When utilities muddle through: pro-poor governance in Bangalore’s public water sector

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to show how messy and slow paths to reform can have useful lessons for public-sector water utilities in developing countries, most of which continue to operate in a climate of muddling through. Using the case of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), this paper analyzes the shifts in policy and operations behind the BWSSB’s innovative work to connect the city’s slum dwellers to the piped water supply. Rather than routinely criticize public utilities for their failure to reach the poor, this paper argues that local successes that start small and are slow to diffuse should be recognized and disseminated across organizations. This is particularly important in the wake of the targets set in the Millennium Development Goals, which run the risk of masking both the importance of how public agencies learn and the factors driving genuine changes in organizational behaviour and urban governance.