BWSSB already wants to close public fountains in Bangalore city as the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike asn't paid up its dues of Rs 160 crore.Will GBWASP attend to the water needs of the poor? Right now, even the poor have to pay the minimum beneficiary capital contribution (BCC) of Rs 2,500. The official line is that a committee has been set up to develop a pro-poor water policy. Sources inside the system say this is likely to ensure water isn't free; all connections are metered; and even the poor have to pay BCC.

"BWSSB is a business organisation and has no statutory obligation to work with poor. The World Bank's demand assessment in 2003 shows the poor are willing to pay,' says a BWSSB official who's on the commitee. But what are they willing to pay for? Bangalore's poor depend heavily on groundwater and tankers. BWSSB has made one good move in reducing the first payment slab to 8 kilolitres (kl)from 15 kl. This will make wasteful use of water more expensive. Cross subsidy is also talked of.

But decisions are not waiting for a considered policy. The Government-Janaagraha MoU mentions research into creating a pro-poor policy. That clause was used in June 2005 by a consortium of agencies led by RWE Thames, a water company from the UK, that is interested in providing services to the poor. Its first project, already identified, aims to