Non-participation of low-income households in community-managed water supply projects in India

Efforts to promote community-managed water supply and extend services to underserved low-income communities in urban areas in the developing world prescribe participation as a key component for success. Scholars and practitioners view participation as an empowering process designed to mobilise communities to become involved in planning, implementing and managing their own water supply systems. However, these well-intentioned efforts have had limited success in motivating households to participate. This paper attributes the decision by low-income households not to participate in community-managed water projects to resource constraints at the household level. We analyse survey data from three cities in central India to assess which households are more likely to participate in community-managed water supply and why. Our findings underscore the importance of contextual influences on participation and suggest that households with relatively fewer economic and social constraints are generally more inclined to participate.