In this study we examine issues of cost recovery, rationalisation of water tariffs and public private partnerships that have influenced the privatisation, commercialisation and commodification of water in Nagpur City.
In 2011, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation and its subsidiary entity, Nagpur Environmental Services Ltd., entered into a 25 year public-private partnership (PPP) agreement with Orange City Water Ltd. for privatising the water supply and distribution of the city of Nagpur in order to improve service delivery and reduce non-revenue water. Since the Nagpur PPP project has been hailed as a successful model for replication in other cities across India, this study intends to research the impact of privatization of water distribution services in Nagpur.