India's historic investment in household tap connections now faces a pivotal challenge: Ensuring that these systems work every single day for years to come. State Governments are responding to this challenge by developing policies, data systems and financing commitments to sustain gains made under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). Multi-Village Schemes (MVS) are a key part of infrastructure investments in most States with the design to deliver 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd) to large populations. MVS operator compliance with contractual performance requirements is critical. Effective water resource management is similarly essential. Without effective monitoring, schemes risk failure, wasted public funds and overuse of water resources.
The Government of Karnataka is responding to these challenges with a Decision Support System (DSS) to effectively monitor and promptly action challenges to comply with the delivery of drinking water, water resources and public finance objectives. The DSS uses a few daily indicators to guide decisions on lpcd delivery, operator performance and water resource use. Unlike a Management Information System (MIS), which seeks to capture all metrics, the DSS focuses on just a few critical indicators to facilitate timely, targeted action. The DSS focus on key actionable insights is expected to enable robust sustainability of JJM infrastructure for years to come.
This paper illustrates how the Decision Support System is being applied by the Government of Karnataka and its wider potential for application by other State Governments.
