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Policy & Empirical Studies

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Research reports, budget analyses and settlement studies, in English and Urdu, on drinking water, sanitation, public utilities and katchi abadis in Punjab. Every report is free to read, download and cite.

PURC

2012

Monograph 01

Water & Sanitation

2012

Thirsty Cities: Analyzing Punjab Drinking Water Policy

By Imdad Hussain, PhD

Water Governance · 99 pages · PDF 5.6 MB · ISBN 978-969-9773-00-6

An analysis of the Punjab Drinking Water Policy, notified in 2011, using a trends perspective and WaterAid’s equity and inclusion perspective. The study traces how the policy was made, examines drinking-water allocations in the Annual Development Programme 2011-12, and assesses whether the policy can be implemented. It finds that the policy acknowledges problems but offers few concrete measures to solve them. Published with support from WaterAid Pakistan.

Key Findings

The ADP 2011-12 contained 311 drinking-water schemes costing Rs 58,255 million, but allocated only Rs 9,409 million to them — about 16% of their total cost.
Fifteen unapproved schemes received Rs 6,186 million, almost double the Rs 3,222 million allocated to the 296 approved schemes.
Allocations were concentrated in Central Punjab, which received 77.2% of the funds, against 8.2% for South Punjab and 14.6% for the Rawalpindi region.

Cite this report: Hussain, I. (2012). Thirsty Cities: Analyzing Punjab Drinking Water Policy. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore. ISBN 978-969-9773-00-6.

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PURC

2008

Research Report 02

Water & Sanitation

September 2008

Water Supply in Lahore: Public Sector Reform, Not Privatization

By Rabia Ezdi & Amir Butt

Public Utilities · 64 pages · PDF 959 KB

Prompted by the Punjab government’s 2004 plan to privatise Lahore’s Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA), this study examines the privatisation process, WASA’s operations and finances, and the record of privatised water utilities in cities including Buenos Aires, Manila and Cochabamba. It concludes that privatising WASA is inadvisable and that the agency can be repaired through public sector reform, including citizen representation on its board and progressive cross-subsidised tariffs.

Key Findings

WASA covered its costs from its own revenue until 2003; by 2007-08 it earned about Rs 2 billion against spending of about Rs 2.8 billion, a deficit of Rs 772.5 million.
Electricity bills consumed 56% of WASA’s budget after the May 2000 power tariff increase, rising to 65% (Rs 1,228 million) by 2008.
WASA reported more than Rs 28 billion in outstanding arrears, including dues from over 250 government departments.

Cite this report: Ezdi, R., & Butt, A. (2008). Water Supply in Lahore: Public Sector Reform, Not Privatization. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

2013

Tenure Study 03

Housing & Katchi Abadis

2013 · in Urdu

Katchi Abadis of Punjab: Informal Settlements and Regularisation

By Amir Butt

Housing & Land · Urdu · 53 pages · PDF 4.5 MB

An Urdu-language study of katchi abadis (informal settlements) in Punjab, with a focus on Lahore. It explains why katchi abadis form and traces regularisation policy from the 23 March 1985 cut-off date through the Punjab Katchi Abadis Act 1992 to later amendments that moved the cut-off to 31 December 2006 and then 31 December 2011. It documents the obstacles to granting proprietary rights and closes with common misconceptions about katchi abadis.

Key Findings

Of 1,100 pre-1985 katchi abadis listed under the 1985 policy, 275 were dropped as ineligible; land in 741 of the remaining 825 (89%) had been transferred or regularised by June 2007.
Those 825 settlements contain 209,863 dwelling units, of which only 89,188 had received proprietary rights by June 2007.
In 213 private housing schemes approved in Lahore between 1975 and 2010, only 14.4% of 119,831 plots were small 3- or 5-marla plots, while 1-kanal plots made up 39.3%.

Cite this report: Butt, A. (2013). Katchi Abadis of Punjab: Informal Settlements and Regularisation. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

2011

Position Paper 04

Water & Sanitation

June 2011

State of Water & Sanitation in Punjab: Position Paper

By Punjab Urban Resource Centre

Provincial Policy · 51 pages · PDF 1.1 MB

A desk study, prepared with financial assistance from WaterAid, reviewing the legislative, policy and institutional framework for water and sanitation in Punjab, with provincial statistics and the main issues in nine cities. It concludes that access to improved water sources is high but water quality is poor, and recommends that government redirect human and capital resources towards sanitation, including through community component-sharing.

Key Findings

About 97% of people in Punjab have access to improved drinking-water sources, but 49% of those sources are contaminated.
Only 14,000 of Punjab’s 26,075 villages have a sanitation system; overall, 58% of the population uses improved sanitation.
Water metering is minimal — 12% of connections in Lahore, 6% in Rawalpindi and 1.8% in Faisalabad — and bill collection efficiency is only 25–40%.

Cite this report: Punjab Urban Resource Centre. (2011). State of Water & Sanitation in Punjab: Position Paper. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

c. 2012

Budget Analysis 05

Water & Sanitation

Undated (c. 2012)

Budget Analysis of Water and Sanitation Agency, Gujranwala: Equity and Inclusion Perspective

By Punjab Urban Resource Centre

Utility Budgets · 32 pages · PDF 1.3 MB

A study of the budget of the Water and Sanitation Agency, Gujranwala (WASA-G), examined from an equity and inclusion perspective and carried out with WaterAid Pakistan. It draws on WASA-G budget documents for 2006-07 to 2010-11 and on consultations with WASA officials, NGOs and communities, describes limited service coverage, recurring deficits, dependence on provincial funding and low revenue recovery, and recommends wider revenue generation, open budget documents and citizen consultation.

Key Findings

WASA-G supplies piped water to only 32% of Gujranwala’s 1.7 million people; sewerage coverage is 60%.
No water-supply schemes were funded for Gujranwala under the provincial ADP for 2010-11.
WASA-G has been barred from raising tariffs since 2004; even full recovery of bills would raise about Rs 7 million, roughly 2% of its expenditure.

Cite this report: Punjab Urban Resource Centre. (c. 2012). Budget Analysis of Water and Sanitation Agency, Gujranwala: Equity and Inclusion Perspective. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

2008

Urdu Edition 06

Water & Sanitation

September 2008 · Urdu edition printed 2009

Lahore mein Farahami-e-Aab (لاہور میں فراہمی آب): Public-Sector Reform Accepted, Privatisation of Water Supply Rejected

By Rabia Ezdi & Amir Butt

Public Utilities · Urdu · 64 pages · PDF 8.9 MB

An Urdu-language report by Rabia Ezdi and Amir Butt, translated by Kalb-e-Ali Shaikh, on the Punjab government’s plans, reported from October 2004, to privatise the Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) Lahore. It reviews WASA’s services and finances, international experience of water privatisation and civil-society responses in Lahore, and argues for public-sector reform rather than privatisation.

Key Findings

WASA served about 70% of the 4.83 million people in its service area, and 70% of its connections were unmetered.
For 2007-08, WASA’s estimated income was Rs 2 billion against Rs 2.8 billion of expenditure, a deficit of about Rs 800 million.
The authors conclude that privatising WASA cannot be recommended in the public interest, and that the agency can be reformed.

Cite this report: Ezdi, R., & Butt, A. (2008). Lahore mein Farahami-e-Aab (لاہور میں فراہمی آب): Public-Sector Reform Accepted, Privatisation of Water Supply Rejected. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

2009

Settlement Study 07

Settlement Studies

December 2009 · in Urdu

Amina Park (آمنہ پارک): An Analytical Study

By Unaiza Hira

Settlement Study · Urdu · 16 pages · PDF 1.9 MB

A survey-based profile of Amina Park, a settlement of about 4,900 people and 500 houses in Union Council 118 near Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore, which came into being in 1984 on former agricultural land. It records housing, household economy, water, sanitation, waste, health and education conditions, and the views of residents and local representatives, with recommendations.

Key Findings

Residents rely on bore water that the study describes as contaminated; 55% were dissatisfied with its quality.
Only a third of households (33%) were connected to a sewer; 57% used soak pits and 64% were dissatisfied with drainage.
The union council councillor said no scheme had yet been planned to supply clean drinking water to the area.

Cite this report: Hira, U. (2009). Amina Park (آمنہ پارک): An Analytical Study. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

2009

Settlement Study 08

Settlement Studies

December 2009 · in Urdu

Chaudhry Park (چوہدری پارک): An Analytical Study

By Unaiza Hira

Settlement Study · Urdu · 16 pages · PDF 2.1 MB

A survey-based profile of Chaudhry Park, a settlement of about 2,220 people and 300 houses in Union Council 118 near Gulshan Park, about 1 km from Thokar Pind, Lahore, described as about 25 years old. It documents housing, income, water supply, sanitation, waste, health and education, and the role of local organisations, with recommendations.

Key Findings

The settlement has no WASA water supply; 87% of households rely on private bores 80 to 200 feet deep.
Three-quarters of households (75%) drain their wastewater into open drains.
Residents named poor drainage (60%) and clean water (40%) as the area’s main problems.

Cite this report: Hira, U. (2009). Chaudhry Park (چوہدری پارک): An Analytical Study. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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PURC

2009

Settlement Study 09

Settlement Studies

December 2009 · in Urdu

Shadiwal Sahnwan (شادیوال ساھنواں): An Analytical Study

By Unaiza Hira

Settlement Study · Urdu · 24 pages · PDF 2.1 MB

A survey-based profile of Shadiwal Sahnwan and neighbouring Bilal Park, home to about 4,200 people in 577 houses in Union Council 118 near Thokar Niaz Baig, Lahore. According to the study, residents of the original village on the bank of the Ravi moved here after the 1988 flood, beside a sewage drain across the Motorway. It documents housing, livelihoods, water, sanitation, education, health and access.

Key Findings

There is no government water supply; 87% of households use private bores and 90% were dissatisfied with their water.
Only two of the area’s 40 streets have sewers, and 30% of households discharge wastewater into streets and open plots.
The study reports that 84% of the people surveyed could not read or write.

Cite this report: Hira, U. (2009). Shadiwal Sahnwan (شادیوال ساھنواں): An Analytical Study. Punjab Urban Resource Centre, Lahore.

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