The Economics of Urban Water Supply : In Karnataka and Maharashtra/D.M. Madari. New Delhi, Kalpaz Pub., 2007, 292 p., maps, tables, ISBN 81-7835-556-6. 

    Contents: Preface. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction. 2. Review of literature. 3. Urban water supply in India. 4. Urban water supply in Karnataka and Maharashtra. 5. Macro analysis of water supply in Gulbarga and Solapur Cities. 6. Urban water supply in Gulbarga and Solapur Cities--the household survey. 7. Urban water supply in Gulbarga and Solapur Cities-- a critical evaluation. 8. Summary and conclusions. Bibliography. Index. 

    "The need for safe water is as old as the existence of human beings and improvements in health are associated with improvements in water supplies. Adequacy of water supplies plays a decisive role in the establishment and expansion of industries. Primary importance is to be given to water supply programmes for the success of industrial development plan. However, these programmes are to be supported by complementary programmes like education, health care, drainage and sewerage programmes etc, in an integrated approach at the global level. Community water supply is a basic need; access to safe drinking water is a human right and it is important to stress this human right because many people don't share it. Water remains no longer a free goods and has become an economic goods. If we fail to study economics of 'water as a scarce resource' whose allocation should be governed by more rational decisions, our fault would not be condoned.

    The Urban Water Supply was, is and will be a big challenge to the civic authorities, more particularly in the past urbanizing cities such as Gulbarga and Solapur Cities of Karnataka and Maharashtra States. Both cities corporations does not have any big sources of water in the near vicinity. Therefore, it has to plan a big size investment so as to provide safe drinking water facilities to the residents.

    A study of this kind is novel in its subject matter and it would serve as an important step towards the more challenging and wider area of study viz, Economics of Urban Water Supply. In all, this book presents the management of municipal water resources in an organised form amenable for economic analysis and succeeds in identifying the areas for further research.

    The recommendation of the study for rainwater harvesting is the one which two corporations can not simply overlook. The roof water harvesting is the other policy suggestion which has not been practiced by the citizens so far, which the author feels is highly unfortunate." (jacket) 

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