‘Full-Cost Recovery’: Producing Differentiated Water Collection Practices and Responses to Centralized Water Networks in Jaipur, India

The expansion of Jaipur's centralized water-supply network, coupled with full-cost-recovery policies, has exacerbated disparities in drinking water access. This study reveals that spatially uneven network integration and intermittent water flow, combined with historical socio-economic differences, have led to varied adaptive responses among households—such as waiting for water, constructing private tubewells, or relying on private tanker vendors—which further alter social power dynamics. While the public water-supply system remains partially reformed, its inefficiency and inability to recover costs have made privatization appear inevitable. However, the study questions whether such reforms are necessary, highlighting the systemic challenges in infrastructure prioritization and cost-setting within the public utility.

Birkenholtz, T. (2010). ‘Full-Cost Recovery’: Producing Differentiated Water Collection Practices and Responses to Centralized Water Networks in Jaipur, India. Environment and Planning A: Economy and Space, 42(9), 2238–2253. https://doi.org/10.1068/a4366