targets...................................................................... 3

The Water and Sanitation Program is an international partnership for improving water and sanitati... more

Water utilities in Africa : case studies of transformation and market access

It is widely acknowledged that achievement of the urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) millenn... more It is widely acknowledged that achievement of the urban Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) millennium development targets will require better access by utilities in Africa to finance, in particular from domestic financial markets. In many African countries, utility reform has focused on creating autonomous governance structures to improve service delivery to an expanding customer base. However, implementation of reforms has, to date, been uneven, constrained by the absence of appropriate incentives to reform, and hampered by limited access to capital investment funding. In some countries, for example, South Africa, Senegal, and Namibia, utilities have successfully sourced capital investment from domestic financial markets. Others, including utilities in Kenya, Uganda, and Tunisia, regularly access commercial finance for working capital or minor investments. The workshop focused on two financing challenges: to mobilize additional funding resources for development of the water sector; ...

Small Water Supply and Sanitation Service Providers Exploring the Microfinance Option in Sub-Saharan Africa

December 2003 Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based ... more December 2003 Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based organizations and private sector suppliers, are being acknowledged as important suppliers within the African water and sanitation sector. One of the important constraints faced by these providers is finance and access to credit. This paper discusses the development of the microfinance sector and services in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential demand for financial services by small water and sanitation service providers. The role of governments and development partners in facilitating the finance and credit for small providers is also discussed. P ub lic D is cl os ur e A ut ho riz ed

Citywide Inclusive Sanitation Through Scheduled Desludging Services: Emerging Experience From India

Frontiers in Environmental Science, 2019

The focus of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) was to build toilets to make India open ... more The focus of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) was to build toilets to make India open defecation free. While India has succeeded in achieving this goal, to move toward "safely managed sanitation" as per target 6.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is necessary to ensure that all fecal waste is safely collected and treated. The common practice for desludging of septic tanks is "demand-based desludging" rather than a regular service. Such practices have adverse social and environmental impacts. To overcome these shortcomings, scheduled desludging is advocated. This paper first reviews the need for regular desludging of septic tanks. It then outlines the emerging experience of design and implementation of scheduled desludging for inclusive, equitable, and sustainable sanitation to achieve social and environmental benefits in two Indian cities. In these cities, a performance-linked annuity payment framework is used to engage a private desludging enterprise. Payment is met through a sanitation tax and transfer from the general property taxes. It outlines the benefits of scheduled desludging in Indian cities and argues that it is critical to achieve improved sanitation.

How can reforming African water utilities tap local financial markets?

The paper draws on presentations and discussions from a Practitioners' Workshop held in Pretoria,... more The paper draws on presentations and discussions from a Practitioners' Workshop held in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2006 as well as six utility case studies and 14 utility questionnaires. The authors would like to thank a number of people who have provided feedback on the paper: Kameel Virjee of the Water and Sanitation Program, Africa, and Chimere Diop and Johan Kruger, consultants to WSP-Af. We would also like to acknowledge the financial assistance of PPIAF and the DfID-funded global program on Unlocking the Potential of Domestic Private Sector, which is being managed by the Water and Sanitation Program. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to The World Bank, to its affiliated organizations, or to members of its Board of Executive Directors or the companies they represent.

Water supply and sanitation in poverty reduction-Strategy papers in sub saharan Africa: Developing a benchmarking review and exploring the way forward

The importance of water supply and sanitation (WSS) for poverty reduction is inadequately represe... more

Challenge of financing sanitation for Meeting the Millennium Development Goals

Base de dados : REPIDISCA. Pesquisa : 24075 [Identificador único]. Referências encontradas : 1 [r... more

Meeting the financing challenge for water supply and sanitation: Incentives to promote reforms, leverage resources and improve targeting

Base de dados : REPIDISCA. Pesquisa : 36883 [Identificador único]. Referências encontradas : 1 [r... more

Water Supply and Sanitation in PRSP Initiatives

A Desk Review of Emerging Experience in Sub- …, 2002

Public finance at scale for rural sanitation – a case of Swachh Bharat Mission, India

Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 2018

In 2014, the Indian Government embarked on a major programme to end open defecation. The governme... more In 2014, the Indian Government embarked on a major programme to end open defecation. The government allocated significant public funds to ensure that the goal is reached by the year 2019. The Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) programme for rural sanitation is ambitious and probably no government has ever attempted to tackle sanitation at this scale and with such a large financial commitment. The main objectives of this paper are to assess sufficiency of financial commitments for SBM and to review efficiency and effectiveness in fund utilization against its stated objectives. In a large country like India, the programme achievements are not even. Some states are on track while others will need more attention and more funds to ensure that the goal is reached by 2019. An important challenge is to ensure sustainability of open defecation free (ODF) villages and communities. Supplementing public finance with innovative financing is needed to ensure that lack of finance does not become a constr...

Financing the Millennium Development Goals for Water and Sanitation: What Will it Take

International Journal of Water Resources Development, 2005

The key financing challenge in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to arrive at co... more The key financing challenge in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is to arrive at consensus-based, viable and sustainable country-level financing strategies that are integrated into the overall national planning and expenditure process. This requires an assessment of various policy scenarios taking into account economic capacity (as defined by GDP) as well as (plausible) level of public expenditures and affordability at a household level. This paper is prepared to guide the discussions on the characteristics of financing requirements, affordability and feasibility of the MDGs on water and sanitation in Africa. It argues that for African countries to meet the targets, they will need to implement cost recovery policies (leverage more resources into the sector) and use public resources better so as to increase sector performance and help the poor gain access to water and sanitation.

Microfinance for infrastructure : recent experiences

Helping a new breed of private water operators access infrastructure finance Microfinance for community water schemes in Kenya

Microfinance for Rural Piped Water Services in Kenya

... Microfinance Institution Athi Water Services Board ... While carefully maintaining the DRA em... more

Business Development Services for Community-managed Small Water Enterprises From Post-Construction Support to Business Development Services in Kenya

Accountability and Incentives for Improving Performance in Urban Water Supply and Sanitation in India

In India, urban water and sanitation services are provided by state government departments or mun... more In India, urban water and sanitation services are provided by state government departments or municipal governments. Unlike the water utilities in other Asian countries, where accountability is measured through performance indicators, in India little attention is paid to performance measurements. Of the three forms of accountability -upward, downward and internal -a major focus in India is on upward accountability. However, this is limited to financial accountability and not performance monitoring. For downward accountability, efforts are underway through E-governance, but need further strengthening. The internal accountability processes are weak and need to be enhanced using performance targets at ULG level and its decentralized units. However, for these to work effectively, operational autonomy for water departments or 'ring-fencing' their operation from other municipal activities is needed.

Financing Small Water Supply and Sanitation Service Providers

Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based organizations ... more Increasingly small water and sanitation service providers, such as community-based organizations and private sector suppliers, are being acknowledged as important suppliers within the African water and sanitation sector. One of the important constraints faced by these providers is finance and access to credit. This paper discusses the development of the microfinance sector and services in sub-Saharan Africa and the potential demand for financial services by small water and sanitation service providers. The role of governments and development partners in facilitating the finance and credit for small providers is also dis discussed. Exploring the Microfinance Option in Sub-Saharan Africa FINANCING SMALL WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION SERVICE PROVIDERS Two main constraints face the microfinance sector in Sub-Saharan Africa: limited outreach and lack of market-linked product development, though there are some variations between countries, especially when viewed within the wider financial systems approach. What is the nature of latent demand for finance from small WSS service providers? The nature of demand varies across the three market segments of small WSS service provision: CBOs as providers, small private providers, and households as self-providers. What role can governments and development partners play? Such roles may include developing or revising WSS policies, supporting communities and other stakeholders, action research, and knowledge management.