Publication: A Review in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan : Benchmarking for Performance Improvement in Urban Utilities
Date
2010-02
ISSN
Published
2010-02
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Performance benchmarking is a powerful
tool to make service providers more accountable, and to
measure progress while improving performance. This review
examines the introduction of performance benchmarking in
over 30 urban water utilities across Bangladesh, India, and
Pakistan since 2003, with the support of their respective
governments and the Water and Sanitation Program - South
Asia. It focuses on the process of building systems for
performance measurement, monitoring and analysis, and
institutionalizing benchmarking as an integral part of
operational practice in utilities and government, to support
broader sector reforms. The findings reveal that most
utilities are performing poorly, and just how dire the state
of service provision really is across the towns and cities
of South Asia: 1) no water utility in Bangladesh, India or
Pakistan provides its customers with continuous water; the
average is five hours a day; 2) water utilities do not serve
at least a third of urban residents; 3) high nonrevenue
water-frequently estimated above 40 percent-means a large
volume of water is being lost through leaks, instead of
being available to improve and extend supply; billions are
lost each year through unbilled consumption and revenue
mismanagement. Citizens are carrying these costs, and
receiving very poor services in return; and 4) operating
expenditure far exceeds income in many utilities, and
tariffs bear no relation to costs. Most utilities rely on
subsidies and ad hoc grants from government.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2010. A Review in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan : Benchmarking for Performance Improvement in Urban Utilities. Water and Sanitation Program working paper. © Washington, DC. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/17270 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”