Chapter 9

Community–Government Partnership
for Metered Clean Drinking Water:
A Case Study of Bhalwal, Pakistan

Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar, Shujat Ali and Andrea Sarzynski

Abstract The case study explores the design and operation of a community–
government partnership initiative for clean drinking water called Changa Pani
(Clean Water) Program in Bhalwal, a small city of Pakistan. It is a joint initiative by
the city government of Bhalwal and residents, facilitated by a civil society inter-
mediary organization that has succeeded in developing and operating a viable water
distribution system to supply metered clean water to residents after purely
government-organized efforts did not deliver. The Changa Pani Program
(CPP) appears as a manifestation of community-based adaptation to climate change,
given rising temperatures, depletion/contamination of groundwater, increased
spread of waterborne disease, and childhood stunting. Considering the formidable
challenges of access to clean drinking water and sanitation for Pakistan and other
countries working to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, lessons from
successful grass root level projects like CPP can be broadly valuable. The case
study analyzes determinants of the initiative’s success and the opportunities and
challenges for replicating the CPP for other types of infrastructure and/or service in
other locations, in Pakistan, and in other rapidly urbanizing nations.

Keywords Drinking-water
Sustainability
Community

M.N. Iftikhar (&)
A. Sarzynski

University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
e-mail: cheema@udel.edu
A. Sarzynski
e-mail: apsarzyn@udel.edu
S. Ali
Ministry of Finance, Islamabad, Pakistan
e-mail: ch.shujat.ali@gmail.com

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018 163

S. Hughes et al. (eds.), Climate Change in Cities, The Urban Book Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65003-6_9
164 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

9.1 Background

Pakistan is becoming one of the most rapidly urbanized countries in South Asia.
The urban population was 17% in 1951, 32% in 1998, and now it is close to 40%.
More than half of the population in Pakistan will urbanize in the next 10 years
(Planning Commission 2015; Hussain 2014). The official urbanization statistics in
Pakistan may be under-reported in order to present the country and its economy as
rural (Haque 2015).
Urbanization provides a range of opportunities for lifting people out of poverty
by pulling them from low productivity agriculture to high-value urban sectors.
Nevertheless, urbanization poses challenges ranging from law and order to provi-
sion of basic services to the citizens. Some of these services include education,
water, infrastructure, and health. Water and sanitation are the most vulnerable
services in this regard, due to their cross-cutting impact on human health and
productivity (Glaeser 2012).
Only half of the current population of 180 million in Pakistan has access to safe
drinking water. Water availability in Pakistan has declined from approximately
5000 cubic meters per capita in 1950 to around 1300 cubic meters today. Scholars
estimate this “water-stressed” situation may fall further to “water scarcity”
(1000 m3 per capita) in a decade due to several factors including population
growth, climate changes, and inefficient water usage (Kamal 2009).
If we take into account issues related to water quality and reliability, the situation
is even worse (Farooq et al. 2008). An intermittent supply of water in the pipes
often leads to cross contamination from sanitation pipes, which severely damages
water quality. A considerable number of deaths of children and adults are associated
with waterborne disease in Pakistan. Moreover, health problems strain meager
resources of marginalized segments of society. This situation points to the need for
urgent action by the government and communities.
Other developing countries are also facing similar challenges in the drinking
water sector. Over 100,000 people die in India annually due to waterborne diseases,
and 70% water is polluted with sewage effluents. The groundwater in one-third of
India’s 600 hundred districts is not suitable for drinking due to hazardous con-
centration that is higher than prescribed tolerance standards (Chabba 2013).
A similar situation could be found in developed countries in previous centuries. It is
reported that 11,000 died in London’s cholera epidemic of 1854, and the same
number of people died in New York City in 1866 (Condran 1995, pp. 29–35).
However, these countries made a significant investment in the water sector and
developed better governance systems to address these issues (Glaeser 2011). Even
so, the recent water crisis in Flint, Michigan revealed the vulnerability of the United
States’ aging water infrastructure and raises concerns about equity and affordability
(Kane and Puentes 2016). Despite high payoff of clean water and reliable sanitation
services, governments usually do not give high priority to this sector (Glaeser and
Sims 2015). Other mega-scale projects such as roads and power generation often
get budgetary priority over drinking water.
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 165

The purely government-run service delivery organizations in Pakistan have been

facing tremendous challenges in terms of their ability to ensure professional gov-
ernance, maintain public assets, and meet growing service delivery needs of people
at large. In an environment of clientelism, nonprofessional governance structures,
and lack of capital investment it becomes difficult for these government organi-
zations to keep a balance between commercial sustainability and vested interests by
different powerful stakeholders (Iftikhar 2014, 2015). A recent article highlighted
the plight of citizens of Karachi, one of the world’s largest cities and adding over
half million people annually: “options for access to water include erratic supply
(where pipelines exist), collusion with area gangs who puncture water mains for
commercial sales, boring and the use of semi-brackish water and purchasing tanker
loads” (Ahmad 2016, para 5). Felbab-Brown (2017, para. 5) explains further:
In developing countries, such water loss amounts to some 30 to 50 percent of all treated
water. In Karachi and Delhi, such water leakages from old water pipes and outright water
theft amounts to water loss of some 30 to 35 percent in each city. Water mafia networks
divert water through illegal pipelines by drilling holes into official pipelines or setting up
illegal hookups to water canals. In Karachi, water mafias also illegally tap into water
hydrants and set up illegal wells and pipelines for industries. They fill up trucks and sell the
water to industries and large businesses—some 70 percent of the stolen water!—as well as
to the poor, at inflated prices. Illegal traders who operate 30 to 40 tankers earn as much as
$16,000 a day.”

Despite an apparent threat of a water crisis, Pakistan continues to have inefficient

use of water in agriculture, industry, and households. Residential water charges are
minimal and embody flat rates based on house size instead of quantity used, sig-
nifying a poorly designed pricing scheme to accomplish conservation goals. One
government official explained that “many folks [in Karachi] considered urban piped
water a gift of nature that does not need any monetary compensation!” (Ahmad
2016, para 7). Evidence suggests that people are willing to pay higher water prices,
contrary to general expectations, as they realize the importance of clean drinking
water. For instance, a survey of residents of Lahore city in Pakistan found that
people were willing to pay $7.50–$9 per month for clean piped drinking water,
which is comparable to the monthly expenditures on in-house water treatment and
is about three to four times the average monthly water bill being paid (Akram and
Olmstead 2011).
One important consideration for clean water provision is not to consider water as
a traditional market good but as a collective resource available to the community.
The market failure in the use of a natural resource arises when everyone tries to
maximize its use for a short-term gain without realizing negative consequences in
the long run for the community and society as a whole (Hardin 1968). Traditional
market interventions of incentives, taxes, and fines do not work properly in many
developing countries where formal institutions are not well developed and
enforcement is weak (Ashraf et al. 2016).
The self-governance and polycentric framework for management of common
pool resources explained by Ostrom and Gardner (1993) is relevant in this context
of inefficient pricing and weak institutions. The authors found that irrigation
166 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

infrastructure in Nepal was developed by public investment but the government

could not create or enforce rules for efficient and level-playing use of irrigation
water. The farmers closed the gap through the formation of collaborative
arrangements and continuous evolution in rules in response to changing needs.
Thus, a partnership evolved between government and self-organized farmers.
Ostrom and Gardner emphasized the importance of self-organization and building
consensus to develop institutions and rules that helped in better management of
collective water resources. The complexity of service delivery in the water sector
requires polycentric governance—interdependence, contractual and cooperative
partnerships, and conflict resolution by independent center of decision-making
(Ostrom 2010).
The design and operations of Changa Pani Program (CPP) in Bhalwal city of
Pakistan are a similar response to the lack of access to clean drinking water. Climate
change is driving up temperatures and humidity in the central Punjab Province, and
the associated lack of access to clean drinking water has largely contributed to
childhood stunting and waterborne diseases. Through a cross-country analysis, Fay
et al. (2005) have found that provision of basic infrastructure such as piped water,
sanitation, and electricity reduce incidence of childhood stunting and child mor-
tality rates. In these circumstances, the response of the residents and government of
Bhalwal city in the form of CPP is an innovative form of community-based
adaptation (CBA) to climate change and service delivery constraints. The apparent
success of the CPP model has triggered a debate about its core features, scaling, and
replication to other situations.

9.2 The Research

The case study here reports on the innovative community–government partnership

implemented for clean, metered drinking water in Bhalwal, Pakistan called the
Changa Pani Program (clean water), whose lessons may also be relevant for other
settings and contexts.

9.2.1 Research Questions and Design

This analysis employs a single case study, aimed at exploring the design and
implementation of community–government partnerships for the provision of clean
drinking water and climate change adaptation. The case specifically reviews (1) the
design and implementation of CPP in Bhalwal; (2) the key factors contributing to
success of CPP; and (3) the challenges in expansion of CPP. A case study design is
most appropriate in this context given that the research is exploratory and the
researcher has no control of behavioral aspects of the phenomenon being studied
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 167

(Yin 2013). Additionally, the phenomenon is contemporary and key persons are
available for interviewing.
Single case studies face validity threats especially externally, where the results
may be difficult to generalize beyond the studied location (for a good discussion of
the threats, see Flyvberg 2006). Nevertheless, this study can assist in our under-
standing of an innovative program design and implementation plus provide insight
into community engagement, the power of self-governance, and partnership
dynamics.

9.2.2 Information Sources

Qualitative information for this case study was compiled from a focus group,
consumer interviews, and document analysis. An hour-long focus group was
conducted in January 2017 by the lead author in Bhalwal city. Participants included
officials from the local government (Tehsil Municipal Administration, TMA) and
community organization managing this initiative. Focus groups help researchers
understand the collective perspective of participants through discussions of moti-
vations, priorities, experiences, and reflection (Berg and Lune 2012; Morgan 1996).
Focus groups may also help to gain an understanding of perspectives through
interaction amongst participants, which may not be obtained through individual
interviews.
Five semi-structured interviews were also conducted in January 2017 with
consumers—identified by the intermediary organization Anjuman Samaji Behbood
(ASB). The focus of these interviews was to understand the consumer perspective
about CPP, the importance of clean water, the impact of metering on water con-
sumption, and water pricing. It was useful to have an exchange and interaction with
consumers, although the number was limited due to the scarcity of time and
resources.
Last, documents were requested from ASB including the partnership agreements
between the community and government, other reports and independent evaluations
of the project, water bills, and a video documentary by Sustainable Development TV
Channel (Satellite).

9.2.3 Case Selection

Bhalwal was selected for study due to the relative rarity of the phenomenon of
interest—the CPP—and the potential benefits of this partnership model for clean
water provision, participatory governance, and climate change adaptation.
Bhalwal is an agro-based Mandi (Market) Town located close to the city of
Sargodha, within the Sargodha district. It has a population of over 100,000 with a
rural, village-based hinterland peopled by settler families who migrated to this area
168 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

from neighboring older districts of the Punjab. The settlers came here to benefit
from the various land colonization and development schemes that accompanied the
advent of the new irrigation canal and railway infrastructure in the early years of the
twentieth century. Bhalwal is now the administrative center of the Bhalwal Sub
Division, the lowest regional tier of the provincial administrative hierarchy. The
town is also a municipality responsible for delivery of basic public services to the
town’s population.
According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2014) by the
Government of the Punjab Province (with the support from UNICEF Punjab), only
2.8% of the Sargodha’s district household population has piped access to water,
compared to 11.6% in Punjab Province. By contrast, 73.4% of the district’s water
comes from handpump, compared to 30.6% in Punjab Province. Infant and under-5
mortality rates in Sargodha District are 84 and 107 as compared to the Punjab
Province’s average of 75 and 93. And the district’s number of stunted children are 34.1
and 11.7 for “moderate and severe” and “severe”, respectively, as compared to
Punjab’s average of 33.5 and 13.3%. The survey also reported that the percentage of
children who in the last two weeks had an episode of diarrhea is 20.5% and an episode
of fever is 21.6% as compared to Punjab’s average of 17.4 and 20.8%, respectively.
Literacy and school attendance rates in Sargodha are relatively better than Punjab
Province’s average. The indicators for Bhalwal may be worse than the district average
as Sargodha is relatively a large city and has better socioeconomic development than
its sub-divisions.
Groundwater of Bhalwal city is brackish, which is not suitable for drinking or
irrigation except in a few locations. Water contamination due to the sugar industry
and heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers in citrus orchards has also contributed to
various waterborne diseases in Bhalwal. The city is situated in central Punjab,
which has a hot and humid environment. This leads to dehydration and other health
complications. The temperature touched 52 °C (125 F) in the summer of 2016. The
decrease in rain levels and rising temperatures have further enhanced the impor-
tance of the provision of clean drinking water to the public in this region. These
factors point to the significance of the case of Bhalwal as an innovative governance
model for climate change adaptation. Moreover, a traditional approach could not
succeed to complete the water supply scheme which was later revived and com-
pleted through a community–government partnership initiative—facilitated by the
intermediary civil society organization (Sahi 2014).
Pakistan has traditionally followed a hierarchical and top-down development
approach with fewer episodes of local governments coupled with nonrepresentative
governments at the center (Cheema et al. 2006). This context highlights central-
ization that may not allow citizen participation and decision-making at a local level.
This factor implies a need to carry out devolution of resources and decision-making
to the local level. It also signifies the importance of studying the success of
partnership-based CPP in such a centralized governance structure.
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 169

9.3 Findings

9.3.1 The CPP Model

CPP is a component sharing model of clean drinking water provision, developed by

Faisalabad (one of the largest metropolitan cities in Punjab Province) based on
ASB. It was implemented in Faisalabad in the 1990s and later in Lahore (provincial
capital of Punjab Province) in early 2000s. The model embodies participatory
planning and an integrated approach for 24/7 water and sanitation system
governance.
The process starts with the realization by the community and then intermediary
organization ASB mobilizes the community to negotiate a partnership with the
government. ASB provides guidance and training to local people to carry out such
projects starting from a basic understanding of engineering design of the project to
operations and maintenance of the water distribution system. Under the partnership,
government finances infrastructure for tube wells, overhead tank, disposal systems,
treatment systems, and main pipes (6 in.), which make up almost 80% of the total
cost of the project. The community participates in the procurement process and
contributes financially to water supply pipes (3 in.), sewerage pipes (9 in.), and
water meters. The project’s management is ultimately handed over to a local
community organization that is composed of community members and local gov-
ernment officials.

9.3.2 Bringing CPP to Bhalwal

Before CPP, groundwater of the locality was brackish, so people were relying on
water being transported on donkey carts and bicycles from the nearby canal. Water
quality was poor and it was also expensive due to high charges by the water
transporters.
The government initiated a piped drinking water scheme in 2006 in one of
Bhalwal city’s three union councils (UCs). But after laying substandard pipes in
wider streets and getting payments against those, the contractor ran away, leaving
the schemes half way completed.
Some of the members of the community realized the necessity of additional
efforts and started looking for solutions. They came to know about ASB and CPP in
2011 and requested ASB to work with them to revive the failed drinking water
project. After a number of discussions with the community, ASB started working to
convince people about the CPP approach. It was not a smooth process, as people
were used to looking toward governments for solutions instead of making collective
efforts and negotiating active partnerships with the government, as the CPP model
requires.
170 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

The founder of ASB and CPP, Malik Nazir Ahmad Wattoo, noted that some of
the community members originally opposed the effort. Mr. Wattoo said “It is good
to have opponents as it is usually a test that you are doing a good work. Moreover,
if an initiative is opposed, it spreads more.” He had long discussions with the
community about the importance of clean water, even at a price. The local people
were resisting it due to the potential financial burden on them and the new water
metering system. With the new system, residents would pay for their actual water
consumption instead of property size. Without water meters, residents throughout
the country are charged solely based on lot size.
With his personal commitment and understanding about community mobiliza-
tion, Mr. Wattoo continued meetings with the government officials at local, district,
and provincial levels. Government offices were reluctant to transform their earlier
failed project into the CPP model, as they were afraid of exposure of deficiencies in
their earlier work. Mr. Wattoo said that he had the contacts in the bureaucracy at
different levels due to his long experience of this type of work in other locations. He
used all those contacts to arrange meetings between local community members and
government officials. The purpose of these meetings was to agree on a common
agenda for starting work on the CPP model and handing over its control to the local
community.
This effort succeeded in 2012 when there was a considerable consensus of the
community to adopt the CPP model. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was
signed between ASB as an intermediary organization and TMA Bhalwal. Since the
MoU was signed, 1720 connections have been provided out of 2600 potential
connections. A progress report dated on January 9, 2017 mentioned complaints of
water quality and leakages, which were being addressed. After the successful
launch of the drinking water initiative, the community began to negotiate with the
government to start a sanitation scheme as well.

9.3.3 Benefits of CPP in Bhalwal

It is important to understand the success of community–government

partnership-based initiative in Bhalwal, Pakistan called the Changa Pani Program
(clean water) in the situation where the performance of the traditional
government-managed scheme was not up to par. Debates on water availability are
often focused either on pure market solutions or government run schemes. Changa
Pani Model provides a quasi-market, partnership-based solution for cities that
enable both government and community members to collaborate and take owner-
ship of this important aspect of human life. The model also emphasizes the
importance of local self-governance for climate change adaptation by residents of
urban areas in developing countries.
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 171

9.3.3.1 Procurement Improvements

In traditional local water schemes, the provincial Department of Public Health

Engineering issues procurement tenders for contractors and consultants. One of the
city government officials reported that no classification of contractors exists at the
local level in case of different types of development work like sewerage, water
supply, buildings, roads, and firefighting, among others. Therefore, a fundamental
problem in the procurement process is that often contractors who do not have
specialization are hired to develop water supply schemes. One of the officials
explained that “the consultant’s job was to oversee the contractor and to carry out
quality control tests, but there was weak accountability of consultant in the failed
project.” The focus group discussion also revealed that pipe manufacturing com-
panies are registered in provincial headquarters and Chief Engineer of Public Health
Engineering Department is responsible for material testing. In this case, local
government officials have little direct responsibility for the quality of work being
carried out by the contractors and pipe manufacturers. According to the focus group
participants, community engagement and partnership in the procurement process
from the beginning of the project could help to avoid many of the problems that
occurred during projects in a traditional government-centric model.
It was determined that the pipe manufacturing company, in connivance with the
contractors and consultants, provided substandard pipes for the project before it was
handed over to the ASB and local people. Moreover, the contractor did not have a
map or layout of pipes in the streets. So the first challenge for the community was to
figure out the layout of pipes, and then carry out testing of pipes. Laboratory tests
revealed that the substandard material used in the pipes could not carry water at a
certain pressure. Accordingly, people of the locality went to the pipe manufacturing
company and negotiated with them to replace the pipes. The government officials
explained that they were not allowed to negotiate with the pipe manufacturers under
the government’s procurement rules, but the community could do it once the project
had been handed over to them under a partnership framework. Fearing a bad
reputation for the company, the pipe manufacturer agreed to replace 975 m
(3200 ft) of pipes with the better standard material. Moreover, the community
applied stringent tests to the water quality as they knew that they would be drinking
it in the future. The cost of the project was rationalized considering that the
community would pay for all expenses not covered by the government.

9.3.3.2 Better Service Delivery

Consumer interviews provided insights about service delivery. They were happy to
have the piped water supply for the first time in that locality’s history. Moreover,
there was recognition that ASB initiated this project from very low performance
levels. The focus groups participants explained that they were making efforts to
provide 24/7 water in order to eliminate chances of contamination in empty water
pipes. However, their efforts are often undermined due to electricity load shedding.
172 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

Load shedding hurts extraction of clean water from the tube wells, which are 6 km
away from the locality. Second, some of the pipes are still the ones laid out by the
contractor, which cannot bear the water pressure, creating frequent leakages. The
consumers confirmed that they were not getting a full-time supply of water.
However, they were satisfied with the quality of water and convenience of piped
availability instead of other expensive modes. It was realized after discussion with
consumers that the organizing committee and management would have to make
further efforts to improve service delivery and undertake communication with
consumers to convey the challenges that they were facing.

9.3.3.3 Water Conservation and Pricing

As discussed earlier, water bills in Pakistan are charged based on lot sizes and are
minimal, hindering efficient use of water. Even in this situation, traditional
government-run schemes are unable to recover the bills. Recovery rates are usually
below 50% as compared to over 90% in CPP schemes. In this locality of Bhalwal,
water charges were introduced based on consumption starting from Pakistan
Rupees (PKR) 50 per 1000 gallons to PKR 70 for an additional 1000 gallons and
PKR 100 for each additional 1000 gallons. The water bill also includes fixed
charges of PKR 50 per month. After introducing the new water pricing in Bhalwal,
they observed that per person per day water consumption declined by more than
50%.
However, it was informed that water pricing was still a tricky issue due to the
applicable legal framework. The administrative authority of the province has to
approve prices after a number of layers of approvals by the different governmental
offices and committees. Additionally, one consumer revealed that he was getting a
very high bill for water and it was beyond his capacity to pay. The management
explained that there were about 30 members of this household living in a small
house, constituting three families. The consumers had a wrong impression of water
billing based on house size instead of actual consumption. This issue highlights the
importance of communication with consumers for promoting the efficient use of
water.

9.3.4 Challenges for Expanding CPP

CPP was first implemented in Faisalabad, later in Lahore, and now in one of the
Union Councils (UCs) in Bhalwal. After the success of CPP in one UC in Bhalwal,
ASB has been requested by the city government of Bhalwal to take this model to
the remaining two UCs of the city. Similarly, ASB has received requests from other
nearby cities, which require new conversations on the appropriate adaptation of this
approach for those contexts. An international organization has also recently
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 173

approached ASB to collaborate with them to revive redundant water supply

schemes in one of the cities in South Punjab.
Thus, CPP appears to be following the process of diffusion of innovation
(Rogers 2003), in which ideas travel from one place or situation to another. Such
diffusion of innovation is challenging. Every city and community must consider the
local needs and capabilities for designing such partnerships. The spectrum of
engagement, investment, and control by both public sector and community may
vary under different circumstances and contexts. Any replication of CPP to another
situation or place must take into account the capacity for engaging in such part-
nerships especially in societies where contract enforcement and other formal
institutions are not strong and credible.
Here, we identify some of the challenges in replication and expansion based on
our analysis of the model and personal insights into the political economy and
urban governance in Pakistan.

9.3.4.1 Need for a Skilled Policy Entrepreneur

One important challenge is to mobilize the community to develop a critical mass

and contribute a financial investment to negotiate a partnership framework with the
government. The intermediary organization has a central role in this model as they
have to work with both sides to help them to reach an agreeable framework. Both
sides pose unique challenges. The government is often not willing to devolve
governance and share powers with communities, and the local communities may
not be willing to contribute financially to such projects.
Kingdon (1984) explained that policy entrepreneurs played a crucial role in
connecting problems to the potential solutions. By exploiting the window of
opportunity, the policy entrepreneurs present new ideas and pursue policy goals
with innovative approaches. A similar phenomenon has been observed in the case
of CPP. The charismatic personality of Mr. Wattoo, the 75-year-old founder of
ASB and CPP, had a critical role in the success of the project. We asked him “is it
possible to do it all without you?” He replied that he has trained local people to
manage and govern this initiative while pointing to Mr. Imtiaz Ahmad, the head of
the organizing committee. However, we understand that it would not be an easy
task to undertake such a complex partnership framework without the support and
guidance of an experienced and dedicated social mobilizer.

9.3.4.2 Urban Political Economy

Rapid urbanization (around 3% at the moment) has enhanced ethnic and cultural
diversity in Pakistan in many ways. Even so, cities can best be characterized as
contested spaces (Harvey 1997). Local government officials, political activists,
influential groups, and mafias want to have their own say into service delivery of
water sector and other public goods as well. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons that
174 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

CPP has yet not been adopted throughout any large city. It has been carried out in
semi-urban and quasi-planned urban settlements only.
Last year, local government elections took place after an interval of almost a
decade. Newly formed local governments have limited mandate and resources to
deliver services, as most of those are vested with provincial governments. The CPP
team in Bhalwal explained that after the local government was installed the newly
elected officials pushed to provide free water to please their constituents and build
political support. The officials did not foresee their inability to realize the cost of
water extraction, transmission, distribution, and maintenance. Such decisions
reinforce the prevailing view that the provision of clean drinking water is the
responsibility and burden of government, and undercut the foundation of shared
governance established by CPP.

9.3.4.3 Nascent Civil Society

Additionally, community organizations are best placed to carry out advocacy and
education of the stakeholders involved to ensure achievement of mutually beneficial
goals and avoid retrenchment. Yet, grassroots community organizations, having
strong local ties and funding mechanisms, are relatively scarce in Pakistan. Most of
the local community organizations rely on internationally funded projects with
outside interests. Without the engagement of a local intermediary organization like
ASB, a CPP-style project may achieve suboptimal results.

9.4 Discussion

9.4.1 CPP as a Participatory Governance Innovation

The CPP is a multilevel and multi-sector governance arrangement to address

drinking water infrastructure development, operations, maintenance, and service
delivery. The approach can be characterized as a form of New Public Governance,
which entails participatory governance, citizen engagement, and networks in the
public sector (Osborne 2010). Notably, “governance entails a move away from
traditional hierarchical forms of organization and the adoption of network forms. It
also entails a revision of the relationship between the state and civil society in a
more participatory direction. Governance is said to be responsible for shifting the
emphasis away from statute law to more flexible forms of regulation and imple-
mentation” (Pollitt and Bouckaert 2011, p. 21, citing Bellamy and Paulmbo 2010).
Participatory modes of governance arguably provide more flexibility and cus-
tomization for the achievement of service delivery goals.
CPP is based on a partnership between local government and community resi-
dents, who jointly finance, own, and manage the drinking water and sanitation
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 175

infrastructure. As a form of “Arm’s Length Governance”, partnerships are some-

times criticized for taking control away from the democratically elected leaders to
new players in public governance. Some scholars argue that involvement of
non-governmental players makes it difficult for the governments to assess consumer
preferences and deploy accountability framework. Sometimes, such models are also
construed as a deviation of the government from its core responsibility. Notably,
local government officials in Faisalabad had not given positive feedback about CPP
despite the failure of their own schemes and poor quality of service delivery
(Farooqi 2013).
CPP is different from traditional public–private partnership models such as
outsourcing, privatization, and governmental grants. It is an inclusive
partnership. The government has to make a significant upfront public investment,
determines water pricing, and has representation on the management committee.
The community develops rules for itself and then negotiates with the government to
create a unique governance structure for the project. The community can better
understand its needs, can cooperate with each other to develop mutually beneficial
rules, and can revisit the arrangement as need arises.
Thus, community engagement in public service delivery is a democratic process.
Through community engagement, local people are allowed and encouraged to
participate in managing and controlling public assets instead of attending mere
public participation forums (Durose et al. 2015). Most of the time, if citizens are
involved in such forums, participation remains at the level of information sharing,
which raises questions regarding the effectiveness of citizen participation (Arnstein
1969). Participatory initiatives like CPP ultimately contribute to democratic
accountability, legitimacy, and policy effectiveness (Fung 2006).
Additionally, effectiveness here was aided by a local social mobilizer (Mr. Wattoo)
who understood the context and tailored the CPP model to local needs and behaviors.
This model contrasts with prior models developed by academicians, scholars, and
international development experts that rely on top-down governance despite weak
institutional capacity. Easterly (2013) eloquently advocated for this type of sponta-
neous development and evolutionary learning for problem-solving in developing
countries. Moreover, there is some discussion in the literature that decentralization
reforms succeed if there is a sufficient capacity of collective action in the communities.
Gonzelez-Rivas (2014) found that decentralization of water service delivery in
Mexico only succeeded in communities that had a history of collective action. Stone
(2001) has also emphasized the importance of the civic capacity to develop an agenda
for a collective action and then to implement it successfully.

9.4.2 CPP as a Climate Adaptation Strategy

Despite facing severe consequences of climate change in Pakistan especially from

rising temperatures and humidity, there is little recognition of the need for adap-
tation at the community level. Most discussions on climate change are taking place
176 M.N. Iftikhar et al.

at federal and provincial levels. In such state of affairs, it is challenging to initiate

adaptation initiatives at the city level.
Nevertheless, the CPP can be seen as a climate adaptation effort along the lines
of other community-based adaptation (CBA) projects aimed at simultaneously
improving livelihoods and climate adaptive capacity from the ground up (Archer
et al. 2014) (see Chap. 7: Sari and Prayoga). CBA is “a community-led process,
based on communities, needs, knowledge and capacities, which should empower
people to plan for and cope with the impacts of climate change” (Reid et al. 2009,
p. 13). Under CBA, the community is the central agent in the climate governance
process. Experiences with CBA in developing nations have been examined for
insights and lessons (e.g., Archer et al. 2014; Soltesova et al. 2014).
The CPP’s community–government partnership marks it as a form of
co-production of climate adaptation, where the community is empowered to make
the decisions and control the public resources (see Chap. 8: Enberg). This type of
adaptation strategy contrasts with many other examples of local climate adaptation,
where citizen participation is limited and government typically leads the planning
and manages any implementation (Sarzynski 2015).
Despite its successes in several contexts, CBA creates complications in
upscaling of the approach (Ayers and Forsyth 2009). Moreover, such models are
not easy and smooth. They face a range of issues of integrity, credibility, and
professionalism. Reid (2016) highlights the challenges faced by CBA approaches
regarding integration with the political structures and mainstream governance
processes. Mansuri and Rao (2012) highlight that government and market failure
does get attention of scholars and policy–makers; however, civil society failure is
relatively less researched. These considerations point to the challenges faced by
community-led initiatives. It is important to appreciate that CPP embodies a mul-
tilevel and multi-sector governance approach that helps to overcome the constraints
common in CBA initiatives by formally integrating the effort through the part-
nership agreement.

9.5 Next Steps

Further research is needed to understand the relevance of the CPP model for
addressing governance challenges in other settings and other parts of the world. The
irrigation sector in Pakistan faces similar challenges as drinking water. Considering
the rapid climate changes in Pakistan and nonresponsiveness of traditional gover-
nance structures, it appears beneficial to examine the possibilities of CPP for
irrigation.
On drinking water, a database of various provision models being pursued by the
public and community organizations is needed with an aim to formulate key lessons
from local experiences. Similarly, it is imperative to compare the outcomes and
sustainability of CPP with other governance models to properly guide future efforts.
9 Community–Government Partnership for Metered Clean … 177

Notably, none of the stakeholders involved in this research identified CPP as a

climate change adaptation strategy, marking the need for further discussion and
communication of the ways in which various efforts to provide clean drinking water
can also serve multiple sustainable development goals (SDGs) including improving
health and well-being, building climate-resilient infrastructure, promoting economic
growth, and promoting democratic governance and inclusive institutions. Indeed,
the provision of clean drinking water has a cross-cutting impact on the SDGs;
without clean drinking water, many other goals cannot be achieved.

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Author Biographies

Muhammad Naveed Iftikhar has worked for the public sector, academia, research centers, and
international development organizations in the fields of public policy, governance, sustainable
development, and economic reforms. Naveed’s current research focuses on entrepreneurship,
public sector governance, cities, and sustainable economic development. As a Governance
Specialist in the Economic Reforms Unit of Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance, he contributed to the
design and implementation of policy reform initiatives in key sectors of the economy. Naveed has
consulted for international development organizations including The World Bank, Asian
Development Bank, United Nations Development Program, and Japan International Cooperation
Agency among others. Naveed holds M.Phil. degree in Economics and is currently a Ph.D.
Candidate in Urban Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Delaware.

Shujat Ali is a former civil servant from the Pakistan Administrative Service. He has served in
various capacities in the districts and provincial and federal governments. He has vast experience
of stints in the provincial finance and planning departments and in the Ministry of Finance in the
federal government. His last assignment in government was as Secretary of the Statistics Division
in the Ministry of Finance. He holds an undergraduate degree from the London School of
Economics and a doctorate in economics from Simon Fraser University Canada. He has patronized
and supported a number of community participation initiatives in public service delivery in various
parts of Pakistan over the years. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of agriculture
productivity, climate change, and models for service delivery.

Andrea Sarzynski is an associate professor at the University of Delaware’s School of Public

Policy and Administration and the Department of Geography. Her research interests include urban
governance, climate change policy, urban land use, shrinking cities/suburbs, and renewable energy
policy. Prior to joining the faculty at Delaware, she worked at the George Washington Institute of
Public Policy, the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, the Rochester
Institute of Technology, the White House Council on Environmental Quality, and the
environmental law practice at Sidley Austin LLP. Andrea has a Ph.D. in public policy and
public administration and a B.S. in natural resources from Cornell University.